The Day after Xmas

The day after Xmas was simpler for me than it was for lot's of folks. We stayed home and had no plans to go anywhere. Santa was good to the kids. They were up and at it right away on Xmas day. We did the whole Santa thing up good. Cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and pizza and carrots for Rudolph and the gang. I even got up on top of the garage and made sleigh tracks in the snow. Just like everywhere else though, it rained the whole day here and had us stuck in the house. Some friends stopped by in the afternoon and we shared some beers and some Veggie Beef stew I had cooking in the crockpot. Good stuff.


The girls enjoying Ellen's Little People Treehouse from Santa

The day after brought on a small bout of cabin fever for me. Having heard the My Little Pony theme song for the 200th time probably didn't help. So as the kids continued to play with their new goodies, and as Stacey broke into OCD mode (which is normal when her parents or brother are coming to stay with us) I took off on a ride. Put down about 24 miles of ice and snow riding. It was a beautiful day. I just gotta get my fatt ass back into shape. I didn't like what the scale told me this morning. So for the moment, I'm pretty dedicated to the cause.



Self Portrait


Rosedale Road Hill. Beautiful views with snow and ice on the trees.


Ankle band with Emergency Contact info on the back. In case a motorists purposefully or accidentally decides to mow me down.


Another Self Portrait. Otis Road is pretty boring.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

I hope you are too. We drove through some crap yesterday that scared me enough, and that was nothing compared to what this storm seems to be brewing up. Kinda funny how the little ones change your thinking on such matters. We left Des Moines from a Schwartz family Xmas. We thought we could get out in front of the storm, but we couldn't. By the time I realized we were hosed, we were already too far to make any sense out of turning back. We made it to Williamsburg. There's a nice little convenience store there. The girls terrorized the place, but it was a cheerful terrorization, so I didn't make too big of a deal out of it. Finally, we decided to dig out my laptop and a movie. This did did the trick until the storm passed and the plows went through.


Mara and Ellen watching Rudolph at a convenience store. Technology :)




Three years ago my sister and her husband (boyfriend or fiance then) rolled their car on their way back from a Xmas gathering. They made out okay, but obviously that could have went either way. Point is, it's just not worth it folks. It's nice to see family around the holidays, but it shouldn't be for the wrong reasons.

Catastrophe Averted!!!

Stacey and I had grand plans of getting our shopping done early this year, but as usual we procrastinated. Mara has been asking for this useless multipiece made in China overpriced pieces of plastic called Ponyville Amusement Park since before she could pronounce Amusement correctly. We thought this summer that it was a phase and would be replaced in her mind by the holiday toy de jour. But the Ponyville Amusement Park has prevailed despite its tenure at the top of Santa's list. So I set out yesterday in full force to find it. Starting of course, at my computer. Not available anywhere I could find. Fine, I thought. I know they have it at Target because I saw it there before (when Mara was with me). I go to Target mid afternoon expecting not to encounter the kind of pedestrian traffic (not to mention the lazy fat-asses on those little carts. Those carts aren't for you fat-ass, those are for people who can't walk, not those who just don't want to) that sends me into homicidal rage. I was wrong. On top of the annoying idiots on their phones taking up the whole aisle with themselves and their carts, Ponyville Amusement Park was nowhere to be found. I left Target angry and empty handed. Same thing at Walmart, except add the element of trashiness that Walmart inherently provides. I went home defeated. I'm not one that desires to spoil my kids with material things, but Mara really wants this. So Stacey put out a Ritter APB on Ponyville Amusement Park. I thought to myself, "There's no way." This must be the Tickle Me Elmo equivelant for us this year. But I was wrong.

Good ol' Aunt Dani to the rescue. Apparently Aunt Dani extended the APB to her co-workers and alas. The call came in at 6:40am. Ponyville Amusement Park had been located by one of Dani's fellow office workers on some relatively obscure toy website. Stacey armed with Blackberry, debit card, and laptop went to battle and procured Ponyville Amusement Park. Christmas has been saved. Thanks Aunt Dani!!!!!!

Let it snow

Got out for a lunch ride today figuring this would be it for singletrack around here with the snow coming and all. Peaceful out there in the woods. I love riding in the snow, but after today it'll be at least hub deep if the forecast holds up.

Some pics at Stacey's request

Stacey hung out in Des Moines all weekend with the kids and Gramma S. while I went on a drunken tirade with my brother in Ames. The girls went with Stacey, Gramma, Brian, Jen, and Annabelle to the park on Saturday and seem to have had a good time.

The kids are in a stage where they aren't sure if they like me right now. It's all good with me most of the time since I know it's just a natural phase. I'm finding ways around it without giving in to things I know I shouldn't (cookies, toys, etc.).

On a positive note, the girls are in another new daycare. The last one just wasn't working out. It was too far away from home and I really didn't like the care they were getting. The new one seems to be working out great. The girls seem happier and they actually want to go there. Potty training is in full speed ahead mode with Ellen. I vaguely remember this time with Mara. Preparing for accidents and confusion but really, really looking forward to not having to deal with diapers anymore.

Sunday Dirty Sunday

The need for the restoration of my sanity amongst muddy single track trails and days and days of rain led me to a 20 mile gravel ride on Sunday morning. I'm liking gravel rides more and more all the time. It sure beats the crap out of riding on the paved road, which I find slightly dangerous and extremely boring especially when bar stops are not part of the plan. Secondly, when single track trails aren't good for riding, at least you're out there in the country where strange and beautiful sights are plentiful. But the one thing I've found myself seeking out is Level B service roads. These roads are iffy in my 4x4 truck, let alone riding through them on a skinny wheeled cross bike. I rode down this one about 12 miles into my ride. I made it this far on my pedals. What you can't see behind me in this picture is the 1/2 mile worth of swamp I walked through to get back to dry road.






This little bridge provided a perfect place to take a rest. Lot's of critter tracks in the mud. Beautiful fall farmland lanscapes all around, and not a soul in sight from where I was standing. Like I said, I walked most of the way back to dry road, but I still tried. Wheels got so caked with mud they wouldn't even turn and the bike must've weighed 40 lbs. Those 1/4 fenders I have on the bike are pretty much worthless other than for the occasional mud puddle.


The rest of Sunday was a good day even though the Bears got their asses handed to them. Had some friends over to watch the game and enjoy some beers and pizza. Mara has a new friend down the street, and her parents like to drink beer and are Bears fans. Too bad they aren't mountain bikers, but 2 out of three ain't bad.


Potty training with Ellen continues to be an excersise in futility. Not sure what to do. Getting a little frustrated, but experts still say that the child has to want to. And she still has no problem walking around with a turd in her pants at this point.

The End is Near

Another riding season has came and went. I'm ending this season the way I have my last two. Happy I get to ride as much as I do, but wanting to do more next year. Again my list of places I wanted to ride but didn't:

Landahl, Kansas City
Levis Trow Mounds, Wisconsin
Brown County Indiana
Central Michigan

The first two should've been easy, the second two would've been a stretch. But the worst part about this year is that I did more riding alone than I ever have. It was a combination of situations where my friends are as busy as I am but at different times, and sometimes I just don't have the patience to wait for people. Either on the trail or working around schedules.

Again this year I have racing in mind next year, but like this year the time will probably come and won't want to do it. It eats up weekends and training is training, not riding. We'll see, but a couple 24 hour races wouldn't be bad at all.

We still have a few rides left this year, but after work rides require lights now. That's okay cuz night rides rock, but it's just not the same. Gotta get my winter riding gear out and get some studded tires on the way for ice riding too.

Decorah Trip

Heading to Decorah this weekend for some camping and riding. Gonna be fucking cold, but that's the way it goes. This is my only weekend to do it before the leaves start covering the trails. Hopefully will have some pics and some good stories by Sunday.

Daddy's little helper

I was supposed to be in charge of (partially anyway) a race at Beverly Park on Saturday and volunteering at a race on Sunday at Sugarbottom. I'm too fat and slow to think about actually racing right now, so I'll do the next best thing by facilitating. Unfortuntately, mother nature had other plans for us. We decided on Friday night to cancel Saturday and Sunday's events, which left the family and I with no plans. Turned out to be a good thing, because my yard looked like shit and I had some things to do around the house. As usual Ellen was up early and in good spirits, so she was my right hand girl for the day. I had a bunch of apples from the tree to pick up, leaves to rake, and recycling to take in. So Ellen helped me rake:



After that we loaded up the truck with our leaf bags and two months worth of beer bottles to take back to recycling. I get funny looks when I take my bottles back. Truth is, I do drink more beer than the average bear, but I also keep a recyling bin in the back of my truck for Moutain Biking events. Keeps the park clean and the bottles get recycled like they should rather than put in the trash.

I took Ellen's car seat out of the van and put it in my truck. She had never sat in the front seat before and absolutely loved being able to see everything in front of her. When we left the driveway, I gave the truck some gas. The truck lurched forward in a way the van is not capable of. Ellen loved it and put her arms up like you would on a rollercoaster. It was hilarious.


Here we go!



Bye Mommy!

After that Ellen and I headed to Menards. Had to get some caulk for the new door and windows, and we also figured out a way to block the hole Josey has been using in the neighbor's fence to get out of the yard.

Thought I should probably update this thing. Should be writing a paper right now, but I'd rather do this. Since my last post Ellen turned 3. We had a little party for both the girls up in Clear Lake, and then they both had their own little things just with us here at home. Ellen still really doesn't get it, but she likes to sing Happy Birthday. We got her some toys, and I came by yet another good deal on a kids bike. Got Mara a bigger bike back in August, but it's still just a bit too big for her liking. So I set out to find Ellen a deal on a 12" bike. I found one at a Local Bike shop. You could consider it a boys bike since it's red and has flames on it, but the way Ellen rides, i find it quite appropriate. The first time I put her on a bike after riding a trike for a while, she took off. I had to put down my coffee in a neighbors driveway and run after her because she doesn't know how to stop yet. The last couple of times we've gotten the bikes out, she likes to go around the block. She goes all the way around without stopping and she doens't like it when anyone is in front of her. I'm so proud. But I do have to go ahead of her at the corners to make sure she slows down for the turns.

Ellen and Daddy on the home stretch.

Ellen and Mara both like to ride their bikes in the driveway and garage now. We either block the end of the driveway with the van, or we just stretch the garden hose across the driveway and tell them not to go over it to keep them out of the street. Surprisingly, they both respect the garden hose boundary.

Mara and Ellen on bikes. (Mara's new bike, that she doesn't like yet).

We'll continue to work on this biking thing.

Lot's of other stuff has been going on. Went to Des Moines the last two weekends. Once for a family gig with the Schwartz's that ended up in Brian going to the ER on Saturday and Mara on Sunday.

If you were ever wondering what would happen if you tried to break on 8ft fall from a bridge to the bottom of a ravine, well, here ya go:

Brian followed me over a mountain biking obstacle, and didn't quite make it. But I really do admire him for giving it a go and taking his first broken nose like a man. From here on out, he's not quite the pretty boy he once was. His neck pain immediately following the crash bothered me. It bothered me alot. So we hiked out of there and called Jen to come and take him to the ER. I went back and tackled that skinny one more time in is honor. Funny thing happened though in all of this. Just a couple miles into the ride, Brian wasn't diggin' his dark glasses. So he took them off. Couple miles after that, he got a skeeter in his eye. My helmet has a visor on it that doubles as a skeeter blocker, so I gave him my amber lensed glasses to wear. Unfortunately, neither his helmet nor my glasses survived the crash. Dammit.

Mara developed a fever on Saturday and into Sunday. On Sunday whilst all the others were at church, I kept the kids at Pam and Gary's. I felt Mara's head after a while and she was burning up. Turned out to be a 105.2 degree fever. So with the advice of a friend, I took her to the ER. They helped get her fever down but did little else. Stacey took her to our doctor on Monday and it turned out she had Mono. I've never heard of a kid her age getting mono, but apparently it happens. She was out of school for a week, and we got some much appreciated help from Gramma K on Tuesday and Wednesday and from Gramma S on Friday. We really apprecitate the help. Mara is back to her old self again now.

Mara in the ER. This was the worst she looked. Good thing Doggy was with us.

Got a big weekend of bike races coming up. I'm stoked.

9/11

I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the twin towers of NYC. I was working with my cousin-in-law in Woodale IL. Just a smidge from Ohare. Stacey was working in downtown Chicago. She was in easy visual distance of the Sears Tower (she could also see the center of Soldier Field from her office. Go Bears.). When the sky was clear of all air traffic, the sky was eerily quiet. You don't notice a Jetliner taking off and landing every 35 seconds after a while until it stops momentarily. I remember not being worried about myself but wanting my wife to get the fuck out of downtown. Fast. Everything obviously turned out fine for us, but even though it may sound trite, I feel it's important to tip our brows to the folks that paid the ultimate price that day. They went to bed the evening before just like I'm about to. Thinking it'll be another average Tuesday. Some of them probably left for the day on a sour note with their kids and/or wives, unbeknowst to them that it would be the last time they ever see them again. I remember the patriotism that followed. The comraderie. The togetherness. It's sad that it took an event like that to make us all feel like that.

Been a long time

I've got no excuses for ignoring this blog. I haven't been particularly busy other than some travelling here and there. Been riding some bikes, drinking some beer, playing with the kids a lot, generally just laying low.


Went on a Family picnic one day.


Mara's B-Day Party at our house.


My Buddy Reed got married in August. It was a very simple wedding, and its simplicity in my opinion made it the most beautiful wedding I have seen or have been part of.


Stacey and I at the reception.

Finally I'd like to talk about the upcoming start of the NFL season. I don't do this very often, but I have to commend the Chicago front office for offloading ol' noodle arm to Denver.




Cutler may have a reputation as being a whiner, but Denver isn't exactly the most hospitable place to be a QB. Ever since Elway left, they have been waiting for his clone to show up out there and it just ain't gonna happen. I may eat my words, but all in all, Chicago is in better shape than they were at the end of last season. Opening night I'll be sittin right here with a pint of 1554 and some chicken wings. The NFC North is going to be a division to watch, though I'm hoping Adwewale Ogunleye takes Favre out once and for all.

Hot as hell this weekend to nobody's surprise. Helped the neighbors load their truck to move to MN on Friday. Sad to lose good neighbors. I just hope the new neighbors are quiet. I know there's a new privacy fence going in which means dogs, which may mean barking dogs, which would mean I need to start saving the apples that fall from our tree to throw at the barking dog. Just being pessimistic.

Spent quite a bit of Time at Beverly Park this weekend facilitating a race on the trails. A lot of work, but a good time nonetheless. A lot more people in the city are finding out what a gem of a park we have at Beverly. It's great to see people out there enjoying it and bringing their families with them.

Speaking of family fun, follow this link to some pics of our family picnic we had a while back:

http://www.lambaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=703

Awesome weekend at home

With the weather being perfect for camping last weekend, I demanded (okay I begged) that Stacey give me the green light to camp on Friday night. So I got it and took it. The fat beagle and I loaded up the Ford with bikes, burgers, and beer. I got about 25 miles in of Sugarbottom and was headed home by 9am on Saturday.

When I got home, the girls were in prime form so I took them to the farmer's market. We picked up some corn, cukes, squash, and zucchini. The girls managed to talk me into a stop for some rice crispy treats too.

Brian, Jen, and Annabelle joined us on Saturday evening. We had a nice time grilling brats and dogs. Cooked the sweet corn in the turkey fryer. We played some bags and made some smores on the fire. Great times. The girls sure love their new cousins.

It's On!

A big group of dirty rotten low life scumbag beer drinkin' brat eating mountain bikers are heading down to Sugarbottom tonight. We're gonna do some trail work and then hit the trail. Follow it all up with a BBQ and some brews. Gonna bring the lights. A bunch of people with HID lights oughta be a sight to see, which is what I'm hoping for. I love singletrack at night.

Home with Mara right now. Stacey stayed home with Ellen Monday. Mara is in good spirits now. Doc called in a antibiotic prescription figuring she has the same thing as Ellen, so we're good to go. Sucks when kids are sick. They just don't understand what's going on yet.

It's a beautiful day out there folks. Sieze it.

Blahbidy Blahbidy Blah

Pretty boring week around here really. Kids are doing good, Stacey's doing good, I'm doing good, Josey, well we're not sure about Josey, but she seems fine.

Had some problems with a patio door installation and still do. There are two pieces of plywood where our door used to be. The contractor putting the door in pointed out some structural issues that had to be fixed before the new door went in. He said he couldn't do the repairs. Luckily I have a riding buddy who is a contractor / handyman. As I'm shitting my knickers staring at a rotten rim joist and floor joist sill imagining my dining room floor falling into the basement, he pulls up in his truck, looks at it for 5 seconds and says, "That's no big deal. Relax." He says he can fit me in the next day if I'm willing to help him. No problem.



The next day we jacked up the floor from the basement and replaced all the rotten wood. We're good to go. I had to cut the deck down 2" in height. That's apparently what caused the whole problem.

So Saturday comes and the door installer is supposed to be here at 8:30am. Now, I don't know when in our society it became okay to be late all the time, but I've had just about enough of it. It's not okay to be late. It's disrespectful of other people's busy schedules. At the very least, the moment you realize you're going to be late, a phone call is in order. So 8:45 comes, 9:00 comes, and I call the guy's cell phone. He doesn't answer, which is strange because he's answered every other time I've called. So I call Home Depot, who arranged the contractor, they confirm that he was supposed to be there at 8:30, try to reach him, and can't. I call my contractor buddy and arrange for him to install the door on Monday. I go about my day and about 11am this contractor shows up. Starts acting like nothing is wrong and I ask him where he has been? He tells me was scheduled for 10am (keep in mind it's 11am now). I call his bullshit, he gives me attitude, and I tell him to get lost.

The highlight of my day was this for sure:



On Friday Mara said she wanted pink cupcakes, so we made them together. Awesome. They helped me mix, frost, and of course we had to have sprinkles.


Going riding today. LAMBA family picnic. The kids are calling it a bike party. It should be great.

I'm tired

Today marks the end of four straight weekends of travel for us. 1st three were in Clear Lake. Mom and Dad, I know you love us, but I'll bet you're going to enjoy a nice quiet house next weekend.

The first weekend we were up there was for a wedding. I "accidentally" forgot to pack any wedding worthy clothes, so I skipped out. Oops.

The next weekend was for a family reunion on Stacey's Mom's side of the family. The reunion only lasted a couple hours, then it was back to the house to chill for the rest of the day.

4th of July weekend was awesome, though the girls were shitheads most of the weekend. We hung around the house most of the time, but did venture out to the carnival and I even played a round of golf. The Clear Lake fireworks are absolutely awesome, and we have front row seats. Awesome.

This weekend was wedding weekend. Jill (my brother's stepdaughter) and Nick got married in Sioux City, and Stacey's cousin Melissa and her new husband Nick (yep, another Nick) got married in Galena. Melissa had asked us to let her have Mara and Ellen in the wedding as flower girls. She see's them a lot as she is a preschool teacher at their school. So that's the wedding we went to. It was a good time as well. This part of Stacey's family is certainly the partying side. My cousin Whitney helped us out with the kids, so Stacey and I could do a little partying, and that we did. Let's just say it was a rough morning for Stacey. Poor thing.

Next weekend. Nothing. I'm not going anywhere.

My Favorite Bike Ride of The Year

We got back from week two of 4 weeks of travel, (3 of which are in Clear Lake, and One in Galena so it's not so bad) around 4pm today. Spent the weekend at Clear Lake, although Mom and Dad weren't there. We had a family rebellion with Stacey's family. It was pretty nice out, and I got to bring beer, so all in all, not bad. We did our best to wear out Grampa's golf cart too going back and forth from PM Park and Cuddy and Kim's house.

We got to see Anna again, which is cool. Good to see other people going through the same shit you went through, plus she's cute.




When we got back, I spent a couple hours doing yard work. Then Mara and I were outside just the two of us. She said she wanted to ride her bike. So we tooled around the driveway for a while then we went around the block. She did great. At first when she thought she was going too fast, she would bail into the grass. Funny I thought. I was trying to teach her how to use the coaster brake, but is wasn't clicking. Then finally she got it. Then it was cool to stop, so that took a while to get over. She got tired about 3/4 of the way around the block and wanted to walk. I told her I'd give her an M&M when we got back if she finished. She said "Five M&M's", sounded like a fair deal to me, so we shook on it and she was back on the bike. Not long after, we got home and she hammed it up for the camera.

Crazy Bastard

This crazy bastard is a good friend of mine. Shared many pitchers with Canjo in my Des Moines and RAGBRAI days.

http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/hotnews/newsdisplay.asp?NewsID=3945

For My Mom. Turn your sound on.

In case you haven't seen this.

I must have watched this a gizillion times since it first surfaced on the internet. I wouldn't expect people who don't ride to understand how this dude gets his bike and body to do what he can. As a rider, I don't even understand how he does some of this stuff.

Rain Rain Go Away

Took the truck to work yesterday with my mountain bike in the back, all stoked to go to Sugarbottom after work. I stopped by the local store to pick up a 6 pack and a sandwich for post-ride libations when it started to sprinkle. Shit. Wouldn't ya know it. Nice all day, and it starts raining at 5pm. So I high-tailed it to Beverly Park for a couple laps. Got geared up in record time and took off. 2 miles in it started pouring. I finished the lap and headed out.

Rather than go home I went to where some friends were camping with there 5th wheel. I stopped there and had a few beers. Good times. Can't wait till I can get a camper. Forced relaxation is the idea. Got home in time to hang out with the kids before they went to bed. Mara was in rare form. It was awesome.

Got up early this morning with Ellen. We made fresh hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs. Yummmmm. We're heading to Dubuque here in a little bit to the River Museum. Should be a great time.

Random Stuff

• I am a new addict to Havarti Cheese. It goes great on anything cheese should go on and then some


• I am also addicted to New Belgium Skinny Dip. This is the best summer beer I have ever tasted:

• I am not riding my bike as much as I want to, but it as much as I think is reasonable
• I am excited for the upcoming Chicago Bears Season
• I don't know why everyone thought this was "the year" for the Cubs
• I'm glad Jay Leno is gone.
• I'm very happy for my Mom and Dad. They have worked very, very hard for what they have. No one has handed them anything. They've worked their asses off for everything they have.
• I miss my brother and sister. I think it's ridiculous that I've only seen both of my new nieces once, but it's my own fault.
• There is absolutely nothing more relaxing to me than a good bike ride, followed by a good beer and a campfire. That's heaven to me.
• If you still drive a Hummer H2, the likelihood of you being a douche bag is high. If you drive a Hummer H3, it's not a likelihood at all, it's a guarantee.
• Riding a bike to work is great, but riding one home from work is even better.
• I'm avoiding studying right now. Gotta go.

Lots going on

We've had a busy couple weeks and I've been pretty lazy about updating this so here ya go:

It's been nice enough out to get the pool out a couple of times. The girls love being in the water. Getting them out is a bit of a challenge. Ellen's teeth were chattering at one point and her lips were blue. When I asked her if she was cold she said "NO!!!!" Mara is not as excited about getting her head wet, but loves the pool just as much as Ellen. Me, I do my fatherly duty when they are in the pool. I keep my eye on them while putting my feet on the edge of the pool and crack open a cold one.

Mara playing in the pool.

Ellen eating turtle. Great Grampa Ritter would be proud.

Mara finished up preschool on Friday. They had a little "graduation" ceremony for all the kids. I couldn't make it, but Stacey made it. Mara has really come out of her shell in the last year. I never thought in a million years she would walk across a stage in front of a lot of people, but she did. She had to carry her bear of course.

Mara and her teacher, Miss Amy

Mara being a clown, exiting stage right.

The weather wasn't that great this weekend. I wanted to get a night of camping in on Saturday night, but that wasn't in the cards. I have a paper to write and mother nature had other plans too. I used to not care about the rain. Figured it was part of the deal, but I'd rather not deal with it now. It's not the rain itself, it's the mess afterwards. Firewood won't light, tent is all wet, chairs are wet, blah blah, blah. That camper I've been wanting would alleviate all of that nonsense. (Hint Hint Stacey). So instead of camping, I went to the library and wrote for my paper until I ran out of battery in my laptop. After that we decided to take the girls, check that, Stacey decided we were taking the girls to a carnival that Rockwell Collins was putting on. The girls had a great time playing on the inflatable stuff. Mara got to stand inside a firetruck, and they went for a little train wagon ride. They had a good time and we capped the night off with dinner at a brewpub that I like.

Ellen and Daddy on the big slide.

Mara says, "Me Too!"

Riding in the wagon train

They both loved this ride.

More proof of aging

Got on the bike a few times (other than the commute) last week, and I fear that the seemingly continuous deteriorating of my minisucs in both of my knees is going to at least hinder, if not end, my single-speed days. Rode Sugarbottom last night and the knees are screaming at me today.

Secondly, I went camping last night. Figured it wouldn't be too busy out there yet, but I was wrong. I got a spot and got set up after riding. Cooked some burgers over the fire and had a couple beers. And went to bed. Problem is, there were a couple of jackasses in the campground. One of them was playing music LOUD out of their car and another one actually had a stereo system going. I guess I've begun to equate holiday camping with going to the bars on New Years and St. Patty's day. Amateur night. I want nothing to do with it. I want peace and quiet. I haven't always been like that. There was a day when I was the jackass. If anybody understands the party life, it's me. So rather than flag down the ranger, I pulled up stakes, grabbed the fat beagle and went home.

Stacey Ridin' Singletrack

Christmas of 2004, I bought Stacey her first mountain bike. I remember telling her I wanted her to experience the sport that seemingly takes up every minute of free time I have so that she can hopefully join me in my experiences. A week later we found out Mara was on the way, and her bike has seen nothing but pavement since. That ended today. Our local Mountain Biking club led a Ladies ride for women of all abilities. Stacey signed up and joined in. I have spent many days, and put a lot of time into the trail system at Beverly Park. The fact that my wife's first MTB experience was on trails that I helped create made her first day of mountain biking all the more special. While Stacey was riding, I brought the kids home from Clear Lake. Mom and Dad met me in Waverly to cut the drive in half. We met Stacey at the park. The kids loved running up and down the trail. The finished the day off by playing in a mud puddle. They were absolutely filthy and were loving every minute of it. Grandma S may have fainted if she saw how dirty they were. Don't have any pics of the muddy kids, but here are some pics of Stacey:

Other weekend news, Mara and Ellen spent the weekend at Grandpa and Grandma Kehrt's house while Stacey and I spent a quiet weekend at home. The highlight of the weekend, other than Stacey's ride, was our night out at the Stone City Pub. As of last night, I declare this place my favorite place in the CR area. It's a little restaurant and pub in the middle of nowhere. The food was awesome, the staff was awesome, and the beers were awesome. It's in a cool little building right on the Wapsi river.

Soccer

Mara has had a couple of "practices" now, and I gotta say, this league is pretty lame. A bunch of high school kids with no direction trying to reason with 3 year olds. Funny. Actually, it would probably be better if all the parents would back up 20 feet and let the coaches coach. Either way, it's a start and something we'll keep doing if she wants to. I'm going to look around for a better league though with an actual coach.

Annabelle

We have a new niece that I haven't yet written about. Her name is Annabelle Jean Schwartz born to Brian and the infamous Jen Schwartz on 4-17-09. Stacey and the girls have met her but I haven't yet. I intend to next weekend though. For full bio click on the Brian and Jen link to the right.

Not me

I did not take the pic below. It was on the local paper's website. I did watch the storm from my pation while my wife and kids were in the basement. Mara had just learned about fire drills at school on friday. So the alarms confused her a little. Tornado inside, fire outside. I can see how this could confuse a 3 year old.

I did have a cold beer in my hand, and left 2 my bikes out in the rain to get washed off. One of them was a Surly.

Nasty weather

This sucka was about 4 miles from our house. Sky was eery.

Last Weekend at the Lake

We spent Easter weekend at my parents' house in Clear Lake as planned. Stacey and I both had Good Friday off, so we took our time getting down the road on Friday afternoon. After a peaceful ride up there with a stop in Center Point at Joensy's for the biggest and best tenderloins (a lot of places claim it, but this place has my vote so far) in the world. It's a tiny little greasy spoon place in a small town. I discovered it on a bike ride a couple years ago with some friends.

We got up to Clear Lake around 3:30 or 4 on Friday. The girls were very excited as they always are when we get there. Too bad Grampa and Gramma were still at work. Suckas. Grampa rolled in shortly thereafter and Gramma wasn't too far behind. We hung out at home for the night and ordered Chinese take-out. Us being the boring old farts we are, we went to bed early that night.

Saturday was beautiful. Everybody spent some time outside. It was great. I had grand plans of sitting at Sips for a few hours behind a pint glass, but since it was so nice, we spent part of the afteroon on the deck having a few brews. It was great. Mara was having a blast running around the house. Perhaps the greatest moment of the weekend for me to see is depicted below. Our kids love their Grampas and Grammas and talk about them non-stop. It's really nice to see them interact. Below is Grampa K and Mara discussing the inequities of life, love, and capitalism. Actually, I think they were talking about ducks.

The pic below here is Gramma K and Ellen on a walk. Ellen had her pissy pants on so the walk did her good.

We had fun hanging out in the house on Saturday night. Kim Didio came over and we colored Easter Eggs.

Easter Sunday the girls ate too much candy (Ellen ate so much she barfed all over herself) and I ate the best Prime Rib I've ever eaten. Uncle Buck, Aunt Gayle, Brandon and Whitney came over for dinner. Good to see them.

This pic is Mara and Ellen playing with new Easter toys while Josey is trying to get in on the Snickers action.