Six Years
Six years ago (on March 3, 2010, to be exact), The Hammer and I got married.
On our honeymoon, we went to Zions National Park, where we spent a long weekend hiking, mountain biking, and road biking.
And it’s been our tradition to do the same thing every year on our anniversary (or as close to it as is possible with our work constraints).
So while I won’t be posting for the next few days (’til Thursday), here are a few pictures of what’s been going on.
Day 1: True Grit Recon
In order for me to get over the bugaboo I developed regarding the True Grit Course, on the first day of our vacation, The Hammer and I pre-rode the True Grit course.
Through a strange (but completely welcome) turn of events, orchestrated mostly by The Swimmer’s Other Mom (AKA The IT Guy), The Swimmer crashed our pre-ride of the course.
And I do mean “crashed” quite literally.
On the very fast descent from the top of Stucki Springs, The Swimmer flew ahead. She was doing great ’til she came into a whoop-de-do a little hot, landed just a little off the trail nose first, and went down on her right side.
The bad news: she slid on her face, got pretty cut up, and chipped a tooth.
The good news: the place she landed was remarkably soft and rock-free, and she didn’t break anything (having seen the crash, I would have bet cash money on a broken clavicle).
Se did finish the ride, and is still planning on doing the True Grit in a couple weeks. Tough girl.
Day 2: Angel’s Landing and a Secret Spot Scramble
Yesterday, The Hammer and I climbed up to Angel’s Landing, hustling to the summit in under an hour.
In the afternoon, we met up with Kenny, Heather, Kathleen and Lucas to do a hike unlike anything I’ve ever done before: Island in the Sky, in Snow Canyon.
More of a climb (scramble?) than a hike, really:
It was an amazing day. Definitely outside my comfort zone, but I saw things and tried things I never would have ever expected to try / do in my life.
Today
And now, today, We’re going on a long road ride. Probably 100 miles, starting from Zions and heading out toward Hurricane and St. George. We’ll bring money, and stop and eat numerous times along the way.
Tomorrow? More mountain biking and hiking, probably. We’re not fancy people; we didn’t buy physical presents for each other. But on this, our sixth anniversary, we’re spending time together doing what we love doing, in a place we love, and — as a bonus — getting together with some friends and family we love to do things with.
Our life, right now, is darned near perfect.
PS: Thanks to Heather, who took most of the really awesome pictures from yesterday’s hike/climb/scramble.
Comment by Jeff Dieffenbach | 02.29.2016 | 11:43 am
Happy anniversary!
Comment by BostonCarlos | 02.29.2016 | 11:46 am
Congrats on the perfect life! :) And Happy Anniversary!!!
Comment by GenghisKhan | 02.29.2016 | 11:49 am
Happy Anniversary!
Comment by Tom in Albany | 02.29.2016 | 11:56 am
Happy Anniversary to you and Lisa!!!
Gorgeous views on your hike!!!
Comment by MattC | 02.29.2016 | 11:57 am
Happy Anniv Fatty & Hammer! Glad you are able to have FUN! Also glad to hear that the Swimmer wasn’t really hurt in her face-plant crash…it’s always very scary when you crash!
And nice pics Heather…tho what’s up w/ the one of the rocks? It looks eerily similar to the vision test pics for various color-blindness…is there a number or letter or something in there that I’m not seeing due to some as-yet undiagnosed color-blindness? (or is it just an artsy shot of some rocks?)
Comment by Juan | 02.29.2016 | 12:40 pm
Beautiful pics. Thanks for posting.
And Happy Anniversary.
Comment by wharton_crew | 02.29.2016 | 12:42 pm
Wow, time really flies! Congrats you two, and I hope the Swimmer heals up soon. She lives up to her ‘Nails’ nickname….tough as nails.
Comment by NZ Ev | 02.29.2016 | 12:51 pm
Happy Anniversary!!!!!
Comment by MikeL | 02.29.2016 | 1:06 pm
The Swimmer aka Nails now known as Chip?
Comment by Kate | 02.29.2016 | 1:54 pm
Happy anniversary!
I’ve way afraid of heights, and those pictures, while gorgeous, made me a little queasy.
Comment by leroy | 02.29.2016 | 2:12 pm
Happy Anniversary!
Comment by Rob | 02.29.2016 | 2:36 pm
Happy Anniversary! Keep enjoying life and each other!
Comment by rich | 02.29.2016 | 2:53 pm
Congrats!!!
Comment by DaveT | 02.29.2016 | 2:56 pm
Happy Anniversary. The hiking looks great have fun on the rest of your vacation.
Comment by ScottyCycles | 02.29.2016 | 8:43 pm
Happy Anniversary!
Comment by Cyclingjimbo | 02.29.2016 | 10:15 pm
What a great way to celebrate your anniversary. I can remember 6 years ago thinking “wait, what?” and now it has been such a pleasure reading how you have carved out. lives for yourselves together. Congratulations and best wishes for many years of happiness together.
On a side note, you are seriously going to have to work with The Swimmer, aka Scar, aka Nails, aka Chip (nice new moniker @MikeL – still like Nails though, as in tough as and daughter of The Hammer) – she seems to get banged up much more than she should. Please know we are all rooting for you, Swimmer, and we look forward to hearing more about your progress in the realm of biking!
Comment by Doug (Way Upstate NY) | 03.1.2016 | 6:00 am
Happy Anniversary to the both of you!
Comment by RGT | 03.1.2016 | 6:46 am
Happy anniversary and here’s to many more years of being together!
Comment by Brian in VA | 03.1.2016 | 8:33 am
Happy Anniversary! That pic of you two leaping together is just an action shot of sheer joy!
Your trip looks amazing and I wish only that the rest of your marriage is spent in such great form and happiness!
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 03.1.2016 | 3:11 pm
@MikeL like the idea of ‘Chip’ but would suggest “Chippy” as an alternate since she always smiles. (gets that from her Mother no doubt)
As for Elden and Lisa, Congratulations!
So amazing how the road of life has brought you together to this place in time. Hope to always be able to hear your adventures, that inspire us all.
Comment by Corrine | 03.1.2016 | 11:06 pm
Happy Anniversary. A perfect way to spend an anniversary, too. Looks like a fantastic hike/climb! Here’s to many more years together!
Comment by Jeff Dieffenbach | 03.2.2016 | 8:14 am
Hey Fatties, I can use some FattySourcing help. I’m frequently referring people to Fatty’s blog. But I feel like I can do the blog the best service by pointing them to a particularly awesome post.
The post that Fatty referenced at the beginning of this post is a great one, but wouldn’t really resonate with someone who’s already in the know.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2010/03/03/a-few-photos-from-the-wedding/
So, what’s a GREAT Fatty post to get a new reader hooked?
[Caution: I may add this to the comments of the next post or two so that it doesn't get lost]
Comment by MattC | 03.2.2016 | 11:19 am
@Jeff…I can’t search Fatty’s posts (at least here at work…big brother blocks the page)…but one of MY fav posts was many years back, I think it was called “how to look back” or something like that…Fatty was giving US the scoop on how to look back while road riding…HILARIOUS post! (one of the fav bits to me was something about “if you see a large shadow coming up on you, stand up and pedal like your life depends on it, because you are being chased by the Chupacabra”).
I’ll have to think back on other fav posts (there are a LOT). I think if you do a Fatty site search on “Chupacabra” it should come up.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 03.2.2016 | 11:24 am
Elden,
One other thought I had about your pictures. Sunscreen…..and a hat.
We want you around for a long time, and even if you choose not to do it for yourself, please do it for the pilots flying overhead. :-)
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 03.2.2016 | 11:25 am
@Jeff
Great thought. A Bikereader’s Guide to the Universe (fat edition)!
Comment by Jeff Dieffenbach | 03.2.2016 | 2:51 pm
@MattC, here’s the post in question.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2009/05/14/how-to-look-back/
Awesome! No, make that fantastic! (I just listened to the Neil Rogers FattyCast.) As it happens, that’s about 2 months BEFORE I started following the blog, so that’s a post I missed. Which is too bad, what with My Great Chupacabra Incident of 2012 and all.
Hmm, not so sure about Fatty’s mirror advice. Which, as it happens, mirrors (ha!) the Velominati Rules advice (specifically, Rule 66).
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#66
I find particular amusement in that Rule 66 refers to one’s bike as one’s “steed.” So right there, that pretty much destroys their own argument.
I love the bar-end mirror on my road bike. I find it to be a much safer way of enhancing my awareness of vehicles behind. And it is, in my opinion, reasonably sleek.*
http://www.bikecommuters.com/2009/07/27/review-cycleawares-roadie-mirror/
*Caveat: I drive a minivan, so my definition of sleek is perhaps suspect.
Comment by Heidi | 03.2.2016 | 3:08 pm
Congratulations! (Wonderful photos, Heather.)
Comment by roadrash | 03.2.2016 | 7:38 pm
sheer awesomeness!
Comment by Andrew | 03.2.2016 | 11:06 pm
Congratulations to you guys !
Comment by Nic Grillo | 03.3.2016 | 10:21 am
Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful corner of the world to spend some time in!
Comment by wharton_crew | 03.3.2016 | 5:08 pm
Jeff, I don’t know that you’ll see this now that a new blog post is up (I’ll comment on the new post, too), but I vividly recall the post that got me hooked on this blog — Climbing is for Crying
It’s brutally honest, showcases cycling technical skills, and it speaks to the roots of why FatCyclist got started and why most of us still care enough to donate and do crazy things like 100MON.
Thanks for such a great post, Fatty.
Comment by SeanB | 03.7.2016 | 9:15 am
Congratulations on your Awesome Anniversary!!!
Comment by Amy | 03.10.2016 | 8:05 pm
Happy Anniversary (belated)!!! I cannot believe it has been over 6 years that I stumbled across you and your blog. I have cried many tears and enjoyed many smiles and giggles over the years. Tonight I am feeling a bit down on myself and decided to catch up! Looking at all you have been through reminds me that some days life is hard but life is a gift! Even though the past couple days have not been pleasant I am thankful I am here to count today as yet another gift!