Matt completed his first century, 100 mile bike ride, this past weekend! Seriously impressive if you ask me. I would not want to sit on a bike seat that long. The ride took place in beautiful San Luis Obispo. He rode up and down hills (pretty flat here so that was exciting), through fog, and along the coast line. Gorgeous ride!

I am so proud of you!

He was raising money for Fireproof ministries and you can still donate if you would like.

Today ezra decided on his own to bomb down the hill into the ravine. First through the rocks, then i convinced him the grass is much softer to fall on. He fell all three times, but kept wanting to go again.

I got the second one on video. Notice after pick him up he wants his bike asap. Sad news is his bike may need some repair and wood glue after the third crash.

We had a great weekend in prescott again this year. We had grandma and grandpa watch the boys while Stephanie and I went up for the evening. A friday night dinner and a minor league hockey game.

It was a brisk morning up in the mountains, but the sun was warming things up well. a 45° start temp.

Us ready to run & bike

Stephanie ran the first 1.5 mile run in her normal pace of 16 minutes. About a minute or two faster than last year.

Then I was off for the biking.

Coming in off the bike into the transition area

I improved about 4 minutes over last years ride time. It was less windy, but last year I had a bike with gears, this year I rode the single speed, and pushed it up the hills harder than I should have. I was able to ride up (where about half the 130 participants walked). I paid for it later when my lungs literally felt strained. I forgot that i normally ride at 1k feet elevation, and can do that kind of stuff, where a 5500 foot altitude plus a long & steep 1 mile climb takes my breath away. Literally.

Stephanie was off for the last leg of the run. She did improve over last year and came in strong. Some issues with altitude and pollen, but nothing her inhaler and a short walking couldn’t help.

Stephanie Coming in from the run

We finished at 1:32. we hope next year to improve much more.

It was a great night away and time with out our boys, but we were happy to get home and see them. They had a good time with grandma and grandpa, but they did like having us home.

The 03 4runner. Its a 4×4 and a v8 (i know, I know, you are thinking gas hog). Its actually pretty fuel efficient for its size. So far we are getting 21mpg (way better than a suburban or something). I think its pretty cool. Very comfortable, quiet, and lots of cool toyota features. 

and yes, i already added the appropriate stickers. I just need to get some good biking related ones.

(click for full view)
 

This week I also got my new bike. Finally after a few months of no road bike, the replacement is here (last one was stolen from a friends house). Its a 2009 Jake the Snake Cyclocross Bike. Meaning its a road bike, but burly, can fit knobby tires, and is meant to be taken in the grass, dirt & mud. Not sure if I will ever run a cyclocross race, but its cool to have a bike that is quick on the road, and can cut through the park when i want to.

I Love that Color!

Probably the coolest bike I have ever ridden. Should be a bit faster than my 29er mountain bike.

Friday we went up to prescott early to stay the night. We went out to dinner and heard about a hockey game near by. I totally forgot that prescott has a minor league hockey team! So we decided to go. If you dont know, I really used to live for college & minor league hockey. Its fast, and fun. 

We got great seats for cheap. Check these out. 6 rows up, on the blue line. I was really stoked, and the sundogs won 5 to 3.

We got up saturday, ate some breakfast. Then its off to the race course. 

The race went really well. There was about 100 racers, and maybe a dozen relay teams. 

Stephanie out off the starting line

She ran the first mile and a half in 17 minutes, and passed a few people from her almost dead last in the pack start position.

We tagged up, and I was off for the bike leg of the trek. While the course is only 8.4 miles, there was plenty of elevation change. I had a hard time training for this course because all my local trails have short hills, where this course had some long, steep, grueling climbs. Climbs that make you question life itself, while setting your legs on fire.

I felt great, and passed 20 or so people. Almost all on the hills. My goal for the course was to be under 1 hr, and  i actually came in at 48 minutes or so. I was pretty stoked about that. 

Stephanie was off for the last leg, and did well. She ran the 2.5 miles in 25 minutes. Great times for the odd break between the runs, and a sandy, hilly course.

Our total time was 1hr 30 minutes ish. Official results should be online soon, so then we’ll know the actual times and final ranks (versus our HR monitors & math)

Overall the event and time in prescott was a blast. I think next year we plan to make sure we can either do it solo, or maybe as a relay again, but beat our times.

Stephanie and her bike.

the zoom in of what she did to her bike

Yep, she some how over shifted, and then wrapped the chain around the crank arm. I really have no idea how she did it to be honest. 

Me riding through a tunnel

Training: Training for the duathlon is still going well. I ended up taking two days off this week due to a little cold. I was also hoping to add some strength training this week, but it just didn’t happen. I hope to be back to full strength next week.

Gardening: The winter garden is still going strong. I have been snacking on snow peas all week. Yummy! My first head of broccoli is finally starting to grow. It looks like I will have some onions and garlic in a couple of months. It is also time to start seeds for the spring garden.

Biking: I still love my new bike, even if it tried to eat my pants today. Thanks to Keith and Erin I have a lovely sticker of Africa on it.

Its always so pretty, and lush for a desert. This video doesn’t do the trail, the vegetation, or the beautiful day justice.

It has been a month since the last round of referrals.  To be honest I always knew in my heart there would be a drought of referrals before we received our referral.  I do not know how long that drought is going to last, but I am hoping that this is the last drought we have to make it through.

Duathlon Training:  I have been doing very well with my training.  I either bike or run every day and some days I do both.  I am improving little by little and happy with the results so far.

Gardening:  The garden is continuing to thrive.

First snow pea!

Life:  Is going great.  We are going to see Abby tomorrow and Matt is doing a little photo shoot with her.  I am sure we will have some cute pictures to share.  We are also going mountain biking.  I last went on my birthday so I am long overdue for a ride.

With the duathlon training Matt wanted to buy me a road bike, but I opted for a new (to me) commuter bike that would also make a decent road bike for the few times I will need it as one.  I got to ride her for the first time today and am loving her.  My old commuter was a little small, plus this new one has a few more gears.  Needless to say it is much faster and easier to ride.

Matt still needs to attach my panniers and my basket then I will be all set for running errands again.  Oh and that suspension seat post has got to go!

here she is.

this video does not do the hill justice. it is 5x steeper looking in real life, both going down and going up.

And it was an amazing trip. 
So me, and 4 other guys headed off in a suburban and a 30′ camper. The Agenda: Biking in Moab Utah, and then over to the Durango Colorado area.

We left on Labor day, for a planned 9 – 10 hour drive to Moab. About an hour away from Moab, we had a minor engine issue. The tensioner pulley seized.

Here is the awesome parts of this break down. 1. we were on the top of a hill. 2. at the bottom of the 1 mile hill, a small town called Monticielo. 3. At the bottom of the hill, just inside town, an RV park, and a NAPA auto parts. Man were we lucky. we had to stay the night and wait for napa to open at 8am. The local sherif even escorted us to the napa. small towns rock. 

9am, we are off to Moab. 

we get in, set up camp, and we head to slick rock trail by 11am. Slick rock is a different kind of trail. in fact, its almost one solid rock, with a white dotted line indicating where the trail should be. 45 – 60 degree slopes are pretty normal. The tires grip the rock like you wouldn’t believe. It was pretty intense. 

Unfortunetly, one of our riders strained a muscle in his back before we even got to the trail. so it was just four of us riding the 12 mile trail. It was toasty, and I was a bit dehydrated, but an awesome trail regardless. 

Wednesday we tried to ride another trail, but it was more sand than any of us liked. 6 miles of super fine beach sand, we had enough, and it was time to head back, and break down. Off to durango. Our camp site was rough. 10 miles north of durnago, backing up to the Animas river.

Thursday was a killer ride. We drove up behind Purgatory Ski Resort, and rode Hermosa trail. This is a 20 mile trail, dropping from 11,000 feet, to 8,500. a great ride. 

We ended up having to ride from the bottom of the trail, 9 miles on the road back uphill to camp. 30 miles on the saddle was tiring. 

Friday we took it easy, rode our bikes around town. Durango is a way cool town. Lots of cyclists, great shops, bike shops, and good food & beer on every corner. 

Saturday we drove up halfway to Silverton to ride the Colorado Trail. We headed west from Molas Pass. Starting our ride at 11,000 feet elevation was tough on my 1,200 feet lungs. The views on the other hand, were amazing.  

Sundays trip home was uneventful, and we made it home in great time. I think the 7 days with the boys and bikes was great. But its always good to be home. 

the rest of the photos can be seen here 
http://flickr.com/photos/mattlikeshockey/sets/72157607114386302/show/ 

Highchair I scored off of Craigslist for Tom or Jerry (of course, Jackson gave it a test run for us)

Running Update: I didn’t run at all this week. I still have been staying up too late watching the Olympics to bother with getting up early to run, but I have been riding the exercise bike this week. It is so much nicer to exercise in air conditioned comfort.

Push-up Update: We did them this week, well I still have one more set to do, but we did them! We did repeat week 2, so we are a little behind, but I thought it would take more than six weeks anyway.

Matt got a new-to-him toy this week:

Jackson was excited about the box

Carter was excited about the foam (he loves to eat foam)

Matt was excited for the new toy and that his wife let him put it together in the house because it was so hot in the garage

Random stuff from the web:

I was looking for something to do with old magazines and might have to give this a try.

All I have to say on this story is, “Seriously!?”