a much anticipated race...

i competed in the race for which i have been training all summer. 72 miles and 4000 feet of climbing around take tahoe.

before i verbally drag you through the play by play, let me give you the cliff notes. we met friends from high school here for the weekend. we competed in the race saturday morning and i made it to the finish line in 3 hours 5 minutes and 46 seconds. this time was much better than i anticipated and surpassed the goal we created for ourselves of under four hours at the start of the summer. some perspective on the course from the official website:

1. You will receive handsome achievement awards for riding under 4 hours and 3:30.
2. Our current record is 3:01 held by Jeff Schalk of San Francisco.
3. Legend has it that Greg Lemond did it in 3:15 as a high school student while growing up in Reno.
4. The first 9 miles is through about 25 stop lights with a police escort for the lead Peloton.
5. Last year's winner was Jeff Angerman with a time of 3:06:31.23

so there you have the low-down. if you want to read on i will regale you with the weekend's fesitivities..:)

these first four pictures show our family on the beach the night we drove in from yosemite (another post to follow on that camping trip...)

the kiddos were ecstatic to be out of the car and you can see the joy etched in bekah's face as she skips her way around the playground on the beach.

ella has been the consummate traveler and amy is showing her the love right here.



michael quietly enjoyed his sisters, the sunset and throwing rocks and sand into the water.

the next morning we scouted out the first climb of the race in the car and did some site-seeing from the cliff-top lookout at emerald bay. absolutely beautiful.



we then drove to the cabin we went in on jointly with joseph, amy (their kids), brent, lyndi (their girl), joseph's mom and siblings. we got our bearings in this sweet three-story hillside cabin before heading again to the beach with the whole clan. our group made quite the stir on the playground equipment and in the water. it was a great respite before the race the next day and it was really nice catching up with everyone.

the race was a riot. the profile has two major climbs at mile 17 and 57. we figured if we could stay with the leading group on the first climb and then draft together in a group around the lake we could finish fairly close to the top.

the first 10 miles were all about the police escort through town. the peleton was a bit jumpy to start with one girl going down immediately as she was pummeled by a large cone set up to keep the riders to the right of the road at the start of the race. there were errant water bottles skittering about beneath our tires and riders jockeying for position. we slowly made our way towards the front of the group while the police motorcade and roared past us between lights to hold up traffic as we passed...

i met a 'cat 3' rider during this early stage in the race. he had the surefooted signs of someone who knows their way around a peleton and i was able to follow him up to the front 5-10 riders at the start of the first big climb. i hung closely for most of the climb, but as the % grade reached 12 percent in the waning yards of the climb my lungs felt like they were going to explode and my legs were screaming for me to stop. i didn't want to bonk out of the race with no energy remaining for the 52 miles to come, so i dropped back with a shadow group just behind the leaders for the second-half of the first climb.

from there joseph (who bridged two heroic gaps to get back with the trailing peleton) and i drafted and pushed our way around the lake amidst gorgeous views of the lake at sunrise, high-speed water bottle hand-offs, huge pot holes emerging unsuspectingly to jar and tug at our hands and arms, and lots of adrenaline as we worked to bridge any gaps when the group would break up on smaller climbs and descents. the pace was unrelenting at 23-27 mph during this interlude before the final 10 mile 800-900 vertical foot climb.

this final climb was unfamiliar for both joseph and me. i began the climb with the leaders of the 'chase-group'. however, i dropped the ball just before the first leveling in the climb and they drafted their way out of my reach before making the final push to the summit. this left me to make the big-time descent and final undulating 5 miles to the finish-line on my own.

in the end, we all surpassed our time-goal.

those final 5 miles became a test of my will and endurance. a 5 miles where i thought a lot about the 1500+ miles i put in on the bike this summer. i thought of the sacrifices amy made all summer and the good times i'd had training. i prayed for no final flat for the ride and pushed till the end.

the race was extremely rewarding. my time was four minutes off the course record for 5 years running, and better than last year's winning time. this race weekend was a memorable one. with memories i will carry for a lifetime. playing over the key moments of the race in my mind has left me with thoughts of 'what if' and with anticipation for races to come...

most importantly was the cheering section who showed up in all their pastel glory to cheer us on. celebrating with family at the finish completed the experience in a beautiful way:)

all that being said...i return to the true hero of the summer and my favorite person. thank you amy for the sacrifices you made to allow me this experience...

We Rejoice in Christ... That Our Children May Know..

Yesterday during the BYU game (GO COUGS!!!), there was a commercial that said something like, "Remember when the most important thing you had to learn was the ABCs?"

Michael scrunched his eyebrows together and said, "Hey, that's not right. Learning about Jesus is the most important thing we have to learn!"


This is representative about something I really appreciate about Michael. He really thinks about the gospel a lot and assimilates the lessons he learns at home, in his primary classes, and in primary songs into daily life.

We were reading family scriptures last night, and as we read the phrase "the fruit of thy loins" over and over in the Book of Mormon, I was reminded of a Sunday morning about a year ago when we were rushing Michael, Abby, and Bekah through the bathtub. Michael looked up at me and said, "Hey mom! All the fruits of your loins are in the tub at the same time!"

His prayers are so sweet, and always reflect the things he has been learning about lately. There was a phase when he always prayed, "I am thankful to be like the Armies of Heleman, because I am being taught while in my youth." And then there was the week where he would always pray that "All the people who are becoming miserable like unto Satan can repent."

It reminds me of the scripture from the Book of Mormon that is always an important reminder to me about what my priorities need to be. 2 Nephi 25:26: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."


I just love how these truths are such a prominent part of Michael's life right now, and appreciate the framework of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives me such hope that these important truths will bring true happiness into the lives of my children.

a bear of an achievement...

in a culmination of preparation for the race around lake tahoe, i rode to big bear lake. because of my lack of homework prior to the ride--i unwittingly embarked on a day of climbing that nearly doubled the vertical foot total of any previous ride this summer.

to get to big bear lake, you must pass through 50+ miles of the san bernardino mountain range in the san gorgonio national forest shown below.


View Larger Map

the ride begins up mill creek canyon. a canyon that holds many memories for me as this is where i took amy when first looking for a home as a break from the smog. this is also the site of my first several mountain-bike rides after arriving in redlands two years ago.

this climb sets the tone for the rest of the ride. it's persistent 6% grade grinds on for miles, but out of the pain comes some spectacular views of the canyon and of the valley below.



the ride to big bear lake is larger than life. with sweeping canyon switchbacks and dizzying drops from this winding canyon highway




while riding, i listened to george crile's 'charlie wilson's war' (a fascinating and captivating look at the US funded jihad in afghanistan in the 80's.)

the story kept me riveted and i almost forgot i'd embarked on a seven hour solo event--what with charlie wilson and gust avrakotos keeping me company.

sitting between redlands and big bear lake is one small obstacle that must unavoidably be overcome:



while onyx summit lies on the highest paved road in southern california and is the high point of the ride at mile 42, reaching the summit felt anti-climactic. i could not yet see big bear from this vantage, and every vertical foot i traversed while descending to the lake taunted me in the realization that getting home might be tougher than i had bargained for. getting to onyx summit again at mile 68 of the ride became a test of will that i have--to this point in my life--nevver experienced on a bike.

reaching big bear was a relief, but not the emotional release i thought it would be. i did stop for a chicken sandwhich at am/pm and ate it on a grassy plot near the lake to the sounds of sarah mclaughlin. sarah was a calming influence in the face of the climb i faced to get out of the big bear valley, and was in honor of amy who had the kids during this 7+ hour ordeal...in fact, it's hard to know whose day was tougher--hers or mine.


to calm my nerves and find general inspiration for the climb out--i left sarah playing. the 15 mile, 1700 foot climb to onyx summit with the grade often reaching 6 and 7% hit me physically. if you think back to those times at night when you had 'growing pains'. the type of muscle cramps that hurt so bad your mom comes in to massage your legs and you fear you won't make it through the night? this was the experience i had upon restarting my ride. at times i was worried that i was pulling my muscles from their tendonous hold on the long-bones of my legs. the ache felt unbearable and i thought i may be stuck at mile 60 with no phone coverage and amy waiting anxiously for me to return and take the kiddos off her hands...

at that moment, there was no joseph lee to push me forward with his optimism and complaint-free manner as during the ride on the PCH. in this time of need, i turned once again to wilson and avrakotos. once my mind was firmly trained on their quest to procure funds and means to shoot down the 'murderous hind helicopter' in afghanistan i was off and climbing.

upon reaching the summit i stopped to reassess. the ache in my legs had subsided and i had a 7443 foot descent (albeit undulating at times) looming ahead and life felt good.

in honor of the tickets i purchased for the concert later this month, i turned to weezer for the ride home. throughout the ride home songs sprung up at just the right times--'trouble maker', 'dope-nose', 'get dangerous' for the descents, and 'heart songs', 'best friend', 'girlfriend' and 'beverly hillls' for the remaining climbs. i thought of amy at home with the kids. i thought of stephen's birthday present to me of 'best friend' in an email and i felt dad cheering me on as i passed a large scout camp nestled in the backwoods of the san gorgonio national forrest. i even thought of jonny's dismay just off his mission when his two older brothers knew all the words to 'we are all on drugs'...all these moments served up meaning as i rode on.

in all, the 9,500 vertical feet and 110 miles of climbing left me spent, but happy.

if you made it to the end of this post, then you certainly have the stamina to come try this ride with me again before we leave southern california for colder pastures...

The Obama t-shirt...

You might wonder what you would look like in the much-discussed Obama t-shirt...

would you buy this t-shirt..?

if you have been following the recent discussion here on the blog, you may have heard whom i will be voting for. and you may have heard that i have joined the 'mormons for obama' camp...

so i made up this t-shirt design and came very close to purchasing it myself...however, my better half put the brakes on. the t-shirt is $27.68 with an added cost for me to ship it to you. this is a 6 person minimum order.

however, if 12 people want shirts then the cost would drop to $17.38 per shirt. are you interested? do you have any friends that are interested? the date of the election is closing in, so let me know in the comments if you want one. if we can get the cost below $20.00 i think i'm in.

let me know!

my fascination with democrats...

i am a lifelong republican. deep at heart i feel that when government bureaucrats take over a task they will ultimately bungle it badly. a bureaucracy is inherently inefficient. politicians wasting my hard earned money through taxation is galling.

so why would i choose to vote for barack obama? why, when i heard of mccain's bump from the convention, did i nearly buy a yard sign for our front yard and a bumper sticker for my car?

here is a recent article that has been floating around in my head since i read it last week. fascinating stuff.

income inequality can be devastating to a society. sure, i want those that have talent and work hard to be compensated handsomely for their work. the quality that comes from american corporations is born out of the competition in the american markets where lots of money is to be had for the company with the best product.

however, when it becomes too easy for those at the top to cut all others out of the potential to also rise through hard work, then a detrimental grinding poverty and hopelessness may continue to descend on large swathes of america.

income inequality is a real phenomenon. if you were wondering where your income and educational level sits amongst your american peers then look here under 'how class breaks down'. it may surprise you where you sit on the totem poll.

ultimately though, this graph is the message i took from the article:

"The table...shows that families at the 95th percentile fared almost as well under Republican presidents as under Democrats (1.90 percent growth per year, versus 2.12 percent), giving them little stake, economically, in election outcomes."

sure, i'm skeptical of a couple guys from princeton telling us that democrats are better for the economy and for the poor in america...but the idea set forth here is fascinating. that while democrats may raise taxes here and there...the income of the most wealthy rose at similar rates regardless of the party in office...and at the same time--something was done about the shameful income inequality that continues to widen.

capitalism at its heart is heartless. it is least suited to benefit the sick, young and elderly. it would follow that a good capitalist government would then look after these segments of society in a manner ethical and compassionate.

am i off in this? have i been brainwashed somewhere along the line?

American Gladiators...

AYSO Soccer season is here again, and this season our family will be trekking to the soccer fields each Wednesday night for practice and Saturday morning for games. Today was our first game.

The team: The American Gladiators. They do a guttural roar that's supposed to scare the other team. Their colors: NEON yellow and royal blue. Here is Michael trying on his uniform and gladiator face the night before today's big game.


And here are some words of anticipation:



Michael was excited... I was terrified. You see, Paul worked today and the game was at 8am. What's that?? Get all the kiddos and myself up and fed and ready and in the car and on the field by 7:30... AM??

Well, we weren't really there at 7:30... but we did make it before the game started. And the girls wore their clothes to bed. And I got McDonald's on the way. And miraculously, Abby and Bekah stayed on the blanket with the diversions I brought... and Ella was awake but graciously calm. Whew.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Michael loved playing his first game. Here are a few pictures to put you in the moment.

The team huddle. Coach Uribes is so good with these kids--thoughtful about the whole "experience" for the kids and their families. He's teaching them great concepts and is so positive with them.


It was so fun to watch these kids get the hang of being in a game. Here is a short video... Michael kicks it in.



Michael did a great job running for most of the game. This is how Michael walked on the field when he wasn't running--on the heels of his nifty cleats.


Michael loves playing defense... or, as Coach Uribes calls it... "Monster Trucks." He would prefer to play goalie if this league had goal keepers. He guards it anyway, as you can see in this picture (didn't get a closer shot b/c I didn't dare leave the girls...).


So I don't feel the need to publish the score of the game, but I'm hopeful that the American Gladiators will score next week :). Win or loose, I think these boys just love playing the game. Here is Michael with teammates Kai and Luke. They love the banner that we made.


The best part of games are the snacks at the end, right?? Especially when they're doughnuts!


The girls loved cheering for their Michael. They felt so big hanging out with the players after the game.


And Michael was named the "Player of the Game" by his coach! Go Michael... we are so proud of you! Coach tried to establish the tradition of giving a "team tackle" to the player of the game. The kids got the hang of it eventually...



This is what Michael has to say about his first game: "I was the player of the game. And we did good. And I was a good monster truck. I did good goal kicks. And we did cheers for us. Love, Michael."

I asked him afterwards what his favorite part of the game was. He told me "When we scored the goals." I didn't have the heart to tell him that... well... they didn't score any.

Maybe next week...

i'm a believer...

sure, we didn't win by the margin oregon did last week against washington.

maybe we didn't beat washington by the margin ohio state beat ohio...

maybe we shot ourselves in the foot a few too many times for comfort..?

maybe the pac 10 refs handed several calls down the stretch that are forgotten in the glow of the jake lockers 'football toss'.

but wow, the glow i'm feeling after this win is 'very nice'. a win i was 60% sure wasn't going to happen. i have watched far too many losses to pac 10 teams in my time as a byu fan and i was very nervous.

but my goodness. the elation of that blocked punt (irony strikes again as byu has won it's last two games versus pac 10 teams in similar fashion...)

and let's not downplay the washington team. they were fighting mad after their humiliation last week against oregon. this was their swan song for coach willingham. byu was tough when they needed to be.

and let's not forget that byu beat washington in every offensive and defensive category except penalties and 4th down conversion (byu didn't have to attempt any.) this obvious edge in the stat category was lost on the announcers that were falling over themselves to condemn the loss as the fault of the pac 10 refs who have a time-honored tradition of calling the game for the home-team in outrageously unfair ways. well, this time the cougs put a stamp on the naysayers by blocking the kick to take the win back into their own hands.

even if byu loses to air force away and doesn't go on to a bowl game...this ending of the 0-9 streak in non-bowl games against non-conference opponents lifted my faith in the true legitimacy of these boys. they played with poise and battled back over and over.

sweet victory this one.

Go Stephen!!

All this time we've been wondering what Stephen has REALLY been doing up there in the NYC.




All we can say is that, Stephen... you have our vote!

Signing Time...

Our nephew, Aaron, is profoundly deaf. He is also profoundly cute!



His parents, Jonny and Melinda, have been amazing as they've thrown themselves into being proactive for his medical options--including lots of personal research, testing, fittings for hearing aids, and arrangements for cochlear implants.


I have been amazed with the process and the way they are thriving in their situation. As I watch with love and admiration, I want to do all I can to help and be a part of a positive experience for them and their little family.


Luckily, Mel has provided a very positive way for us to be a part of it all. On her blog, she keeps us updated with *pictures* and *signs* that she is using with Aaron. This helps us all to learn with him and will help us to communicate with his consistently. Thank you, thank you Melinda for thinking of involving us!!


We've loved learning the signs around here. Michael, especially, loves them and asks all the time if Mel has posted any new "Aaron signs." He is excited for the next time he sees Aaron and can tell him some of his favorite things. He just adores Aaron. Really... he talks about him all the time.


This was after the "food" post:



The girls get into it, too. Here is Bekah being polite:

And here is Michael with a special message for little Aaron:

It has been inspiring to see how Jonny and Mel have responded to this challenge as an opportunity. Thank you for blessing us with such an amazing example of faith, determination, and optimism. Thanks for having a cousin for our kiddos. And thanks for having such a dang cute kid!