Santa

Erin and I took Madeleine to see Santa tonight and I learned a few things:

1. I may not like shopping at Plaza Frontenac, but they do have the best Santa.

2. Santa is not crowded during rush hour.

3. No matter how hard he tries, Santa may never get Madeleine to smile.

This is the 2008 photo, and we've got to give Santa credit. He really did pull out all the stops trying to pull out a smile.

Better luck next year big man.



Getting ready was even more fun:

St. Nicholas, Shopping and Illness

I’m laughing reading Jim’s post… he definitely said he was hanging up his bike until the beginning of the year. I can’t complain though as I am heading out two nights this week to an ornament exchange and book club. I’m also having a hard time believing how fast the end of the year is flying by. Friday night, St. Nicholas came to our house and brought Madeleine her Christmas PJs, a book and ornament. Now I know that for many people St. Nicholas is just another saint or he only brings candy but this has always been a big day for my family. Madeleine got the most enjoyment out of carrying around the gift bag that all the goodies came in. I’m sure the wrapping paper and boxes will be the big draws at Christmas!

Madeleine and I braved both the mall and Target this weekend even though I said I was never taking her shopping again. She did good at the mall but Target reinforced the shopping ban. At Target she decided she needed to walk which normally I would be happy about. However, the store was really crowded so I was not thrilled with this choice. Then the check out line was not moving fast enough for her and she laid down on the “clean” Target floor while in line. She also felt the need to touch everything we passed… so if anyone who went to the Kirkwood Wal-Mart on Sunday ends up with pink eye she’s probably the reason why.

Yep that’s right; Madeleine came down with pink eye over the weekend. She followed it up with a little throwing up last night. To top it all off she has a stubborn cold that will not go away. All I can say is that going to daycare is helping her build one heck of an immune system. Hopefully, she is getting all the illnesses out of the way and will be healthy for the holidays.

Madeleine and her St. Nicholas book:

Winter Rides

I promised Erin that after the Berryman Epic, I would hang up my bike and work on the upstairs. She thinks I said something about not riding until the first of the new year, but I don't recall the specifics. I do know that I had been off the bike for what seemed like forever.

So, a couple weeks ago I made it out to the Ranch for the weekly night ride, my first this season. It was a small group that Tuesday: Me, Tom, George, Kevin, Andy, Wes, and the GMG. The trail was dry, but leafy, and Wes and Geezer immediately set out to rip off the rest of our legs. I kept them in sight for the first half of the ride, and then Tommy flatted. Two CO2s (you're welcome Tom) and too many minutes later, and we were off. Well, everyone else that is. I didn't have much left in the tank and limped back to the heat, beer, and chili.

I missed last week's ride, but already have this week's on the calendar. Dwayne usually misses out on the Ranch rides as he watches Lucas on Tuesday nights, but is planning for this week as well. I'm hoping the weather holds. Night rides at the Ranch are a treat, and I need to redeem myself.

I followed up the Ranch ride with a ride at Chubb yesterday. Two rides in 6 weeks. Woohoo, I'm back!

The DRJ boys left from Lone Elk at noon, but I wasn't able to get out there until late afternoon. I had planned on riding solo but Jeremy Bradshaw was getting ready to ride as I was pulling in and was kind enough to wait for me to get ready. And kind enough to wait for me throughout the ride. Our out-and-back ride time was less than 1.5 hours, but it seemed like it took forever. I really need to get back in shape. And next time I need to remember my leg warmers. Wearing only lycra shorts on a windy, below-freezing day was just plain silly. I might as well have been naked. It sure felt that way. Oops. I guess now I know how Madeleine felt a few weeks ago.

Some pics from the Ranch ride:

A welcome winter sight:

An even more welcome winter sight:

The world's smallest IF 29er singlespeed, complete with Moose Mitts, a Ranch favorite. Note one of the world's largest IF 29er singlespeeds in background:

The Grand Master Geezer himself. Proof that 60 years of Krewet can still kick ass:

Hey Paul, I think you should have run 12 gauge:

Austin & Uncle Dave

Neither Jim nor I got around to writing about our trip to Austin last week, so here is the delayed update. Two weekends ago, Jim, Madeleine and I traveled south to Austin to visit Jim’s brother Dave for a long weekend. Madeleine is now quite the traveler as Texas was her 8th state to visit. Traveling was a breeze this time since we had a non-stop flight and Jim with us on the plane for a change. This was probably our last easy trip for awhile since the next time we fly we will have two little ones keeping us busy.

We arrived in Austin late Friday afternoon, and after a quick stop at the "Krewplex," Uncle Dave took us to Rudy’s BBQ for dinner. You order by the pound at Rudy's and they hand you your food in a soda crate, with wax paper to roll out on your picnic table (very convenient when dining with a toddler!). The bbq was great and Jim and Madeleine made a second trip to Rudy's Saturday morning to pick us up some breakfast tacos (or burritos if you're not a Rudy's regular). We know for sure Rudy’s is a favorite of Dave’s as he has quite the collection of Rudy's plastic cups in his kitchen cabinets.

We took a little hike on a nice trail within walking distance of Dave’s house on saturday afternoon. Dave showed us one of his fishing holes and Madeleine learned to say backpack on the hike. "Back-pack" is actually one of the words she now says clear as can be… unlike some of her others which require parental interpretation. Dave had an open house for us on Saturday night and we enjoyed visiting with Jim’s cousin Mike and family, Joe M. and family, and Charlie M. Madeleine had a great time but was definitely outnumbered by the boys! Later that night, I got introduced to something entirely new: The Ultimate Fighting Championship. Who knew there was a whole language describing the different “moves” in these fights?

When we travel, it is usually Jim who wants to check out local bike shops. But this time, I was the one who really wanted to visit Mellow Johnny's, Lance Armstrong's new shop. So Sunday morning we headed to downtown Austin. Mellow Johnny's had some great deals on 2008 bikes, but none in Jim’s size. I did leave with a t-shirt though. We hit the new Patagonia shop after that… way too many things there that I wanted to buy! The Patagonia store was always one of my favorite stops when I lived in Chicago. After shopping, we took a stroll around Town Lake. Madeleine didn’t know what to do then as there must have been a hundred dogs running around. She just kept repeating "dog, dog, dog". I bet she said it 100 times. Then she started saying "ball"... over and over and over. I finally figured out that she was pointing to the warning balls that they put on power lines over water. On the way back to Dave’s, we stopped by James M.'s and then Joe M.’s. That night, we enjoyed a tasty dinner cooked up by James and Charlie at brother John's new house.

Before heading back on Monday, Dave drove us around some pretty neat views of the different lakes in Austin and we took Madeleine to a city playground to burn off some energy.

It was a great trip and fun to visit Dave and all our St. Louis friends and family living in Austin. We also learned that Uncle Dave is one crazy driver!


Some pics from the weekend:

One of Uncle Dave's fishing holes:



Uncle Dave's fish, probably from above fishing hole:



"Come out fishy or I will beat you!"



"Party!"



"Hey Mom, there's a ball over there."



"I like slides!"



"This Uncle Dave's a pretty nice guy."

Cold Hike

Today began early. Madeleine was ready to go at 5:30, so she and I let Mom sleep in while we watched 45 minutes worth of mind-numbing kid's shows. The good news was that the early start allowed the three of us to make 7:30 mass for the second week in a row. The bad news was that Gracie decided to let us know that she too needed to get out of the house by completely destroying a Pottery Barn Kids catalog while we were gone. Not that I can blame her. The prices are ridiculous.

This morning's weather was cold and overcast, but nice. So with Gracie's need to chase unfamiliar squirrels and our need for some family time, we decided a hike was in order. Earlier this summer, we purchased a Ketly FC3 Kid Carrier for our trip to Jackson. We now had a new one sitting in the basement due to a warranty issue with the original and it needed to be broken in. Shortly after pulling the tags off the replacement and bringing it upstairs, Madeleine reminded us how much she loves this thing by having Erin load her up... in our living room. I wish I had a picture as it was quite funny... until we tried to remove her. She had a fit, and we had to reload her. And yes, she had a fit again when I took her out the second time to load up the car.

After Erin's cravings for Qdoba were satisfied, we headed over to the Tyson side of the Chubb. We put a hat and gloves on the girl and figured that between those and her nice Patagonia fleece jacket, she would be good. We were wrong. We did a 4 mile hike and she slept the second 2 miles, not unusual when Daddy's lugging her around. But when she woke up, she just had this look. Erin thought she was sad. I joked she was frozen. Turns out I should not have been joking. When we got back to the car, we realized that she was, in fact, freezing. Her torso was fine, but the poor kid's hands and lower legs were frigid. Oops.

Fortunately, the Land Cruiser has good heat and we all thawed out quickly. Do they make Windstopper fleece or 800 fill down jackets in size 18 months?


Happy Camper:

Happy Gracie:

The look:


Helping to clean house after the thaw:

Halloween

We have just finished celebrating Halloween for three days straight. For once there was actually great weather. On Thursday night, Madeleine and I headed into Kirkwood for the Halloween walk, which Jim missed because he was on his way back from Mizzou. It was crazy… hundreds of kids collecting candy from all the stores. We skipped the candy and went to check out Madeleine's favorite fountain where there also happened to be musical entertainment. Madeleine enjoyed hearing the music and getting to bang a drum. It was also a great way to get costume ideas for next year.

Friday morning Madeleine had a Halloween parade at school that her grandparents attended and then a little party later in the afternoon that Jim and I went to. She might take more after me than Jim as she had a few bites of chocolate chip cookie and then handed the rest to her daddy to eat. I can't imagine Jim ever not eating any cookie he was given. After dinner, we put her back in her costume to get ready to trick or treat and take some pictures.






We went trick or treating at 9 whole houses. At the very first house Madeleine walked right in when our neighbor opened the door and put her arms up to be picked up. It was really funny and I think made our neighbor's day. When we got back home, I gave Madeleine a M&M which she was very unsure about... I tried to hand her a second and she gave it right back to me. Again, definitely not something Jim would do.

On Saturday, we had a mini-Halloween party at Brant and Carolyn's. All the kids looked adorable in their costumes. Madeleine, however, was a little unsure about Lucy in the duck costume. It was a beautiful day again so after eating lunch we took all the kids over to Larson Park for some playground time. Madeleine's cheering must have worked over the last few days because Mizzou beat Baylor 31-28 yesterday afternoon! Go Tigers!

Berryman Trail Epic

Erin and I created this blog a few days ago as a way to better keep in touch with family and friends scattered across the country. The plan is for both of us to contribute, so topics may vary. Think mountain bike rides and races for me, and the cutest little Pedipeds ever for Erin. I thought we would have a more official "first post" by now, maybe some sort of introduction, but neither of us has bothered to type anything up. Yeah, we're off to a great start. So here it is, post #1. It's probably fitting that it's bike related.

Sunday marked the inaugural Berryman Trail Epic mountain bike race and everything about it was better than expected. Good friends, great competition, blue skies, highs in the low 60s, a course in fantastic shape, unreal payouts and prizes... I could keep going. It really was that good. Bummer if you missed out.

Erin and Madeleine were in the DC area visiting friends, so I had a free pass and enjoyed what was probably my last guy's weekend for some time. Wes picked me up Saturday around 1:00 and we were soon on our way to Bass River Resort, host to the race's start and finish and not a long drive if you're riding with Wes. Bob had reserved a nice cabin for our group, and after unloading our gear and claiming our beds, we suited up and headed out to pedal the first and last few miles of the course. Columbia's Mike B. arrived while we were out riding and we soon headed down to the pre-race raffle. Talk about a raffle! Four (yes, four) Redline Monocog 29ers, a Garmin Edge GPS, a Niterider HID, Park Tools, Camelbacks, and too many pumps to count were handed out to the lucky few that were in attendance. I didn't score big, but I did go home with a nice CO2/flat kit. Thanks Springfield Bicycle Co.!

The rest of the guys staying with us for the night (Nathan K. from Cape, and teammates Robert and Scott) rolled in while we were enjoying the giveaways. Bikes were tuned up, beers were drank, and we called it a night.

It was a cold morning when we crawled out of our sleeping bags, but quiet. Energy-drink-addict Dwayne was driving over from home and hadn't stayed the night. And that's too bad. It would be an understatement to say De-Wayne is pumped up on race mornings.

After shivering until the 8:30 start, we were off. I did my usual and unavoidable slow start and used the first 3 miles of gravel to warm up. Normally I need about 5 miles or so to feel good, but I quickly passed the bulk of the hot-start train once we hit singletrack. I had the GORC SS guys (Bryan A., Scott P., and Matt H.) within sight not long after, but it wasn't until mile 15 that I passed Scott and Bryan. Matt was moving and it took another 5 miles to reel him in. Then he and I caught Wes and a rider from Arkansas. Catching Wes was a good thing as we rode together for miles 20-30, including all of the Courtois section of the Ozark Trail. Now I've ridden (and hiked) the Berryman more than a few times, but I've never explored any of the adjacent sections of the OT and the Courtois was a blast. The bulk of it paralleled creek beds and was smooth and fast. Steep (real steep) climbs and screaming descents made up the rest. Neither Wes nor I could believe we hadn't ridden this trail before. We'll be back for sure, hopefully with the rest of the DRJ gang.

When we reached CP #3 and the gravel, Wes took off. Matt H. had been a little behind up until this point, but quickly caught up with me on the roads. He and I beat each other up until CP #4 at mile 38. I was in and out of the checkpoint faster than he was and rode the next 18 miles constantly looking over my shoulder. Miles 40-45 were a struggle and I was hoping Matt would appear and put me out of my misery. I never saw him again, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of Wes shortly before we reached the last CP and the gravel road to the finish. I rode those 6 miles alone (Wes and his gears were long gone), but still kept thinking Matt was going to come screaming by so I didn't let up. I found out later Matt was cramping and his knee was bothering him and that's too bad. For someone that doesn't race too much, this guy can rip. He pushes monster gears, climbs like a goat, and is totally uassuming from the "hey-I'm-fast-look-at-me" standpoint. A sleeper for sure.

Not sure what my official time was (5:20something?), but good enough for 14th overall and 2nd place singlespeed. I should note I'm tempted to put an asterick behind the 2nd place SS finish. Matt K. did what's becoming too normal for this guy and rode his single-geared Stumpjumper 29er to an unbelievable 4th place overall finish, at least 40 minutes ahead of me and only minutes behind the leaders. Very humbling for me, but way to go Matt! Still, with my wrist keeping me off the bike until mid-June, this was only my 3rd ride (the others being 2 laps at the Ranch and the Burnin') on a singlespeed since last November. 5:30 was my goal and I pretty much nailed it, so I can't complain.

Big congrats to teammates Chris P. for rolling out of bed and taking 1st place overall (pocketing $1150), De-Wayne for getting lost on the most well-marked course I've ever ridden and still finishing 10th, Wes for a solid 13th, and Tommy, Scott, and Robert for their top 30ish finishes. Not bad showings considering Tom spent 10 minutes in an Ozark outhouse at CP#4 and Robert gave regular trailside how-to-fix-a-flat clinics. Also big congrats to super-nice-guy Eric S. for his 15th place finish after 2 flats and a broken chain (1st 50+ age group!), Mike B. for taking 3rd overall, and Scott P. for 3rd place in the SS class.

Mountain bike racing is fun, but it really is the pre and post-race good times that are the icing on the cake. I'm glad my good friend BLM convinced me to ditch the baggies and start wearing lycra.

And last but certainly not least, I owe a HUGE thanks to Scott and the rest of the Springfield Bike promoters for putting on what turned out to be a truly top notch event. These guys busted their ass and groomed 60 miles of old beat up trail to give us lucky few a fast, fun race that will surely develop into a (if not the) premier regional endurance event. And how can it not? They had great giveaways and massive payouts ($7500 guaranteed for next year!), loads of free food and beer, an ideal host resort, and plenty of friendly volunteers. They also had an extremely well-thought out and well-marked course. Did I mention it was fun too? Put it on your calendar for 2009. It's on mine!



A few pics from the weekend:

A loaded Element and the most expensive wheelset with purple anodized hubs in existence:

T.A. enjoying a post-race beer and happy to be out of the outhouse:

Eric S. after kickin' butt in the 50+ age group:

SS winner and happy guy Matt K.:

Hey, I just beat a pro roadie and pocketed $1150!: