How to build a fire?

For those who haven't seen this...enjoy.

To the beach and back

Jackson and I took a little trip out to the coast last weekend for a father-son camping trip. We decided on Cannon Beach. It is a pretty quick trip to the beach and had our pick of camping spots as it had been quite rainy. We got to our site and decided to set up the tent and then the beach to fly Jackson's kite.

Upon arrival...

Almost ready for us...

Testing er out

All buttoned up...time for the beach!

So, we rolled over to the beach to fly the kite. One thing to note about our kite is that it is one of those two handled ones that can dip and dive without warning. Once you get the hang of it, it is great. Jackson does really well with it, but we need some room to practice before he can fly it around people. We really didn't have that option. After about 15 minutes, we packed it up and just took a stroll on the beach. We walked around for 30 minutes or so and Jackson was ready to get back to camp to start eating hot dogs. On our way back to the camp site, we made a quick stop at the ice cream parlor! Nothing like a little ice cream before dinner!

Here is our dinner table for the night.

We ate some dogs, (well, I ate chicken sausage!), drank some beers...and sprite. and then did the s'mores thing. Jackson had a great time and it was so fun to be with him for this little experience. He helped me set up the tent, chop some kindling, start our fire, and even clean up after dinner. We ended our night with not brushing our teeth and just went to bed around 9.

The next morning we woke up pretty early and headed into the Pig'n Pancake for breakfast. After some nasty food, it was back to our site to pack up and head home. All in all it was a great trip. Here are a few more pics of our trip. Jackson was being fairly corny for most pictures, but that is par for the course.

Mt Tabor Circuit Race

I raced the Mt. Tabor Circuit race this past weekend. The short of it, is that it was wet and super fast. I ended up in sixth, so was pretty happy. The race was all out the entire time. Margaret, Jackson, and Max all made it out so that was the best part! Here is a cool picture that was snapped during the race.

Monday PIR

Raced again last night in the 4/5 PIR race. It was a complete downpour for most of my 10 mile ride to the race, 100% of the race, and just a little on the way home. When I rolled up to the registration, I noticed that no one was warming up...everyone was under the tents. It was pretty amusing, but I quickly joined in on the fun (if you call it that).
20 minutes later we were off. I was shocked at how quick the pace was for a race in the rain. I had water being shot up at me off of the road the whole time. Weird thing was, the water coming off the asphalt felt really warm, so it wasn't as bad. Anyway, we were again doing 13 laps or about 25 miles. Hot laps (what they call primes out here) were laps 8 and 5. For the first one, I was set up perfectly, finished second in the sprint, and then realized the officials messed up and didn't ring the bell, so that sprint didn't count, but the bell was ringing so it was on the next time around. I didn't fair as well and finished the sprint in 4th. There were about 25 guys in our race and at this point I was trying to hang on. I was whooped. During the next lap, I got a much needed push from a buddy that got me spinning my legs again. Ok, now I am back in it. I decided not to sprint for the next hot lap and save something for the finish.
The last 5 laps I rode really well and always stayed in the top 6 or 7 riders. Coming out of the last corner I was sitting 6th wheel. There are two guys who always get a leadout and sprint pretty well, so I was looking for their wheel...Got it. Just as I latched on, the other rider I was worried about went way outside and started to sprint. Could he actually sprint all the way to the finish? I stayed on the wheel I was on and with about 200 meters to go, I went around and finished with a nice 2nd place. Made my ride in the rain all worth it.

Cheers.

Silverton Road Race

This past Sunday I raced in the Silverton Road Race. It is about an hour south of Portland. My race started at 9, so hit the road with my buddy Josh about 7. It was beautiful out and scheduled to be about 65 degrees at the start. We rolled in about 8, registered, and starting getting ready. We rolled around for about 30 minutes to warm up prior to the race starting...



Race time. Whistle goes off and we are rolling. The field was about 50 (I guess it was supposed to be 78, but that didn't happen). The course was a 17 mile hilly loop that we were doing three times. Right out of the shoot there was a downhill section for a couple of kilometers. In the first minute, the peloton was doing 40+ down these hills. That quickly changed as we started to climb about 3 kilometers in. By the top of the first major climb, we were split in two. Well, I shouldn't say that. The group was split into a group off the front and then everyone else gasping for breath on the way up. Luckily, I was close enough to the front and stayed with the main group. For the entire first lap, we were all together, about 20 of us in total. I stayed in the middle and did really no work. Lap two started off with a bang as one rider went off the front. The group let him stay up for a few miles, but eventually he was reeled in at the top of that first climb. At some point in the next 10 miles our group split into two again. This time I was not positioned very well. I ended up in the chase group. At this point, there were about 6 of us working together well as the first chase group. I was taking my share of pulls at about 500 watts and feeling it on the way down. Up to this point in the race, our average pace was about 22 mph. The break was about a minute ahead of us as we started lap three. At the top of the first climb on lap three, I had popped. Realized I wasn't even though one water bottle yet. Bad idea, I know. Anyway, I tried to push hard to catch the chase group again, but they were working well together and I couldn't do it on my own. I knew I was sitting right around the top 20 and was content with my third lap being a 'Sunday afternoon' ride. I took my time and actually waited up for an approaching rider behind me. He and I rode the remainder of the loop together. The finish was at the top of climb of about a 1/2 mile. About half way up, I used whatever energy I had left and won our little sprint. Came in 18th. It was enough for me to upgrade. I guess I am happy about that.



This is the only picture I could find. I know it is me, because there are zero other MCG riders in Oregon.

Monday PIR

Raced again last night...did the Monday night PIR Races.

In Portland, every Monday night there is a Masters (30+) race at the Portland International Raceway (PIR), and every Tuesday anyone can race. I raced PIR last night in the 4/5 Class. It was nasty windy around two of the corners and had a fast headwind to the finish. The course is about 2 miles long and we were doing 11 laps. The pace was quick right out of the shoot, and our group of 40 was strung out by lap two. My goal was to stay in the top 10 throughout the race. There was a prime on laps 4 and 7. I went for the first and came up about a wheel short, but was happy with my effort. A small break of 3 got away on the 5th lap. I bridged up with one other. Our group stayed together only until lap 8 when we were brought back in. Laps 8 through 10 were fast, but fairly boring, I am still sitting in about 7th wheel. Last lap, pace picked up…obviously. With three turns to go, a couple guys bump wheels and one went down...hard (busted clavicle - had surgery last night actually), right in front of me. I was able to escape the carnage with about 20 others, but I was near the back. The sprint started early, but I latched onto a wheel pretty quickly. I ended up 9th. Most likely would have only been up a few more places had the crash not occurred. I think I was the first Cat 5 to come in. At this point, I should get my upgrade. If the rain stops, more fun tonight!

Eugene Roubaix

Race Recap -

The Eugene Roubaix is a 14.3 mile loop that Cat 5 does three times. It is relatively flat, but has some climbing right out of the shoot. We started out with a neutral start, up the first climb and down the back which was a tight steep downhill. It must have been about 2 miles in total and the lead vehicle honked his horn and the racing started. Well, the racing did not start, we kept our same pace...about 20 mph. For the next 5 miles or so, it was like a Sunday afternoon ride in the wind. I was shocked, couldn't really figure out what the heck was going on. 7 or 8 miles into the loop, a few guys tried to break, but they were almost immediately pulled back in. My goal was to stay at the front and go with any break that happen to form, but not really try and be a hero and go off too early. The last turn of the lap put us on a 3.5 mile straight away with the wind at our backs. For some reason the guys at the front decided to slow up a bit as we went around this corner. About 500 yards into this section, I had had enough. I was sitting about 5th wheel and took off. Very quickly I had a gap of about 50 yards or so. I had no intentions of going at it by myself but wanted to get our group doing something. After a minute or so, I sat up and waited for the group to catch up. They did catch up, but no one passed, they just sat on my wheel. I wasn't going all that fast, but no one felt like working. At this point, I wanted to break again, but have a few guys go with me. So, I slowly picked up the pace this time instead of just taking off. This time, I brought a group with me. One thing I forgot to mention is the last 1.5 miles of the loop is on a dirt road with 200 meters of pavement to the finish line. I made the mistake of literally doing all the work down this entire section. I was pushing about 400 watts for what felt like forever, but was really only about 2 miles. Once we hit the climb at the start line, we were down to 11 of us. I went straight to the back and was dropped just as I crested the summit. The other 10 riders had about 300 meters on me. It all happened so fast, I was pissed at myself for working too hard too early.

Anyway, lap two starts on the wrong foot. I told myself that now was the only chance to catch back up, so I put my head down and tried to hammer back up to the group. It took me 3 miles, but I finally caught back on. I was whipped and didn't want to take a pull the rest of the day. The majority of this lap was uneventful until one of the last corners a rider was going way to fast and layed it down right in front of me. Luckily, he took only himself out. At this point I was about 7th or 8th wheel, but this guy was about 4th. The guys up front heard the crash and took off. 3 of them got away. I tried to organize the other 3 guys around me to catch, but only two of us were working. We stayed this way for the rest of the lap and all of the last lap. When we hit that last right turn onto the straight away, I was leading. For some reason we decided to right side by side. So, I was riding in front on the right and another guy was on my left, each of us with a rider behind. I did not want to continue this all the way to the finish, but the other two would not pull. We hit the dirt section doing about 20 mph. About a mile from the finish, we picked up the pace, but I was still leading. About 1k from the finish, we were pushing about 27 mph, I was still up front...mad at this point, but still up front. We hit the pavement, 200 meters to go, guy next to me starting pushing the pace, 100 meters, I downshift a few gears, stand up and start the sprint...smoked them all by about 40-50 feet! I was pretty happy after doing all that work near the end. Power meter said 1275 for that last little section.

I am happy with third after wasting all the energy on the first lap. Lessons learned I guess.

Until next weekend....

Here is a picture that I found(the photographer is on the finish line, this was our group of 4)...enjoy

p.o.d

A ride worth a blog

So, last weekend in Portland, I did the De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia ride in west Portland. This ride is set up to mimic the Tour of Flanders. It is not an organized ride, however. The website that was created for this ride states, "the De Ronde ride will not be happening this year, however an invitational ride with be happening at 10 am ..." So, I showed up at 10, and so did 700 others.

What I knew of the ride was that it was up and down all day long in the west hills of Portland. mapmyride said it was about 5400 feet of climbing over it's 47 mile course.

So, here goes. I road in from my house to the start about 8 miles away. It was looking like a great day for a great ride. Like I said earlier, I showed up to find a large group of riders looking the conquer De Ronde. Right at 10, we took off. This was a sight to be seen, looked like the beginning of a Tour stage. As soon as the legs started to warm, we hit the first hill. It was about 1000 feet of climbing up a dirt fire road. By the time, we hit the top, I was smokin hot. Vest was off and jersey was unzipped. Next few miles were just rollers, but fun and fast. Keep in mind I am just following the crowd as I have no idea where the route actually goes. As we were descending at a pretty decent clip, I noticed the group was turning up the road. A

s soon as we turned left, we hit a 12% grade little climb. Chains were popping and derailleurs were cracking as riders were trying to make the quick adjustment. I got to the top of the first section with little problem, turned the corner and realized the road keep going and the grade got steeper. All riders at this point, were in the granny gear standing up to a cadence of about 30. Half way up this section, I bailed onto a level driveway, road one little circle and then started climbing again. I hit one other driveway on my way up, but it was brutal. Never put a foot down though! After the ride I was told that section was 24% grade and about 1/4 to 1/2 mile long. It was nasty to say the least.

The next 20 miles or so, consisted of going up slowly and down very quickly....rinse, and repeat. I knew there was one climb that was on a single lane mossy road that hit 28

% grade...it now lay before me and I was ready. Well, I was ready for the first 20 feet. I found myself gasping for air, cadence I'm sure was in the 20's. Difference here is no real relief. As I was trying my best to just look forward, I noticed a driveway that was half way up the climb. As soon as I got there, I opted to take it. Did my own little circle and then headed back up the rest of the way. Again, no foot down, so that made me happy. It was a brutal climb. As soon as I got to the top, I realized our climbing was not over, the grade came down to 5 or 6, so it wasn't bad at all. The rest of the ride was more of the same, up and down, up and down. We finished the ride at the top of Council Crest park. This is the highest point in Portland (very fitting). Now, to just ride those 8 miles back home. Thankfully, 6 of those miles were all downhill.

All in all, it was a great ride. My buddy and I finished in just under 4 hours,

I did about 62 miles (according to my PowerTap), and 8500 feet of climbing.

Here is the garmin file - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30363467.

This was much deserved!

A little more Max

Ok, so it has been 5 days since Max was born...and they have flown by. We had a pediatrician appointment yesterday and he checked out pretty well. He was slightly jaundice, but what baby isn't right? Jackson however has strep throat and Margaret has an infection...both are doing much better today.

It is interesting how things are already pretty different with the addition of another child. It is going to take me a couple of weeks to decide what is actually different, so for now it is just a feeling. My mom has been out here as well to help out, so I'm sure it is going to feel even more different once she is gone. This saturday will be a true test.

Anyway, I appreciate all of the calls and emails that I've gotten. It is always nice to reconnect with folks. I have a few pictures that I wanted to share with you all. There were from the hospital, all taken off of my phone. I'll add some other photos from a real camera to a different post. Thanks for looking!

About an hour before Max arrived

Margaret laboring in the tub. She was a champ!

Max about 30 seconds old.

Jackson's first visit at the hospital.

Here is a quick little video I took from my phone at the hospital the day we left. Enjoy!

Margaret is going to write up a nice description of the birth of Max I'm sure. So, check out dtw2pdx.blogspot.com in the next few days. She is a much better writer than me.

Maxwell Steven Dale

Well, I haven't really had anything to write about as of late, but that all changed yesterday. Max, who was not named until today, came into our lives at 3:57 yesterday afternoon (4/9/10). He weighted 7 lbs 6 ozs and was 19 inches long. Margaret did an awesome job and took the pain like a champ. From our time of arrival to the time of delivery was a little under two hours. I will write more later and post a video or two, but here is a picture of Max and Jackson.

Banana Belt #3

Ok, so here goes...the race report.

All races were delayed about 30 minutes due to ice first thing in the morning, so I started at about 1:15. It was 48 degrees and I was pretty chilly. Anyway, we had a neutral start for about 200 yards and then it was on. From the get go the pace was pretty high. This was an 11 mile loop that we were doing 3 times. Each lap had about 800 feet of climbing. I settled into the pack for the first few miles and then got ansy and wanted to be closer to the front, most likely my first mistake. Anyway, at mile marker 6 we had a steep downhill followed by a 90 degree corner. A few dudes came flying by me on the inside and I thought, these guys don't know there is a turn. Sure enough, they layed it down right in front of me. I was lucky and avoided, but missed the turn. I was sitting in about 7 wheel or so. After this near miss, I was sitting about at the end, peloton hammering down the flats section just up the road. There were three guys that veered off course with me, we quickly set out to work together and catch back up to the group. It took about 2 miles to finally catch them. I was whooped, not what I had hoped for the first 10 miles of the race. Anyway, worked my way back to the front of the group as we came though for lap one. My computer said 26 minutes, I was surprised, but my body feel like it was exactly right.

Lap two was more of the same, minus the crashing at the 90 degree corner. There were a couple small breaks, but they were brought back almost immediately. The group at the beginning of lap 3 was still all together, but that really didn't last for long. At the first climb on the third lap, we split into two. I was sitting about 10th wheel in the lead group, but was getting pushed out to the left. This was probably my next mistake as I took a pretty good pull up a longer hill to get back to the front. I then proceeded to lead the group to the top. We hit the 90 degree corner with about 4 miles to go, pace picked up, but still no one attacking. I was very tempted, but figured it was way to early, plus I just pulled the group to the top. We had one climb left that was anything to speak about. That would have been a good spot to try and break. And it was for the guy who did. I hadn't seen this guy once in the race, but he came up the right side flying. Nobody went with him. Once at the top of this section, it was mostly downhill to the finish. With 1k to go, I was behind a guy who bonked and sat up, I lost a few spots here. At the 200m sign, I took off into the oncoming traffic lane (this was the only time it was allowed) and hit it as hard as I could. I made a few of my spots back, but was still too far back after this clown sat up in front of me. I ended up 14th out of 44. I guess I was happy, but I have a better sprint than what I was able to use. The first 20 guys all finsihed within 2 seconds of the winner. Oh well, it was fun and overall a really nice day for racing. Here is a picture of my steed for the race:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27029961 - Garmin file for race.

Corsa Concepts

I won a little contest this week and for the Banana Belt Series Race #3, I get to ride these babies. Pretty sweet. I'll post up some pics of my bike when I have them on.

p.o.t.d

Current state of the living room. What is the problem?

Correct - the stroller and laundry on the couch are in my way!

p.o.t.d

Went rolled into downtown last night to check out the sun set. This picture was pretty good.

It doesn't get old

I went out again today on a little solo adventure. The views I received today remind me of God's presence. I cut the ride a little short because it was so nice out that I wanted to make sure Jackson, Margaret and I could spend some time in the sun. It takes me about 25 minutes before I see this:

I figured "Why not just ride straight for the mountain", so that is what I did. You think I am closer now?

After my own personal Time Trial, I decided to head on over to the airport. I love riding by it as you always get to see something pretty cool. I watched a few planes take off and a few land. Here are a few pics:

This is pretty close to the end of my ride. It really doesn't get old riding with views like this.

Back at home, ready for some food!

I usually keep my computer running the whole time, even when I stop to take a picture, etc. This way, I know how long I have been gone. For you geeks out there, you can check out the ride here. I had a nasty headwind on the way out!

Training

Did a couple good rides this week. I have been going out on a Tuesday night ride with a group of anywhere from 4-12. This week it was just two of us.

Yesterday was a beautiful day - I went out in the afternoon for a 50 mile, 5559 ft of climbing little training ride. Check it out here...http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26101766. It is crazy as we were only out of the city by about 10 miles, but you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. Views were incredible! For those who come to visit me, this is a no brainer ride we should take.

Not so Chilly Hilly

I went up to Seattle this weekend to participale in the Chilly Hilly with the other 5,000 people who registered. Turned out to be 58 and sunny. It was a good time riding with my brother, Chad, Jason and Kevin. Now that I think about it, we should have taken a picture.

My beautiful wife...and boys

a few more here...

What Rain???

It has been pretty incredible here over the past 5 or 6 days. Zero rain, 58-65 degree temps and tons o sun. My parents were in town last week so they really lucked out. I was able to get out for a couple rides this weekend. Saturday did 50 fast and hilly miles with about 21 other guys. It was a great, but I was whooped at the end. Yesterday, I met up with one other guy for about 30 miles. We went at a pretty good pace, and the route was flat, so that made my weary legs happy. We did an out and back to Sauvie Island. Here are a few pics I took from the same spot. I could see all four peaks perfectly. My phone doesn't take the best pics, but you get the idea.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Adams

Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier

Today's workout

I did a pretty hard ride last night about 33 miles in the spitting rain. Wasn't too bad. I even won a few of the sprints. Todays workout looked a little different.

287 x 6 = 1722 stairs. Now = Whooped.

ORBA

Officially a member of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association as of today. Now, to find some races to enter. Suggestions?

Zoo

Jackson and my buddy Andy and I went to the zoo this afternoon. We were orginally just going to go and check it out, but once we were there, decided to give it a go. It was pretty cool and Jackson seemed to have a great time. We first saw these fatties:

We checked out some other pretty cool stuff, and then went to the lions den. Jackson was almost eaten alive. Good thing he was so tough!

Once we got back we had some very tough decisions to make:

More miles

Another 45 wet miles in the saddle again today. I might have to get used to riding wet. Good times though. I think I am still a little cold.

Lunch time ride

I decided that 52 and sunny was worthy of a quick lunch time ride today. Here is what I saw on my ride today. 3 f-16's taking off just over my head - they proceeded to shoot straight up in the sky; one of them even did a roll as it lauched. I felt like a little kid. Mt. St. Helens was in full glory today as well. I passed one old (and hairy) shirtless walker, I raced a semi truck in a 25 mile per hour zone...and yes, I won. A 747 flew about 300 feet over my head - I was riding right next to the airport. And last but not least, this is what I saw for most of my ride:

The picture does not do it justice. Come out and see for yourselves, I have a nice 35 mile loop we can enjoy.

Welcome to Oregon

Well, I have been trying to get in a few more miles than normal. I have been traveling enough that my riding went down, but the last week or so has been better. We have had some pretty nice weather over the last few days. Well, I guess nice for Jan - 55 and sunny a couple days ago. Anyway, today was nice...fairly sunny and about 49/50. I was pretty excited because I was going to do a group road ride tonight. They typically do about 25 miles and I had about 10 extra on the way there and back. As soon as I stepped outside to get on my bike at 5:30 it started to rain. It did not let up until I got back to my house at 7:30. I ended up doing about 24 miles and it was wet. The entire ride was very rainy, I was soaked in the first 5 minutes. But this is Oregon right...it rains. So, this was my welcome to Oregon ride - it was worth every minute. Here is a picture from when I got home. It doesn't really show, but I was dripping wet.

Where have I been?

It has been a while since my last post. I spent the past 3 weeks back in Detroit for the Christmas holiday. We had a great time, but are glad to be back. We probably drove more in those three weeks than we have the whole time in Portland.

Our trip home was very adventurous, had a long and unexpected layover in Minnie (over night), went to the Mall of America for Margaret and Jackson to see. That place is a nightmare.

Anyway, I'll write more later. Happy New Year.