All the cool kids are doin' it...

Well, here it is. I've been meaning to do this for a long time - - kind of like I've wanted to write a book for a long time - - so maybe this will get me going, and maybe someday this blog will turn into a best-selling novel. Right? I've written a few travel blogs in the past, but most were from a part of my life I'd like to forget so I deleted them... but I'm including a link to my favorite, Gelato of the Day, which was written by my friend Kristin and I during our Italian adventure in late 2008. Good stuff (if I do say so myself) - go read it if you want a good laugh. So why "The Vertical Challenge"? A few reasons:

• I'm vertically challenged. Nuff said.
  


• I have a hill problem: (1) I've had 3 bad bike accidents on hills (both uphill and downhill) that resulted in broken bones, a bloody face, stitches, and some amazing bruises (see Gelato of the Day blog). But I still love a good downhill on my bike (although I haven't been on it in a while...). (2) A few years ago, I did the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. The steep downhills really screwed up my knee - - getting an MRI is on my to-do list (no rush, cuz I'm pretty sure they'll wanna do something painful to me!). (3) Getting pinned under an ATV on a steep hill with gas pouring on me during my last Mexico trip really rubbed me the wrong way.

So you see, I have issues with "vertical" - both up and down. This won't stop me from future hilly adventures, but it definitely makes me think... :D