The Year of the Bicycle

It's a Christmas Miracle!

2009-12-25T16:44:00.002-08:00

All I've ever wanted was some goddamn Legos. Hurray!Oh yeah, I got some other awesome loot too.

A Little Too Close To Home

2009-12-24T14:41:00.002-08:00

I picked up a copy of the Stranger today and what do I find but an article about my life. Fuck, at least I haven't eaten a can of concentrated orange juice in ~17 years. Makes you think none the less. Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas.

Well, It's Official

2009-12-15T08:38:00.002-08:00

Michele has been offered and subsequently accepted the position of palliative medicine fellow at UW. This means we'll be staying in Seattle for one more year. One more year of mild climate, good food and friends.

Earl House Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T09:23:00.002-08:00

Filled with awesomeness. Everything was neatly labeled and the alcohol was flowing freely, everything was just as it should be.Best Thanksgiving meal ever. No doubt.Bookmark this, write it down, commit it to memory, whatever the fuck you have to do, do it. These meatballs are insanely good and shouldn't be confined to just the interwebs.

Thanksgiving, Woo Hoo!

2009-11-26T07:43:00.002-08:00

Somehow Michele and I managed score a repeat invite to the best Thanksgiving dinner known to man. Dinner starts in 8 hours which means I better start making room now.Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Aye, Fuck.

2009-11-20T19:30:00.006-08:00

I'm letting this whole blog business just fall apart, or so it seems. In a desperate attempt to keep this whole exercise going here's a small handful of photos from the last month or so, and explanations to go along with them.Me. At the 6.05 mark of a half marathon I did back in October.My parents seeking out the winds of Lake Pleasant during my recent visit to the 'nix.Nothing special, I just

Ultraskate!

2009-11-01T19:28:00.004-08:00

More like Ultrawuss. I only did 14 miles, but in my defense, the weather was biblical.Photo blatantly stolen from JP.

Bend Trip '09

2009-09-27T19:45:00.009-07:00

This post is going to be very picture heavy and word light so consider yourself forewarned. Also, try as I might I failed at getting the pictures in chronological order, if you care, tough shit. The cast of characters for our journey is John, Eithne, Atticus, Michele, and myself.Loaded. Nay, overloaded for our 9 day journey.Mt. St. Helens. Ape Canyon kicked my ass. Some tendonitis combined

Anybody Remember This Guy?

2009-09-17T22:54:00.003-07:00

Well, he's back. Kinda.Michele and I are currently on vacation with John and Eithne(and Atticus) in Central Oregon. I've had a couple good rides this week and one really shitty one. Tomorrow we go West for th McKenzie River Trail, and I'm doing the whole fucking thing. I'm hoping for the best.I'll post a full trip report after we return to Seattle. Really I will. Promise.Don't hold your

I'm Not Dead, Really.

2009-08-04T11:18:00.006-07:00

In the two and a half years I've been blogging I've never taken such an extended break. It's been almost a month and a half since I last blogged here and I gotta tell you, not much has happened. Other than riding my bike to school everyday(and twice on Wednesdays) I haven't even come close to riding. My classes blow(mostly) and between that and board building I've been keeping pretty busy.

Deck #5, Now in Eddie's Hands

2009-06-24T23:02:00.003-07:00

Eddie finally got his board in NOLA, I've had a hard time keeping this thing under wraps for the last week. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and it sounds like Eddie is too. I've started a new blog to chronicle these builds, it can be found here: forty2longboards I did what I could to make it his. The flex is just about right for his weight and he should find it really nice for

Michele Made The Paper

2009-06-21T08:25:00.003-07:00

It doesn't actually make any mention of her, but that's Michele alright. It makes me so proud.

SR 520 Bridge Tour

2009-06-20T21:24:00.003-07:00

Michele and I "won" spots on the SR 520 floating brdge tour during annual maintenance today. In a word, it was bad ass. They opened the drawspan for us while we were out there, let us walk through the pontoons, and go down onto the lower deck on the east side. It was much better than the Alaskan Way viaduct tour from earlier in the year, and more exclusive.That's a happy tour winner right

Everybody Love the DDD

2009-06-18T21:54:00.005-07:00

It's a hit! The double drop deck that is. Everybody loves it. It's stable, easy to push, fun to carve, and easy to slide. I've got two, maybe three more to build already. Shannon digs it.So in case you haven't already guessed it longboards have been taking up quite a bit of my time lately. In fact deck number six is in the press right now and number seven goes in tomorrow. I'm going for

Say Hello to the Failboard

2009-06-12T16:10:00.003-07:00

This was to be Eddie's board before I fucked it up in more ways than one. This whole building decks thing has been a bit of a learning experience but I'm definitely getting better as I go along and I'm learning more about what I can and can't do with bamboo. I had to cut this deck a little on the odd side just to make it usable and I'm in the process of finishing it out anyway. I'm just going

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-06-09T15:01:00.003-07:00

The quarter ends next week and that's got me hopping at the moment. I finally got the vanity top for my parents powder room shipped out today and got started on Eddie's deck. I've got something kind of special in mind for Eddie, at this point he's not going to find out what it is until it shows up at his door but I'm fairly certain that he's going to like it.Yesterday, I picked up enough bamboo

I Love the Pacific

2009-06-06T08:47:00.001-07:00

Michele's mom got her introduction to the Pacific during our trip to PA and the coast. She loved it...

What You're Missing

2009-06-04T05:03:00.002-07:00

If you don't get up at 4:45 in the morning that is...

Maybe I Should Try Acting My Age...

2009-05-31T21:56:00.002-07:00

...because I sure don't have this down yet. I spent 45 minute or so at the NSCC parking lot this morning trying to figure out how to slide my latest longboard before I had to go pick up Kathy at the train station. I've been getting some good pointers from the interwebs. I think my next time out will be magical. Fingers crossed.

The Tour de Fat is Coming!

2009-05-31T06:48:00.007-07:00

It's not until 8/8 but I'm already excited, and so is Whole Foods. This will be my year to recapture the slow ride crown.

Deck #3 All Done

2009-05-29T17:09:00.002-07:00

I finished my third deck. This one is for me, it's low to the ground and easy to push. Not quite as surfy as my other board nor is it as flexy. Took it out for it's inaugural run around Greenlake earlier today with Shannon and it rode just the way I was hoping.And I should add that I'm finally getting over the sickness. Life is good.

The Sickness

2009-05-24T12:51:00.004-07:00

It just fucking figures. I've got no class from Thursday night to Tuesday night and my ass is sick. Heavy congestion, body aches, and no will to move. Fuck.In other news, I'm almost done with board number two. It'll be out the door by the middle of next week and I'm ready to start on number three. After that I've got something really special planned for number four and after that, who knows?

Back from NOLA

2009-05-19T17:18:00.004-07:00

Holy shit that was a fun trip. Crazy Joe rented a bad ass house in Arabi(St. Bernard Parish) for a bunch of us to share. In the house we had Joe, Lara, Shannon, John, Eithne, Atticus, and me. I got in Friday night around 10 or so and picked up the rental car just in time to grab John, Eithne, and Atticus from baggage claim. After getting lost on the way to the house we finally got there right

Ready for NOLA

2009-05-15T06:59:00.001-07:00

I'm headed to the airport right after English class. Lara, Shannon, and the Barton/Reyher clan will all be there. Oh yeah, and Crazy Joe, he rented a house for all of us to share, should be a kick in the pants. Threw together a little bag to help get my board there.

Tire Whoa!(s)

2009-05-12T16:18:00.004-07:00

Quick note on the Spokane trip. The Nanoraptors were a great choice for rolling around town but I don't think I've been in the dirt on a worse set of meats in years. The High Drive trails consist mostly of a thin layer of loose sand/small gravel over hardpack and the tires just couldn't cut through at all. I was having a lot of trouble climbing anything steep in my usual monkey man style and