Eric's B-Day

We celebrated Eric's 36th birthday this year and brought the camera along to document some of it. After days and days of rain, the sun and warm weather came out and we ventured to Seattle to celebrate. Thanks to everyone for their warm birthday wishes...

36! What?! Never thought it would've happened!

Thanks Betsy!

Eric's favorite present at the Top of the Stairs - Carmen love!

Morning Watershed Park hike

Eric grew a handlebar mosstauche for his 36th b-day

Eric's favorite meal of the day at his favorite breakfast restaurant in Olympia, the Blue Lotus Cafe. Mmmmm

A cup of coffee at Green Lake from our favorite cafe when we lived in Seattle, Revolutions Cafe

(Carmen can be so intense)

A walk around Green Lake on such a nice day

Sushi at Blue C in Fremont

Pinball at Shorty's in Belltown after a trip to REI

SSCXWC in Portland

Eric, Carmen and I spent the weekend in Portland at the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC). For most racers, there is nothing serious about this race. A few take it seriously as some professionals even race. I was somewhere in the middle - not really knowing what to expect. The whole weekend was a big party ending with the World Championship race at the Portland International Raceways. It was a blast!

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We stayed with Corie and Aaron - old friends who just moved to Portland after several years in Joshua Tree California. They were gracious hosts and it was great to catch up. Thanks Corie and Aaron!

The race was a mass start with men and women racing together as you can see from this picture. I'm actually visible in the upper left hand corner (green jersey & blue helmet).

As the race went on, this bubble machine created a wall of bubbles several feet thick. It was kinda scary to ride through as you couldn't see what was on the other side!

So many single speed cyclocross bikes, so little time....

This guy actually raced this bike!

Our friend Larry from Seattle. Since he doesn't have an official team, he races for his own team: "Team Suckit". He's a pretty funny guy.

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I found a cool video clip of me at the race on the Cyclocross Magazine Website. Check it out:
http://vimeo.com/2201131

Muddy Race

I had a really muddy race on Sunday as you can see in the picture. There were a lot crashes and mechanical problems with many of the racers. Strangely, I probably had my best race ever, coming in second in the women's Cat 3 (sport/expert) field overall and on my single speed to boot! This coming weekend will be the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championhships. I won't win since the field is open to racers up to the pro-level, but I hope to do well and have FUN!