The Tree

The other day, Dad and I went up to Grand-dad's to watch them cut down a dead tree. The tree was huge and has been a staple of his front yard for many many years. It was quite entertaining watching them cut it down and they made it look easy.

The Tree




Grand-dad cruising with Buddy on the look-out.


Buddy enjoys riding on the scooter.


Buddy

Longenberger baskets.

The Bell out back.

I believe this thermometer is broke because it definitely was not 80 degrees out, more like 40 degrees.

Good ol' Mount Airy.

Trying something new...

Earlier in October, Laura and I went down to Patapsco State Park to hike and take pictures. Yes, I said hike, not bike. Anyways, enjoy the pictures.



Cascade Falls


Cascade Falls Cont.

Moab and More!

Our trip started with a delayed flight to Denver. We arrived in Denver about an hour later then we were supposed to. After getting the rental car we started the 5 hour drive to Moab, UT. We had about 2 hours of sunlight, so once the sunset, there wasn't much to look at except for the all the bugs we were hitting. We arrived in Moab around 10:30 PM Thursday night and Eric was waiting for us with our room keys for the hotel. After traveling all day, we quickly fell asleep. The next morning we grabbed breakfast with Eric and then headed down to the race. The amount of people here was crazy, especially since it was a little remote. The weather was crazy too! Windy and dusty for two days straight! Ouch!

We set out to pre-ride the course after getting Laura's bike together. The course was 15 miles long on the "Behind the Rocks" trail, which after the race we found out was for Advanced Riders only! Once we hit the trail, I could see why! The course had some steep, technical rocky sections and was super sandy. I felt like I was riding in Ocean City on the beach! And sand is not easy to ride in because it pushes your bike one way and zaps all your energy. It was going to make for an interesting 24 hour race, just glad I wasn't actually racing.

After the pre-ride we got back to the hotel, showered, and went out to dinner with everyone. It was delicious. For the next two days, we enjoyed watching the race and enjoyed all the scenery around us. I wish we had more time to ride, but I will defenitly be going back. Moab is a bike friendly town and is best known as the Mecca for Mountain Biking! I don't feel like typing anymore so enjoy all the pictures!

On the way back to Castle Valley.

Cool rocks!

A neat hole in the mountain, almost looks like its ear!

Decided to see what would happen if I left my shutter open for 30 seconds. Look at the ghost sitting in the chair, all I see is a head!

Views from the campsite. On the course, you ride behind that big rock in the distance.

More views from the campsite of the pretty La Sal Mountains. Tallest peak: 12700 ft.

It was chilly, but fun!

Cannondale's set up.

Cannondale/MonaVie Team, they rocked!

View on the SlickRock trail, a very famous trail in Moab for mountain bikers. The rocks are like sandpaper, you can ride up even the steepest climb.

Another view from the SlickRock trail.

It was chilly up here too!

View from the road near the Porcupine Rim Trail.

The sign says it all, no explanation needed.

Another view of the La Sal's from a different point.

The black road below is the entrance to Arch's National Park, which we were heading into. Grand-dad, this is where I called you from, so everything after this is what we were going to see.

The town of Moab with the La Sal's in the background.

Another view of the La Sal's from further up the road. I am pretty sure it was snowing up there!

More cool rocks!

Blue skies and red rocks.

Neat rock formations and a little canyon.

I would like to know how these formed!

Laura working hard to hold up Balanced Rock!

"Balanced Rock". Laura and I were discussing how it ended up like this. I explained that its God teeing up for the 9th hole.

Delicate Arch at sunset. Notice all the people to the left of it. You can hike up to it but its 3 miles and we didn't have time.

Pretty view of the moon.

And the sun setting on the other side.

On our way back to the Denver Airport, we decided to make a stop real quick. We drove through Breckenridge which is a cool ski town. Many of the resorts out there started blowing snow already in a race to see who could open first.

View of Denver from Red Rocks!

Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Very cool!

Red Rocks.

Well well well, look who it is. Photo op!

Entrance/Exit to Red Rocks. And yes, that is snow below the sign.

Feel free to leave comments!

Father's Day

I guess since my camera was used to take the Father's Day "group" pictures, I should probably post them then huh? Mom didnt get many good shots, managing 10+ people isnt easy to cue, but enjoy. Thanks Aunt Vicki for hosting! The food was great...sorry about the glass, haha.

The Past 4 Months

I am sorry that I do not update my blog as often as some of my competitors, but I will try my best during the summer to keep you all updated. Since my last post, a lot has gone on and I will summarize everything below with a few pictures.

(Yes I know, another bike picture...)

In mid January during my winter break, a few of us made a trip to Rays Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, OH for some indoor riding. Since I am a fair weather rider, this place is great for me. With many different obstacles, it makes for a great time. I will post links from our YouTube videos at the bottom of this post.

The day after returning from Cleveland, mom poked her head in my room to say that Reba is sick and I need to get up. Reba has been on a steady decline for the past two years and many of us were surprised she made it this long. Probably one of the hardest days in my life, I had to say my good-byes to a very close friend and proceed to work. Reba will always be remembered as the greatest dog in the world to our family. She will be missed. RIP 1/14/08

At the end of January, school started back up. As usual, most of my attention shifts to focus on completing my classes. This semester has been different then others in the past. I have buckled down more to complete my work and pass all of my classes, while still maintaining a normal life. School is soon ending though, which is a good thing because I am ready for a change in schedule.

In early March marked the start of my Spring Break and another Ray's Trip. This trip was different as it was a nice sunny warm day in Columbia and made for good traveling. On our way up the Penn Turnpike (best road in the world) we stopped by Bedford, PA to get a personal tour of the Cannondale Bicycle Factory by our old shop manager Eric. In Bedford, they hand weld almost every Cannondale in the world and the factory is a large part of the town. This was a highlight of the trip for sure. We arrived to a snowy Ray's and enjoyed our 12 hours of riding on Saturday. For lunch we got the famous White Castle burgers (they can't be found in MD except in frozen form) and they did not sit too well with me, at least. Overall a great trip and well worth the 6 hour drive.

The following week marked another sad day in our family history with the passing of our loved Grandmom Jean. She was a big part of my life and she loved all of her grandchildren dearly. Her funeral played out just how she would have wanted it and was a joyful celebration under the circumstances. I will miss our trips to Ocean City, playing Rumee, eating ice cream before bed, helping hang clothes on the line, weekend trips to the cousins house in PA, stopping at the orchard, and our large Christmas get together which she made sure was special. It has been exactly a month since her passing. You will always be in our hearts and someday we will be reunited. RIP 3/22/08

On a lighter note, finally Paul has been released from Iraq and is now HOME! I know Alex can now rest knowing that he is home and so can we. These past ten months have been hard for Alex but FINALLY the weight is lifted from our shoulders and we see the sunlight!

Overall, the past 4 months has had its ups and downs but I will try harder to help keep this blog updated. Since the warm weather has arrived though, I can not guarantee anything and many of my posts may be bike related.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8mWfLFnmstU (January 2008 Trip)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-5xRWBHxB4 (March 2008 Trip)