babaganoush update

Em had a visit to the doc yesterday - week 38 - and both she and our baby girl are happy and healthy. it could be any day now. i wonder what Em thinks of having a Halloween baby?

colnago gran fondo

after spending one week in markdorf, germany, our home base during the annual eurobike tradeshow, five of us drove down through the lake district of switzerland and into northern italy for the colnago gran fondo cycling event.

because riding a bike for 100-miles isn't the brightest idea after spending six days in a row off the bike, the other guys (kb, walker, vestal and hersh) decided to ride the medio fondo - which consisted of 75-miles including two mountain passes. i'm not too bright and committed myself to the longer route - with one extra massive 15-mile mountain ascent.

colnago hooked us up with everything we needed: properly sized - and very high end - carbon bikes, water bottles and even a colnago logo'd pump to carry with us.

with over 4,000 crazy italians - and many foreigners - lined up in the start corral, the line was nearly a half-mile long and wrapped around an entire parking lot of a rectangular shaped expo hall.

the first 40k were flat and the peloton raced full throttle as if they were not aware three mountain passes loomed ahead. i took the bait though and took more than my fair share of pulls on the front of the pack and hit the slopes of the first climb in the front.

this first climb, mezzano scotti, was the shortest of the three on the day and resembled the steepness of the climbs seen in the Belgian Classic races on tv. by that, i mean, if a rider chose to unclip from their pedals, it set off a domino effect of all other riders unclipping.

it became obvious i rode the early flat miles too hard, and took too many pulls for my current state-of-fitness, and i quickly bonked within the first quarter-mile. i was forced to lay off the gas and went into survival mode over the five or six miles of that climb.

after loading up with goodies at a buffet-like aid station, i stupidly committed to the "LUNGA" route at the junction where the medio and gran fondo races split. within a few hundred meters, i was staring at the bottom of the day's big climb, santa barbara, which took over an hour to climb. pitches were insanely steep, others leveled off, and there were even a few downhill reprieves, but overall it went UP! at one point, near the top of the climb, i was forced to get off my bike and stretch out two severely cramped up legs, that more closely resembled two blocks of wood.

the final climb, described by one of my colleagues as "false flat", was nothing of the sort and i crawled up it at a snails pace, and with only the thought of getting back to the food tent at the expo for the italian buffet that awaited. the final climb, passo del cerro, was the nail in the coffin and it was obvious i had left my climbing legs back in california (or back in colorado). i was bonked, cramped, and left to figure out how to get my body back to the finish.

i found a nice group of twenty riders to ride in the final 40k of flat roads back to the finish, and was content to sit in the group so as not to bonk again.

as luck would have it, upon crossing the finish line completely spent, i wiped out on a thick black hose that was stretched out across the road. no scratches on the bike and only minor wounds to my ego.

the flight the next day back to the states was rough and having worn my compression socks nearly each day of the eurobike show, i opted to buy a set of travel socks at the milan airport which helped relieve some of the soreness and blood pooling.

a final shout out to my colleague nate forbes who organized beautiful Colnagos for us to ride! if you ever find yourself in europe in the summertime or fall, look for a gran fondo race near you. we met a few cycling fans who were spending their summer traveling throughout europe and racing gran fondos in different cities and countries every weekend. i can't say i can argue with their thought process -- these rides allow you to see a part of the countryside usually reserved for picture books.

shark week -- can i have my life back?

discovery channel has managed to trick me into racing home from work every night so as not to miss a minute of the latest shows during this special week dedicated to sharks.

i am intrigued by these creatures because one of my favorite pastimes is playing in their backyard and each time i walk down the stairs to swim at la jolla cove, i feel extremely alive yet extremely scared shitless.

i know i am afraid, like most people, of the unknown - that knowledge that it is their habitat and they are down there but that i can't see them. last year in hawaii, i woke up early one morning and swam in kailua bay along the ironman hawaii swim course. on the way back to shore, about 800 meters out, i stopped a few meters from the Coffees of Hawaii catamaran and approached a couple of kayakers who were out enjoying their morning. the water was clear and visibility below was good down to the ocean floor. swimming gracefully below were a handful of reef sharks, minding their own business, yet in close proximity to a few dozen swimmers. i was initially surprised with how little it bothered me and then i realized how uninterested they were in us, and how being able to physically see them was far more calming then the anticipation and fear the mind is able to conjure up.

watching the episodes throughout the week, one thing in particular strikes me about the people who have been victims to shark attacks. not one of them put blame on the shark for the attack and noted it was likely a case of mistaken identity and they understood they were in their backyard and natural habitat.

i respect these animals for their beauty, mysteriousness, and their raw power and i also know the lifestyle i willingly choose to participate in puts me in their playground. it is an amazing spectacle on friday nights down at la jolla cove to see the tri club of san diego members and other open water swimmers, numbering in the hundreds, flock down for their half-mile, mile and two-mile swims in the 60-odd degree water, enjoying the ocean and it's habitat, while holding ultimate respect for what dwells beneath.

Big News

We're having a baby! We had our 20-wk ultrasound two weeks ago and so far everything looks great. We are both very excited are looking forward to mid-November when we expect baby girl Finanger to join us.



We found the perfect onesie for our baby to wear:





I am finished working in Boulder and am ready to head back to SD full time. It will be very nice to get settled and begin preparing for our new adventure into parenthood.

Ocean Beach

Thor really is a water dog. He loves the ocean in San Diego and isn't afraid of the crashing waves. Izzy, on the other hand, will only get her paws wet.

SD Update

A few highlights from the past month out here in San Diego. Back in May, my colleagues from the VeloNews office in Boulder flew out to ride the Gran Fondo. The ride started in Little Italy, went over the SD-Coronado Bridge and then completed an out-and-back loop around the Cleveland National Forest for just over 100 miles. It rained 100% of the time! The photo is from the night before the race where I defied all odds and parked in the smallest parallel parking spot possible in Emily's VW.




Italian World Champion and Athens road race gold medal winner, Paolo Bettini, was at Mission Bay Park the morning before the Gran Fondo for a photo shoot with Briko. He was very gracious and had his manager snap a photo of us.




I've been living with Emily's sister in Mission Valley and last week we went to the Padres second home game of the season at Petco Park downtown. It was military appreciation night and Kendra's service in the Navy allowed us to get within sniffing distance of the field.




Last weekend I raced at the Superfrog Half Ironman, the longest running half distance triathlon in the world at 32 years straight. Emily and I have competed in this one since 2006 and besides being one of the toughest run courses around (80% of the race is on the beach and soft sand pits), we have made some great friends with the organizers including race director Moki Martin (right). Moki was one of the original triathletes with Tom Warren, completed Ironman Hawaii numerous times, is a retired Navy Seal, and puts on one hell of a great race.

More in the future, I promise...

LF

Abu Dhabi and back in Boulder

Lars and I went to Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago for a race and to see his parents. They are only a 45-minute flight away so it was great that they could get the day off work to spend a few days with us.

Lars' bike only arrived at 2AM the day of the race. He was putting it together after two hours of sleep and only 4 hours before the race was to start. He had a great swim and a great start to the bike but it turned out that his brakes were rubbing for the first loop of the bike course. At about 117 miles into the bike he decided he had had enough and dropped out. I have watched a lot of Ironman races and all I can say about this course is that the athletes looked the worst I have ever seen when they were coming off of the bike. They all looked miserable.

The night before the race we went on a little adventure out into the desert and drove around in Land Cruisers through the sand dunes (and thankfully never tipped over). Following the tour of the desert we had a big Middle Eastern feast, including shawarmas, and watched some belly dancing.

I've been back in Boulder now for a week. Right after we got back from Abu Dhabi I got a call from my former boss asking if I could come back and help out here for a few months. I wasn't doing anything in SD yet, except walking the dogs and enjoying the nice weather, so I accepted the offer. I'll be here working until the beginning of July when our friends get married up in Vail.


I miss Lars and the dogs a lot but I will be going home every 2 weeks to see them. Here is a picture of the pups on their second swim in Mission Bay, taken by Lars on the morning I left. On his first time there, Thor loved it but the salt water didn't agree with his stomach and he ended up puking it up all over my sister's house.

My friend, Jen, from Minnesota, just had her first baby, Sienna Mae, and I was able to meet her when she was just 3 days old. I thought I would have to wait until she was much older so I am glad I was back in CO for that.

I'm heading home Thursday night and can't wait to be back in San Diego for the weekend and watch Kendra and Lars race the Superseal and Superfrog.