The Year of the Bicycle

2012 Goals

2012-01-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

1. Buy a house. 2. Get the monster to respond to basic instructions, such as: "Oh, for fucks sake!" and "Porter, NO!!"

2011 - Year in Review

2011-12-31T18:59:00.001-08:00

It's been a big year for us. All the big baby milestones, finishing Jeff's house (while living in it), moving to PA, and Michele at a job that's not considered training for the first time in eight years. Feels like I'm really an adult for the first time. Okay, maybe not, but getting closer. On the whole it's been a good year and here's to an even better 2012.

That's a Lot of Loot

2011-12-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

Michele got her french oven, I got some snow gear, but it's the kid who scored big.

Shakedown

2011-12-04T21:19:00.001-08:00

Thanks to a friend, who works at a certain Seattle based snow sports company, I got new gear this year. The entire setup is a pretty big departure from what I was riding and so I figured it'd just make good sense to head up to Hurricane Ridge and see what I need to do to my setup to get it working for me. While that sounds all well and good, hiking up with an unfamiliar kit for short little

Thanksgiving in Stepford

2011-11-28T19:11:00.001-08:00

er, Seabrook. We didn't have Thanksgiving at Paul and Sean's this year, instead we all rented a house at Seabrook. In attendance there was Paul and Sean, Jimmie and Adam, Jeff, and the three of us. Since our last visit Seabrook has grown a bit, there are a few more houses, a couple more businesses, and a community pool. For those of you keeping count, this is Thanksgiving number four with this

I'm Not So Bright

2011-11-15T09:37:00.001-08:00

It's cold, I'm fat, and this bike currently hates me. BTW - I couldn't handle the humiliation of the 32:21 so we're back to an 18 on the rear wheel.

It's Happened

2011-10-26T20:30:00.003-07:00

I've turned into one of those people. I spend every waking moment with my kid. I sing about everything I do as I do it. All I have to talk about with other adults is what my kid is doing (or not doing). It's as if I completely forgot how to relate to others, specifically the fact that they don't give two shits about my kid that I keep talking about. Oh, and I find myself doing stuff like

Company

2011-10-16T13:45:00.002-07:00

Things have been going good here in PA. Michele is still working very long hours (but only four days) so Porter and I are getting to spend a lot of time together. We've also had our fair share of visitors roll through in the past few weeks. First it was my parents. Mom spent the entire three days making goo-goo eyes at The Monster. Dad and I actually got out for a ride, of course being

The Little Differences

2011-09-25T21:08:00.001-07:00

This is what the Monster did to celebrate his 1st birtday: And this is how Michele and I celebrated:

Musings

2011-09-24T13:41:00.001-07:00

The Monster and I went out for a little adventure today while Michele had Saturday clinic. Rather than ride from the house we packed up the Element and headed over to Sequim to ride from Railroad Bridge Park over to Robin Hill Farm Park and back. I chose this as our ride for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to forgo Porter's helmet and this route is completely removed from

Elwha, Sprint Boats, and Cake

2011-09-18T17:00:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a hell of a day. It started with a trip downtown to the farmers market and the festivities celebrating the removal of the two dams on the Elwha river. After that I spent my afternoon at Port Angeles' new Extreme Sports Park to watch the USSBA national finals. Pat was supposed to come up and join me in manly pursuits but couldn't get away from family obligations, oh well. That

This Damn Kid

2011-09-12T01:28:00.001-07:00

Earlier today Tim and Lucy paid us a visit while they were waiting to catch the Black Ball to Victoria. While we were all hanging out and playing with the Monster he took a bit of a header. He didn't fall far but he hit his head on the sliding door and caught his cheek on a piece of furniture. Michele scooped him up rather quickly to soothe him and the next thing I know she's yelling '

Resistance Training

2011-09-05T21:50:00.001-07:00

The last time I tried to take The Monster on a bike ride it didn't go so well. We tried to circle Greenlake and he started full on freaking out about halfway around, ended up playing in the grass alongside the trail until Michele managed to catch up so she could take him the rest of the way home in the baby backpack. So it's been a couple months and I figured the time was right to give it

Embarrassment Avoided

2011-09-03T16:36:00.003-07:00

When picking out a bike today for riding the ODC:AR I spent a fair amount of time thinking about riding TBFKaU. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it. How could I possibly stand the humiliation of anyone noticing my 32:21, and on a 26er no less. That shit is just ridiculous and I need to put it right. Of course, I have in fact used that same ratio once before, but I had a much better excuse

Stumptown, Summer '11

2011-08-31T12:42:00.001-07:00

Michele and I had been tossing around the idea of making one last Portland trip before she starts work for the last few months. We finally made the decision to go on Saturday. I called Tim and Lucy to get the okay to use a spare room and Sunday morning we were off. Porter slept the majority of the way way down and we only had to resort to The Human Beinz on repeat for the last 20 minutes or

ODC:AR

2011-08-27T21:25:00.002-07:00

Headed out today with TBFKaU in search of a some trail closer to home, and I found it. The Olympic Discovery Trail runs from Port Townsend to La Push across the North end of the Peninsula. It consists mostly of the shoulder of US 101 with some paved rails to trails thrown in. The plan for the trail is to eventually get it all off the highway and protected from traffic, but it's not quite

First Ride

2011-08-25T14:12:00.003-07:00

...as a resident of the Olympic Peninsula that is. I've been pretty busy since the move, there's been a lot of unpacking, a whole bunch of work to be done on the old house back in Seattle, and a kid to follow around all over the place. Seems like we're finally starting to settle into a grove and so I took advantage of the time I had to go spin the pedals a bit. I choose Miller Peninsula even

We've Landed

2011-08-09T20:30:00.002-07:00

Made it to Port Angeles on Thursday night, about 12 hours ahead of our stuff. Unloading went exceedingly well, I didn't have to lift a finger after all. Gorgeous panoramic view of the mountains from the living room and we can kinda see the strait past the hospital from the other end of the house. The kitchen blows big time but these are only temporary digs so that's not a big deal. The place is

T -2 Days

2011-08-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

The last time we moved I swore up and down that it'd be the last time I did it myself. In the fourteen plus years that Michele and I have been together we've lived together at nine different addresses, each time we've moved we've picked up more and more crap, and each time I've been solely responsible for getting everything from point A to B. Don't get me wrong, I've had help every time, but

Working Up To Walking?

2011-07-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

Porter took multiple steps (2) on his own for the first time tonight. His name, coupled with the fact that we were in a bar and he did it on top of a table can't be a good sign...

Happenings

2011-07-12T11:02:00.004-07:00

Shit, I sure haven't been on top of this blog lately. We've been pretty busy here at S, M, and P headquaters getting ready for the big move coming up next month. Michele officially finished up her fellowship at the end of June, although she was pretty much done a month prior and fully checked out with a week left. Even thought we're only headed 80 miles away it seems like we've spent the last

Father's Day

2011-06-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Seems a bit odd to me. Sure, I've got a kid and I've been a father for a whole eight and a half months but it still doesn't seem right that I become the focus of a Sunday in the middle of June. Spent the day building the deck on the back of the house, made a trip to Costco, and later BBQ'd on the aforementioned deck. It's pretty much what I wanted to do. Maybe next year it'll feel right and

Well, It's Official

2011-05-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

We're moving to Port Angeles. Michele just accepted the position mere moments ago. Real post later when I'm in front of a computer instead of working from my phone.

Badgeless No More

2011-05-03T18:39:00.001-07:00

I added a handful of these little forty2 decals to my latest sticker order. Now TBFKaU no longer has to hide in shame with an unadorned headtube. BTW, if you find yourself in the market, the boys at DCS can't be beat. I really can't say enough good things about these guys.

If I Had a Hammer...

2011-05-02T17:56:00.007-07:00

I purchased my first real framing hammer early in the fall of 1995. I was told I needed a California style framer and that's what I bought. If I remember correctly I spent around eleven dollars at Wal-Mart for the only thing on the shelf that came even close to what I understood a California framer to be. The face was soft and lost it's waffle right away, the head was loose after only a couple