Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Snow in Portland

Well today started out cold and clear, but around 1 pm clouds rolled in from the west. By 2 pm we had a full on snowstorm happening. It is finally tapering off now at 5:30 but we have over and inch of snow on the ground. My bike ride home from work was a little slippery and I'm glad I made it without going down. Snow like this totally shuts down the city. Maybe we'll have a snow day tomorrow!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Santa Was Good To Me!

I got really lucky on the Christmas present front this year! Santa (i.e. Clare) gave me a beautiful vintage coffee grinder. I must have been very good this year! Unlike modern electric grinders that hack your beans into uneven chunks and bits of dust, an old-school grinder like mine crushes the beans into nice, uniform sized pieces that make a good clean brew. But the best part about my new grinder is that it looks really awesome and it makes for a nice morning ritual.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Cyclocross National Championships

Great video of the start of my race at the US Cyclocross National Championships in Bend Oregon this weekend.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

USGP of Cyclocross

Well, the pros came to town this weekend to show us how it's done. The US Grand Prix of Cyclocross had it's season finale here with races on both Saturday and Sunday. I was scheduled to race both days but a nasty head cold sidelined me on Saturday and knocked me out of the race on the third lap on Sunday. Both days we're cold, but Sunday was cold and really windy; not great conditions to race in when you're sick!! Yes, that is a shot of me in the black kit above, minus the beard and my usual green and black kit. I got a big hole in the butt of my shorts when I crashed three weeks ago!

The elite race on Saturday was fun to watch though and I snapped some pretty good pictures of the pro men and women. The racing was fast and very entertaining, with the men's race coming down to the last lap to decide the winner. Next up, the National Championships in Bend this weekend. I race on Saturday in the morning. This morning it was -8 degrees in Bend!!!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

California Dreaming


I am soo stoked! Clare and I spent eight days in California, traveling through the Northcoast redwood country, camping, biking and staring at the big trees. We also got in some excellent friend and family visiting time with my buddy Dave and his wife Rosemary in Eureka and with Clare's family down in Mendocino County. We hit all of the main redwood parks, including Jed Smith Prairie Creek, Redwood National Park and Humboldt Redwoods. Riding our bikes among the giants was a big highlight of the trip. We also spent a night at Patrick's Point and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean crashing on the beach hundreds of feet below. Thanksgiving was spent with Clare's family on the amazing property that her grandma (also named Clare) and her (Roan) own in the hills above the Anderson Valley. Grandma Clare spoiled us with amazing food, wonderful company, and big warming fires in the kitchen hearth at every meal. Can't wait to get back there for another visit!
Clare barely escaped from this roadside Tyrannosaurus!
A big fat one in the Stout Grove - Jed Smith Redwoods State Park.
A beautiful old oak tree on Clare's grandmothers property. She owns 3,000 beautiful acres of steep forested hills that we're amazing to explore.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Before and After

Cross Crusade Race #8, The big finale for the series. Before the crash... Everything going well, in a good place, maybe top 20???
After the crash... Blood and mud cleaned out of the cuts, flapper on my knee cap cleaned out, hopefully it will all be ready for the next race! 26th place out of like 150 or so. Not too bad.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cross Crusade Race #7


I got a little muddy this Sunday during the cyclocross race. It was a fun course though and I did really well. It was probably my best race of the year in terms of how I felt during and after the race. The mud was really deep in places though and that made it really challenging. I fell three or four times (hard to remember) but I managed to ride fast when I wasn't rolling around on the ground! Can't wait for next Sunday.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Alaska Photographs


Although Clare and I went to Alaska in August, I'm embarrassed to report that I am just getting around to editing the photos that I took during that trip. We had an epic time up there, visiting friends and family and getting out into the wilds. I started the trip with a little bit of volunteer work for my friend Erica who is running my old research project. We we're catching Kittlitz's Murrelets to put satellite tags on them (see image below).

More Alaska Photos...

Here are a few more images from our Alaska trip:
Yumi Arimitsu and Liz Labunski, two old friends who I had the pleasure of working with again!
Lili, Clare, Andy and Tchau - the pooch. Lili and Andy are two of my absolute favorite people. Just being around them makes me happy, but picking blueberries in the mountains with them is fantastic!
Ammanita muscaria, the magic mushroom from Alice in Wonderland. This one is growing in my buddy Andy Alvarez's yard.
The view from near the Savage River in Denali National Park.

Monday, November 9, 2009

SSCXWC

Sunday was the third and final edition of the SSCXWC, the single speed cyclocross "world" championships, held here in Portland. This race has become a huge spectacle and the stuff of legend. Basically, 250 costumed riders, race around a muddy cyclocross course on singlespeed bikes, for glory, fame, and a free tattoo! The start was crazy (see above), with 250 bikes laid out in the center of a field and all of the riders lined up 50 meters away, 125 riders on one side and the other 125 opposite them. The race course featured the ususal cyclocross obstacles like wooden barriers to jump over, hills to run up, and a mock up of the "Thunderdome" from the Mad Max movie with Tina Turner (hence the poster advertising the race, below).
Oh, and most everybody was in costume, including this cross dressing nun!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Halloween Cross in Astoria

The Annual Cross Crusade Halloween Costume Party/Bike Race was another smashing success this year. I raced on Saturday and did pretty well (24th) despite crashing into the side of a barn on my last lap. I sat out the race on Sunday but I was there to cheer on teammates and dig the costumes on all of the riders. The weather was unseasonably beautiful, the beer was flowing, the races were competitive, and a good time was had by all.
The costumes were really good this year but my personal favorite was a pack of oompha loomphas that I think were worn by the Veloce/Felt team

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

My New Computer!!!!

Well, I've gone and done it! After resisting it as long as possible I have given into the temptation and bought a brand new Apple iMac. I've been a PC user forever, but after struggling with Windows service packs, endless updates, ridiculously slow start up and shutdown time, and all sorts of adware, malware, trojan horse etc. I finally had enough. All I can say now is that I love my new computer. It's the best purchase I think I've ever made...

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Goat Rocks Rocks!!


Wow, I just got back from four epic days in the backcountry with my best buddy Bryan and we had an absolute blast. B-man and I have been taking backpacking and mountaineering trips for years, from Shenandoah National Park way back in college, to the summit of Glacier Peak, we've always managed to have a good time. This trip was no exception. The Goat Rocks is an amazing wilderness, complete with lots of mountain goats, and lots of rock pinnacles. We got in there right before the snow really started to fly and enjoyed a few great days of hiking and camping. I hope the pictures (taken with my trusty iPhone) do the trip some justice.
Mt. Adams from Snowgrass Flats.
B-man on top of Old Snowy Peak.
The Goat Rocks central peaks.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Cross Crusade #1 - Alpenrose


Wow! The official start to the cyclocross season has come, and I am lucky enough to have been there for it. My knee has been improving steadily over the last few weeks (thanks to Dr. Seth Hosmer at HP chiro), and despite not training at all this summer I lined up for my second race of the season. The course was nice and fast, and despite starting in about 80th place, I managed to finish in 37th, out of 190 riders. I was pretty pleased with the result, especially since six weeks ago it looked like I wasn't going to be able to ride a single race this season. We had a strong turnout for our team and all the guys who raced did really well. It was a great way to kick off the Cross Crusade!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Starcrossed


Clare and I were in Seattle this weekend to visit her cousin Kate and to watch the Starcrossed cyclocross race in Everett. This event draws all of the top domestic professional riders, but it was two europeans who stole the show. The men's race was won by the visiting Swiss national champion, while the women's side was taken by the British national champ, racing in her union jack skin suit. The picture is of Portland local Sue Butler who had a fantastic race.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Rad Racing GP


I rode my first cyclocross race of the year this weekend and it was a blast. It was in Lakewood Washington and the course was fast but there was a huge hill that we had to carry our bikes up that was a killer. Clare was there to cheer me on though as I trudged my way up the hill. This was my first race of 2009! I can't believe it. But my knee felt pretty good during and after the race so I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll be able to ride more races this fall.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Mt. Adams with Jay

I went up to the North side of Mt. Adams this weekend with my buddy Jay. We camped out and Stuart and Emily joined up later that night. All I had was my point and shoot camera but I still managed to get a good shot of the mountain. What a beautiful spot!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Land of the Big Trees!

Clare and I headed up to Olympic National Park for the Memorial Day weekend to camp and hike among the big trees. We had a great time up there! Clare had never been there and it had been years since I had visited that area so it was pretty exciting just to be there. The Hoh Rain Forest was the highlight for sure. That's where we got our hug on with this Mammoth Hemlock.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Rally-America Oregon Trail Rally

I headed up to Hood River Oregon today to watch the third day of the Rally-America, Oregon Trail Rally. It is an on road/off road car race that is being held up in the mountains near Mt. Hood. The racing was exciting and the crowds were into it. Car rallying is now an X-games sport so it is pretty popular. Most teams seem to be sponsored by some sort of energy drink! No surprise I guess. The cars are pretty incredible. They are mostly Subaru's and Mitsubishi's, with the occasional Ford Focus (don't ask me why), and all are modified with roll cages, beefed up suspensions etc. The cool thing about these cars though is that they all must be street legal (lights, signals, even license plates!).

Shooting pics of these flashy cars was loads of fun. There was dust flying everywhere though so tonight I'm hanging out at home, cleaning my camera!

Friday, May 15, 2009

More Rally Action

More images from the Oregon Trail Rally...
Sliding sideways into the turn!
Almost seems too clean for a rally car!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Camping on the Metolious River

Clare and I headed out of town this weekend and went camping near Sisters Oregon, on the Metolious River. Despite some persistent drizzly rain we had a great time, and the tent kept us nice and dry. We took a nice hike at Smith Rock State Park, and another hike along the river.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Portland Chinese Garden

Clare and I had a mellow weekend, staying in town and taking it easy. We spent Sunday afternoon at one of my places in the city; the Portland Chinese Garden. Many of the plants are flowering now and the whole garden was beautiful!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

A Night in Honolulu

Tonight I'm in Honolulu on my way out to Midway for a week of fieldwork. I'm holed up on the 11th floor of a hotel on Waikiki Beach. The scene is pretty surreal, with pale, sandal shod tourists all over the place. I'm sharing the hotel with a high school band from California that is here for a competition. I hope they don't decide to practice their trombones tonight.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Weekend in Sunriver

Clare and I just got back from a great weekend over in Sunriver Oregon. We headed down there with Stuart, Emily, Karl and Ann and had a blast. I rented a great house for us, complete with hot tub, vaulted ceilings, and a great kitchen. I was fighting a head cold all week so I took it easy for most of the weekend, but I enjoyed the hot tub to the fullest! We cooked some great food as well and generally had a blast.