CX Fort Steilacoom

The weather was perfect for a cross race and the number of riders in each category proved it is definitely cross season. Susan told me Saturday night that she's racing in the beginner race. I didn't know she was even thinking about it. Cool! I made sure her bike was ready and took both ours to the race early the next morning. 

Happy go lucky at the first turn after the whistle blew for the start. 

I trailed her the whole time yelling "encouraging" remarks and making sure she knew when riders were approaching from behind. 

Feeling the pain at the barriers. 

Yeaaaaaaaa! All done!

I raced the single speed again and on my third lap my rear tire picked up an old safety pin used to keep the numbers on the jersey and it flatted in seconds. I was tired from cranking up the hill and holding my own in the bottom 25 percent , but I wasn't ready to quit just yet. Oh well, that's racing. 

WWU

We dropped Jasmine off at the university this past weekend and were surprised about being first in 

line upon our 930 arrival. We unloaded everything onto the ground and then I moved the truck to a parking lot a few blocks away. There were several WWU helpers assisting with the move and we had everything upstairs in no time. Bailey, Jasmine’s roommate had a little more stuff than her and most of their stuff remained in the hallway until we could get the beds lofted. After getting the beds squared away, we started to bring the boxes in and place them as best we could until they could arrange it the way they wanted. An early arrival time was beneficial because an hour later the helpers were spread thin and the students/parents ended up carrying everything themselves. Between the drive up, offloading, carrying multiple boxes up the stairs and unpacking, I was pretty tired.

Later in the day, our goodbye was quick and didn’t allow for too many tears to flow after this picture, but we each had our share. Today’s technology allows us to call, text and skype so it’s not like we weren’t going to see her for months on end because we were skyping that night. I remember getting dropped off at the MEPS station at the start of my Air Force career. My dad kissed me on the cheek and I didn’t see my parents for over two years. Times have definitely changed since then.  Her classes started Wednesday and she’s been looking forward to having something productive to do. We wish her the best and I’m sure she’ll do great. 

Passport to Pain 2014

This is the forth year for the P2P and you could do one of three rides: the weenie at 30 miles with 3400 feet of elevation gain, the weasel at 50 miles with 6300 feet or the Idiot at 80 miles with 10,000 feet. I signed up for the Idiot because a coworker told me I could make it, but I knew it would be tough. I stripped my commuter down to the bare essentials (nothing) and then put some faster road tires on for less resistance. I used a saddle bag for a spare tube, tire spoons and patch kit. I ended up buying a frame bag because I didn’t want to pack anything in the pockets of my jersey and it paid off during the day and will pay off again on future rides. It’s a pretty nice addition. 

Prepped and ready. Too bad I couldn't find someone to ride it. 

I bought a mountain bike crank back in February just for this ride. I put 34/28 rings on it and already had an 11/32 cassette on the back so I was ready to spin. I wasn’t going very fast up the hills, nor on the flats for that matter, but I chugged along knowing I needed to save my leg strength to pull myself up the hills. Most people were riding stripped down road bikes to make them as light as possible, but I saw one electric assisted bike (cheater), several mountain bikes, a couple beach cruisers and one dude did the 30 mile course on a skate board. Now that's bad ass! Rain was not in the forecast, but I would have welcomed some cooler weather because I was sweating bullets after the second climb.  The ride is listed as unsupported, but there was so much food and drink at each of the stamp locations it would have been difficult to starve. I packed several power bars, but I only ate a few because I left each station with food in my belly. I packed several shots too and forced myself to eat one every hour to prevent the wall from coming too soon.  I also dropped a Nunn tablet into each bottle on each fill up to keep my electrolytes up. The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were by far the best food to hold me over. Another favorite snack was the small red potatoes at a few of the stops. They were good and the kicker was the coarsely graded salt in a bowl you could put as much on as you wanted. I was crunching away and enjoying every bite as I replaced the salt I had lost in sweat on the miles before. I was forcing myself to drink and I didn’t care how many times I had to pee. Fluids are very important and I wasn’t going to cramp up on these hills. There’s plenty of support at the stamp locations, but you’re on your own on the road. My legs started to cramp up a bit after getting my 13^th stamp, so I knew the full 80 miles was going to be in question. One of the volunteers at the 14^th stamp location asked me how I was and I admitted I wasn’t doing very well. He showed me how to bypass 15, 16 and 17 and go right to 18. My mind wanted to continue, but my body said otherwise and it would not have made it up the difficult island hills ahead.  I’m not sure how many miles I shaved off, but I’m guessing it was in the 16-17 range and I didn’t miss the additional 3000 feet of elevation I had to climb. My shorts were so wet from sweat I developed a rash in a not so good spot that contributed to my cutting the ride short. A few days out of the saddle will be a welcomed comfort. Bek’s henna tattoo was a big hit to all that noticed it. It’s a one of a kind and looked awesome! It’s a good spot for the real deal next year after my 50^th.  

Bek's art work. 

My Passport. 

They had a terrific barbecue dinner prepped and ready for us after we finished. Brisket, pulled chicken/pork and all the sides with cold beverages too. I opted for a cold Coke in a glass bottle because I couldn’t remember the last time I had one in a real bottle and I love Coke. When we left and got near the truck, I heard a loud howling, so I did a 360 looking for a dog crying. As I got to the truck I heard it again, but this time it was “very” loud. I looked at the car behind me and the guy in the passenger seat was in some crazy pain. I couldn’t help but start to laugh because I knew his leg had cramped up and I’ve been there, done that many times at the house. He was smiling a bit when they pulled out, but I knew he was still hurting. My not so sharp eye observed an item of interest before, during and after the ride. No one was smoking. Not even a vapor cig. I think it’s a first for me to see (or not see) a smoker in the crowd. I like it. I highly recommend this ride to anyone looking to challenge themselves to see what they’re made of. It’s a true test of one’s ability. I can’t wait to see the pictures on their website and the look of pain on our faces as we ride next to the devil. We must be nutso to not only commit to the ride, but pay for it too. I’m looking forward to the next one. J

CX Season

Last week was the start of Cross season and we kicked it off with a Team Double Check sponsored annual Labor Day Cyclocross race. Training Area East on Joint Base Lewis McChord continues to be a fantastic spot for a race. Not just because of the vast amount of space we have to work with for course setup, but parking, shade and vendor support play a critical role as well. I think the turn out this year was a bit better than last and everyone enjoyed an injury free race in perfect weather. I picked up a single speed (Single Greer) from a teammate earlier in the year and after working on the drive train, headset and swapping out the wheel set, I was set to enter a different category. Racing on a single speed bike versus a multi-geared is definitely a new, but welcomed challenge. Having only one gear forces you to race up the hills and spin, spin, spin on the flats. I completed the race without incident until I approached the last barrier on the last lap. I unclipped my left shoe and attempted the right, but it wouldn't come out because one of the screws holding the cleat in had backed out allowing the cleat to rotate freely. I ended up hobbling over the barriers and the run up with my right foot stuck to the pedal. The crowd was cheering me on, so I couldn't give up. I made it up, re-mounted the bike and pedaled across the finish losing 5 spots in the process. I had a good time and it felt good getting the heart rate up for 40 minutes.

I had to use a screwdriver to get the shoe off after I got home. All the movement chewed up the bottom of the shoe a bit, but I got the cleat back in place without issue. 

Lake Sammamish was Sunday and I entered the Single Speed category once again. You have a few things going against you in this cat. You don't go out until 130 in the afternoon and by that time the course is chewed up pretty good and the weather plays a critical role. It was hot for the first race and by the time I went out, it had reached the mid 80's. The course was dry and it ran us through the sand three separate times. I'm not a fan of sand and it really took the wind out of my sails. I was out of gas and sweating so bad on the third lap, I was hoping to get lapped. My wish was granted toward the end of my fourth. I finished 43 out of 51 and felt like I came in DFL because I got my ass kicked!  I was very dehydrated and couldn't get enough fluids in me to ease the pain. I saw someone dump a cooler of ice in the grass next to us, so I filled one of my socks up and placed it on the back of my neck. I never felt anything so refreshing. Fort Steilacoom is in three weeks and I'll be looking for more pain on Single Greer. I guess I left myself for plenty of room for improvement with such a poor finish, but I've been there before. Like the multi speed bike, my goal is to finish mid pack each race.

A Motley Crue. Brian, Scott and Mike heading out for a warm up lap. Brian kicked butt and took second in the Masters 60 +.

Food was a priority leaving the park and this place had tons of cars in the parking lot, so it had to be good. The cheeseburger and 32 oz Root Beer was gone in no time after being placed in front of me. I was a happy camper.  

 

The Eagles

Susan and I got the see The Eagles in concert earlier in the week and what a great show. It was a first (and probably the last) time we’ll have the opportunity to see one of the greatest bands our generation has ever seen. We started the night with dinner at Engine House No. 9 with a few cold ones to wash everything down. The Tacoma Dome isn’t very large compared to some venues and our seats weren't too bad, but we had to look to our left to see the stage and monitors giving me a nasty creek in my neck. We decided to get up and stretch our legs at the intermission and ended up at the back of the Dome standing at the railing to watch the rest of the show. Glenn Frey and Don Henley did a good job on vocals, but I thought Joe Walsh stole the show with his guitar playing and vocals when they played “In the City”, “Life’s Been Good” and “Those Shoes”. The guy makes the strings look like they’re made out of rubber when he’s bending them. Crazy, strong fingers. Watching him makes me want to pick up my guitar again and go on my normal two month increment cycle, then set it down for several months until I get the itch again.  Then I spend the time relearning what I taught myself in the past. Maybe someday I’ll stick with it? They played Hotel California for their first encore and we decided to bug out when it was done even when we knew the concert wasn’t over, but missing all the traffic and getting home in 30 minutes made it worth skipping one last song. It was a great night for us and I look forward to spending more time together.

A good ICB is hard to pass up. 

A selfie at dinner. 

Rafting

We all went rafting with several of our friends through a company called All Adventures Rafting on the White Salmon River in the southern part of Washington last weekend. It was a first for us excluding my tubing trips down the Spokane River as a teenager. Our guides name was JP and he filled us full of instructions prior to getting in the water. 1 or 2 forward meant that many strokes with the paddle and then stop and float. All forward, all back etc… I was in the front, so that meant me and the person next to me were the pace setters so we had to watch each other out of the corner of our eyes to make sure we stayed in sync. Crack on crack was the place to sit. Meaning our butt crack had to be above the area between the seat tube and the side of the raft. We practiced following some of the simple commands after entering the water and for the most part we did okay, but got better as the day went on. The water was a cool 40 degrees and the splash from the rapids was a very refreshing break from the rays of the sun. We pulled over after a short time of rafting for a jump opportunity off a 15-18 foot cliff for those who wanted to get wet. I’m very comfortable in water and I wasn't about to pass this up. Everyone was jumping in feet first anticipating the shock from the cold water. Borrrrrrrring! I decided to push the envelope a bit by doing a back flip. What’s the worst that could happen? I was wearing a dry suit, a life vest and had an EMT on site. It was uneventful and the others were amazed with my crazy idea. Most of the trip was considered class II/III, but I didn’t think it was any worse than the rapids I grew up on. There was one class V waterfall that some decided not to do. Those rafters got out just ahead of it and walked around. Those of us who took the dare received additional instructions and practiced several times before going over. Going over the fall was pretty cool and over in a matter of seconds. I think the guides speech about the waterfall psyched some of the others out because it wasn’t too bad and all of us could have done it. Oh well, next time.  We were all very hungry after the trip and the company recommended a place a couple miles up the road who made giant pulled pork burritos that were very tasty and hit the spot prior to getting on the road home.

All smiles before getting in the water. 

Our first Class III. 

At the top of the Class V. 

Lunch with Sasquatch. 

I spotted some chickens making short work of finding food in the bushes. 

We stopped in Chehalis for a cold snack on the way home.

Fourteen hours of driving, rafting and eating took its toll on us and after getting home, we had a quick snack, a shower and then it was off to bed. We all look forward to doing it again. 

Summer Projecct

Several weeks ago Susan suggested we paint the house, so we started looking at colors in the neighborhood and the paint chips at Lowe's. Painting was the easy part because we had plenty of work to do for the prep. Remove the gutters, replace two windows and all the window trim with cedar instead of the junk I used a many years ago, pressure wash all surfaces and paint/prime all the fascia boards. We couldn't have timed buying the paint any better because Valspar was offering a mail in rebate on 1 and 5 gallon buckets of paint. We love a discount!

Here's a before shot,

and after. 

We're all pretty happy with the way it turned out. Especially the blue highlights. 

Happy Birthday Jaz

Jasmine turned 20 last week and we celebrated over the weekend by having some of her friends over for hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and all the other fixings that go with a summer barbecue. Yes, I know the posting is a bit late, but I blog like I play golf. Bogies all day long. :) Susan made some killer lemon cupcakes with raspberry frosting and Bek whipped up some brownies with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Yum, Yum! Jaz and company hung out in the back with the fire pit roaring toasting up some smores, chatting and laughing as the night passed.

We got up early the next day to go hike/walk the Vance Creek Viaduct Trail to see an old railroad bridge spanning the creek in Shelton. The drive was longer than the hike, especially since we didn't get to see it. Apparently, the lumber company got up early the day prior and trenched the side of the road, put tree stumps on the opposite side and tons of No Trespassing Signs where visitors parked before making the short walk to the bridge. What a bummer that was, but the day wasn't wasted because on our way back we found a killer place called Blondie's in Shelton to get a late breakfast and see/hear some local folk talk about the goings on in town. We also spoke with the owner when she stopped in for a cup of coffee. She gave us a quick rundown about the place, a few of the employees and the food. Which was delicious! 

 A deep trench that would give a jacked up 4x4 a challenge. 

Not wanting to push the envelope, we followed the instructions and skipped the hike. 

Here's a couple pretty cool trees that look like they had some fire damage many years ago, but are still standing proud.  

Morning Ride

Susan and I went for a short ride yesterday to DuPont and back. Knowing the pace would be relatively easy, I jumped on the Single Speed and immediately noticed two things. The saddle my brother Hank gave me was positioned incorrectly and rock hard. No wonder it was a free bee. I dealt with both for the duration and made a mental note to adjust it later. We immediately had an Oh #$%! moment  when some idiot pulled in front of us while we were going down a hill a half mile from the house. We both hit the brakes and turned into the turning lane to avoid hitting him on the passenger side. I yelled a not so nice comment after we passed and then relaxed for a few to until the nerves settled. The rest of our ride was uneventful and good for both. When we got home, I swapped bikes and did two 13 mile loops to train for the P2P. I need to get plenty of hills in before this ride because ten thousand feet of elevation gain in eighty miles is not an easy ride. I guess that's why they call the 80 miler, the idiot. :)

Bek

A few days ago, Bek said she wants to learn how to ride a bicycle. I tried to teach her when she was young, but she's her father's daughter and it really show's when it comes to being stubborn. She said she would pay for half the cost, so with the power of Craigslist at my finger tips I found a individual with several for sale. We came home with a 2002 Iron Horse, Catskill 21 speed mountain bike. I went through it after work today and the only thing I found that may be of concern is the bottom bracket is worn a bit, but a little side play won't hurt it while she learns and if she gets proficient enough to recognize that a better bike means a better ride, then we'll deal with that later. 

Here she is with her new, hmmmm... old bike. 

WWU

I don't buy just any hat and the one pictured proves Jaz is really going to Western Washington University this September. 

Proud to be a WWU dad. 

Bee's

We have a couple old tree stumps in the back yard and some bee's decided to make one of them their home. I don't mind bee's, but I can't have a nest so close to the house. I doused them with two cans of Wasp/Hornet killer and they were still emerging from the hole.  Not wanting to lose the war, I decided to get old school and poured a little gasoline on the the stump. The flames were going pretty good and the bee's were no longer a threat. The stump actually burned from the inside out and I believe its ready to get removed. 

 

The product works great if you can spray it on the nest, but not if they're dug in. 

If you look closely, you can see a few of the little guys flying around. 

Let the flames begin. 

Fishing Day

We've been working on the house for several days and decided it was time to take a short break. I loaded the truck up the night before to make the Monday morning departure a little easier. It was a good thought, but nothing happened except click, click, click when I turned the key to start the motor. Not wanting to waste anytime, we transferred everything to the Pilot and headed out to an eventful day of dock fishing.
All of us caught a few fish, but only one was a keeper and I gave it to one of the other fishermen sitting with us.

The keeper trout.  

Susan with the catch of the day. A 3" Mudskipper that looked more like bait instead of a catch.  

Bek with a Rock Bass,

And Jaz with the same. 

I ended up buying a new battery for the truck, but I didn't feel too bad because it was the original at nine years old. 

Mud Run

Bek asked a few weeks ago if I would do the mud run on JBLM with her and I agreed. The weather was perfect and the turn out was pretty good as well. We didn't time ourselves because both of us have not done any running for quite some time and having fun was the priority. But maybe this will re-ignite the bug in me to start running again? 

Showing our guns and determination before the start. 

A little stretching before hitting the road. 

Here's Bek looking forward to the deeper stuff ahead. 

We both medalled. 

Still looking tough as ever after the race. 

Graduation Day

Rebekah graduated from High School yesterday and we planned for a small party afterward. Our day started off with losing power at 330 in the morning because an underground power line went bad. I ran into the Puget Sound Power crew at the 7-eleven when I went for a coffee run and they told me a fuse blew. A fuse blew? It sounded like a howitzer went off. Sounds right to me he replied. We had sticky buns ready to go into the oven, but the lack of power put a slight damper on breakfast. I fired up the generator to run the essentials. You know, curling irons, hair dryers, straighteners and then decided to use the turkey roaster to see if we could salvage the food. To our delight, they came out just fine and all the girls were able to prep themselves for the ceremony. We were happy to see the power back on when we arrived back at the house and we were back in business. The first thing on the agenda was to turn on the grill and get the onions going. Easier said than done because the stupid thing stopped working. I made a few calls, got a hit to pick up a friends and drag it back to the house only to find out his grill decided to quit as well. I finally decided to go old school and get the briquettes soaking and after getting the burgers cooking I remembered why we switched to gas because the smoke was crazy thick and choking me out, but it got the job done.  

A very fattening breakfast, but worth every calorie. 

Jaz and Bek posing with her diploma. 

The 2014 Senior Banner. 

Bagging It.

I'm back on the single speed for commuting and that means no bike rack, panniers or trunk bag. What it does mean is everything gets packed into the Camelbak, including lunch. 

Here is some delicious noodles and meatballs prepped for cramming into a little space. Eating today reminded me of hiking the trails years ago when all the food was consumed in this manner. 

Pinensula Metric Century

A co-worker (Dave) and I signed up for the 100K PMC route for yesterdays ride and he was kind enough to pedal at a pace I could keep up with. Some of the hills were significant in elevation gain and really tested my leg strength/lung capacity, but I made it up all of them. The views on the coast line weren’t the greatest because the sun didn’t come out until the end of the ride, but what we did see was quite impressive. The route was marked, but some of the painted directional symbols need to be done again because we missed a few turns. Luckily, Dave has ridden the area several times in the past and got us back on course. The guy commutes at least three times a week with a 37 mile round trip and this was just another weekend ride for him.  

Dave and I at the finish.

Showing off our bad ass commuter muscles, we showed up with fenders, bike racks and fat tires still installed and we were the only riders to do so. The rest were all roadies, prepped for speed instead of distance. We may have been heavier and slower, but we still showed up a fair number of the speedsters and the softer ride was well worth it. : ) I feel we didn't do too bad on time since we left at 0730 and finished at 1300 stopping at each of the three rest stops for food, fluids and a restroom break . The volunteers were serving Strawberry Short Cake at the finish and if I didn't have another 45 minutes in the saddle I would have kept eating until they cut me off. It was gooooooood. Doing a long ride without any mechanical issues is a bonus and we were fortunate to fall into that category. I did encounter some ghost shifting, but I’m hoping a new cable will fix it. My rear wheel stayed in place, so I guess my drop out fix is good to go. Together we did 62 miles, but I road home to make it 75 for me and the longest ride for the year. I’ll need to get more miles in if I’m going to hang with my brother during the Midnight Century.  

Graduation Night for Susan

Last night was Susan’s dinner reception for her and all her fellow classmates in the Seattle Pacific University’s Administrative Credential Program. She’s been working full time and plugging away at it for a year now and we’re all very proud of her accomplishment. She’ll be done on June 9^th and I’m pretty sure I can speak for the entire family when I say we’re glad it’s (almost) over. The dinner was very good from start to finish. Salad, dinner roll, main course, pie for dessert and coffee. 

Here’s Susan with her mentor Mary Pachek accepting her certificate.  Susan’s not in any hurry to jump into the Principal role and will be hanging back for a year to see what comes up within the Steilacoom School District. But since both girls will be done with High School there's nothing keeping her from looking elsewhere. We shall see.

The Commuter

I was replacing the rear brake calipers on my Redline commuter last night and I couldn't get the wheel to stay in place after putting everything back together. I noticed the inside of the dropout on the drive side was worn from the axle nut rubbing.

This is supposed to be a flat surface, but apparently my wheel has been shifting about for some time. Could it be from the Hercules strength in my legs? : ) I took it to the bike shop and they immediately said it was un-repairable. I'm pretty handy in most of the vocational trades, so I took his answer as a challenge and stopped by Home Depot on the way home and bought a 3/4" grinding stone. 

I made a jig out of a piece of hardwood to keep the stone in place while I hand ground the bad portion until I thought it was deep enough to accept a make shift bushing. I used a block of wood with a shallow 1/4" hole in it to apply the down force needed to remove the aluminum. 

Here's the result of the grinding with a picture of the bushing made from a washer. I mixed up some heavy duty epoxy, glued it in place and clamped it down for the night. I guess I didn't file the throat open enough because when I pulled the wheel off  for inspection the following day the bushing came off with the wheel. 

I did a little more grinding on the drop out and used JB Weld this time. I'll find out tomorrow if my garage machine work saved the frame. I pulled clamp off after work, filed a few more areas and this is the final product. My test rides proved to be successful, but the next two days will be the true test and if all goes well I'll be riding it on Sunday for the PMC.  A fellow commuter at work will be joining me for the 100K ride.