Enjoy.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Flowers on Simone's Birthday
I took some photos of flowers on Simone's birthday, and some turned out pretty well. I could see that a real macro lens would help (slightly larger depth of field would be great).
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Simone is six!!!!!
Holy moly, Simone turned six just two weeks ago. Crazy.
The day before her birthday, they celebrated at school. The kids all got to eat fruit and whipped cream, and then at the end of the day, there was a short ceremony with a story and some candle lighting. Mary and I told Simone of memories we had of her from each of the 6 years of her life. Here's a photo of Simone with her teacher, Ms. Anne Marie:
Later that day I got a good shot of Mary and Simone sitting in the chair together (not really birthday related).
On the morning of her birthday, she wore her birthday crown and opened presents throughout the day. Presents were definitely on the top of her list of best things about the day.
Then we had apple puff pancake, with candles, and of course, the "You are special today" plate.
Grandpa made a doll house for Simone, and some of the family bought doll furniture/playset to help fill out the dollhouse. It's been lots of fun.
We then took a family walk through campus. Last summer an artist made willow structures on campus, and we had a good time walking through them. (yay Google, I found him): Patrick Dougherty. Simone and Mary posed with Daisy for me.
Simone found one of the huge rhododendrons to climb under, it was at least 20' high.
We had a lovely lunch at Sam's Station, and after that went to look at the Little Free Library a friend of Mary's put up.
We got home just in time to head over to Memere and Pepere's house for dinner and cupcakes. Simone got to decorate the cupcakes.
And, of course, she got to blow out the crazy candles:
After dinner she tried out the little two-wheeled scooter. We went down the block and back, she had a great time and really started to get the hang of it by the end.
All in all, a successful birthday. I can't believe there have been 6 of them so far.
(One of) my favorite memories of Simone this last year was while riding with her on the trail-a-long bike, and she asked if we could go to Avery park and ride the dirt path. She was very excited to do it, and asks to ride on the trail-a-long (well call it tag-a-long) pretty frequently. Today we rode it to Bald Hill, did a little dirt loop out there twice, and came home - nearly 10 miles in all. Check it out.
The day before her birthday, they celebrated at school. The kids all got to eat fruit and whipped cream, and then at the end of the day, there was a short ceremony with a story and some candle lighting. Mary and I told Simone of memories we had of her from each of the 6 years of her life. Here's a photo of Simone with her teacher, Ms. Anne Marie:
Later that day I got a good shot of Mary and Simone sitting in the chair together (not really birthday related).
On the morning of her birthday, she wore her birthday crown and opened presents throughout the day. Presents were definitely on the top of her list of best things about the day.
Then we had apple puff pancake, with candles, and of course, the "You are special today" plate.
Grandpa made a doll house for Simone, and some of the family bought doll furniture/playset to help fill out the dollhouse. It's been lots of fun.
We then took a family walk through campus. Last summer an artist made willow structures on campus, and we had a good time walking through them. (yay Google, I found him): Patrick Dougherty. Simone and Mary posed with Daisy for me.
Simone found one of the huge rhododendrons to climb under, it was at least 20' high.
We had a lovely lunch at Sam's Station, and after that went to look at the Little Free Library a friend of Mary's put up.
We got home just in time to head over to Memere and Pepere's house for dinner and cupcakes. Simone got to decorate the cupcakes.
And, of course, she got to blow out the crazy candles:
After dinner she tried out the little two-wheeled scooter. We went down the block and back, she had a great time and really started to get the hang of it by the end.
All in all, a successful birthday. I can't believe there have been 6 of them so far.
(One of) my favorite memories of Simone this last year was while riding with her on the trail-a-long bike, and she asked if we could go to Avery park and ride the dirt path. She was very excited to do it, and asks to ride on the trail-a-long (well call it tag-a-long) pretty frequently. Today we rode it to Bald Hill, did a little dirt loop out there twice, and came home - nearly 10 miles in all. Check it out.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Sisters Stampede
A couple of weekends I go I had a race in Sisters OR - the Sisters Stampede. I guess it's been happening for a few years now - obviously the first year for me.
As it was Simone's birthday the day before, and Memorial day tends to be chilly, we decided not to camp out, but instead to drive over on the day of the race.
The day was gorgeous, but not too hot, and it'd rained the day before, so the infamous eastern Oregon dust was kept to a minimum.
As it was only my second race, I didn't really know what to do - I certainly don't have a rhythm or ritual. I registered, hit the portapotty, said "hi" to the few Team Dirt folks I saw, and casually dressed. Simone and Mary said their goodbyes and wandered off as I hopped on my bike for a warm-up.
I rode about a mile and a half of the course, mostly just trailing groups of other people, getting used to the soft sandy dirt and the uneven terrain. The race was supposed to be pretty flat (compared to Willamette valley riding) and fast - though I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone who'd ridden it the day before.
I finished my warm-up just as the Cat 3 folks were racing toward me (they started 30 minutes before the rest of the field) and headed over to the start area.
I saw Simone and Mary near the helicopter - which took off seconds later to go rescue one of the Cat3 people, told them I'd see them at the finish line, and I went to the start line.
As opposed to a very staged start (10 stages were mentioned on the web site), they lumped us into just 4 or 5. Pro & Cat1, Cat2 Men & Single Speed, Clydesdales, and Cat2 Women. So the start was this huge sea of people, and just like the Mudslinger, the Clydesdales were all mixed in with the Cat2 Women and most of us didn't start on time. Key learning: assert yourself to be in position for a good start, even if it's the 2nd to last wave.
So I was off, racing like mad because I wanted to get in a good position before the singletrack started. The general layout of the course was mostly flat and up until it began the mostly down hill 2nd half, and the first 5 miles or so were doubletrack/road, and once you were in the singletrack - there was very little opportunity for passing.
I wasn't the first Clydesdale, but I was in the front pack - along with two tandems (still have no idea how they weave in and out of trees, pretty impressive), and after a couple of minutes we caught up to the end of the Cat2 Men. I settled in to conserve a little energy and pass when an opening happened on the doubletrack. There was a Clydesdale ahead of me that I tried to catch for a good 7 miles, and he was always one or two people ahead of me. Every time I'd get on his wheel, he'd slip between a couple riders and the hole would close up. Key learning: find someone to chase and pass - helps keep the focus early on.
After a while the crowd thinned out a bit and we headed into the singletrack. Up to that point I was generally faster than the people I was riding with (passing many more than passed me), but in the windy singletrack I definitely slowed down just a little bit. While we were continuing up I held my own pretty well, but during the descents I lost a little ground each time. Luckily in the first half, most of the singletrack was climbing or flat.
We began encountering small rock gardens. I haven't ridden around rocks like this since Moab - and my pedal placement was a little off. As a result, I knocked my left foot off the pedal 4 times during the race, though luckily not at critical moments and not very jarringly. At two spots I pansied out and put a foot down, loudly apologizing to the people behind me, but not really worrying about them b/c I was in front and they weren't. There were a few places where people got really knocked around on the rocks and I got a couple of passes there (mostly by running my bike through the log jam of people). Key learning: practice going through rock gardens, remember to maintain momentum.
It was about this time I lost sight of the Clydesdale I had been following. I didn't get his number - though I like to imagine he placed first.
The rest of the climb was very pleasant, riding up roads (passing folks) and singletrack. I'd chat with people on the road, and although they were friendly and talked back, nobody else initiated a conversation.
About 45 minutes into the race, going uphill on a road, a skinny, uber-fit Cat2 Woman flew by me. In the end, she didn't finish but a few minutes ahead of me, but at that moment it was like I was standing still. The second Cat2 Woman followed less than a minute later. I thought it would be the beginning of an onslaught, but I didn't see but two more women racers, and they didn't show up for another 30 minutes (and in the end, only one passed me).
As we reached the top and rode along the ridge, I had some beautiful views of the Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor (?), which would have been really nice to look at, if I took a pause. This race was so different than the Mudslinger in that I was continually telling myself, "push it, push it" - there was very little coasting, and every time I caught myself coasting on anything but windy singletrack, I immediately began pedaling to try to pass someone.
The downhill was a little more challenging for me. I've been trying to pick up tips on how to descend faster and more confidently - and the course was perfect for practicing this. Lots and lots of windy turns at speed - but relatively flat, so you didn't immediately pick up speed if you let off the brakes. I'm sure the Cat1 folks barely touched theirs and pedaled most of the time.
I let one guy pass me who asked, and I kept up with him for quite a while (we still had some rolling terrain), but eventually he put distance between us. At that point, I was always one of the people who had a train of 2-4 people behind me. I tried not to think about it much, but every time I made a mistake I'd verbally abuse myself - feeling guilty for slowing folks down. That said, only one other person asked to pass, and I let her pass (ladies first, after all). The couple of times we hit road on the way down, the people in line behind me wouldn't keep up with me on the road, so they remained stuck. Key learning: people are behind you because they were too slow to get in front, it's their responsibility to pass - not yours to let them pass.
The rest of the downhill was just linking turn after turn after turn - I felt a little like I was skiing.
At one point I got some song stuck in my head that Simone had been singing for an HOUR on the way to the race... Oh right, it was a single line from the musical Annie, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you're always a day a-way." over and over. I recognized the pattern and worked hard to break out of it by thinking of another song I could mindlessly repeat to myself.
As we neared the end (which I only found out by asking people I was passing for the mileage) I tried to think of my finishing strategy. I didn't put a lot of thought into it, other than, "ride fast." And I did, passing several people. Nobody passed me in the last two miles - even the guy who had been asking to pass on the last section of singletrack.
Well, almost nobody.
Key learning: Look behind you near the finish to see what you're up against.
I got lazy and just began motoring, which felt pretty good, but I didn't know who was behind me. It turns out, another Clydesdale had caught up to me and was on my tail. I knew someone was back there but made the naive assumption it was just a Cat2 and I didn't care about that. Murphy's Law - of course it was a Clydesdale, and he passed me with 100 feet to go. At that point my legs were pretty spent and I didn't really have a surge left (classic rookie mistake I'm sure). So I got 10th (instead of 9th) out of 22.
I talked with the guy who passed me. First, he apologized for riding my wheel, which I said was no big deal - my fault for letting him past. And I noticed that even 5 minutes after we were finished, he was still trying to recover - still breathing really hard. So, at least compared to him, my aerobic conditioning was pretty good, I just needed to save a little in reserve. Key learning: save a little for a kick at the end.
Also, I was only 1min45sec out of 4th place, which is pretty good for a 2 hour race, especially considering the rumor I heard that a number of the Clydesdales started with the Cat2 guys. This actually seems consistent with what I remember from the start - but a handful of people in front of me, and only 1 or 2 Clydesdales passed me (and I passed a couple on the trail). I certainly don't remember 10 people in front of me at the start. Oh well.
I texted Mary and Simone to let them know I was done, ate a bunch of food for recovery, and chatted with people.
I realized that my food of choice: homemade energy balls, while tasty, were difficult to eat on the trail. I might go back to Clif Shot Bloks - which I think are super tasty and would be easier to eat during the race.
Other than that, I was pretty pleased with the race. It was way fun, it was way fast. I'll definitely race there again next year.
As it was Simone's birthday the day before, and Memorial day tends to be chilly, we decided not to camp out, but instead to drive over on the day of the race.
The day was gorgeous, but not too hot, and it'd rained the day before, so the infamous eastern Oregon dust was kept to a minimum.
As it was only my second race, I didn't really know what to do - I certainly don't have a rhythm or ritual. I registered, hit the portapotty, said "hi" to the few Team Dirt folks I saw, and casually dressed. Simone and Mary said their goodbyes and wandered off as I hopped on my bike for a warm-up.
I rode about a mile and a half of the course, mostly just trailing groups of other people, getting used to the soft sandy dirt and the uneven terrain. The race was supposed to be pretty flat (compared to Willamette valley riding) and fast - though I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone who'd ridden it the day before.
I finished my warm-up just as the Cat 3 folks were racing toward me (they started 30 minutes before the rest of the field) and headed over to the start area.
I saw Simone and Mary near the helicopter - which took off seconds later to go rescue one of the Cat3 people, told them I'd see them at the finish line, and I went to the start line.
As opposed to a very staged start (10 stages were mentioned on the web site), they lumped us into just 4 or 5. Pro & Cat1, Cat2 Men & Single Speed, Clydesdales, and Cat2 Women. So the start was this huge sea of people, and just like the Mudslinger, the Clydesdales were all mixed in with the Cat2 Women and most of us didn't start on time. Key learning: assert yourself to be in position for a good start, even if it's the 2nd to last wave.
So I was off, racing like mad because I wanted to get in a good position before the singletrack started. The general layout of the course was mostly flat and up until it began the mostly down hill 2nd half, and the first 5 miles or so were doubletrack/road, and once you were in the singletrack - there was very little opportunity for passing.
I wasn't the first Clydesdale, but I was in the front pack - along with two tandems (still have no idea how they weave in and out of trees, pretty impressive), and after a couple of minutes we caught up to the end of the Cat2 Men. I settled in to conserve a little energy and pass when an opening happened on the doubletrack. There was a Clydesdale ahead of me that I tried to catch for a good 7 miles, and he was always one or two people ahead of me. Every time I'd get on his wheel, he'd slip between a couple riders and the hole would close up. Key learning: find someone to chase and pass - helps keep the focus early on.
After a while the crowd thinned out a bit and we headed into the singletrack. Up to that point I was generally faster than the people I was riding with (passing many more than passed me), but in the windy singletrack I definitely slowed down just a little bit. While we were continuing up I held my own pretty well, but during the descents I lost a little ground each time. Luckily in the first half, most of the singletrack was climbing or flat.
We began encountering small rock gardens. I haven't ridden around rocks like this since Moab - and my pedal placement was a little off. As a result, I knocked my left foot off the pedal 4 times during the race, though luckily not at critical moments and not very jarringly. At two spots I pansied out and put a foot down, loudly apologizing to the people behind me, but not really worrying about them b/c I was in front and they weren't. There were a few places where people got really knocked around on the rocks and I got a couple of passes there (mostly by running my bike through the log jam of people). Key learning: practice going through rock gardens, remember to maintain momentum.
It was about this time I lost sight of the Clydesdale I had been following. I didn't get his number - though I like to imagine he placed first.
The rest of the climb was very pleasant, riding up roads (passing folks) and singletrack. I'd chat with people on the road, and although they were friendly and talked back, nobody else initiated a conversation.
About 45 minutes into the race, going uphill on a road, a skinny, uber-fit Cat2 Woman flew by me. In the end, she didn't finish but a few minutes ahead of me, but at that moment it was like I was standing still. The second Cat2 Woman followed less than a minute later. I thought it would be the beginning of an onslaught, but I didn't see but two more women racers, and they didn't show up for another 30 minutes (and in the end, only one passed me).
As we reached the top and rode along the ridge, I had some beautiful views of the Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor (?), which would have been really nice to look at, if I took a pause. This race was so different than the Mudslinger in that I was continually telling myself, "push it, push it" - there was very little coasting, and every time I caught myself coasting on anything but windy singletrack, I immediately began pedaling to try to pass someone.
The downhill was a little more challenging for me. I've been trying to pick up tips on how to descend faster and more confidently - and the course was perfect for practicing this. Lots and lots of windy turns at speed - but relatively flat, so you didn't immediately pick up speed if you let off the brakes. I'm sure the Cat1 folks barely touched theirs and pedaled most of the time.
I let one guy pass me who asked, and I kept up with him for quite a while (we still had some rolling terrain), but eventually he put distance between us. At that point, I was always one of the people who had a train of 2-4 people behind me. I tried not to think about it much, but every time I made a mistake I'd verbally abuse myself - feeling guilty for slowing folks down. That said, only one other person asked to pass, and I let her pass (ladies first, after all). The couple of times we hit road on the way down, the people in line behind me wouldn't keep up with me on the road, so they remained stuck. Key learning: people are behind you because they were too slow to get in front, it's their responsibility to pass - not yours to let them pass.
The rest of the downhill was just linking turn after turn after turn - I felt a little like I was skiing.
At one point I got some song stuck in my head that Simone had been singing for an HOUR on the way to the race... Oh right, it was a single line from the musical Annie, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you're always a day a-way." over and over. I recognized the pattern and worked hard to break out of it by thinking of another song I could mindlessly repeat to myself.
As we neared the end (which I only found out by asking people I was passing for the mileage) I tried to think of my finishing strategy. I didn't put a lot of thought into it, other than, "ride fast." And I did, passing several people. Nobody passed me in the last two miles - even the guy who had been asking to pass on the last section of singletrack.
Well, almost nobody.
Key learning: Look behind you near the finish to see what you're up against.
I got lazy and just began motoring, which felt pretty good, but I didn't know who was behind me. It turns out, another Clydesdale had caught up to me and was on my tail. I knew someone was back there but made the naive assumption it was just a Cat2 and I didn't care about that. Murphy's Law - of course it was a Clydesdale, and he passed me with 100 feet to go. At that point my legs were pretty spent and I didn't really have a surge left (classic rookie mistake I'm sure). So I got 10th (instead of 9th) out of 22.
I talked with the guy who passed me. First, he apologized for riding my wheel, which I said was no big deal - my fault for letting him past. And I noticed that even 5 minutes after we were finished, he was still trying to recover - still breathing really hard. So, at least compared to him, my aerobic conditioning was pretty good, I just needed to save a little in reserve. Key learning: save a little for a kick at the end.
Also, I was only 1min45sec out of 4th place, which is pretty good for a 2 hour race, especially considering the rumor I heard that a number of the Clydesdales started with the Cat2 guys. This actually seems consistent with what I remember from the start - but a handful of people in front of me, and only 1 or 2 Clydesdales passed me (and I passed a couple on the trail). I certainly don't remember 10 people in front of me at the start. Oh well.
I texted Mary and Simone to let them know I was done, ate a bunch of food for recovery, and chatted with people.
I realized that my food of choice: homemade energy balls, while tasty, were difficult to eat on the trail. I might go back to Clif Shot Bloks - which I think are super tasty and would be easier to eat during the race.
Other than that, I was pretty pleased with the race. It was way fun, it was way fast. I'll definitely race there again next year.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Happy Mother's Day
Last weekend was Mother's Day, and a gorgeous day it was.
Not only did we play with A Barrel of Monkeys, we played Connect 4, and introduced Simone to the Magic 8 ball - oh I should have gotten that on video. Simone was entranced with the answers that were coming back.
After I went on an awesome ride in the forest, we drove to Dancing Oaks, which was giving tours of their grounds. We'd never been there and figured it'd be a good excuse - plus they were giving away plants to all the mothers.
They have bunches of pretty plants, and they're located out in the hills way north of Corvallis (there are some stunning views out there). We all had a good time (Simone was happy to see the treats, not so excited about the plants).
While we were there we saw Mary's friend who'd actually recommended the nursery (long before Mother's day), and we ran into some other friends too. The second set of friends were heading further north to Falls City where The Bread Board makes pizzas in their wood-fired oven.
Not to turn our noses up to a good idea, we drove out there and had amazing pizza - the best I've had in years.
All in all, a great Mother's day. Here are some pics:
 |
| Simone's First Experience With A Barrel of Monkeys |
 |
| Filbert by Simone |
 |
| Trying to be Artsy |
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
My little helper
Simone is quite adept at helping with all sorts of things now. This past Sunday we woke up and worked on my mountain bike a bit before breakfast. On Saturday I picked up two water bottle cages (somehow I've gone without them for 7 years...) and Simone installed one on my mountain bike. Other than the initial turn to loosen the bolts, and the final tightening turn, Simone did the whole thing.
Then she sat in the sunshine and had tea and toast for breakfast while I worked on replacing the shifting cables on my bike.
You'll notice the pink construction hat - we picked it up at the farmer's market the day before. She was wearing it because it's her "work" hat.
Then she sat in the sunshine and had tea and toast for breakfast while I worked on replacing the shifting cables on my bike.
 |
| Taking the bolts out |
 |
| Putting it all together |
 |
| Happy to complete the job |
Hiking In The Clouds
A week into the new year I hiked up Dimple Hill (which I used to do weekly with Hazel) through the clouds. I didn't get out quite as early as I wanted, so some of the clouds were gone by the time I made it to the top, but it was still a gorgeous day and hike.
I used to hike this trail once or twice a week - even before Hazel came along. It was a great workout as it goes pretty much straight up 1000' and takes 25-30 minutes. It's how I got into shape for climbing Hood with Sam.
 |
| Hiking up into the clouds |
 |
| A view from (near) the top |
 |
| Love the spider web |
 |
| Roads half way down |
 |
| Bend in the trail, at an old logging boundary |
 |
| Back down into the clouds |
A Fine New Year's Day Hike
New Year's Day was beautiful. Mary, Simone, and I went on a hike in King's Valley at Beazell Park. We've hiked there before, and it's lovely. The hikes are pretty short and not very challenging - good for a 5 year old (though at times it was like trying to herd a cat...).
We did a little loop which ended up crossing a stream, going through some Oak forest, a newly planted fir forest, and past a gazebo. I believe all had a good time - we even got a little family photo.
I'll have you notice - this is probably the last photo of me wearing glasses as I had Lasik not two weeks later.
We did a little loop which ended up crossing a stream, going through some Oak forest, a newly planted fir forest, and past a gazebo. I believe all had a good time - we even got a little family photo.
I'll have you notice - this is probably the last photo of me wearing glasses as I had Lasik not two weeks later.
 |
| Singing into a "microphone" we found. |
 |
| Nifty Bark |
 |
| The gals posing for me |
 |
| Family photo - I looked the same in all of them |
 |
| Entering the planted forest |
 |
| Tree pose in the trees |
 |
| Climbing in an oak |
 |
| Mary phto-bombing Simone |
 |
| Playing on the bridge crossing a tiny stream |
 |
| Standing in the stream |
Snow In March
Not only did I get to ride in snow several times this spring, we got enough snow in Corvallis one day for Mary and Simone to build a snow-cat!
A Walk In February
Wow, I've taken nearly no pictures this year. I just looked at my camera and found some from Thanksgiving!!!
One particularly fine day in February, Mary, Simone and I took a lovely walk through town - lunch at Sam's station if I recall correctly. I took a few photos.
One particularly fine day in February, Mary, Simone and I took a lovely walk through town - lunch at Sam's station if I recall correctly. I took a few photos.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
FBI and Bombs
It was just May Day, and five guys were arrested by the FBI for attempting to blow up a bridge in Ohio.
The first thing that occurred to me was that they weren't charged with terrorism - whereas the guy in Oregon who tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas celebration (same thing, no?) was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. What's the difference in these cases??? My bet is white guys versus non-white.
The other thought I had was that this is yet another case where the FBI works for months to set up a string to get people to try to blow up bombs. It just seems that they're putting a lot of effort into convince people to buy bombs and then (attempt to) blow them up, as opposed to actually catching people who are making/detonating bombs on their own. The FBI claims it's preventing countless terrorist attacks ... but it just seems like entrapment for the sake of good publicity. Let's see them actually catch someone who has a bomb that they didn't get from the FBI in the first place. That would be saving us from terrorist attacks.
The first thing that occurred to me was that they weren't charged with terrorism - whereas the guy in Oregon who tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas celebration (same thing, no?) was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. What's the difference in these cases??? My bet is white guys versus non-white.
The other thought I had was that this is yet another case where the FBI works for months to set up a string to get people to try to blow up bombs. It just seems that they're putting a lot of effort into convince people to buy bombs and then (attempt to) blow them up, as opposed to actually catching people who are making/detonating bombs on their own. The FBI claims it's preventing countless terrorist attacks ... but it just seems like entrapment for the sake of good publicity. Let's see them actually catch someone who has a bomb that they didn't get from the FBI in the first place. That would be saving us from terrorist attacks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
