Grace's Birthday and Cyclocross Nationals 2010 in Bend

We went to Bend for Grace's Birthday and it was the same weekend as the Cyclocross Nationals.
It was a wet weekend in Bend (pretty rare) and windy which made for tough conditions for the cyclists and good conditions to watch the race. A lot of mud puddles and slippery conditions.
We had a great time checking out the activity at the race grounds near the Old Mill. Abby was dressed warmly and was very curious about the bikes and the competition having been in the Kiddy Cross a few months earlier. She also had a good time running around the various sand mounds that the City uses for keeping the streets passable during the winter months. Amelia had a good time at the start until she did a face plant into a puddle and got muddy.
We got to the start of the race and managed to catch a huge pile up. Yes, those are bike tires in the air. Someone in the front of the pack took a spill and it caused chaos throughout the pack. The rider with the wheels in the air, tried to pick up some ground by sending his bike aerial and getting past some of the competition instead of having the problem of the bike getting caught up.
The conditions were very difficult and there was some pretty significant ponding that resulted in changes to the course throughout the week. I had a hard time believing that there puddles would be a good line, but many of the racers seemed to embrace it to avoid getting tangled up in the fencing, which we saw later in the action. It was a bit daunting to consider the course as we saw it, but I think it would be fun to try next year at the start of the season.

Portland Bridge Pedal

 
One of the best events in Portland because of the combination of local products (Widmer Root Beer, Nossa Familia coffee, and bike mechanics galore - too bad there wasn't Voodoo Doughnuts or Burgerville), bikes, and bridges. The Oregonian is one of the sponsors and calls the ride "Perfectly Portland".
It is a great ride and it is great to see that many families out on the streets. There was a great article about the event in the O this past week.
 
Marcy and her kids stayed the night at our place so we were on our way from Sellwood to downtown when Chris called saying they were at the meeting point! We met up with MK, Tym, Henry, Dad, Chris, Del, and Deb and we were off. It was a beautiful day for the ride and we were happy to have the opportunity to be carfree on the Interstate Freeway bridges. We completed the 6 Bridge Ride and I rode the bakfiets. Susan questioned whether I was going to have trouble and while I didn't think I would, her asking me a couple of times made me second guess myself. All told it was a 25-mile trip which makes me wonder what a bakfiet mile is equivalent to in road bike miles. The hill up from the Oaks Bottom to our house was a beast, I was really dragging because I hadn't eaten anything on the ride. Abby did great on the ride on the trail-a-bike and I was surprised that Ameila and Matthew didn't complain any during the ride about sitting too much in the bakfiets.
The ride went pretty smoothly, it has been customary in recent history to have something disrupting bicycle flow through key spots or turns and while there was reportedly a train near the end that disrupted folks considerably, we didn't experience any of the backups that has traditionally plagued the ride.
One mistake on my part was not charging the batteries to the cameras, I took some photos, but the cameras did not make it past the Marquam and I normally enjoy taking more throughout the event.
 

Summer Saturday in Estacada

 We took a trip out to Estacada to meet up with the Kishpaugh folks at Ken & Doreen's house. They have horses, so the kids were very excited about the chance to ride. They also just had puppies, so it was a double attraction. I didn't feel the need to partake in multiple hours in puppy and horse love, so I was off on my aluminum steed and biked from their house to Dan & Sheila's, which was a good 20-mile with a pretty good climb. I didn't take my GPS unit, so I don't have details from the ride.
 It was only fair that I rode, Susan got her solo ride in on Friday while Marcy watched the girls.
 

Nana and Papa's 40th Anniversary Party

We headed out to Estacada to celebrate Nana and Papa's 40th Anniversary! It was a special occasion because all of the Kishpaugh Kids were helping out with the party. While we were dealing with passing of Parker, Marcy was an amazing help organizing all of the food and most of the logistics that had to happen to get everything ready. She even took the kids with her as Susan was at the vet.

The visit to Estacada wasn't all about the party, the kids got a chance to play in the snow with Grace, Matthew, Scott, and Todd. The sledding on the back hill was pretty good becuase there was about six inches of snow and it was really nice weather during the day. The party was at 5 PM, so there was a lot of time to play with all of the cousins and enjoy the day. Susan and Marcy were busy cooking soup and stew for the 50 people that had sent an RSVP. A total of 70 showed up and it was a good thing that Susan planned for that many.
We spent a log of time getting the Dodge Community Church ready for the guests and borrowed a lot of things from friends and family to have the party all come together.
It was also nice to have Robert and Grandma Baker in attendance from Alaska.

090104 Parker R.I.P.

 

After a battle with age, arthritic conditions, and what seemed like a slipped disc that was causing him significant pain, we put Parker to rest at Dove Lewis. It seems hard to believe how a dog could fit our life with such a wonderful temperament and way with kids. He was the most gentle dog and we're sure to miss the old guy. I'd like to write a few rememberances of him, time permitting, but this is one of the busiest times of year with the Transportation Research Board meeting coming up.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/red.tree.frogs/ParkerRIP#