You Know That Feeling...

Everything is about to change and get more intense and amazing, you know, that feeling. Do you know what I'm talking about? Even when you cash in on the single life, step away from the job with 3 days off midweek, those days spent biking the east mountains of New Mexico or the San Juan ranges in southern Colorado. There were perfect powder days in Taos, Santa Fe, Crested Butte and so on. Yup, those days are cashed in and spent forever in the memories. You now have a family and that is forever gone, never to return again. After having those experiences it was time to move home to Minnesota and explore all new adventures in a place all too familiar. Back to the old job in the city I'm from, Minneapolis. Minneapolis is a beautiful place where everything is accessible by bike. Lots of trail and micro beers, too! Ride to and from work, to the grocery store, long rides to the burbs, and all around park exploration. Sure, I'm not in the mountains any more, but it sure it good to be home and raising a family where there's great music and stuff to do.

About a month ago I sold off my beloved Niner EMD that was built and tuned all by me, for my first time. I gained an enormous amount of experience putting it together and working and racing on it. That bike was a game changer. However, with a daughter on the way and need for more space I had to give in and let it go. It's material and those things can be replaced. The important thing is that my kids aren't going to start their lives in a modern condo waste of space. These boxes that lay before me will be unpacked in a new home next week. Melinda starts her maternity and maybe our baby girl to be will hold off on being born for at least a couple more weeks. This is the feeling on complete change that feels so good. 

Over the coming winter I plan to work Sundays as a snowboard instructor to gain a little extra cash and it won't really take away from time with my family. The extra cash will be saved for the coming 2013 cycling season and some family travel to Tahoe for some snowboarding. Yes, we're saving for the kids, too. Don't be silly! Melinda wants to take up mountain biking and she's in charge of the budget. She's more than ready to have her body back after giving it up to two kids in the last two years we've been in Minnesota. She barely got any snowboarding done last year.  

Just because you're starting a family doesn't mean sacrifice to what you love outside of that family. You include it. Integrate the two. Melinda and I have had hardly anytime doing what we love with just each other, but can't imagine our lives without our son and our new daughter, due anytime now. 

Our training begins this winter. The trainers on the bikes in the family area of the basement and crossfit stuff in the garage along with the workbench. Other than training rides and just getting out to enjoy we don't have to separate home from what we have goals for next year. Melinda would like to complete the Lutsen 99er, but thinking more the 39er course. She'd also like to do another marathon and some off road trail run races. I'd like to get back at the 99er race with a much better time, the Dakota Five-O, some Minnesota series, but ultimately get on the Breck Epic. Sponsorship anyone? I've noticed that a lot of pros are in there mid 30s so there's still hope for me. Right?

The Breck epic appeals to me because I think it's becoming more of an outlet for suffering and achieving. My life is great. Living in Minnesota is great. This family is wonderful and I couldn't ask for a better partner. However, we greatly miss those mountains. I've spent some time in Breckenridge, CO and it touched my heart. Something about old mining towns with high altitudes. We're probably here to stay in Minneapolis for a while, so spending 6 days in these conditions and suffering makes it worth while. 

With all of this stuff there's a cost. We eat organic, sometimes eat out a little too much, and our kids need things. A lot of things. So how can we afford to do this stuff with out having a ton of money? That question does make me lose sleep. Is any of this important? Should we just bag up these ideas and goals and pinch every penny we can? Probably, but then where's the experience to share with your children and perhaps inspire them to do something great. One of those kids may get so inspired that they go pro and win a gold medal or something. Thoughts of that aside it's simply about getting outside. Enjoying life and sharing these experiences and inspiring each other. We don't buy a lot of things that we don't need. We don't even own a television. No cable here! Simple and humble is how we like it and it's how we're going to save for the future. There will be some improvements in our pay and things we can budget better. You don't have to be a rich kid to have fun. We're far from that, trust me. Some things are just more important than the latest expensive electronic gadget or going out to eat all of the time. That inspiration to each other in our family is what's important. 

Melinda's ability to pick up and leave Albuquerque with me, get through two pregnancies, run a marathon and just be a great parent has inspired me greatly. Just us being parents takes more endurance than any long distance anything. Just having the ability to hammer out this blog is pretty amazing with all that is going on. I've got some cleaning and packing to do. I'm sure Oliver will be up with a vengeance for some power playing soon. I wish I had a quarter of that kid's energy. 

So a lot is about to change again and it's going to be more awesome. 

A note on the bikes, since this is partially a blog about bikes and that sort of thing... 

Melinda will be most likely on a Salsa Spearfish now that it comes in extra small. We also have our eye on the new Niner Jet 9 carbon for her, too. Also available in XS. We had her set on a Niner EMD since that was the best 29er available in her size, but things have changed now that Salsa opened the flood gates to new sizing geometry in 29ers. I rode a 2013 Spearfish at a Salsa demo a week ago and loved it, but I still have love for the Niner bikes. I'm tossing ideas of a Salsa El Mariach Ti for the single speed availability. The Salsa Spearfish 1 stays on my sort list. I like the stiff rear triangle and low maintaining of the single pivot. The Niner Air 9 RDO because it's light and mega fast. Not to mention I love riding fully rigid. Finally on that list is the Jet 9, because I rode one last summer and felt indestructible. Pretty sure any of those bikes will get the job done. I have all winter to contemplate that debate. For sure I'm already planning to purchase the Surly Krampus for the fun fall/winter bike for next year. That's not even available yet. I'll be writing reviews as time allows and when I get test rides.

For now we're looking forward to some home improvements, grill outs, gardening and time with our children. Life is good and getting better.

The Lutsen 99er and the Curse of Endurance Addiction (a race report of a newbe)

So, here I sit in a quiet house, wearing my Twin Six bibs, digesting tacos and yogurt, hoping to get some miles on the single speed CX bike, on this beautiful day. Since my last entry I did all that I said would happen. My very first endurance race of 99 miles (what turned into 104er). I'll get to what turned it into more than the 99 miler. Since then I've become more addicted to the thought of pedaling through the suffer and making it to the finish line.

Race reportish thing:

For training I hardly put in nearly enough miles. The weather would always crap on me or I'd end up with some mechanical. One day, climbing the hills of Duluth I had the worst of mechanical problems. Nothing I did would fix my situation. Of course I fix the problem when I returned to Minneapolis. Every other time I'd venture out on a training ride I'd run into bad weather. Before I knew it it was race day. That day almost didn't happen. 

There was a week of non stop rain in the Minnesota Arrowhead. From Duluth to Grand Marais was underwater. I'd booked a hotel room and couldn't get through to cancel in Grand Marais. All the lines and internet was out. We were only a day from race day. The race director hadn't posted any cancelations, so I moved to send him an email about the situation. Turns out the race was on. They only had to reroute a portion of the course to loop twice. That loop was to be the worst 2 hours of my life. 

Upon arrival on that Friday evening I was registering very last minute. Not the last to register though, I'm sure. I was 304 and I'm pretty sure the 99er crowd ended up over 350. After registration the only thing on my mind was getting rest, proper nutrition and feeding my family. We were on a tight budget, so we brought food. Needless to say, I wasn't getting a huge carbo-meal, nor enough rest. It happened to be the same week as the big piercing conference in Las Vegas and I held down the fort while the boys ran off to learn some piercing knowledge and buy some beautiful jewels for the shop. So, I clocked in several hours of work and hardly any miles on the bike that week.

After 4-5 hours of rest I was up at 6:00am loading up my goodies and putting on the chamois cream. I had a little miso/garlic broth, two bananas, 2 heaping spoons full of coconut oil and a joint health emergen-C for breakfast. On the car ride down to Lutsen mountains I had a probar. I was good to go. After checking the shifting, air and brakes it was time to get to the finish line. My first thought, WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!? I'm on a rigid 1x9 geared Niner EMD, with one older tire (far from pro) surrounded by pro athletes and I haven't been able to train much. Before I knew it, hundreds of us were zooming down to highway 61 north and heading up a 5-1/2 mile climb to our muddy doom.

At the top of our cat 3 ascent, we turned on to our first off road section of XC ski/snowmobile trail. Most of the course was to be this, dirt road, jeep trail, very muddy and rocky gnar and a little bit of greasy single track. For the first 15 miles I kept up with the very best of them and carried up to the top of steep, rocky climb ahead of most of the racers. As we turned on to the gravel and I though I was about to haul ass, I discovered I was getting a flat on my rear tire. I figured I could pump enough air in from the pump in my bag to get a seal. No avail. Sealant and water were just spraying out of a puncture I had located on the tire. A few racers stopped to give me a hand, one with a Co2 pump blasted my tire up to a high pressure and we just watched the sealant blow out. I thanked the great people who attempted my rescue and proceeded to get a tube installed in record time. Unfortunately I wasn't carrying Co2 for some stupid reason. My little dumb pump got my tire up to a 15 psi and I was off. Another racer stopped to use my pump, who also got a flat early on. After that I was off, only to find trouble with the control of my rear tire.

After another attempt I pumping I figured I had wasted too much time and made some poor decisions and should get a move on. All alone. From the start of the race I wasn't alone. I had to be with the top 10 riders. Everyone of them so positive that it was going to fuel me through the next 84 miles ahead. Nope alone. Just how I ride most days anyway. I carried on through the gravel to find a cut off with arrows leading me to some nice, wet rock in the trees. I was hauling ass through this section. Low tire pressure works well in this terrain. After a few miles I felt a little odd. I hadn't seen anybody for some time. I knew I wasn't in dead last. There was no way. There should have been tire tread around me in the mud. Oh bother, Whinny the Pooh would say in this situation. I was starting to feel like Eeyor. There was a lot of doubt about finishing at this point. Doing the only thing I could do was to turn around, carry my ass up the hills I just bombed down, in the wet, muddy rocks and hope I make it to the aid station for air.

Once I traveled back on the course I noticed that I followed the arrows painted on the ground, but the flags were pointing the other direction. Those flags were knocked over. There should have been a marshall to direct racers at this point. Angry, I turned down the once grassy path, completely destroyed and turned into a mud pit. Here I think the low pressure saved me. Eventually I made it back on the gravel and to the first stop at the aid station. Freewheel bike mechanics greeted me with a tire pump, blasted the pressure up to sealing my tire once again. I ate a bite of a pro bar, refilled my water and I was off to my first lap of two in this section. Here I got word that other racers fell further off course and just arrived after me. They were about to do the 109er.

After keeping up with this group for several miles, I decided to just take it easy and cruise through the rest of the race. There was no way I was going to gain the energy to catch up at all. I wanted to finish in eight hours, but at this point there was no chance. Two hours of time wasted from a flat fix, riding low pressure, falling off course and having a few mechanicals with my chain that my jump stop wasn't preventing. Well, here goes a long ass bike ride I thought.

Every time I passed spectators I got filled with positive energy. It was better feeling than any ounce of water (which the aid station ran out of on my second lap), GU gel or any bar could fill. Even the racers that were passing me on their second lap were cheering me on. This kept you on the bike. If you didn't hear these words and you were in my shoes, you'd be calling for a ride back to Sven and Ole's to eat your weight in pizza and cry in your beer.

I found myself passing others in the race after mile 60. I rode with them, cheered them on and pushed harder. When arriving to another aid station, I stopped for just a quick water fill and some tablets and rode on. All I could think of at this point is Melinda and Oliver waiting for me at the finish. Oh, did I mention I didn't pack my phone? Melinda had in mind that I'd be done with this thing in 7-8 hours. I hit that 8 hour mark at mile 85.

Hammering on in the last 15 miles I had been hanging with a group of riders that also fell victim to the mislabeling of the fork in the road. However, I needed that hug and kiss. Melinda needed to know that I was okay and that I was going to finish. When I saw two little girls cheering me on I got severely choked up. Melinda had been pregnant with our second child, which I just found out was going to be a girl. As the tears of joy welled I hammered on the pedals harder. The brake rotors were making a strange noise, mud had filled my shoes, but I needed to ride faster while I was on the gravel.

Meeting a lot of nice people as I passed them I felt like we were all in this together. We were all going to get out of it together. I met a local from Grand Marais, Chad Byers, we kept a great pace together and shared some stories. It was really cool, the energy you got from everyone. It made for a great experience. Letting Chad pass on once we made it to a very technical slick section of trail, I went in to demolish this trail mode. Nothing would stop me. This nasty, rooty, rocky single track is what I thrive on. Until I got to a beautiful rapid river crossing. Again I got emotional. Damn the last 92 miles for making me crazy! After I shook out of that daze I carried on through the rest of the nasty single track.

Getting to a sweet downhill section as I entered back to the realm of the chair lifts at Lutsen, I heard people say, YOU'RE RIDING RIDGID!? GO GET IT! On to the last climb. I met a fellow who was hiking his bike up and he wasn't looking too well. Stopping to help him was the only logical thing to do. He told me that he was fine. I offered food, water, electro tablets, but he didn't want my help. His wife came down to his rescue, who was racing with him. So, I hopped back on and ground my knees to a pulp in the last few miles of climbing.

Before I was anywhere near done with the climb, I heard the loud cheer of the people at the finish. Pedaling faster, off the saddle and my fist in the air I knew I had finally made it. Only 2 hours off my goal time, Melinda and Oliver greeted me. I've only felt this happy once in my life. That was on March 21st, the year prior.

Next year Melinda wants to ride the 39er portion of the 99er. My goal is to stomp it out in 7 hours or less. I'm hoping in just about 6 hours. I can learn from my mistakes. Training for it has already begun. Towards the end of next Summer, I'd also like to complete the Breck Epic. 6 days of stage racing.

Now, we're about to have Ella. Two kids. That's the biggest endurance challenge there is.

To more adventures.

Walk For Animals

This week my partner/fiancé, Melinda lost a friend of 19 years. When Melinda was 11 her dad brought her a cat. Unable to give him a proper name during a vet visit, she named him, Boots. A fitting name for a black and white cat, with a heart shaped nose and little goatee like marking on his chin. Boots was a hearty cat that traveled a lot with Melinda. He even went along on family vacations. I'm telling all of this through secondhand information that she explained better in her blog, Owl Always Love you, writings of our life as a family together.

Boots has been suffering for a length of time. Unable to keep food down and forgot how to use the litter box properly it was inevitable that we had to say goodbye to a friend. He was still spunky and would still play with our younger cat, Yossarian. Well, he'd play without choice. The happiest part to this story is that Boots lived a long, full life and was loved by the same person for so many years. It's not rare that this happens, but the people of the Humane Society are happy when they see this. They peacefully put Boots to rest and he no longer suffers. 

It's hard to think of the many animals that don't have this love or this kind of happy, long life. So many of them need our help, even if we can't take them all home with us we can still support them. My friend, Gini is doing the Twin Cities Walk for Animals. She has reached beyond her goal, but you can still send your support if you like. 

Heart nose and goatee chin. 

Oliver, already an animal lover saying farewell to his kitty friend

Though I won't miss him peeing on my bike shoes, I'll miss is his snoring, snuggles and abrasive meow. We love you, fuzzy critter. I hope there's lots of blankets to snore on where you are. 

Remember to always let your animals know how much you love them and never take their cuddles for granted. They love you no matter what. 

2 wheel Addiction, Release and Coping... MN MTB Races and Other Oddities

So the addiction worsens. Finally, I've drank from the competition Kool-Aid. As if the need to just ride wasn't bad enough. The masses of riders in Minnesota only speak of racing this time of year. It's insane, the amount of people I talk to everyday that race road, cross and MTB here. The Minnesota Mountain Bike Series is kicking off next month and I've decided to join up in some of the races, including the Freewheel Frolic, at Afton Alps. The main race I planned out this year in the Lutsen 99er. Unable to get enough torture just commuting to work and taking long rides on Sundays, I need to destroy my already aging body on more aggressive single track. Der! Why must we do this to ourselves!?

What chemical imbalance do cyclists have in their brains to keep this sick, sadistic part of our thought process kicking? It's simple. As children it starts. We innocently raced each other on bikes down the streets of our respective neighborhoods and it evolved into something greater. Today, kids get real dirt comps with the running bikes and their own discipline in the races their parents attend. When I was a whee boy, in the Suburbs of Saint Paul, I attended Little Canada elementary. Behind the school, we had a large wooded area with all kinds of trail. We used to get on our Huffy bikes (if you were rich it was Haro) and pedal through those trails. No idea, this was to be mountain biking. We found pump tracks and single tracks in Como Park and fought to see who was the fastest. For only a few of us, we couldn't get enough. Only now, it's more serious of an addiction and more painful. Not to mention, more costly. My tires alone are worth as much as that Huffy I pedaled through the woods of the LC. Is it possible that those tracks still exist? I would hope so.

Personally, my job as a body piercer I see people get this same adrenal high from a simple piercing. One of my co-workers hangs from hooks, others get exercise watching football from the comfort of their TV rooms. It's the same feeling in different ways for every person. Even online shopping can score you a buzz. Personally, that piercing and tattoo stuff enough for me any longer. My body needs this torturous burn in my quads after 50 miles of single track. Perhaps it's also the need to get the giggly, whiney teenaged know-it-alls out of my head after my week of work. (I know, there's worse jobs.) For some, I have a dream job. Of course I dream of working for something like Burton Snowboards or some other fantasy land job in the mountains, but this is where I landed and it's been pretty good to me. Still a day at the office anywhere can make anyone nuts. So we need that release.

All work and no adventures make me a little crazy.

So, the reality escape is what probably makes mountain biking so appealing to so many people. It's time spent in to woods to calm, and get the heart pumping, too. Personally, I've been a snowboarder for well over half of my life. There's nothing better than taking in a beautiful view, then pounding out turns in a 60º slope of powder, dropping some pillows and getting through a skinny couloir. So what to do when the snow melts? Each year the drive to do more, faster and be a better rider gets more intense. The urges never seem to leave the mindset. Like some drugs, you can't get enough and it only gets worse. Riding the mountain bike is now the closest thing I have to replacing the backcountry snowboarding. It really works the mind and body in the same motions. A major difference is owning a climb up some gnarly switchback to claim a gorgeous view. It's worth the burn.

When I moved back to Minnesota I was going to give up on the mountain bike and just build a commuter and be just that. It's too expensive, not going to be the same as riding in the mountains. I'm over it. Once I found that Minnesota has a strong MTB community and a cares for the trails I had to jump back on. Figuring it wouldn't be as challenging as riding Colorado, Washington or New Mexico. Until I had a couple rides at some of the local trails, north to Duluth and the Cuyuna range. Riding these spots spiked my interest. It's not riding in the mountains, but it's still challenging in some places.

As if just putting in 50 miles in an afternoon with a couple friends or by myself wasn't enough...

Besides the Lutsen 99er challenge in June, there's a whole list of races by the sponsored by Peace Coffee

2012 Minnesota Mountain Bike Series Race Schedule

2012 Minnesota Mountain Bike Series Race Schedule

5/20/2012      Freewheel Frolic, Afton Alps, Hastings, MN

6/03/2012      Bluff Riders Charge, Mankato, MN

6/17/2012      Red Wing Classic, Red Wing, MN

7/08/2012      Dirt Spanker, Mt. Du Lac, Superior, WI

7/22/2012      Buck Hill Birch Bump, Burnsville, MN

7/29/2012      Single Track Attack, Elk River, MN

8/12/2012      Border Crossing,  River Falls, WI

8/19/2012      The Great Hawk Chase, Duluth, MN

9/02/2012      Laddie’s Loppet Stage Race, Maplelag Resort, MN

9/23/2012      Revolution’s Single Track Escape, St. Cloud, MN

9/30/2012      St. Croix Valley Woolly, St. Croix Falls, WI

Cuyuna weekend warrior!

It's safe to say that riding in places like Cuyuna and the Duluth area is a lot like riding the Pacific Northwest and simply enjoyable. Competing or not, it's getting out and enjoying yourself. Nothing compares to the joy of winding thorough the trees, up and down hills and getting away from whatever stresses you. It brings you back to those innocent days of just pedaling around the block with your friends. Now, I see families getting on the trails and spending time outside together. It's not always the addiction to speed and adrenaline. So speed freaks, watch out for those people just enjoying the woods. So everyone on two wheels, regardless of ability and what bike they're on, that cycling is for everyone. I have to remember that at times myself BIcycles mountain, road, track, cross, commuter or comfort, it's always been cool. 

We have MORC and the IMBA to thank for these places to play on two wheels without the hassle of a hiker yelling at us. Give to them if you give a damn about where you ride. 

Get outside and play! 

18MPH a Family Adventure: Reintroduction.

our family on the road to Jackson Hole, WY

This morning as I prepared breakfast for our son and myself, I thought, how awful that I haven't taken any time to write a post. Since Oliver's birth, now 13 months ago, I've sort of ignored the social media thing and just lived. Aside from posting pics of our kid and learning about new snowboard related activity on the Tweets, I don't do much in the internets any longer. However, I wanted to share experiences with like minded people and show how a family can still be active and have adventures. We're not rich, so we don't get to just drop and go as we please, but we make our life outside a priority. It's important for parents to spend time with their children in the outdoors and doing activities as a group. Even when their very young.

After Oliver was born Melinda made running a marathon a goal. Running is something she enjoys and wanted to prove to herself that she could raise the money, train and finish. She did just that in the Twin Cities marathon, with the Team in Training. This spring, she's made it my turn. I'm doing the Lifetime Lutsen 99er mountain bike race. Not that I want to be competitive, I just want to ride 100 miles on a mountain bike and challenge the hell out of myself. This race happens June 23rd in Lutsen, MN. Hopefully the Summer will be filled with other MTB races. I don't have a strong group of riding friends in Minnesota, so I hope to break out of my shell and get with some groups. It's not for a lack of riders here, it's a scheduling thing now. I can't just drop everything and ride. Also call it Minnesota nice. People here ride. There's world class riders that are very nice. They just don't want to ride with you. There are some great folks at the Angry Catfish I get to ride with on occasion. My only real day to get a long ride in is on Sundays. I'm now a weekend warrior. Still I commute on my work days.

We make Oliver apart of this training any way we can. He goes with on Melinda's runs in the Mountain Buggy. He goes on hikes with Melinda while I ride. He gets to see me ride and thinks it's the best thing ever. Smiles the whole time! We now need to purchase a bike trailer for him. At Hoigaards, a local outdoor sporting shop, he walked right up to a Burley 'Lite and got inside. I pulled him around the store in it, and nothing but laughs. Surprised we haven't already made that purchase. It's coming. The car needs tires. Stupid cars.

Aside from these challenges we simply enjoy showing our son the life that is outside of mundane city life. We're not condo people. I've learned that I'm less of a city person in the last few years. My job as a body piercer keeps me here. I've been piercing for over 15 years and can't seem to get away from it. It's something I've been heavily involved with, but you won't find me blogging about it. Not here. This blog is about family, travel, outside experiences and products we use. I do plan to be reviewing some things on this blog as a part of how we experience bike rides, snowboarding, kid's stuff, foods, nutrition and hikes ETC.

There! The blog is reestablished after a long hiatus. Let's get down to business. What I'm writing about today is a major turning point for our family, our first road trip. This would be the first time either of us traveled with an infant for 19 hours in a car. He's been on a plane to California, drives to northern Minnesota, but nothing like this. Altitude, temperature changes and long periods of time in a vehicle, not to mention, day care. He was a champ.

Snowboarding to Melinda and me is a major priority. We are not ashamed to admit that we've already got high hopes for our little man to ride. He shows a lot of interest in it. As much as you'd expect from an older child. He watches videos with us, likes to play with our boards (and his own), not to mention loves the snow. It's important for a child to experience and try just about everything and let them decide if they like it or not, yes. However, for us, snowboarding is huge. If Oliver decided he didn't like it, that's okay, but he's still going to the mountains with us. But I'm sure he won't have any problems with that. He loves time outside. 

Our original plan was to fly into SFO and meet Melinda's mom, drive down to Monterey and then out to Squaw Valley. This plan was for the middle of February, so there should be tons of snow. Not a chance! Squaw didn't see any snow until the week of our plans. Jackson had been getting the most snow of anywhere. After a little research, we found that it wasn't going to kill us in the wallet either. Melinda was getting a good tax return and decided that we needed the vacation. Even if it was several hours in the car to save some money.

We got 4 days of riding and 5 days at the mountain, staying at the Hostel, a private room without TV or any luxury aside from a shower. We could hear our neighbors in all directions and it lacked much luster, but we didn't care. It's not luxury we're in for when visiting the mountains. We were on the mountain, near the tram and next to the Mangy Moose. Great food there and a good place to wind down after a day on the steeps of JH.

Oliver's first daycare experience, Wranglers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

So, what to do with the munchkin while we're out riding? Wrangler's day care! We were excited that Oliver would get to spend time with other kids while we were on the mountain. He loves kids and socializing. He's really not afraid to be away from us. A very independent child, indeed! This was more expensive than the passes to the mountain, but worth it to get to enjoy sometime in the snow together without worry. When meeting the staff we were pretty relieved that they were so great, not that we had much doubt. Most of them were in their early 20s and genuinely liked children. We did have to pack his bottles, snacks and a pack of diapers. Not a problem for prepared mothers.

Oliver loved it in the snow and was very curious as to what we were doing there. He loves anything to do with the snowboards and getting outside. Next season is his!

Melinda only got one day in the snow. This her at the top of the gondola, with her Burton Feelgood Flying V. Her first realtime riding it. She made a very important decision to sacrifice riding... Why? Another little munchkin is on the way!!! That's the really big news in the blog.

This is the start to another new adventure. We'll be a family of 4 next season.

So, with Melinda not riding, she surprised me with a gift of some new Burton Cartel EST bindings to go on my Custom X. I traveled out with both old Custom and a new Custom X. The only bindings that go on my boards have been Cartels for the last 6 boards. My 2009 custom has 2010 purps on it. I didn't get to touch the old Custom since the edges were a little dull and the hills were pretty packed and icy. The Frost Bite™ edges on the X gave me serious confidence. For a chunk of the trip, I ventured into the JH backcountry, but kept it safe. Always watched the avy reports and made sure there were others around. Melinda's not much into riding off piste, so that means I've got to get social on the hill and make some new friends. The fact that I have the right gear, and know how to use it gave me an advantage to finding a couple people to tag along with while hiking off the tram and into the back ridges.

New Driver X kicks inside of the 2012 Cartels

A couloir that I was fortunate enough to find

Four Shadows. The snow had been baking too long anywhere else. Loud, packed shredding!

Basking in the morning sun, about to get technical and have fun spinning off the rocks

I just wish we could have stayed longer. I'm sure this won't be our last Jackson trip. There's a lot more to explore out there. 

Overall, the trip went very well. Only a few moments of screaming baby at night time, when he was just over driving. Altitude had no effect on him. He stayed under 7,000 ft. Another reason we stayed in Jackson was the lower altitude than, say, Breckenridge or other Colorado resorts we had talked about visiting. I wish I could get more into the logistics of this trip and the how-tos of packing with an infant for such an adventure. As we get into camping season, we'll touch on that more. 

We look forward to many more of these trips. Next season's big trip will have to be in the Tahoe area. We're a little bummed that the winter didn't happen in Minnesota this season, but now it's on to MTB Season. I've already put in 50 miles on the single track. Still, I'm dreaming of those days spent in Wyoming. There's a lot more to tell of this adventure. I'm sure I'll make mention of it again. I may even do a full write up of the foods we had in the village and the visits to the little natural foods store in town, Jackson Hole Foods. 

New Years Eve snow. Oliver standing sideways for the first time

Checking this everyday until it's time to ride that beast

Bundled up

Melinda adds to the beautiful view

First tram ride

Road fun.

fare well Tetons 

Co Pilot

Inventory time 

Melinda behind the wheel for a few hours

No Joke

Shreddy The Yeti in the Burton Stash Park_ Best park I've ridden. Wish I had some fresh in it at the time I rode it. Can't wait to take the kids in here!

That last big adventure for the Element. Good bye old friend. You got me and the family to many places safely and with much fun. We had to move up to a bigger car. The Pilot. 

To learn more about our leetle family, check out Melinda's blog: http://minnaoliver.blogspot.com/