Daniel and the Makeup Bag

So here's a good story...

KT and I were sitting at the kitchen table when Daniel disappeared back the hallway.  Mommy instincts kicked in a short time later and she went to investigate.  "Daniel what are you doing!?  You know to stay out of my makeup bag!"

I head some small feet running in my direction.  Daniel came up to me at the table and showed me his painted toes.  Nice.  I explained that boys don't paint their toes, and KT also explained that makeup is for girls.  Okay, ha-ha, he painted his toes, no big deal.

 Of course he picked blue.  And why is

he wearing Santa PJs in September?

A short time later, after we all went about our business, KT went back to Ellen's room where she had been left laying on the bed.  "DANIEL!  What did you do to your sister!?"

Ellen's first makeup, courtesy big brother Daniel.

I came running back to find that Daniel had learned and applied the lesson.  "Mommy, you said makeup is for girls so I put some on Ellen."  We laughed hard.

Fair Time!

Daniel was absolutely loving the fair this year...

 We "drove" quite a few tractors this year.  Daniel

insisted upon buckling the seat belt on each one.

 Scooping up mommy.

 637 pounds?  I can't believe my eyes!

 Jeepin' on a carnie ride.

KT learned some new chicken care techniques.  I don't expect

to find her brushing our chicken's teeth anytime soon.

Old versus New

Twice in the past week, as I’ve been enjoying my new car, I’ve found scenes of the old versus new…

 An old school station wagon.

 A Mazda Protege5 in red.  The predecessor to the Mazda3

I currently drive, and the same car I owned before the truck.

Daniel Big Boots

Something is out of proportion here.

the Manitoc Experience, my first

Once a year Camp Manitoc, up in the Cuyahoga Valley, is open to the public.  It's a Boy Scout with quite some acreage of wooded, varied terrain.  On the big weekend for mountain bikers, the trails are open for riding on Saturday and races take place on Sunday.  There is also a trail run and cyclocross race on Saturday.

 Ready to roll out.

Ryan and I arrived about 10 am to ride.  It's the biggest mountain bike crowd I've been a part of and was a pretty fun scene.  We parked in a field and geared up for our ride.  It was hot, like in the 90's hot.  The trail was fun.  I remember some good rooty sections, some twisty fun, and a punchy climb or two.  Nothing too crazy and just a fun ride.

 Mid ride photo op.

We returned to the car for some fluid and food replenishment before heading up to the "expo".  There were tents setup with vendors and bike demos.  We waited our turn and both took a spin on full suspension Specialized 29ers.  Ryan was on a $10k carbon fiber ride and I was on the cheap, $5k bike.  The demo loop packed in good trail variations and we got a feel for the full squish bikes.  Yes, you could blast over roots or rocks without much consideration for choosing a line.  And yes, it did not feel as efficient as my hardtail climbing or pedaling hard.  Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of our test rides.  I'm going to blame it on not feeling well, I had been sick the previous week and was not feeling my best.

After hanging around a bit we headed out for another lap.  While zig-zagging through some trees I looked ahead to see Ryan stalled out.  Oh yes, his crankarm had once again dislocated from his bike.  A trailside repair had us going again in short order.

 Dislocated crank arm.

Somewhere past the halfway point of the lap my body protested in the heat.  I took a short cut back while Ryan finished the lap.  Oh well, I was glad to have ridden the first lap with energy given how I felt earlier in the week.  When we got back in the car to leave the temperature display said 96F.  On the way up we stopped at a gas station and I bought a gallon jug of water.  It was nearly gone by the end of the trip.

We'll have to put the Manitoc Experience on the calendar again for next year!  Good times.

Michigan Vacation #2

It's a nice routine.  Head out on the boat after breakfast with Daniel, play around the water in the morning, mountain bike ride while kids sleep, back to lake after dinner.

We drove a little south to a unique coffee and doughnut shop called Cops & Doughnuts.  Yes, it was amusing and they were all about the merchandise.  Cops & Doughnuts hats, t-shirts, and more.  We stuck with the doughnuts.

 The boy likes blue.

 That's right, bacon covered creamsticks.

One of the highlights of the week was getting Daniel out on his first mountain bike ride!  The trail was mellow enough I figured this was the perfect opportunity for our first father and son trail ride.  Daniel was pretty excited to "go mountain bikin' with daddy".  Good times, good times.

 Daniel happy to roll off road.

 Through a fern section.

After Daniel and I finished our ride I hit the loop on my own.  Daniel continued on his bike too, riding on one of the hiking trails with mommy and Ellen.

 The powerline "climb".

 Riding towards a blinking camera on self timer.

 Ellen looking very... munchkin?

It was a very nice week on the lake.  I think we will be back.

Sunset by the dock.

Michigan Vacation

We are staying in a cottage at Budd Lake in Michigan for a week.  Should be an enjoyable time.

Daniel enjoyed cruising the lake in the boat.

Mr. Serious on the dock.

 

Fake fishing, but having fun.

 

There's a twisty mountain bike trail about 5 miles down the road.

 

It's a fun trail.  What it lacks in elevation changes it makes

up for in twists and turns.

It's a good place for me to work on less braking and more flow.

 

Ellen having a good nap.

Dry Wallin'

Who do I call when it's time for drywall?  Same guy I call when it's time to go for a bike ride: Ryan.  I was glad to have his help while finishing the garage.

Slingin' some mud.

Kids

Riding?  Yes, been riding but have not been taking too many pictures and a blog post has to have pictures.  So... how about some more kids pictures...

How can that possibly be a comfortable way to watch cartoons?

 Ellen knows comfortable.

Extending Ryan's Driveway

Hey, now we don't have to ride through gravel when leaving the driveway on road bikes!

"Driving" Ryan's tractor.

Fish Fingers

Smell my fingers!

Three to Mohican

With Uncle Chris in town, we made plans with Ryan for a ride at Mohican.  Hot and humid describes the conditions.  We parked at the main trail head and pedaled some pavement to the second trail head.  It was a sweaty, and fun ride back to car.

Chris on the road.

 

Ryan on the road.

 

I packed raisins.

3 Years Old

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Cruisin around the school

It's been overdue for Daniel and I to head over to the high school for some riding.  We loaded our bikes into and onto the new car and drove around the corner for some bikin' fun in the sun.

Ready to shred on the Strider bike.

We rode around the school grounds, going over curbs and down sidewalks.  The sprinkler was setup at one of the practice football fields and Daniel made it a priority to stop and see the sprinkler.

He didn't want to get wet, just see it up close.

After some more riding about we stopped for a snack.  Daniel said we needed "to get some energy back."  Proper fueling is important while riding.

Daniel getting his energy back.

 Having fun in the sun, riding bikes.

After some more riding we packed up and headed home.  It's fun to be out riding bikes with Daniel!

Our bikes.

Elmo Trail Crew

 Daniel looks ready to do some trail work.

Man Down

For the last several weeks I've been taking my mountain bike to work with me in the back of the car.  Beginning on Tuesday I have bike and gear with me in hopes of getting out at a decent time and making it to the Knob.  I'm not sure that I ever made it over there on Tuesday, but I kept my stuff in the car and was able to ride either Wednesday or Thursday as my work schedule allowed.

After riding the Knob several weeks in a row I was starting to feel better connected with the course and felt like I was riding pretty good today.  As the lap went on I felt progressively faster.  After the Furnace and before getting back into the heavier woods I looked ahead and saw a banked corner.  I thought to myself "oh, I'm gonna rip that corner".  Problem is there was a little turn just before getting to the banker and I leaned too hard and lost the front wheel on some dusty trail.  Wham!  I was skidding down the trail head first in the ol' superman position.  I jumped up and looked at myself to find a bloody elbow, no ripped clothing, and not much else.  But, the elbow was leaking pretty good and was full of dirt.

Without much more than a pause I jumped back on the bike and followed the course, a bit slower, to get back to my car.  Oh man, brand new car and I'm dripping dirty blood.  I asked a guy in the parking lot if he had any first aid supplies, but all he had was a roll of paper towels.  After packing my bike up I was about to mummify my arm with paper towels when I looked in my front seat and remembered the stop I had made on the way to the Knob.  KT had asked me to pick up diapers for Ellen... perfect!  I strapped on an infant size 0 diaper on my elbow and drove home without concern over staining my new interior.

 In addition to a first aid kit, I'm going to keep several diapers

in the car for such situations.  It worked well!

 Ouch.

 Gross.

On the Road Again

Another hot, hot day.  Met Ryan on the road for a loop down around Fredericksburg.  Between the heat, humidity, and not riding tons lately we were both beat when we parted ways to head back home.  I ran out of water coming through the swamps on Messner Road, so I slowed down and took some pictures while cruising.

I don't call it "the swamps" for nothin'.

 It's a long, flat road.

Babies in Helmets

Daniel, a couple weeks old.

Ellen, a couple weeks old.

the Wilderness

Today we drove past the campgrounds and people tubing down the river on Wally Road to the Mohican Wilderness area trailhead.  It was unbelievably hot in the sun as we geared up for a ride.

Pointed towards the climb.

 

It was the first time this year we've ridden the Wilderness course.  The opening mile of the ride is uphill, supposedly the longest mountain bike climb in Ohio.  After the climb it's curvy singletrack with a couple rocky sections.  The loop is not too long, maybe 7 miles?  At the end of the day, in my opinion, it's not different enough from riding at the state park to make it worth the extra drive.  Once or twice a year is all the more often I can see visiting the Wilderness Course.