Mt. Baker

Some photos from the drive up to Mt. Baker. I'm going to miss those 10" plus days up there.

Legendary Banked Slalom

I was at Mt. Baker all weekend for the Banked Slalom race. On Friday it was warmer so the course was actually good with all the snow being soft. Which helped in getting a good bite in the banked turns. Then as the weekend went on it got colder and things froze up. This made for some wild race runs on Sunday. It was hard for guys to hold their lines through the turns and some were getting tossed while others were just barely hanging on. Everyone was pushing it. Here's a little bit of video from the race.

2012 Plans

 I've been pretty lazy about posting. Probably because biking  has been on the back burner since Nationals. I'm still riding  Galbraith over the winter, but for now the racing is done for a while. I think I've reached burn out stage on the whole racing thing. So for 2012 I've got no races planned. I'll miss hanging out at the races with the Fanatik team and joining all the hecklers watching the Pro's ride. I've had some great summers up in the woods with everyone. Good times.

 I think the four months off in Alaska had a lot to do with it. Just being away from it all helped me re-evaluate a some things in my life and put things into perspective.

   I  knew being away from my wife and kids was going to be tough but I didn't realize how tough.  So this winter has been mostly about hanging out with the family. Catching up on those lost times. Watching Noah race his first bike race, playing in the snow, building forts in the basement and spending more time with Lawana. Time to start investing more into the family. I've been pretty slack in that department in the past. Everyone you talk to with kids says it goes way too fast.  I realized that when I got back, how much those little ones grew. It was wild.

 Other things going on this winter have been getting to surf on the Lake up in Kelowna, B.C , shaping another surfboard, and taking a boating class at the tech. school to get my Washington boating card. Working on boats again has been good. Since moving to Bellingham, 8 years ago I've removed myself  from the boating world. Mainly to get into the mountains and do something different than I was used to. But it's amazing at all the boating stuff going on around Bellingham.  

So after getting back from Naknek and visiting North Carolina this summer I was able to think about a few things. Things like how I miss living in a small town, seeing our kids at the beach, warm water and  warm water. I don't know if I could live with myself not teaching our kids to surf.  So after lots of talks with Lawana and some brainstorming sessions. We've come up with moving back East. More than likely start in Beaufort, North Carolina . Oh also with the plan of purchasing a  sailboat and living aboard with the family with the goal of cruising south for the winters. That sounds crazy just saying it. But that's the five year plan we've come up with. We don't plan on hitting the lottery anytime soon so this is a way of living with less to live richer. Plus it'll allow for more time with the kids, and a way to be on the water and travel some.  That is of course if God hasn't let the world fall to pieces by then and we're still here. Not sure on all the financing and timeline but , just baby steps for now. So we'll try and keep our house rented in Sudden Valley and keep some ties here still. Also with the idea of working in Alaska for the summers still. So we can make some money and visit with Lawana's family up in Kelowna during the summer.

  Anyways there's still lots in Bellingham we still want to do like, cruise the islands, climb Baker. So there's a very good chance we'll be back at some point. We're gonna miss it here a bunch. We've all made some great friends and hope to be back often as possible. 

 

   I don't leave for Alaska till sometime in April, but that will be here before we know it.

Here's some sites to other families living aboard that we've been checking out.

http://www.zachaboard.blogspot.com/

http://fourlivingaboard.blogspot.com/

http://www.svwondertime.com/

http://www.yachtmollymawk.com/

http://www.womenandcruising.com/sailing-families.htm

 



Snow Time

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Had a snow day off this week. Never too old for a sled ride.

Noah at Thriller Cross

This comes a little late but better late than never. We went down with our family to watch Noah race the Thriller Cross. He did awesome . Lot's of kids and that's good to see for the future.

The Morning Commute

Finally got the commuter rig all tuned up. Trying to bike to work this winter. Not to save the Planet , but to save a little green, stretch the legs and just slow down a bit from rushing around all the time. But for some reason it still turns into a race against the clock.  Share the Road...

Yard Sale

Moving in and out of our house this summer has made us go through some things. It's kind of late season for a yard sale but this stuff has to go. Its happening rain or shine. This Friday and Saturday 21/22 of October, 9 am each day.

Bike Clothes ,
Bike parts
Pads
Tires
Bike trainer (Trek) , with a bike to go with it. $45
Camelbaks
Videos
Bike rack
Bike (Transition Vagrant $450) complete

Also some tools and then there's all the kid stuff.

It's in Sudden Valley . Lake Whatcom Blvd, turn in gate 3 , across from fire station, follow Moving Sale signs.