I'm too sexy...

For my hair. Too sexy for my hair, could you imagine if it was still there?

I'd be like Sampson if I could really rock the Kentucky Waterfall...maybe it's time to resurrect the ol' rat-tail.

Now that I'm getting huge, why not grow out the hair and just kick it?

In other news, here's Cari and I on on inaugural ride as Stonehouse California Olive Oil ambassadors...

Stuffed into a jersey and riding around Carneros...

Blowin' Up

Yo!
I'm hella blowin' up dude...

I knew I had a gut, but the angle, and the load in my jersey sure make me wanna cry.

Sure am glad this appeared in newspapers too.

Gotta go, Twinkies and Pringles calling.

Nice. Real Nice. I'm the light blue stretched out Retrotec jersey...


A little photoshop and Voila! I look like I feel.

Photo courtesy of Press Democrat Website

Tour of California-Napa Stage Highlights

I was really excited for today, my cycling heros were coming not only through my hometown, but on the roads that I typically ride!
Thankfully I was able to take the day off of work, coordinate with Curtis to meet up at 8:15AM and ride out to cheer on the likes of Ivan Basso, Levi Leipheimer, Bettini, Hincapie and others.

The route took them from flat lands of Santa Rosa up the 12% climb of Trinity road on through to Oakville Grade and across the valley. From there another big climb awaits-near Lake Berryessa before a long flat race through Davis and onto Sacramento.

Curtis and I met up with about 20 other Eagle Cycling club folks and set out Dry Creek road (at a blistering pace-a lot faster than I was prepared for this early) and the climb up the backside of Trinity (a whopper). All I kept thinking about was getting through the corkscrew and kicking it at the top to see the race.

It was awe-inspiring to see hundreds of people lined up cheering and ringing cowbells in support of the race. We hung out for about and hour and 45 minutes before the riders came screaming up the climb. Cari will be happy to hear that her Priority Health riders were in the top 3 to summit----gooooooooo Michigan (that's for you Cari). I snapped more pics of them than any other rider. I trained my little digital Elph onto the curve and set it to video. My location was prime, right on the inside of an uphill curve--it put me within inches of the riders (and team cars-scary).

Then I heard the roars of excitement and the ringing of the cowbells and here they came...Basso, Leipheimer, 2 more Disco boys and them the pack...what a rush! Thankfully I was able to capture a little video of Basso as he smiled and rode by like it was nothing. Let me tell you, the climb hurts mortals and these guys made it look easy.

After that we saddled up and had our pictures taken by the Press Democrat--Curtis, Peter and I all in the new Inglis/Retrotec jerseys made quite an impression (I'll check out the press democrat tonight to see if we made the cut)!

From there it was a sweet descent back down Trinity and up over Veeder on our way home.

I can not describe how cool it was to see your cycling heros in your home town, I can not wait until next year to share it with my son and wife (and brother hopefully too)!

Here's some pics and the video...

Basso Races by me and makes it look too easy!

Chalking up the road...


Specialized Angel; Chased by tons of bike dorks, she had what looked like white tire patches on her hole-y spandex (not a good look)


Priority Health Rider (for Cari)

Screen capture from my video-Basso close up

Screen capture from my video-Basso even more close up

Bettini had just got done blowing kisses to the crowd as he passed...

One more Priority Health Rider (for Cari)

Bikin', Hikin' and more

So a wonderfully beautiful weekend has come to a close, the sun was out in full force, temps were close to the 70's and it was time to head outdoors!
2007 has been an interesting year, a rocky start followed by learning (with a lot of help and a lot more to learn) about what makes me who I am has led to a deeper grasp on what I have to be thankful for and how hard I am willing to work to keep it...

So where to begin?

Let's start with Saturday.

Cari is training a lot heavier for some upcoming rides and races she has dedicated herself to (Cinderella Classic, Tour De Cure and NV Trail Marathon) and was ready to get back out on the bike in earnest and re-acquaint herself with who she used to be (on the bike). Who was I to stop her? Hell-there's nothing I'd rather do than ride with her, so we started to make the plans to get outdoors. It became clear to me (after I made the call) that we were being a bit selfish thinking our family would drop everything to watch Jake with an hours notice (sorry guys) so we did what we should have done in the first place-spend a family day outdoors.

We were heading to Alston with Kona, but Jake said he wanted to go father away and hike in a new place, one with a mountain. It was decided right there, on our way to Alston, to head home, gear and food up and head to Calistoga and hike some of Oat Hill. What a great choice!

We got there and Jake did his usual trooper mode and hike the whole way up and down (about 3 miles)—he really makes me proud. Along the way we found a baby rattle snake (yes I played with it), some lizards, some grasshoppers and some great views. It's a great trail and I kept relating that I couldn't wait to get Cari and Jake out there on bikes, cause it's a blast.

While out there we decided that Jake's Teva sandles were not adequate and we'd head to REI to see if we could find him some better hikes boots/shoes. That worked well with my plan as I had to head into Berkeley to pick up a couple of bike jersey's that I had won...

Well, it was more like I was chosen to wear them, but I was really excited to pick them up.

It all went down about a week ago when I saw an ad on craigslist (I love CL) looking for cyclists to wear jerseys for a really cool company called Stonehouse California Olive Oil. I had seen the jersey on my morning walk through the Ferry Building about 3 months ago and really liked the design and colors, so I jumped at the opportunity to represent the company. I fired off an email response outlining my experience with King, the Gourmet Century and my riding habits and crossed my fingers. Just as I was about to think I wasn't chosen, the email came through congratulating me! Anyway, we jetted down to Berkeley and met Elizabeth at Wheelgirl ( a really cool person and a great shop) who handed us a sweet pair of jerseys, some really delicious organically grown olive oil and some informational pamphlets. The deal is to wear the jersey's at least 2X a week on rides and spread the good word about a great company.

Traffic was a bear both ways and we were pooped. Jake had an appointment to sleep over at Papa and Yaya's house so Cari and I could ride early on Sunday morning...

Sunday both Cari and I donned our sweet new jerseys and I set out to show Cari the Carneros ride I do with Curtis and the Retrotec crew on Saturday mornings before our bigger rides. Again it was beautiful out and we had a great time (actually our first ride together in a long time) on the road. After we got back, Cari had to meet her boss and I headed to pick Jake up at Papa and Yaya's.

On our way home, Jake and I decided to head out on a hike in Browns Valley to see what we could see, and maybe catch a lizard. It's a pretty steep climb up the trail and again Jake showed his trooper side and made it up and down with no help. We gazed across the valley and enjoyed some snacks while taking in the sun and day. Jake exclaimed what a great day it was and I couldn't have agreed more.

There was still plenty of sun when we got home so I opened the garage, cracked open a Red Stripe, turned on some tunes and got my trusty Kestrel back to running as a townie-of-sorts while Jake played in the dirt and Cari hung out indoors.

Sure we had missed the prologue to the Tour of California , but it just would not have compared with the time spent with my family (although it would have been nice to see Steve—we'll plan something soon I hope).

Kona mugs for the camera...


Jake's ready to go


My sled dog and Jake lead the way


Jake and his hiking stick


The baby rattle snake we found right next to our first rest break


My little tree hugger


Cari and I sporting our new jerseys in support of a great company


Cari in Carneros


Jake nears the top in Browns Valley



Please check out the following links; a really tasty organically grown olive oil and a sweet bike shop!

2 Wheelin'

Jake stops for a second to have his pic taken...too bad it was in front of the portapotties!

Saturday was a "boys day" as Jake and I headed to the isle of Alameda (argghhh matey) to attend Vander Vegas Von Stroheim's 5th birthday. It was great to see Otto and Vander-a good time was had by all-even when the guy in a gorilla suit delivered cupcakes. Viewing Otto's extensive Tiki collection is truly the 8th Wonder of the modern world-with a whole room devoted to his mug and art collection as well as a functioning Tiki Bar!

Rain rain went away--off to the college for another day (of riding)...

Jake, Uncle David and I (later joined by momma who was working on a Sunday) embraced the sun and headed to the river trail to ride bikes together. Yep, together. Jake has fully graduated from the training wheels and Sunday we set out to ride, and to practice the final hurdle-self starts. Well after less than 30 minutes, Jake was starting all by himself, AND racing right past us.

What a wonderful feeling to ride with my son (and brother, wife, family)—it's truly incredible to see him zooming around.

Check out the pic and video of Jake, now we're off to look at slightly larger bikes as I am pretty sure Jake NEEDS a new ride!