May 22, 2021
Last year was a major birthday for me. We had planned a fabulous trip to Greece, and I thought I would buy myself a new road bike as well to celebrate. Alas, all of that got postponed because of the pandemic. Now a year later I am very hesitant to plan any major traveling, but just for fun I did stop by my local bike shops to see what kinds of bikes might be available. COVID restrictions had made cycling a hugely popular activity and there was a world-wide bike shortage to go with the world-wide virus. At the Trek shop in Princeton the very nice lady gave me a sad smile and shook her head, “all the bikes are spoken for until January of 2023.” At Halter’s in Montgomery Shopping Center, the owner rolled out a beautiful lilac Cannondale supersix – evo in my size, “this is the perfect bike for you, but you have to buy it today or someone else will.” That was way too much pressure after the simple, slow life of lockdown. At Sourland Cycles in Hopewell, they had a floor model of a road bike that I could take for a test ride. It wasn’t my size, it wasn’t really an upgrade from my beloved Bianchi, but they did have a bike on a truck coming in about a week that wasn’t reserved and might be of interest to me. Ok, I took the Giant brand women’s model out for a spin and liked the disc brakes and wider tires. Sure, I’ll put a refundable deposit on the bike that’s coming and take it for a test ride before anyone else nabs it.
Today is my birthday and I rode my bike 60 miles! I feel very strong after a week of challenging riding in Virginia. When we got back from Alaska, I wasn’t expecting to go away again so soon, but a friend from Morris Area Freewheelers announced that there was a last-minute opening for Bike Virginia. Michael would be fishing in Montana, we don’t have a dog, I am healthy and in good shape – might as well take advantage of all the favorable conditions and seize the moment! 
It was time for a winter get-a-way to someplace warm. It was also a great opportunity to see my sister again. We decided on Tucson where we could relax and visit for a few days before I went on another Backroads biking trip. Susanne thought the last time she had visited was 2007, the final year my parents spent the winter there. For me it had been much longer. 
It was Fall Break and I was hoping to have a biking get-a-way in Lancaster PA with my friends Muffin and Tom. Unfortunately, they had to cancel at the last minute, but I found a wonderful replacement. The Philadelphia Bike Club hosted a biking weekend in Gettysburg and I managed to get one of the remaining spots. After tending to the health needs of husband and dog over the summer, and cancelling time at the Forest Refuge and my second study visit to Madison Wisconsin, I really needed a break and a few days to myself. This did the trick. 
Was it really four years ago that we went to Australia for the International Congress of Voice Teachers and an amazing travel adventure? It was time again for the ICVT meeting, this time in Stockholm. I would present my menopause research and Michael would come along for a Scandinavian tour.