No baby yet! I'm gonna try and rub some ankles and feed Jen some spicy Squez food. If nothing happens after that..... I'm going in : ) I'll keep you posted. Later.

Bench Building

Trent came over yesterday and helped me build a work bench for the garage. Now I can play shop mechanic and really mess up my bikes : ) Oh well. I'll just have to have Fox Cycle Repair fix my mistakes when he comes through town. The bench was fairly easy to make. Especially since Trent did most of the work. He let me touch his tools a couple of times, and then said I need to get my own : ) Thanks to Trent for all the help. Thanks to Brian for the plans. Here are a some pictures of the project.

In other home improvement news. The baby room is pretty much ready. He's due for arrival on Thursday, but maybe we'll have an Easter baby. You never know. Here's some more pictures for the soon to be Grandmas.

Bike shops and Baby rooms

I was thinking of building a work bench right below where the bikes are now. It's a two stall garage, and we only have one car. So, there's lots of room for a home bike shop. I need to finish insulating and dry walling it though.

The baby room is almost complete. We got the crib all cozied up, and built a bouncy chair, swing, stroller and play pen this weekend.

New House

The house and proud new owners.

Jax exploring his new fun house.

I actually put this crib together myself. I'll have to have Brian or Foxy check my bolt tightness though : )

Prepping the baby's new room for painting.

All painted. The color was lighter than we thought it would be. It looks a little green in these pictures, but it is actually a lighter tan color.

That's all for now. More to come. Any requests?

Riding with my heroes Sorry for the late race report. We've been busy moving and getting settled into the new house. I finally have internet again! Not sure I have too much different to say then all the other reports out there already, but here's my tale. I finally finished the Arrowhead race this year. Third time is a charm I guess. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. By a long shot. The Mangan and I headed up a day early this year on Saturday instead of Sunday. I think that helped calm the nerves, and gave us more time to make last minute changes. There were quite a few early arrivals. We spent a lot of the day checking out everyone's gear and bikes. Rick was like a kid in the candy store, snapping over 500 pictures over the course of the race. Lots of great ideas and gear this year. My favorite was the Epic Designs fat bike bling. I'm definitely getting some of that for next year. Sunday was more of the same. Checking out everyone's bikes and gear, and hanging out with all the interesting characters that make the Arrowhead so much fun. The race started on Monday morning. Charlie and I got to the start right when Dave Pramann and Greg Pattison did. We all started together and had a relatively fast pace line going with Dave P doing the majority of the work. We stayed together for most of the 18 mile out and back. The trail was great on this first section. Once we hit the trail on the other side of the highway, Dave P didn't stop his insane pace until the end of the race. He missed beating his course record by three minutes! Finishing in an impressive 15 hours 48 minutes! I think he should have to do the Arrowhead 270 out and back course next year : ) I was dropped instantly by the others as the trail was pretty soft. It was one of the highlights of my race to ride so fast with those guys. Lots of fun! I decided to slow down and go my own pace. I got to the first checkpoint at the Gateway store and only stayed long enough to have a sandwich and refill my liquids. Not much exciting happened on the trail to the second checkpoint at MelGeorge's Resort. When I got there I was pretty tired. They had a new cabin this year with a bunch of great volunteers offering grilled cheese, spaghetti and burgers. I ate them all and they were spectacular! I tried to relax and sleep a little, but couldn't settle down. Dave Gray was heading out and asked if I wanted to go with. I hesitated, but then decided I would try and get a good chunck of trail out of the way before sun up. It was about 11:00pm when we headed out. We rode together for a good 5 miles. Then Dave stopped to refuel and I kept going. I was surprised that I didn't see his head lights behind me. At about 3:00am I saw a snowmobile coming and stopped to chat. It was a volunteer checking on us. He said there was about 10 miles of hills left, and that there was a rider bivying a couple miles ahead at one of the trailside shelters. I thanked him for the update and headed down the trail. I came up to the shelter and decided to stop and see who was staying there. It was Chemical Ali himself, Charlie Farrow. I asked if he was alright, and he said he was. I thought I would hang out and eat and drink a little before heading back out. I made the mistake of not putting on my down jacket while I ate and chatted. I got cold pretty fast. I had to make a quick decision between getting in my sleeping bag or start riding again to get warm. I chose the sleeping bag. I found a comfy spot right outside the shelter in some snow. I made another mistake of not taking off my wet layers before getting inside. I fell asleep pretty quickly. Dave Gray stopped to check on us. Once he left I couldn't get back to sleep and was pretty cold and wet. I was pretty miserable and kind of worried, but Charlie told me to just do some situps and go to sleep. That worked, and I finally warmed up enough to fall asleep. The sun started to come up, and Charlie said he was going to get going. I layed around a little longer and then got my stuff together and gave chase. Charlie and I rode together until the non stop hills got the best of me and I had to slow down. My neck and shoulder muscles were kiling me. They were sore and falling asleep. Soon the hills ended, and the 20 mile flat section started. I would soon be wishing for the hills. This flat section is never ending and wears on the mind. At least with hills you have to focus on getting up them and then have a fun ride down the other side. My neck and shoulders were really starting to worry me. I've never been in that much pain. A snowmobile came up behind me towards the end. It was Don Clark and Terry Branick I think? I had no idea how much farther I had to go. When they told me 10 miles. I was crushed. I was ready quit right there. I didn't think I could go any further. I wanted to ask for a ride so bad, but Don told me to just get off and walk for a while. Then they took off down the trail with ease. Next year I think I'll buy a snowmobile and volunteer as a support person : ) Just kidding!! I walked for a while. Then I sat down on the side of the trail and sulked. Finally I pulled myself together and started riding again. I was seeing animals and snowmobiles on the trail that weren't there. It was weird. I started talking to myself and kept telling my legs to just ride. I decided to give it all I had and put the hammer down. Pretty soon I saw the sign for Bayview Lodge at the end of the course. Only two miles to go! I climbed one last hill and coasted to the finish cabin. 29 hours and 13 minutes after I started. I was never so happy to be off my bike. I vowed to sell it when I got home. That didn't last very long though. I was greeted by all the other riders that had already finished and the voluteers. I got a photo taken with a Arrowhead trophy, and then had a big plate of spaghetti with Chuck Lindner who finished right after me. Way to finish on your first try Chuck! Very impressive. Hope to see you at Nine Mile and Afton this year! I'm glad to have finally completed this great event, and to have ridden with and met so many wonderful people along the way. Maybe I'll try and walk it next year : ) A big THANK YOU to Pierre and Cheryl Ostor for putting on this great event and making it better and better each year! Another big thanks to all the volunteers! You guys and gals are the best! Thanks to all who helped get me and my bike ready for this race. Especially Terry, Monty, Pat and Brian at the Ski and Bike Shop in Grand Forks, ND. My bontrager connection, Brian in Wisco. All the other Arrowheaders and bloggers out there who inspire me to do crazy races like this. And last but definitely not least, Rick "The Mangan" for our weekly phone calls, training rides and all your great ideas. Good luck to Pierre and Alaska Jill out on the Iditarod Trail. Pierre is going all the way to Nome this year. 1100 miles! GO Pierre GO!

Irons in the Fire (a special post for Trent, hi Trent : )

Lots of irons in the fire lately. I'm gonna need them to stay warm at the Arrowhead.

The bike is all upgraded for the big dance in a little over a week. I can't say too much about it for fear of giving an advantage to the wily Charlie Farrow. Just kidding here are a couple of pictures. I'm gonna be at the back of the pack anyway : )

In other news Jen is doing great with the little guy kicking stronger and stronger everyday. I think he might be a cyclist with those strong legs : ) Time will tell. That's for him to decide anyways. As for Jen she has a huge beer belly going on right now : ) March 27th can't come soon enough. I've been watching plenty of Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood to prepare : )

As if a winter ultramarathon and a baby weren't enough. We decided to buy our first house as well. We are closing on February 8th. Right after getting home from the Arrowhead. Then it's lot's of painting, moving and getting the baby's room ready for his arrival. Too much fun. I should have lots to blog about though. So stay tuned. I'll try and post again before the Arrowhead, but if not follow all the action on the Arrowhead Forum. Later.

Go Elf Yourself Here's this year's Team Brown Bear crew from 24-9 spreading some holiday cheer : ) Make sure to have your sound on. Enjoy! http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1471407658

Updates

I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. Work has been crazy busy with the holidays approaching. One good piece of news from work is that I finally got the time off for the Arrowhead race. I've registered and am on the 2008 race roster. Very excited about that! Training has commenced on the weekends. Rides with pw, Jim and "The Mangan" are all helping to get into prime Arrowhead racing fitness. We have over a foot of snow on the ground here and it looks like International Falls has even more. The course should be perfect this year. Hopefully the cold temps we've been having will stick around. It was -27F the last two nights up in Grand Forks. I went out for a three hour ride yesterday afternoon up there. It was between 0F and -10F. Great trails have been made along the Red River by the snowmobiles. There is also a great groomed trail throughout lincoln park and golf course. Good stuff. I'll have to go explore around Fargo this week and see what I can find down here. I took a couple of pictures and videos yesterday. Here they are.

Rick has his winter gear testing lab all set up.

In other news Jen and I found out that we are going to be having a baby boy on March 27 2008. Any suggestions on names? I was thinking Bear. Like Bear Grylls. That guy is crazy!

Here's a couple pictures to satisfy and make G-reg jealous. I bet you wish you had a set of these instead of those weak White Industries cranks : ) They should be going on the Pugs next weekend. Looks like a good chance of snow for then as well. Just in time.

Exploring

Rick and I went on a little scouting ride last night up in Grand Forks. We went along the Red River on the ND and MN sides. We found some really nice four wheeler trails on the point in EGF that were a lot of fun. Only about a mile of the river bank, but there were at least two or three different off shoots that we didn't explore yet. Hopefully the snowmobiles will be back in there once the snow flies and they will be just as good in the winter. Speaking of winter it had to be at or below 20F along the river last night. The weather channel said it was 23, but it was definitely colder than that when we were riding. My hands got numb at one point. Fun stuff. I'm still waiting for a couple parts to show up before the Pugs is all upgraded. Hopefully this week sometime. The new fork worked great on the river trails and in town. It will be interesting to see how it handles all loaded up for winter though. That's all for now. Here's a few pictures.

Rick in his man cave making room for his new winter bike. I can't wait to see it. It's gonna be a looker.

This picture turned out kind of dark, but I like it. If you look closely under the bridge you can see Rick on the trail.

This one is on the four wheeler trails we found. My camera died while taking it, and there is a weird leaf shape just above and to the left of the trail. Strange.

Never bring a Switchblade to a cat fight

Pw helped me get the Pugs ready for winter again yesterday. Thanks a bunch Pat! Got the new Switchblade fork and CK wheel installed. As well as the old faithful XTR rear derailer off the 8000 and a new chain. It looks great, and as a bonus, found out that this new front end makes it steer a million times better. I'm not sure of the weight savings yet. The fork is a lot lighter and the hub is narrower and without a disc mount or rotor. I bet I easily saved two pounds or more over the old setup. Now I'm just waiting for a couple more parts to show up next week that should lighten the load even more. Stay tuned. In the mean time enjoy a few photos and a video of our UFC kitties.

Amazingly the tire slips right into the fork at full pressure. I thought for sure I'd have to deflate and work to make it fit.

Plenty of clearence. I think I see daylight in between there : ) Nothing rubs though.

Tight tolerences. This receipt fits right in the gap : )

Jax relaxing after a hard fought win for the 100 calorie snack box trophy.

Back from Beets!

The first two weeks of every October is sugar beet season. I made it through another one unscathed. This year I got an upgrade in trucks which was nice. The last few years I drove a 1976 International that I thought had a lot of power until this year. Enter the Big Red Mack. A 1980 Mack Truck that could really haul the beets. Just under 20 tons per load. Bullet proof is a good way to describe it. Anyway it was long hours in the drivers seat. 8:00pm to 8:00am. I made a nice chunk of money. What to spend it on? Hmm. How about another piece to the Pugsley puzzle. Here are some pictures of Big Red and the Pugs' new front shoe.

The Mighty Mack

JYD

A view from the drivers seat.

The night time is the right time. A little bumpy on the highway.

And finally, Large Marge has lost some weight : )