Well fall has come and is nearly gone. We are already into the Christmas season. Going all the way back to Labor Day weekend we checked off another Dakota Five-O and then on the way back to Arizona I stopped in Colorado Springs to race the Pike’s Peak Apex, a 3-day stage race.
As soon as we got back it was full gas into putting on the MBAA Enduro season. We had 3 races this year Sunrise, Mingus and Hawes. Sprinkled between the 3 was lots of time spent at the pool with Mattie and day trips up to higher elevations to get in some fall colors.
I decided to race the Cave Creek Cactus Classic in the beginning of November, probably my favorite XC race in Arizona. It’s a relatively short (24-miles) with some pretty challenging rocky descents and climbs to boot. I finished 2nd.
With the enduro season over we are looking forward to the XC season in January with lots of behind the scenes planning with staff.
This year we’ll be heading to Mexico the week before Christmas with Evie’s family for a slightly different Christmas celebration, then back in AZ for Christmas day. Enjoy the photos.
Feliz Navidad!
Mattie gearing up for her Strider race.
Evie’s Dakota Five-O Single Speed Women podium.
My new Pivot Mach 4 SL race bike.
My little helper.
Mattie tried ballet this fall.
Cool dude!
Saw this bull elk on my ride.
One of our favorite hiking spots.
Big leaves.
Our Christmas tree.
The grinch.
Always singing and dancing.
Did not see this guy on my ride. At the zoo.
Grocery shopping.
Dad’s helper.
Creating battery art.
All ready for snorkeling in Mexico.
Mattie’s airplane she made at Home Depot day.
Saw a desert tortoise on my ride.
Working on the car.
Boppy Faye passed away last month. She was just a few months away from 102 years old.We also lost our friend Dooley in a flying accident.
McDowell Church 5k.
🙂
Stillman Railroad park. One of our favorite places.
Wrapping up another fun summer in Spearfish. The garage door remodel was the biggest project of the summer. Mattie learned how to ride her pedal bike and we’re about to head into another Five-O Labor Day weekend.
Here are some photos from the summer.
We finished up the garage door remodel. A big project, but made a huge difference.The before.Moving the gas meter to the side of the house was also a huge improvement.
Lots of creek time.
And ice cream.
Mattie found mom’s sandal after 2 weeks of being lost in the creek.
Playing in Spearfish Canyon..
Daddy’s little helper.
Catching butterflies.
She loves to swing, high!
Day trip to Devil’s Tower.
Cutting trees on the trail.
Bucket clean up.
Mattie learned how to ride her pedal bike this summer.
Clever outfits.
Double rainbow!Iron Creek.We see these guys daily in the canyon.
Hidden gems in Spearfish Canyon.
No signs or trail, just have to know where to look.
Spearfish Arch.
Fourth of July Parade with Gil in the Model T.
Evie & I took a trip to Silverton, CO to do some hiking and bike riding.
Here we are again, back in South Dakota. January feels like lightyears ago. It was a cool and wet spring in Arizona which made for lots of wildflowers, waterfalls and releasing lots of water from the damns to reduce flooding.
Mattie loves her new preschool, CASY, She goes 2 days a week and will be back in the fall. Toddlerhood is still wild and crazy. When she wakes up each morning she says “I got bigger!”
This week she rode her pedal bike for the first time by herself thanks to her momma. Now she’s off to the park and Hatchery and spillway by her own mobility which is cool.
The MBAA season felt long this year, I believe I’m in my 6th year now as director after being on the board for 2 or 3 years before that. We were able to mix it up with a mass start format for our last race due to snow in Flagstaff forcing us to move the race down to McDowell. It’s actually been a super nice May in Arizona with relatively cool temperatures. On race day it was only 70 degrees.
Grandma Marie passed away in March. Lots of good memories at my grandparents house in Wisconsin playing in Lake Michigan.
I raced Whiskey 50 in Prescott at the end of April. Planning on the Dakota Five-O and the Pike’s Peak Apex in September so I didn’t make a huge push to ride as much in January/February like I normally would. Luckily I’ve raced enough, especially the Whiskey, to trust my fueling and pacing and ended up pulling off a 2nd place.
We’ve been in South Dakota a little over a week and made a lot of progress on the garage and a handful of other projects. For the year you spend planning, ordering materials and strategizing, you are still always hit by curveballs, usually minor, but always good to brace yourself ahead of time for unknows when you start opening up walls and concrete, especially in bathrooms. So far things have gone really smooth on this garage remodel though.
Evie is doing the Pine Island Gravel Grinder so we’re going to go scope out the new racecourse this weekend and do some hiking with Mattie & Lucy. Cheers!
Desert snow. Seems to be a once a year occurrence lately.
