Heading to the UK

We left for the Uk on Thursday around 6:30 pst. After 20 hours, two plane rides, two different tube (subway) lines and a train and a cab ride we made it to Brighton and are sleeping at Stina's flat. Needless to say, anybody with two crazy kids like ours will understand what a journey it was.

The flight to LAX was fine, but after we landed had take a bus over to Terminal 2 and go through security again before we could board our ten hour flight to Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic flight 24 non-stop to London. The kids passed out, but tray and I got an hour of sleep and arrived pretty wrecked. We got off the plane and headed to customs. The line was huge, but luckily for us a security office let us pass on through because we had kids and they were starting to go nuts after being stuck in plane seats for 10.5 hours. We get passed customs and head for the baggage claims. Grab the bags and start down the tunnel for the tube. We keep walking and walking, seems like we are in this underground tunnel for an hour. Finally get to the Heathrow tube station and lucky for us….Kids are Free. Jump on the Piccadilly line and sit down in a car with just a few people on it for now.

First of all we went fairly slim on the baggage. One large suitcase with rollers, a smaller one on rollers and overhead bag and my messenger bag. Basically if I had my messenger bag over the shoulder I could roll the big case, strap the overhead bag onto the smaller case and roll the lot, carrying them is another story, which I was to find out soon enough.

We stay on the Piccadilly line until South Kensington and then transfer to the District Line and then on to Victoria Station. It was about ten stops to South Kensington, and I noticed that the doors don’t stay open very long. Finn was falling asleep and along the way more and more folks were loading into what was once our empty car. I began to notice that it was going to be hard to get off the train in one piece, as we were pinned in the back of the car. Five stops to go, more people, three stops, ….more people. We arrive at South Kensington and grab the bags, and start pushing people out of the way as politely as I can. Tracy lugs the half-asleep Finn and Reed is following me. The bags get stuck on some guys boots and the clock begins to tick. Tray and Fin are out and I make the way push through he crowds and out the door. Put the bags down, look behind and Reed starts yelling still on the train. The bell begins to ring signalling that the train doors are about to close and I reach back, grab Reed and pull him through the door just as it closes. That was seriously close.

Take a couple of deep breaths and collect ourselves. Ok…now we need to head up to the platform to catch the District line, but Finn is tired and melting down. Wants me to carry him. I have all the bags and Reed wants to walk himself, and not hold hands, people everywhere and we round a corner……no escalator, which became a typical theme. So….grab the bags and head up, kids are melting down, I can’t carry them. Tracy makes her way holding Reed kicking and Screaming, Finn crying and I am only halfway up. Finn stay here…I will take the bags and come back to get you. Just then and young professional in a nice suit passes us and stands at the top….debates a moment and heads on back down the stairs to help us out. Grabs the big case and lugs it up the stairs, I reach the top and say thanks and he is off…..amazingly nice, and could not have come at a better time. We reach the top platform and head to platform 2 to catch the District line. The train was clam, but once we hit Victoria Station, it was a non-stop sea of people. Down narrow passage ways, around tight corners we weaved our way to the rail station. Up and down stairs, and twice some nice guys stop to help me carry the bags up the stairs, while Tracy led the Boys. We would have to stop and make sure we were heading the right way. I must have looked totally out of place in the rush hour crowd, as I was the only guy in a short sleeves shirt, sweating. Most people were dressed in long coats, scarves and sweaters. I was amazed at the ability to move such large numbers of people through the subway stations.

It would be really hard to be in a wheelchair in this town, no escalators, no elevators, only stairs and hoards of people moving as fast as they can to get to their trains and busses and cabs.

We make it up to the main platform and move to the side to regroup. The density of people was just amazing, constantly flowing, constantly moving. Like water in a large river, they just keep coming, never stopping. We meet Christina at Café Ritazza grab a few beers and jump a train to Brighton. Finn and Reed pass out on the train and we have to carry them off, catch a cab and take a short drive to Clifton Hill and Cristina and Ed’s place. 20 hours after we got to the airport in the Berg we get there, but now the kids are awake and don’t crash out until 3:15 am. I wake at 9:00 am and take a quick walk to check out a little of Brighton. I woke Tracy at 11:30, but the kids slept tell 1:00 pm.

We head out with the Kids and Christina as our guide. Check out the Lanes, a classic small street, ally way district with shops and pubs, lots of pubs. Make our way down to the water and let the kids play in the rocks. By now we are all hungry and head to a great little place called the Coach House. It is so great having a local quide to show you all the great places. The Coach House was a great find, classic British fare with great beers on tap.

Swung by a Irish Pub with some live music and Dancing going on outside. Head down to the Brighton Sea Life center, which opened in 1827 and still operates in the same building. Definitely worth checking out, just for the interesting architecture and the kids loved it. Leave there an it is fully raining….make our way to the station and catch a cab home……End of Day one.

Marley

Goodbye Big Dog.......You will forever be in our Hearts.

The Road of Life

A friend sent Tracy and I this Poem. Take it for what it is, but as I look back on my life and look forward to the next half I can't help but wait to see what comes next.

At first, I saw God as my observer,
my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven
or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I really didn't know Him.

But later on
when I met Christ,
it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ
was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was
that He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.

When I had control,
I knew the way.
It was rather boring,
but predictable . . .
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains,
and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
it was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "Pedal!"

I worried and was anxious
and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say, "I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing,
acceptance
and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord's and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
they're extra baggage, too much weight."
So I did,
to the people we met,
and I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him,
at first,
in control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I'm beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says . . . "Pedal."



-- author unknown

The Racing season is upon us

So the racing season is upon us now and this presidents day weekend is the traditional time to kick off the festivities round here. We have Cantua on Saturday, Pine Flat on Sunday and Dinuba on Monday. Exciting stuff, I feel a little sad that I won’t be competing, but hey you just need to roll with what life gives you an make the best.

With the racing season about to smack us straight in the face I can’t help but think about last year. You see, I finally received my Best All Around Rider Trophy for Cat 3s in the mail a week or so ago.



You see for those who do not know the NCNCA gives out awards for the rider in each category who earns the most points in BAT/BAR races, and I just happened to be that guy in the 3s.

I have to say I am a little torn about his award, cause I don’t think I was by any means the best overall rider in the 3s last year. I look back to who I lined up against in 07 and all the 3s out there and there were some studs. Vinni, Tore Natta, Jarred Barrilleaux just to name a few.

Shoot, look at Jarred, I raced with him in Visalia, we got into a four man break and the dude was ripping the legs off the four of us, I even told him to slow down at one point as he was dropping the other two guys in the break. Every time he came to the front it was 28+ full gas. Even though I took him at the line by an inch (had to throw that in there) I knew he was awesome.

I told Tracy after the race, watch out, cause that guy is a stud. Next thing I know, he is tearing it up in the P/1/2s and he has signed with Jittery Joe’s as a pro. Amazing.....One of those I told you so moments.

Then there is Tore. Did a few with his as well, dude is 6-foot whatever huge and wins Merco Road Race, then Copperopolis just to point out a few of his accomplishments. I remember the CVC time trial last year, I was all geared up to go and in the start gate I look back and there is Tore, crap he look fast. I tell him in jest, “Don’t pass me.”

Well I start out and I am rollin at 27 mph when I hear this roar and he comes flying past me in the first mile going 32 mph, talk about a blow to the moral.

Everybody know that Vinni is a stud, he just took a 19th in a huge P1 race down south with a ginormous amount of climbing.

Anyway it is an honor to be singled out and it is really good for the club. I guess it is not about who is the fastest on a single day, but consistency. I just happened to do really well in a lot of races where there wasn’t enough riders to get maximum upgrade points. Such is life, you just need to roll with it.

Kid Update

The big thing that happened last weekend. Reed my three year old son, ripped the training wheels off his little 12-inch bike and started riding without even knowing what he was doing.

I said, hey Reed, should we raise those training wheels up and see how you do.

No Daddy, take them off.

Are you sure?

Take them off Daddy.

Ok

First time, grab the back of his seat and he starts rolling. After a few steps I let go, and he is cruising, he doesn’t even know he is doing it until Finn starts yelling. Bro, Bro your doing it.

He looks back, sees that I am not holding on and gives me this smug look, like "see Daddy, I told you"

Magnificent!!!






Life is full of Choices....Big and Small

Life is a confusing mess

Twisting, turning, bouncing off closed doors, we make our way through open ones. Joy, pain, anticipation as the light begins to touch your face. Penetrate into the next space, time, and reality. Dreams, we all have them. Dreams of what should be, some are so deeply embedded in our soul we can never let go, they never seem to fade. They are always there, a distant voice calling you, tempting you to live it, seek it out.

What do we do with them. Are we brave enough to reach out and grab them. Fingers fumbling, the tips shaking as you stretch and reach for them. Once you grasp them, you better hold on tight cause they can drag you around to places you never imagined.

What’s that saying, “Be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it all, and somethings you don’t want”

Sometimes the path can be so foggy, muddied with the trials of what is required. You find yourself doing things, and in places where you never thought you would be. The path has led you here, but you look back to where it all started and think, this isn’t what I wanted, expected, imagined, but then you crest a rise, break through the fog and the goal is right there in front of you, in a place you never would have expected.


You pray.....is this the right thing. The pain is too much to reach out and touch it, only to have it slip through your fingers and fall into the ocean. Sinking to the bottom never to be seen again. Is it better to never have seen it, than to be so close you can taste it, then lose it. This is your chance. Do you take it, even if others don’t understand and some never will?

Everyday we are faced with choices some big, some little. How do you make them, what tools do you use to evaluate your situation? Prayer, hope and love...tools to help you weed the good stuff from the bad. The fruit from the thorns. I pray the Lord gives me the tools to push through the crud and find the beauty.

You make a tough decision, and before you know it, another is staring you down. Two lone gunfighters, beads of sweat dripping off their brows. Twitching, with itchy fingers. Will you make the right decision or will it choose you.

The cycle repeats itself....forever.

Lord help me to make the right ones.....everyday

Man I don't know Revisited

I guess there was some confusion with the first post of this series. So I think I need to clarify some things.

1. I am not quitting anything. Although I don’t have the time to train like I did last year, I am still in love with the bike and plan on racing at some point. But life gets in the way, and I always knew at some point other things would be a bigger priority, and although it took a while to realize....I did.

2. The sentence at the bottom of the first post was misunderstood. (“Bale out on a great thing.....cause its hard, and it gets in the way of play time with the kids.”) This means play time with your friends, not your children. The context here was that the family gets in the way of riding, training, whatever. Think about that and reread that section.

3. In general this post was about how sad it makes me feel when a family breaks up. Doesn’t matter what the reason is, or what both sides of the story are. The rift has been created and lives will change, children will suffer and eventually regret. It was not about one individual case in particular, but so many they get hard to count. If you think this was about you......then think about it.

A commitment is a commitment, and at times it is hard to love your spouse, or your kids, or your situation but you stick it out and fight through the hard times, cause they fade. Nothing in life is perfect, except the love of Christ, and If we get caught thinking about what coulda, shoulda, woulda we lose the moments that we have right in front of us.....

Enjoy the ride, good times and bad, cause it defines who we are. Live, love and share the moments.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Moments

There are certain moments in ones life that you will never forget. This was one of them. Others come and you hold on to them and hope that the details never fade. The feeling, the sights, the smells....we try to keep them as vivid as possible. 

We took Finn up skiing for the third time last weekend. The second time we took him he wanted to ride the big chair. "To the top Daddy," were his words, and so we went. The 14 minute ride up Chair 1 was brilliant, the ride down was trying. Two hours later we were back a the lodge. He must have crashed 200 times, each one smiling. One time he went down and looked up at me and said, "Daddy....I like Skiing with you." Melts your heart.

Last weekend he rode the Chair twice, the second time I will never forget. 

Finn had a break through, trying so hard to follow his buddy Ian, he power wedged straight down the hill picking up speed and carrying it through the flatter sections.

I will never forget, letting the skis run under me as Finn slid along side flowing down the Mountain. His face a picture of perfect Joy as he glided under his own power. Bang he got it,  and just like that first time he broke the chains of training wheels he now propelled himself down the mountain by his own direction. Channeling gravity, harnessing its power. 

These moments are more than they seem. They are the realization that what Tracy and I created is growing into his place in the world. 

Gaining his own identity and shaping his future. We realize we only have so much influence and we can guide him only so much. We pray he makes good choices, but just like us all, I am sure he will learn a few lessons the hard way. 

There will be other days like this, other more important ones, when I let go of him and he moves on to make his own tracks in the world, carving out his future and defining his past. 

Welcome to the world little Man...........

One of the Best Quotes Ever

John Eldridge puts it best in his book Wild at Heart when he says “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that, because what the world needs is more people who are alive.”

Man....I don't Know!!!

You know, sometimes a Brother just gets something stuck in his eye. Just bugs him, pestering and irritating. You think, what the hell are you doing fool.

We all got things in our lives that we love to do. Driven to get better, passion to excel. Extracurricular activities. On the side. We love then, can't get enough of them, think about them, obsess if you will. But in the end, they are just hobbies, sports, activities....a way to take your mind off the grind of everyday man. We may love it, need it, crave it, push other factors of our lives aside to make room, but in the end it is just a hobby......If it don't pay the rent, then.....son....... you got yourself a hobby. If you can find a way to pay the rent doing it...more power to ya, but at our age.......sorry man that ain't going to happen. Some would say they become a distraction.

I am not saying that, but some would (the distraction part, anyway).

What are the important things.......The things that need immediate attention. Commitments, promises.....your responsibilities, your Kids, your spouse. Sometimes they aren't fun, are about more than you, but they're yours and you must reach out and embrace them, grab them and hold on tight.....cause Brother, sometimes they take you to a place you don't want to be. Next thing you know, your like, "What the F#*&, how did I get here."

Makes the world go round. Don't commit if you cant come through.....

Sometimes people just bug me. Bale out on a great thing.....cause its hard, and it gets in the way of play time with the kids. What worthwhile thing in life isn't hard? Give me one........Something fulfilling.....Give me one.

Anyway.....Sometimes...... it sticks in your eye and bugs you, it eats at you, causes the stomach to turn........and you think, Man.......what are you doing?

Latenight Shuffle

The kids gots themselves some colds and I have been spending a lot of time doing the latenight room to room shuffle. Cough, wheeze, cough...shuffle, shuffle.....pat, pat, pat....deep breath...Z'zzz. Wait one hour......repeat. Waking up at 4:20 does not work very well on that schedule if you want functioning neurons later in the Day.

So......to the trainer I go. Cycling.tv and a towel to wipe away the drops as the sweat stings the eye ball. Oh, how I love the morning ride. The cold that creeps into the bones. The first 10 minutes is pure torture, but then bliss..........

Warmth creeps out from the inside, the engine starts to purrr and then the skin becomes clammy and sticky sweet.