Hoosiers Win Big Ten!

Wouldn't you just know it.  I am out of the US this year and my Indiana Hoosiers win the Big Ten Conference.  I wasn't able to see any of the games!  We beat Iowa on the road last night to secure an outright conference championship, our first since 2013.  I would love to have seen the win, but the game started at 2 am here.  I just can't miss a night's sleep!  Oh well, it was a welcome treat to see the score and see highlights of the players celebrating.

I have been affiliated with Lynchburg College for nearly 14 years.  It took awhile for the school to grow on me, but I really love it now.  Both our men's and women's basketball teams won conference titles this year.  But there really is something special about one's alma maters.  I root for Vanderbilt and Indiana like crazy.  Vandy beat Tennessee last night and, as strange as it seems, has an outside shot a tying for the top of the SEC come season's end.  The great thing about one's alma maters is that they stay with you for life.

Lose Hill to Mam Tor Ridge Hike

This past Sunday, my younger daughter and I hit the Peak District for a great hike.  We took a bus to Hope and set out on a hike up Lose Hill.  My younger daughter doesn't remember going up Lose Hill more than seven years ago because she was about two-and-a-half at the time and sat in a harness on my backpack.  Now nearly ten, she is quite the hiker.  She bounded up Lose Hill with little effort.

After reaching the top of Lose Hill and enjoying the incredible vistas and strong wind, we began the ridge hike over to Mam Tor.  We had been to Mam Tor earlier, but this time we hiked to it from Lose Hill.  The photo below shows me atop Back Tor, not too far from the Lose Hill peak (click on the image for a larger view).

Hope Valley is off to the left (my right).  You can see the ridge walk that gets one to Mam Tor, which is visible at centre left.  We probably walked about 6 mi (9.7 km) because after hiking down Mam Tor, we walked into Castleton.  There we sat our tired bodies down in The Castle pub.  I enjoyed a few pints of great English cask ale and my daughter had hot chocolate.  The food there was great!

I absolutely love my work.  Researching sports physics and teaching physics are so much fun for me.  But even more fun for me is seeing my younger daughter hike like crazy in a beautiful part of the world.