The best way to spread Xmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear

Just got done with my first day of work from home. It was fun, but busy since I was the only one answering calls. I definitely wouldn't mind doing that at least once a week though, and I'm sure that Vontoux enjoyed the company (and not being in his kennel).

Heather and I had a great time home in GF for the holidays. Got to see the family, all the gang from the SBS, and Andy and Becca. Went to the Hub, but they weren't serving burgers because they were having the Hub Xmas party....BOO! I'll have to wait until next time I guess. Celebrated Xmas at my sister's house in Fargo, with people from the Abraham/Litchy/Chase/Josef family's present. Played some intense games of Pictionary and SkipBo. Got some fun gifts (cordless drill, Seinfeld Season 5, cash, more memory for my computer, gift cards, 7 layer bars, little ornaments, a UND pennant to hang above my desk at work to tick off all the Badger fans, etc...). It was too short of a visit though, and we are already planning another trip home sometime in Feb.

So far we have 3 brave souls signed up for the Spring Training Camp V.2 sometime in early 06. Location is TBD; but exotic places such as Las Vegas, Tempe, North Carolina, and SoCal have been mentioned as being in the running. Sign up now to reserve a spot. :)

Also, a big congrats goes out to Dave Simmons and Jen for their recent engagement!

New computer has arrived!!

The Ascend team had our 06 planning meeting today, so I didn't have to answer any calls today. That was fun. Just talked with my co-workers all day discussing the plans for next year, with a little party afterwards at a nice restaurant. Good times.

When I got home, my new computer was there waiting for me. Got a Dell XPS 400. Lots of fun upgrades to make it fast and powerful. The pictures online showed it as black/silver, but it is white/silver. I like it, looks fast just sitting there. Came with a 19inch flat screen monitor (that's as big as the TV in our bedroom!!). Here's a pic of it now before I get it all set up.

I also purchased a wireless router for our house yesterday. Being that I have the laptop from work, it will be nice to be able to bring that home and do work and still have access to the Trek network while sitting on the couch. My boss also said that I should be able to start working from home for a few days a week soon, so that's awesome! Probably only one, maybe two, days a week at most, but that will be great just for the time and gas money saving standpoint. I'll be answering support phone calls in my underwear!

Heading home this weekend! Staying at my aunt's house on Thurs night, then driving the rest of the way early Fri morning. Big Hub night on Fri night. Then celebrating Xmas at my sister's house. Probably won't be able to update until next Mon, so I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Lots of Josef's!

This past weekend Heather's fam came to visit. Her parents and a couple of her aunt and uncles. We were celebrating Xmas early since we will be in GF next weekend. It was a good time, and I got to meet more of her family that I hadn't met before. So that was good.

Today I got out to play hockey for the first time this winter! The rinks just opened up this week, so I had to get out there. Now I have blisters on my feet from my skates (happens every year the first time I skate) and sore legs, but it was good showing the locals here how we play hockey in ND! ;)

Now I am getting excited to head back home for the weekend, so hopefully this week at work goes by quickly. Can't wait to see everyone on Fri night at the Hub, with delicious burgers and a 33oz Coke!

Here are a couple pics; one of Heather's mom putting some miles on the trainer downstairs, and another of Vontoux sleeping on the spare bed (he's all tucked in, of course). He has taken that bed over recently, it must be a heck of alot more comfortable than his kennel at night....

Styx and Stones

More snow has arrived here in Wisco. Apparently this is more snow than they have had in the last few years here. Still nice temperature-wise though, with highs in the upper 20s (the locals think that this is cold -- HA!). Perfect temp for outdoor winter biking.

Had a good weekend. Started it off by going to the Trek cocktail party with Heather and my boss and his wife. That was a really fun time. Good food/drinks, really cool house, and lots of people. There were too many people there to see everyone, but I did recognize Zap Espinoza and Bob Roll. Bob had a Santa hat and a beard. I said hi to him and he said HOWDY. Sorry Dave, I didn't ask Burke if they were coming out with an adventure frame, maybe some other time. ;)

Tonia and Trent got here on Fri night, so we played with them all weekend. Went to the dog park, to Trek, and roamed around SP and Madison. It was most enjoyable. Will be nice to be able to see everyone again in a few weeks for Xmas. Andy got here on Sun night for his interview on Tues, which he said went well. Who knows, maybe he will be moving here in a short while... He came to Trek on Mon to eat lunch with me, and I gave him a tour of the place. It was a busy, but fun, couple of days with all of them at our house.

I ordered a new desktop computer yesterday. That's exciting. Dell came to Trek to show off some of their new machines, and they were offering some bigger discounts and coupons than we normally get at Trek. So, being that we were planning on getting a new one soon anyway, I ordered it up! Should be fast! If any of you are looking to get a new computer, Dell offers this 'industry discount' to both friends and family of Trek employees as well (savings up to 12% off of retail, in addition to coupons up to $200 off). So if you're interested, just send me an email and I can send you the website link and password. :)

Stupid people and fun people

First I will start with the stupid people. Today I was driving to work, and the roads were a little slick from some snow that we got last night. But it wasn't too bad. As I am making my way along, I see an ambulance coming in the opposite direction with its lights on. The car in front of me, upon seeing the ambulance, decides against just slowing down and moving over to the shoulder, and instead slams on its brakes and starts sliding around the road. At this point I have to hit the brakes hard as well to avoid this whole mess, and in doing so am left with only 3 options. 1, I can veer into the opposite lane and hit the ambulance head on. 2, I can slam into the back of the sliding car in front of me. Or 3, I can fly into the snow-filled ditch. So I decided on 3. And then I was in the ditch. Fun times. And the other car didn't think it was too big of a deal, and just nicely drove off. So I waited there until a state trooper stopped and called it in to the local towing company. About 45 min later, the tow truck shows up, pulls me out in like 2 min, and after paying the $63 bill, I am back on my way to work. Showed up to work about 1.5 hours late, but Mark didn't mind, so that's good.

So I am left with the conclusion that drivers here really do suck, as Heather can attest to as well, being that yesterday it took her about an hour to get home from work because people were going 20mph on the highway because it was snowing a little bit. Oh well.

On to the fun people. This weekend Tonia, Trent, and Mario are coming here to pay us a visit, and then on Sun evening Andy gets here for his interview on Tues. So we will have a busy little house. That will be fun. Tonight is also the little Xmas shindig at John Burke's house. And a big hockey weekend with the Gophers playing the Sioux at the REA. Fun, busy weekend ahead here. Talk to you all later.

Ohh yeah!!

Now that the cold weather has moved its way to Sun Prairie, WI, it can only mean that outdoor hockey season is almost upon us! One of the inside reps for Gary Fisher has this rink setup in his backyard. This pic was taken a few weeks ago before the snowfall and colder temps, so now the rink is pretty much frozen over. He invited me to come play with his group of players, so you know I'll take him up on that offer!

Jobs, Sledding, and Partying with the Prez

Heather has been looking for a job since we moved here, and in the past week she has managed to find not one, but two new jobs. Her fulltime one is at a company called PPD, located just outside Madison, where she will be an assistant scientist in the inhalation dept, working with asthma inhalers and such. Her part time one (just a few weeknights and an occasional weekend) is at a pet-sitting company, where she will go and walk, feed, etc dogs whose owners are out of town. She has already started that one this weekend, while the PPD one starts on Mon. Good job Heathrow!

It snowed here all day yesterday (another few inches of fresh snow!), so Heather, Vontoux, and I all went to a sledding park last night for some late night sledding fun. A good time was had by all, especially little Vontoux, who loves the snow and chasing after us on the sleds.

After an email mixup at work, it appears that Heather and I will be going to a Xmas cocktail party at John Burke's (the president/CEO of Trek) house this Fri night. To make a long, funny story short, John accidentally emailed me a few weeks ago an invite to his house for dinner that was intended for his sister. Upon realizing his mistake, he added me to the invite list to his cocktail party to make up for his error. It's a total pity invite, but I'll take it! :) His annual party is usually just for top managers and company higher-ups, but it looks like this year it will be attended by Heather and I as well! I looked at the email to see who else was invited to his party, and it showed names such as Gary Klein, Keith Bontrager, Gary Fisher, Zap Espinoza, etc... Looks like we'll be in some good company! ;)

That's about all for now....time for me to go shovel the driveway.

Snow -- Fun fluffy stuff

Hello everyone. Snow has finally arrived here in Sun Prairie. We had some last week, but it didn't stick around for very long. This stuff looks like it will stay.

Newly fallen snow can only mean one thing: crappy drivers. So there I am driving to work this morning (the WRX performed quite nicely in its first snow test), listening to REO Speedwagon (which might be a good nickname for the WRX!), and I am going 60 all the way to Marshall (town about 8 miles from SP). So all is good. Then upon leaving Marshall, myself and about 8 other cars get stuck behind a guy who doesn't feel safe going over 35 mph (speed limit is 55 on this 2 lane road that goes from SP to Waterloo). It was very humorous, especially being that the roads were not bad at all.

Some good comes from the snow though. I am guessing that outdoor rinks will be open within the next month (hopefully before Xmas). That's exciting. And it is still warm here (high 20s-low 30s), which makes for excellent winter outdoor biking. Hopefully it stays like that for awhile. I don't have the cool Pugsley like Simmons, but the 970 always performs admirably in the snow. And it has much more character, with the rust and all. :)

Long holiday weekend

I like long weekends. Having Thurs and Fri off from work was most fun, as well as my family coming to visit for TDay. Dad and Danette and Alane and Dick all came to visit for a few days, but Tonia and Trent couldn't make it due to some horrible highway conditions. Now they owe us a visit. :) We had a good time, went to a Sir Hobos (pretty much the only restaurant in town open on TDay) and ate a good meal, then took them all to Trek to give them a tour yesterday. The time passed by too quickly. I will see them all again in less than a month for Xmas though, so all is good.

Not much else is new. I got some new race cross wheels. That's most exciting. They are red Mavic Heliums with Hutchinson Pro Series cross tires (sorry Brooks, they are clinchers). They came with those bad-ass Mavic skewers and some wheel bags. So now I have an all-red and an all-gold wheelset. So much bling.

Here's some pics of the Mavic wheels/tires, the gold wheels with their new Michelin tires, and a pic of Heather and Vontoux relaxing on the couch. He's a tired puppy.

Back at home/work

Got back from DC on Sun afternoon, feels good to be back home. And now we have the short work week for Thanksgiving, so that's fun. I didn't get a chance to sightsee at all while in DC, just work. It went like this: airport-hotel-bike shop-hotel-bike shop-hotel-bar-hotel-bike shop-movie-hotel-airport. Or something like that. I spent $2 while I was there (on two Mt Dews), which made it the cheapest trip that I've ever taken (topping the $5 that I spent going to Chicago for Brooks and Mary's wedding). Corporate credit cards are fun. ;)

Looks like we will have quite the crew coming to our house for TDay, so that will be a good time. Lots of dogs running around like freaks.

We also have a new addition to our little family. Here is a pic of Vontoux playing with Cat Stevens.

Hella hours

Hello from DC. Quick post while I am counting out inventory on the computer here at Revolution Cycles in Georgetown, just a stone's throw away from Georgetown University.

It is Thurs, and as of right now I have almost 60 hours in this week. And we haven't even finished for the day yet. We're hoping to get out of here before midnight, but that might not happen... So, after the rest of tonight, tomorrow, Sat, and Sun before my flight home, I'm looking at around 90 hours in one week of work. That's crazy. I'll like that paycheck though!

Still haven't gotten a chance to sightsee at all, maybe on Sat morning/early afternoon.

Talk to you all later.

Bring out the brooms

Just got back from Duluth. It was a good weekend, made even better because the Sioux managed to sweep the Bulldogs on the road. They were two good games (5-3, 7-4) and now my voice is all hoarse from cheering/yelling so much. The Sioux football team also beat the UMD Bulldogs on Sat to advance in the NCAA DII playoffs. Good weekend all around for Sioux athletics...

Also got to see a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in awhile, so that was fun. Nice to see you Simmons, even if it was only for a few minutes at the hotel. Remember to give Yearwood his spokes!

Long day though today. Didn't get to bed until about 3am (bars close at 2am in Duluth), got up at 6:30 to drive home so that I can make my flight at 3pm. By around 8pm tonight, I will be in our nation's capital for the week. Should be fun!

Sundown

Nov 10, 1975. We all remember what happened on that day. If you need a refresher, go to this website. So tomorrow, on the 30 year anniversary of that tragic day, lift a frosty one in remembrance of those 29 courageous men.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

God Gordon Lightfoot is cool.

Relaxation...

Hello all. Today has been a very lazy day. It's almost 3pm, and both Heather and I are still in robes/pajamas. Vontoux is sleeping. Just a day for relaxation. Feels good, pretty much the first day like that since moving here.

We were going to go to Milwaukee for another cross race today, but decided against it last night. Being that I will be gone this upcoming weekend in Duluth for the hockey games, gone all next week in DC, then the following two weekends after that our parents/family are coming to visit, we decided just to sit around and do nothing.

Sold the Kona Jake cross frame on eBay (you missed out Simmons!), sorry to see it go. We've been through so much; such good memories...[tear]. ;)

Maybe we'll go out for pizza tonight, there is a really good pizza place downtown that we have gone to a couple times now. Talk to you all later!

Cross Race and Trip de France

Last Sun was my first ever cross race, held in Milwaukee. I wasn't expecting much being that I had only ridden once in the last month since moving here. It was a cool course; some cool pavement sections, two barrier sections, some good little singletrack, and one hill runup. I wasn't sure how my legs and lungs would feel, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good my legs felt. My lungs, on the other hand, were burning from the start. The start was a madhouse, about 60 riders all racing for the first corner. I got caught behind quite a few riders (I didn't have the best starting position, as you can see from the pic), and there were a few bottlenecks. My lungs finally started to feel better right before the start of the last lap, so during the final lap I was flying and passed about 8 or 9 riders. Ended up finishing 24th, which is alright I guess.

Since I won't be able to race the State Champs in SP, I decided to go to a different cross race (also in Milwaukee) this upcoming Sun. I'm hoping to do alot better to make up for my last race ;) . I've ridden a few times already this week, so hopefully that helps. I also hope to warm up a bit more before the race and to get a better starting position. We'll see how it goes....

On to some big news. Last week Trek was offering a 2 for 1 employee Trek Travel trip incentive program. And being that Heather and I were already thinking about going on one, we decided that we couldn't pass up that offer (as a Trek employee, we get 30-40% off TT trips, plus the 2 for 1 deal made it A LOT cheaper). So we officially booked our trip! Next Aug 13-19, we will be in France! Riding our bikes over some of the classic climbs of the Tour, such as the Glandon, Madelaine, Telegraph, Galibier, and, of course, Alpe d'Huez. Here is a pdf file with more info about the trip for those interested: Classic Climbs of the Tour Itinerary
Check out Day 3 and 5. Those are some doozies!

That's about all I know for now, talk with you all soon!

Finished bike shop, almost finished cross bike

Today I put the finishing touches on the bike shop; went to Menards and got some shop rags and some heavy duty Lava soap. :) Looks pretty good, I like how it is setup. The XO-1 is all ready to go for tomorrow's race in Milwaukee. Still haven't put the blk/wht hbar tape on it, but that can wait. The weather tomorrow looks to be pretty nice with highs in the 60s, so it should be a good day for racing.

I found out this week that I will have to miss the State Cross champs here in SP because I am going to Washington DC for work the week of Nov 13-20. We have a 4-store dealer there with some huge database problems, so we have to go and try to figure it out for them. I won't be back until later on Sun afternoon, so I will have to miss the race. That sucks, would have been a good time (especially since it is right here in town), but seeing the software work in a real store environment will be good experience for me. At least I will be able to figure out the cross class I should be racing in tomorrow so that I can race the full cross season next year.

Here are some pics of the completed bike shop and a couple of the XO-1 (one with the pimpy gold wheels and one with the cross wheels).

A few day's worth...

The last few days have been pretty busy. Picked Heather up on Sat night in Madison. She had fun visiting her parents and new little nephew. On Sun we essentially finished my basement bike shop. Looks pretty nice, put the pegboard up and got an area rug for it. I will post a pic of that soon for you all to envy.

On Tues Heather had an interview at UW for a primate caretaker. She thought it went well, now she is just waiting to hear back for the 2nd part of the interview. I left work early that day to go to the DMV and get my license, title, and plates. Fun times were had with all the crazies that were there.

Heather came to Trek today to eat lunch with me and to get a tour of the plant. I'm not much of a tour guide, but Heather thought it was fun nonetheless. She got to touch some of Lance's bikes, and she smelled his seat. She said it smelled like broiled onions. I also was manning the phone lines for the first time when I got back from lunch. Went pretty well, wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. So that's good to have that out of the way.

This weekend Heather and I are going to Milwaukee for a day of cyclocross fun. Went for a ride around town tonight, checked out the park/speedway where the state champs will be held. It's all barb-wire fenced up, so pre-riding it appears to be out of the question. My X0-1 is all ready to go, still have to put the blk/wht hbar tape on it, but that can wait. I will post some pics of that soon as well.

Vontoux is suffering from some sort of ear infection. Heather is treating it well, using her vast knowledge of the canine ear. And Birdie is still being stupid, clucking up a storm. She will die very soon if she keeps it up.

A Day in the Life

Phew, I'm tired today. Got home a little late last night, went to downtown Madison to watch a coworkers' band play. It was a good time, but I was definitely tired this morning. And I am feeling it now.

On the plus side I got my first paycheck today, got my title for my new Subie (finally), and got all my benefit info in the mail. Exciting times.

There are two cross races coming up in Milwaukee, I think I am going to do at least one to prepare for the State Champs here in SP and to figure out which category I should be racing in. I've almost got my basement all cleaned out in preparation for my bike shop. It will be quite nice, I'm excited for that.

Tomorrow I pick up Heather from the bus station. It will be good to see her, she's been gone all week at her parents house.

Here's some pics. One of my groovy new auto and another of a naked Birdie.

Strikes and Gutters

Today at work I answered my first tech phone call. Kind of nervous being that I don't know the software too well yet, but I had a co-worker walk me through it. It will get easier with time.

I also checked into an adult hockey league here in Sun Prairie. I found one, runs until the end of April (!!), and is with intermediate level players, but it cost $300 freakin dollars. So that put an end to that. I just better hope now that they have decent pick-up games at the outdoor rinks here.

I was going to ride to work today being that it was supposed to be in the 70s, but it ended up being only in the 50s (mid-30s when I left for work). So that didn't happen.

First post

Vontoux and Heather say hello to everyone. :)