Sedona camping trip

With a week before Aran started soccer we decided this was our last chance to get out of town for a while. Our local RideAZ mountain biking group had a camping trip planned to Sedona, AZ and we decided to go. We've been to Sedona many times but had never actually camped there. The Chavez Crossing Campground is right in the heart of Red Rock Country and easy riding distance to the trail system. We set up camp and Aran was ready to go for a ride! I hooked up the Trail-a-bike and we were off. The campground is right by Oak Creek and the road out is a steady climb. Aran wasn't much help pedaling up, but he sure kicked it in on the ride down! The boy likes to go fast.... I know he's out of focus in this picture but the look on his face says it all...



The kids had a blast camping and hanging out with their friend Robin - even if it was a bit cold.



Amy & I enjoyed a great group ride on Saturday too.



We rode the usual loop (about 20 miles) that included Submarine Rock!


The kids were having a great time and didn't want to leave but we had to pack up early Sunday morning so that I could get back and go watch my Dallas Cowboys get beat by the Arizona Cardinals in person! We should've stayed in Sedona....

Trail-a-bike meet trail!

Aran was excited to take his new ride out on the dirt. We decided to take a family spin in the woods behind the cabin. Aran & I made the maiden voyage and Amy pulled Giana in the bike trailer. We headed out not knowing what to expect. We packed a lunch "just in case". Well we managed to ride a good 6+miles and had a great time.

We did stop for lunch. Aran enjoyed his plain cheese sandwich...

...and Giana loved her PB&J...

Giana decided pants were not necessary in her trailer.

Maybe next time we'll ride down this hill...


Maybe...

1st ride back!

I was finally cleared by my doctor to ride on Wednesday! He said just no weight-lifting or boxing and I'm good. I thought about the amount of force exerted on my hands by the handlebars when I'm flying downhill on the bike and have to simultaneously brake hard and maneuver up/over/around an obstacle.... I said NOTHING but thank you Doc! :)

I had thought A LOT about where my 1st trail ride would be. South Mountain? Hawes? Phoenix has a lot of good options but most are fairly rocky and technical and I thought I should do something a little smoother that would have a lower probability of possible crashes. (haha)

Well Amy & I made a last minute decision to head to Flagstaff for the weekend and that made the decision easy. The 1st ride would be on my favorite Flagstaff trails - Mount Elden. Since it was just Amy, the kids & me, I'd have to go solo on the ride while she watched the kids. Rarely do I ride solo but this seemed appropriate since I really wanted to go at my own pace and reacquaint myself with the trails, the bike and gauge my bike "fitness".


The trails were in perfect shape, the weather was fantastic and the ride was incredible. It was nice to be back on the bike and even nicer to be riding in Flagstaff! I happily enjoyed the miles of suffering - climbing above 8,000 ft after the 3-month hiatus. I've got a long way to go to get ready for the Birthday Challenge, but this was a great start.

Aran's 4th Birthday!

Aran turned 4 on 08-31-08. I was lucky enough to score a slightly used Adams Trail-a-bike on Craig's List for his birthday. I was hoping he would a) be big enough to ride it and b) like it. We were having a big birthday party for him in the afternoon but I thought it would be a good idea to give him this present early so that he wouldn't have to try it out in front of everybody - just in case it didn't go well...

Well, it was a big hit with the boy.......and his dad too!

He can barely reach the pedals with the seat all the way down and I still need to adjust the handlebars a bit for him but it was a smashing success for a "first ride". This says it all...

He had a great day. He enjoyed his swim birthday party and is still trying to play with everything he received. Amy & I were pleased that we just pulled the whole thing off and are ready for some rest. It all just seemed like a big whirlwind. Amy knocked herself out on his birthday cake. Aran is all about Spiderman right now.

The things you do for your kids... It's all worth it to get smiles like these.

Back on the bike - in D.C.

Amy & I spent the week at my company's national convention in DC. Well, we were actually in Oxon Hill, Maryland but close enough... This was the 1st time either of us had been to our Nation's Capital. It was also the first time Amy had travelled with me to the convention. Since her birthday was Friday the 29th, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe do a "birthday ride" and see the sites if my schedule allowed. She also let me know that she'd be up for a ride on the trip by sending me emails with bike tours available...subtle I know...

I have followed my doctor's instructions to the letter but a chance to get a ride in and see the sites in DC with Amy so close to her birthday was just too hard to pass up.

Well as luck would have it, we had an afternoon free and I found a bike shop in Old Town Alexandria that rented bikes. We caught a water taxi and crossed the Potomac River (never got tired of doing that!) to get to the bike shop. After some minor problems with the bikes we rented, we were off! We followed the Mount Vernon Trail north along the Potomac River. We rode across the Potomac on the north side of the 14th Street Bridge and into Washington, DC and spent the next several hours at the area known as The National Mall.

SO much history to see, so little time... We visited the monuments, the memorials, the White House, The Capitol...and on and on... The World War II Memorial was special to me in particular since my father fought in that war but they were all moving to both of us.

I'm sure my doctor would understand why I had to defy his orders and take advantage of this opportunity. It's not everyday that we get to "ride into history". It was a good day to be on the bike...

Walking the loop!

We spent the weekend in Flagstaff and as usual, we headed out to "walk the loop" behind the cabin. It's about 2 miles of interconnected trails. As we headed out Amy & I joked about how long it would be before Giana & Aran ran out of gas and asked to be carried home. They took off running, laughing and each yelling: "You'll never catch me!"

It was a perfect day. The temps in the low 70s and partly cloudy. The kids were really enjoying themselves. They were even cooperating with us re: picture taking.

We were not in any hurry. We investigated every flower and rock and tree. We stopped as always at the "see-saw" tree and practiced balancing it.

Before we knew it, we were back at the cabin. BOTH kids walked the entire loop for the first time ever. Sweet!

Simple Things

One of the greatest gifts in this world is getting to see the world again through your child's eyes - and sharing their joy with the simplest of things. The amazing wonder of blowing on a dandelion...

Where DOES the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was gazing into the newborn eyes of my "Baby Girl"!

But that was Valentine's Day 2006! She's now 2 going on 13! And as she likes to tell me forcefully: "I'm not a baby girl. I'm Giana!!"

I know...I know...[but you'll always be my baby girl... :) ]

First Time on Dirt!

Since I am unable to ride MY bike, Aran took the opportunity to talk us into taking HIS bike with us up to Flagstaff! We thought he'd enjoy riding around the paved cul-de-sac at the cabin but weren't sure if he'd actually venture out into the DIRT. We were in for a surprise! BTW - he's 3 years old.

Aran's first ride on dirt - on the trails behind the cabin in Flagstaff!

Birthday Challenge 2008

Since breaking my hand on May 31st mountain biking on the Alta trail at South Mountain and the subsequent surgery, I've had lots of doctor mandated time off my bike. Lots of idle time to contemplate ways to motivate myself to get back on track when I'm allowed to ride again. While surfing the web I stumbled across the perfect solution - birthdaychallenge.com

As I read the crazy stories, I started to formulate my own plan. My first thoughts were grandiose (like running/hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim in 24 hours ~42 miles) but then I came back to reality. I then decided that trail running & mountain biking would have to be part of the challenge since they are things I enjoy doing. Then my broken hand chimed in and suggested I add making free throws to my list since I love basketball and it would be fitting to show that my broken hand was back in the game. As I thought about what other activities would be appropriate to add to my challenge, it came to me... What in my life do I love so much that I would gladly suffer for it? Why not take this time to celebrate not only my birth but my LIFE and the things that make my life worth living... These are the things I want to spend my birthday challenge doing! These are the things that keep me going everyday.

So this is where I am so far in my personal challenge for 2008! (I'll be 42 in October):

42 miles on mountain biking
4.2 miles of trail running
42 made free throws
42 lengths of our pool underwater swimming
42 hugs & kisses for the family
42 songs on my iPod listening - at least!
42 minutes of Texas Aggie football watching- at least!

42 ounces of Diet Dr. Pepper drinking- at least!

I'll be adding a few more things before October - as they come to me! It looks like this challenge will be going down on Saturday, October 25th so that should help with the football watching! I probably won't be cleared to ride by the doc until early September so that gives me maybe a month and a half to prepare for the challenge. I'd like to do the flight of the pigs this year in November and that's around 70 miles of riding with more than half on dirt so the challenge will be a great "warmup" for that.

So the next question is where to do this challenge. As far as the trail running and mountain biking, the answer was obvious. Even though there are a lot of great options available, I have to return to the scene of the crime - South Mountain Park.

The riding portion of this challenge will definitely be the toughest part. The trails aren't exactly flat. I need to figure out a good route that will cover 42 miles and won't kill me. The 3-month break from any riding whatsoever (which will hopefully end sometime in September) won't leave me with much time to prepare. By the way, 42 miles of mountain biking will be the longest all singletrack riding I've done - ever.... I just re-read that last sentence...