28 August 2019
The Bracelet Business is Good
Jonathan was looking for ways to earn a few dollars so he could buy a toy. I had him make me a bracelet, which he then expanded to selling them to his classmates at school for 25 and 50 cents (the more expensive one has bands that glow in the dark). He created his own order form (description, name, color, etc.) one morning before school. It was fun to watch how excited he was when he finished, fold it up, and put it in his backpack before riding his bike to school.
15 August 2019
10 August 2019
27 July 2019
14 July 2019
Seattle to Portland (STP), Day 2
I woke up on Day 2 pretty early mainly because everyone else was up and moving around and following the plan to get an early start. The forecast called for really nice weather into Portland, with a bit of a tailwind, so we all wanted to finish before the day got too hot.
I felt pretty good on the second day after being on the bike for a little bit and getting the muscles warmed back up. The weather was really good and the scenery was much better than the first day. The first half of the morning in southern Washington was rolling farmland and a nice stretch according other riders as well. When we got into Oregon we crossed a few bridges, which were fun, and it also allowed me to get a few good pictures of Columbia River and of the area outside of Portland.
Stacey (along with a crowd of others) were waiting at the finish line. It felt good to have accomplished the ride and to have everything go according to plan. The ride overall was easier and harder than expected. It really wasn't that hard from a cardiovascular standpoint (sea level, flat, low intensity), but my body and muscles are more trained for shorter, sharper efforts. It did get uncomfortable and my legs were definitely tired after the two days.
I received a finisher's patch and a baseball cap, which fits my head perfectly. Add those to the t-shirt I bought, these pictures, and some good memories, and I'll remember this experience for a long time. I was asked if I would do this ride again. I'm not so sure at this point, but definitely wouldn't do it the same way as this year. If I were to do it again, I'd form a team of several people and do all 206 miles in one day, sharing the load. That would be epic!
I felt pretty good on the second day after being on the bike for a little bit and getting the muscles warmed back up. The weather was really good and the scenery was much better than the first day. The first half of the morning in southern Washington was rolling farmland and a nice stretch according other riders as well. When we got into Oregon we crossed a few bridges, which were fun, and it also allowed me to get a few good pictures of Columbia River and of the area outside of Portland.
Stacey (along with a crowd of others) were waiting at the finish line. It felt good to have accomplished the ride and to have everything go according to plan. The ride overall was easier and harder than expected. It really wasn't that hard from a cardiovascular standpoint (sea level, flat, low intensity), but my body and muscles are more trained for shorter, sharper efforts. It did get uncomfortable and my legs were definitely tired after the two days.
I received a finisher's patch and a baseball cap, which fits my head perfectly. Add those to the t-shirt I bought, these pictures, and some good memories, and I'll remember this experience for a long time. I was asked if I would do this ride again. I'm not so sure at this point, but definitely wouldn't do it the same way as this year. If I were to do it again, I'd form a team of several people and do all 206 miles in one day, sharing the load. That would be epic!
13 July 2019
Seattle to Portland (STP), Day 1
This year I decided to ride the 40th anniversary STP (Seattle to Portland). It was 206 miles in total, but I broke it up into two days. It took me about 11 hours of total riding to cover the entire distance. There were thousands of riders (8,000 is the limit). Stacey and I left the kids in Spokane with Pat and Melinda and drove over to Seattle Friday night. After dropping me off Stacey drove to Portland and spent the two days hanging out with Corey and Jen (friends from Spokane who now live in Portland).
The ride went really well. The starting line was UW's Husky Stadium and I rode to Centralia the first day. We had some good cloud cover and the route was well planned and organized. Earlier in the week and during this first day, I considered doing it all in one go. I'm glad I decided not to, as I didn't specifically train for this kind of event and I was ready to get off the bike after 100 miles. I could have done it in one day, but it was more enjoyable to spread it out over two days.
The first day was nice, but there weren't a lot of photo opportunities as we made our way out of the big city. I met a few people along the way and rode with them, even though most of the ride I did alone (albeit with thousands of others around). I spent the night (with a shower and food) at the Centralia Community Church of God before heading out the next morning for another day of fun on a bike.
The ride went really well. The starting line was UW's Husky Stadium and I rode to Centralia the first day. We had some good cloud cover and the route was well planned and organized. Earlier in the week and during this first day, I considered doing it all in one go. I'm glad I decided not to, as I didn't specifically train for this kind of event and I was ready to get off the bike after 100 miles. I could have done it in one day, but it was more enjoyable to spread it out over two days.
The first day was nice, but there weren't a lot of photo opportunities as we made our way out of the big city. I met a few people along the way and rode with them, even though most of the ride I did alone (albeit with thousands of others around). I spent the night (with a shower and food) at the Centralia Community Church of God before heading out the next morning for another day of fun on a bike.
12 July 2019
Crawdad Fishing with Pat and Melinda
The kids stayed with Pat and Melinda for a few days while Stacey and I went over to Seattle and Portland for the STP Ride. They had a great time and spent large chunks of BOTH days down at the Spokane River, hunting for crawdads! They both caught at least one...
10 July 2019
08 July 2019
05 July 2019
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