This is the sound of settling...

So settling in a new town is pretty crazy. Al's been spending the days getting trained in a OK3 Air, and I've been a "stay at (somebody else's) home husband". I've been spending pretty much all of my time searching for housing and jobs. I applied at a place today that sells New Pipers, as well as being an extensive aircraft parts dealer. We'll see if that turns out. We have had time for a bit of fun though, and I've been enjoying/struggling through some of my first rides out in mountain country. Kelly of course broke me in hard on Sunday morning, taking me to a place called "puke hill". I walked. Wasn't quite used to the altitude yet, but I'll have to give it another try soon. Road biking in around the Paasch's neighborhood is pretty challenging as well, being equipped with several lengths of 12% grades. I think I'll get tough quick down here. Nothin' like going 5mph on the way up and 42mph on the way down. :) Fun. Anyhow, we'll try to get some pix posted someday soon, but for now, more searchin' to do...

We're sort of here!

Well there hasn't been any time to update this blog as of late. Alison and I have been on one very long adventurous drive, and we are now at our temporary home with the Paasch's in North Salt Lake UT! It is both exciting and nerve-racking, cuz Al's starting her new job, and I don't have one yet. So I'll be spending quite a bit of time sending out more resume and cover letter combos, and looking for a place to move into. Should be crazy. Anyhow, I'm going to have to write more at a later time with more trip details, cuz for now I have to start doing something with all our stuff....

they said it couldn't be done...

Well it finally happened. Alison and I are moving! She just accepted a new flight instructing position in Ogden, UT, and we will be moving to the northern Salt Lake metro area next week! It happened really suddenly, and we're still catching up to the whole idea. Lots of details with our move still need to fall into place, but it's happening! Next weekend we should be in UT temporarily living in the Paasch's guestroom while we find a place of our own (and I find a job for myself...yikes!). We are very excited, and will be even more excited when the actual process of moving is through with. More later, but I probably won't have the most time to be bloggin'. Packin' time....

Sprint to early and you crack

I came extremely close to becoming the new owner of a Surly Cross Check (sweet cyclocross bike- excellent for commuting, touring, cross racing, whatever you fancy) on eBay recently. I figured I could place my bid with 30 seconds remaining and no one would have time to counter. While, someone had the same idea around 8 seconds left, and I couldn't recover. Bummer. However, it was a loss and relief at the same time, because if I would have bought the Cross Check, I'd have to sell my singlespeed, because my bicycle herd would be a little too large for me to justify. I built the 1x1 myself, and I would sad to see it go, so all is still well. Anyhow. Alison and I are going to go hit the highway on our road bikes for a bit. The radar's been lit up all afternoon with thunderstorms, but there appears to be a break for now. Gotta ride...

For those interested in touring:
www.crazyguyonabike.com
Sweet.

So I was just planning on going on another easy road bike ride now that it is again possible for me, but guess what. I live in Grand Forks, and the wind is currently blooooowing at 30mph, as it does quite regularly. Normally I'd go anyway and suffer through it, but not with a 3 inch incision still healing. Out of curiosity I looked to see what the weather is currently like in our desired home of SLC, and it is 80 degrees with calm winds. Huh. Wonder if we should move? Huh.

Back in the saddle, for the most part...

Well I just returned from an easy paced 10 mile road ride with Alison. It felt really good to get back on the Lemond after all this sitting around. We probably would have gone further, as I was feeling ok, but as is quite common around here this time of year, the afternoon thunder started calling. Nothing spectaculor so far on the radar, but it's supposed to light up later this afternoon.
I was sporting my new Clif Bar jersey this afternoon, my "I had to have surgery- again" present to myself- sort of a motivational item to get back to normal life. As for the rest of the day, I'm not quite sure whats on the menu. Plenty to do, except for go to work of course. There's next to nothing to do out at the airport these days, and it will probably stay that way until the fall mad rush starts up. The fall was our deadline goal to get outahere. We'll see if we make it. Alison has a couple possibilities in SLC, so hopefully one solidifies. We'll keep everyone posted...

Longing to return to real MTB'ing

I miss riding dirt and rock. I haven't been on any mountain biking trips, much less ridden the few local trails in quite some time. There was once a time when bike buddies and I piled into one of our modest but trusty (read dying) vehicles and made a trip cross country to fine riding. Sleeping in tents at the cheapest (if not free) campsites, waking to hit up as many mountain miles as we could handle before dining on the local specialties (green chilie) or campfire food, then retiring again exhausted and smiling to our sleeping bags. If Edward didn't have too much gas we'd usually sleep pretty well. We'd repeat the process for as many days as we could barely afford until needing to return to the prarie. My latest return to the prarie has lasted awhile in regards to my mountain bike. We've certainly gotten outdoors more this year (minus my recent surgery recovery days), but I sure haven't used the fat tires. I think as soon as I'm healed to 100 percent (mountain biking is anything short of jarring (good mountain biking)), I'm going to have to dust off the dirt machines and dirty them properly. For now, we'll just have to enjoy memories until the next big trail trip...












A sample....At the top of the grueling Porcupine Rim ascent, overlooking Castle Valley, UT, 2003.

Just dropping a quick note to recommend another book. I'm working on finishing Let My People Go Surfing, the Education of a Reluctant Businessman, by Yvon Chounaird, the owner and founder of Patagonia. It's about sustainable and ethical business, and the environmental issues that pair with it. If anyone thinks we can ignore these issues, they're living in a cave. Actually, if you lived in a cave I'd say you'd be pretty in tune with environmental issues. Anyway, I believe we all need to make some changes (starting at an individual level- it's way easier to change one at a time than to ask large entities to change) regarding the way we go about life as usual, and this book highlights some major issues to attend to. Patagonia has sure pioneered some excellent initiatives, and I hope they keep being a convincing example of what they preach.

I finally downloaded the pix from the family trip to WI. Here you see my beautiful wife and I before our rent-a-cabin on Big Bearskin Lake, just north of Wausau. I've spent enough time in the northwoods region lately to be pretty sure that I could live there. Yes, there is definately a lack of large mountains, which are of course very desirable for outdoor adventure, but the northwoods holds enough opportunity to stay consistently interesting for a guy who never grew up and just wants to play outside. The cycling scene and backpacking ventures there would keep me smiling, I would imagine. There is still the problem of the North's frigid winters, which keep most people in a state of perpetual fattening inside their warm homes, but I'd just have to build up a Surly Pugsley and pedal the snow.
For now, I am still not pedaling. Thinking about giving it an easy go tonight or tommorow; I've been feeling pretty good the past couple days. I'm going pretty bonkers considering I basically have no work left for the remainder of the summer, and I can't ride very much. Soon.