We started a new blog about our home addition. This blog will stay more with the endurance cycling/running theme. To check in on us go to: http://carpenterschallenge.blogspot.com/ Things are changing daily.

Ride on!

We've been busy getting the house ready for its addition. The first thing we need to do is remove trees and then get bids on the foundation work. Tomorrow a friend that has a tree removal company is coming over with a crew to help us clear out the area we'll need for the addition.This friend has been very supportive of my endurance cycling. When we were starting out he helped make sure the team could continue to race competitively and for that we're grateful. To make room for removing the trees and get a good idea of a bid on foundation we needed to remove some deck. Here are a couple of before shots.

...and the after...

Just another view of the destruction.

We ended to taking off an area about 4' X 12'. Finn is working hard to get trees ready for removal.

As far as training...it's been mostly running with a bit of trainer mixed in. This time of year I'm pretty slammed with work so training always been sparse at best.

Hammer on!

We opened the third show of the season this weekend. We dabbled with the Bard and had a fun time doing it. Since it was a show weekend that meant that we had some time during the day on Saturday. I managed to get in a marathon on the way down to Palm Springs, where we played for the day. About a third of it was on trails. Half way down a 3/4 mile stretch of tight single track I came across some fresh mountain lion tracks. How fresh I could not tell maybe from the night before but likely from that morning as they were on top of fresh bike tire tracks. It was still dusk which is another good sign they they weren't too old. I had a decision to make I could continue the direction I was going and follow the tracks or I could turn around and hopefully increase the odds that I would not run across any big cats. I decided to continue down the trail but not before picking up a few rocks. Now one of the reasons I got into cycling and running is because as a kid I couldn't throw or catch, which eliminates a lot of sports. If I came across a lion I'd never be able to hit it so I guess my thinking was as I was throwing rocks around the lion maybe I would scare up something else that would attract its attention. In the end I didn't get the chance to find out.

I know it's been a while since my last entry. Big 'stuff' has been going on with the CA Carpenters. We've made some decisions and it looks like we're going to go through with a major project Bonnie and I have wanted to do for some time. Together along with the help of a few talented friends we are going to put on an addition to our home. Our friend David designed the addition and will be helping with the construction process. Some former and current students along with the occasional friends, family and neighbors will be helping with the actual construction. Our hope is to have it in a 'livable' state when school starts up in September. Here is a look at some of the drawings.

Because of the scope and magnitude of this project my racing is taking a bit of a backseat. I really want to enjoy this process with Bonnie and the others working with us. I know I could not do that if I was fretting about not getting out for rides and runs. Yep, I said runs. Along with the addition to out home am adding running to my racing. My goal is to compete in the Death Vally Cup. To do that I need to race in three 100 mile running races before I qualify for the Badwater 135. With that I need to keep my cycling resume up as well to be considered for the 508. That makes this a very long term goal.

As you might guess this blog will take on a different sort of flavor. I'll be talking about a different kind of hammering, but I think that's o.k. A good life is a balanced one.

Hammer on!

With rain falling nonstop for nearly the past week there is not a lot to report. All my riding has been on a trainer. I've got out for a few runs, but nothing serious. I'm getting a little cabin fever. Up in the high country it's been snowing. If I can get up there without getting too wet it could be a lot of fun.

I think we all kind of knew it but yesterday it was confirmed. Bonnie is a bit of an endurance athlete too. She goes to Town Hall to work out at a Jazzersize class most days. She found out that after she pulls yet another two-a-day today (she is doing today's first work out as I write this) she will have gone to class 200 time this year. Keep in mind that we are out of town for nearly 4 months out of the year. Way to go Bonn!

Ride on!

Nobody but me and the girls on the trails this morning. The weather has been great so morning runs have been warm, maybe too warm. This past weekend I was able to put in a good run. I hit trails through May Valley down to Hurkey Creek. Then I picked up the hwy in Garner Valley to Paradise Corners. From this shot you can sort of make out the hwy I'm headed for. That 'cloud' is smoke from a prescribed burn.

Bonnie and Finn picked me up and we had some holiday fun down in Palm Desert. Speaking of Holiday fun the house is decked out. Figures, decorate for the holidays and it gets warm, sorry Taylor. Ya gotta love this time of year. Eric and I got out for a ride yesterday. It was a lot of fun, long over due, and too short. I hope we can get out at least one more time before he heads back to Big Bear.

Ride on!

The seasons are changing out here in CA. This time of year I switch from outdoor spinning to indoor. Because of this change my view goes from this:
To this:

I also switch from N.P.R. downloads to dvds and old race coverage of the Tour and Ironman.

We had a week off for Thanksgiving. Taylor our niece came out for a visit so we were off the hill a bunch doing all things SoCal. I didn't get a lot of time to train but when I did it was mostly spent on the trails running. With a snow it's a little tricky but that just means using some different muscle groups to avoid slipping. I got my new Petzl Myo headlamp last week. I look forward to putting it to the test with some night runs this week. I went with the belt pack to keep the weight off my head and extend the battery life.

Ride on!