Bike Races!!

Cam and I have been doing a lot of bike racing in June. Last night, after seeing the bigger kids race this week, he told me he was ready to take off the training wheels!! He did good for his first time riding up and down our road with me chasing behind him. Only 3 1/2 yrs old and doing well with it. Being a father gets more fun with every year!!

Here are some pics from a couple races this month.

Camden lining up for his first mountain bike race!

And they're off!! Some spots were a little rough for training wheels, so daddy had to give a hand. (One of the races that has made Cam want to get rid of the training wheels) Head down and taking it serious!! Pedaled his little heart out - he has his mom's competitive streak for sure!!

After the race he is just like all the guys I ride with. Full of his stories about how he did!! "Did you see me ride those bumps dad?"

"I went REALLY fast" After his race, I got my chance for a little mountain bike racing on the short track.

This is a pic of the field of racers in the distance - it has been dry and hot here!
A couple of shots of me racing. I did 5 laps on the route and every time I went over the hill at the start/finish line I would pop a big wheelie so Cam could see me. I could hear him cheering over everyone else - It was awesome!!
I did pretty well and completed 4 of 5 laps in the top 12-15 guys but messed up hopping a log on my last lap and dropped my chain. 6-7 guys passed me at that point and I ended up 20th out of just over 50 racers in the Cat 2 35-45 group. The very next night we headed back to PIR to race on the road with the Mountain View team. It was fun to race on the track and the asphalt is smooth as glass. It was a bit windy but we averaged 24.5 mph for almost 90 minutes.
The rolling start - our team leading out

I could here Camden cheering me on with every lap just like he did the night before
Coming by on one of our 15 laps.
Our team of 5 Cat 4 guys controlled the tempo of this Cat 3/4 race for a couple laps with Karl and Tony both doing some long hard pulls!

Here I am crossing the finish line. I rode well and even led the group to pull back in a small breakaway early on. Our finish was a bit confusing as some of us thought we were going to do another lap due to having to neutralize part of our last lap for the pros to blow by us, but in the last stretch a bunch of guys sprinted and the race ended there - I didn't have anytime to react as I was leading at that moment and was suddenly engulfed with sprinters. I had fun and will be back again!!
POSER!!!

Keith and Stacey Visit the Gorge

Keith, Stacey and the boys came to visit. It was a typical, very busy summer weekend in the Gorge. Thomas the Train, Windfest, Blues Festival, Wine Tasting, Stern wheeler Races, Paddle Board Races...... So much to choose from.

We opted for a relaxing weekend since Amy had been slammed at work all week and Keith & family arrived pretty late on Friday. Keith and I were up early and went for a quick mountain bike ride in Post Canyon and then we all headed down to the beach and swim area on the river.

Camden could not have been any happier. Water, sand, toys and his two best buddies!!

We ran into some other friends of ours there who had their paddle board and let everyone try it out.

Keith is looking quite comfortable on it!

Camden and Jared were happy to just float around in the shallows - I think Camden was working on his sunburn. (we missed a small spot on his waistline with the sunscreen - ouch!)

Amy was a little shaky at first but then got into a good groove. With her confidence up, sh took off past the ropes and into the river, out of sight for a while. I think we may be getting a paddle board soon!

Travis was a good captain for Cam and Jared and took them for a quick ride in the shallows.

We had one of my kayaks there as well and I don't think Travis ever got out of it! He put some miles into that paddle cruising all over the place.

Later in the day, Keith and I took Travis back to Post Canyon on the bikes and we rode around "Family Man" to let Travis try out some of the ramps and jumps on the trails there.

After Cam's nap time we went down to the event site and watched some of the Kite boarders and wind surfers who were out in droves thanks to the good wind and hot sun we had for Windfest!!

The next morning after breakfast we headed out to the Old Columbia Highway for a ride.

This is a six or seven mile stretch of paved trail that has tremendous views of the Gorge and even goes through a tunnel.

Travis and Jared were tearing it up on their bikes and both rode the whole distance through the tunnels and back.

Camden managed to ride his little bike all the way through the tunnels but opted to ride back in the trailer as that is a pretty long way when your on 9 inch wheels and 3 inch crank arms!!

Whew - It's Over!

After being in Hood River for just one year, I some how managed to find the courage to race the Mt Hood cycling Classic ( http://www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com/ )

If you have never heard of this race it is a four-day, leg-breaking stage race renowned as much for its incredible difficulty as for its breath-taking beauty.

The first day is a circuit that totals just over 47 miles and over 5100 ft of climbing (My gps data: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8377911 ) I blew up trying to hang with the front group on the first climb but finished strong and rode away from the small group of five I was with most of the day.

The second day was the time trial. For those of you that don't know, this is purely a race against the clock. No drafting, no riding in a peloton. Just you, you bike, a NASTY headwind, 19 miles, and almost 2000 ft of climbing. I rode with aero bars on my bike and did OK despite the amount of guys with full time trial bikes and aero helmets - like my friend/teammate below who beat me by 10 seconds!! Must have been the helmet!! ( http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8383179 )

After the time trial was stage 3 - the BIG day. 92 miles with 10,500 ft of climbing!! A monster of a day. I held on with the lead group and the yellow jersey for about 67 miles but then it turned into a LONG uphill climb to the finish and I fell off. I still feel I did pretty well and am happy to have finished! I finally settled into a group of five guys again and we rode together until the last 5 K and it turned to every man for himself. 2 finished before me and 2 after. Below is the start and finish of the day - Mt Hood Meadows right on the edge of the mountain.
( http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8390138 )

This is what a group of guys looks like after riding this stage. The asphalt was warm and it just felt good to lay there and soak up the heat:

The last stage was the downtown crit. It was FAST - 27 mph avg. Pretty good when you consider it had 2 small climbs and a CRAZY turn that was almost a complete U-turn! I was nervous going into it but actually had my most fun of this whole race with it. I finished with the main group and even moved up 2 spots on GC (General Classification - overall race standings)

Overall, this race was very fun and challenging. I hope to ride it again next year! My performance was not the best but for racing Cat 4 I did OK. Finished 26 out of almost 70 who started. (only 40 some finished) I'm happy to say I finished and had fun doing so!

As always - a quick pick of Cam. He got new biking gloves like daddy!!

The Pro Teams are already calling

As anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I am a cyclist. I love the sport, the exercise, the camaraderie, the views only seen from a bike and the true sensory experience that riding a bike is. None of the great rides or races can compare to the bike race we had this past weekend!

The Mt Hood Cycling Classic has kicked off with The Kids Race in the Dalles. We asked Camden if he wanted to "race like daddy" and he jumped on the idea. Seeing him get second place and stand on the podium with his red ribbon was more excitement than I can explain! I was shaking for an hour afterward!

It was a very hot day - in the 90's - when we headed out to the race. We got Camden registered - with the same OBRA forms I fill out to race - and got his number pinned on.

From that moment - IT WAS ON!!! He was hilarious and all business. When he saw all the bigger kids doing "warm up" laps on the course around the downtown city block, he just had to go with them.

He was focused and probably rode 10 times the distance of the race at "warm up"

He even managed the slalom course of cones without a problem

Finally, about 15 minutes before start time we had to pull him aside for some proper hydration to get ready for the big race!!

After he had done so many laps on the big kids course we found out that the 3 yr olds were only doing a straight part of the course - A SPRINT. We knew Cam was more of an endurance guy but still had high hopes for his chances today!

Everyone lined up:

And just like that - they were off. Cam had started right in the middle, but got bunched up in a small group elbowing for position at the start (or in other words, a couple kids wobbled their bikes sideways into Cam as they got started)

Camden quickly moved to an outside lane that he found open and then saw that the pro racer who was in place to pace the leaders was just in front of him. He put his head down and his little legs pumped faster than I had ever seen. He quickly moved into second place where he and the leader had opened a huge gap on the main field! As he approached the finish line he knew he could sit up and relish in a podium spot of second place!

He and the days winner (biggest 3 yr old in the race - I want to check his birth certificate) pulled off to the side for a photo op with the races sponsors......

and then it was off to the podium for a few kisses from the podium girls (in this case - mommy) Obviously from the photo you can tell my level of excitement seems to be outweighing Cam's by just a bit:

I don't think he was to sure as to what was going on here and he asked me if he could race again.

I'm very proud of my "bestest buddy" and look forward to many more of these days.

This race was awesome and I was totally overwhelmed with the amount of kids/families that were at this event. They raced every age group from 3-12 yrs old. It is fun to be part of a community like this and one that promotes a healthy lifestyle. We love where we live, work and play!

Stitches and Memorial Day Weekend

With all the sun we've had in May we have been outdoors every day. Even days that I am working, I make time to at least do something like taking Cam to the skate park. These little hour or two breaks during the day help tire him out and let me get some work done (not to mention they are just FUN!!) He has become the king of the skate park on his scooter and flies through the place, over ramps and up on walls. Most of the time he is scaring me to death as he has no fear and is really moving. One day this week while there, he stopped on a ramp to watch another kid and somehow lost his balance - just standing there!!! He fell at just the right angle and popped his forehead on a concrete wall right under his helmet. When I scooped him up there was that moment of panic from me as I saw a big pool of his blood on the concrete. (Head injuries bleed!)I rushed him to the ER - only a mile away - driving with him in my arms so I could keep pressure on his eye. I wish I knew the name of the kind dad that was there with his son that day and helped me get loaded in the car and clean him up - don't know if I could have gotten it all if not for him!

Amy met us at the ER and Cam was still quite upset. It was about half past noon as we were just getting ready to leave the park for nap when this happened. By the time the Dr was ready to stitch him up, the poor little guy was exhausted. I was not liking how this was looking either. The doc came in with two nurses and an extra blanket. They laid Cam down in the blanket and wrapped him like a mummy with his arms at his side, and then they turned to us and told us that we could leave if we wanted as this is sometimes not easy to watch - yeah right! They were not going to be able to drag me from my little, best buddies side on that day! We both elected to stay as the two nurses got in position to hold Cam down.

Amy did have to sit down as they started but I stayed right in Cam's face, patting him on his chest and talking to him: "Close your eyes little buddy. Everything is going to be alright, just keep your eyes closed" As the doc gave him a quick shot to numb the pain, I could see him tense up and he let out just the slightest whimper. He was doing a great job of lying very still with his eyes shut. As they started the first stitch he was looking very relaxed and breathing slow and calm. By the time he was starting the second stitch we realized he had now fallen asleep!!

Yeah, only our tough little guy could play so hard that he would fall asleep on the ER table while getting stitches. He was a trooper through the whole experience - more so than I. Whenever I think about that first second when I scooped him off the concrete I still cringe and feel a bit sad. There is not a worse feeling than seeing your own child's blood - and this was just a few stitches. I couldn't imagine having to go through something more serious. My heart truly goes out to all parents who have had to endure more serious matters with their children.

Cam got his stitches out 5 days later without so much as a whimper and life was completely back to normal. So much so, that we took off for a long weekend in Seattle on Memorial day that included a trip to the aquarium with Cam's girlfriend, a Mariners game and a trip up to the blast zone on Mt. St. Helens.

Cam had a great time at the game and held up his glove yelling "Hit it to me Griffey" and he just about did. Ken Griffey hit a homer just a few rows away from us!

We had a great time at the game drinking beers and eating junk food. Cam even got his very own cotton candy.....

that he would shove his whole face into when he took a bit - he was a blue-boy when he finished!
I'm still trying to get in a good amount of riding in for the Mt Hood Cycling Classic stage race in June so on Monday Amy and her family let me get a couple hour head start on them with my bike and I rode from Kelso up Rt 504 to the blast zone of Mt. St. Helens. It was a great ride and even on a busy weekend it was not bad as the shoulder is huge, clear and smooth! It was about 70 miles with some great climbing that started less than 100 ft above sea level and finished at about 4300 ft with two good climbs in the middle!

The views up there are amazing and you can still see the devastation from the eruption even after all this time:
We had a great weekend and are very excited that summer has arrived in the Gorge!!

April Showers and May Sunshine!!

It seemed like the rainy months just wanted to keep hanging on as we went through April. We had lots of play time outside but things were pretty soggy. The sun came out when we needed it to though - as you can see in previous posts. We had sun for the Cherry Blossom Race and a few hikes. Amy even got in a long hike with some friends from work and managed to stay dry for it:

They hiked up Hamilton Mountain on the WA side of the Gorge and enjoyed some great views of the mountains:

And of the Columbia River Gorge:

A Gorge hike would not be complete without waterfalls. This is just one of many they passed:

As May came in things started to dry out some. We still had some cloudy days but even those stayed pretty dry. Early in the month we went into Portland and had dinner on the water with Amy's parents for Mothers Day.

Amy, Cam and I had spent the day in Portland walking along the river and seeing the sights. Cam had brought his scooter with him so we were able to cover a lot of ground

The little guy just keeps getting cuter - and he knows it!!