Pooks Canyon

Dad sent me this pic over the weekend. It is of the family and family friend Roger Clark going down Satan's Cesspool (class IV) on the American River in 1983. I was telling our rafting guru neighbors, Dave and Toni, about the picture, how the photographers would take the pics then hang out where people put-in and try to sell the the photo. Except I said where people "put out" and Dave laughed at me and said rafters take out and put in, slutty people put out. I'm the one in the blue and white hat, I was 6 years old.

I'm channeling my inner Jetson. And it is "permanent" though these things generally fade. My neighbor asked if I had more shirts that matched my hair.

Dad sent this to me. Perhaps McCain can use it for his next debate appearance. My favorite was: "Stuck on remote Alaskan island, no bridge to get back to mainland." Clever idea given the Letterman connection.

Leah saw this bird alight on the deck railing and had me come look. We thought he was very proud and cute. He was a largish bird and when he took off there was a beautiful flash of red feathers under his wings. From the beak, I'm thinking woodpecker...

Posted by Mr Pooks. I had a bit of an imbroglio here in Madcross #1 up in Madison. A silly little crash while racing in 2nd place led to a trip to the urgent care when my ankle was sliced by my chainring.

Jon was racing in 2nd behind Jonathan Page when he crashed. After jumping back up and racing another half lap he realized his foot was covered in blood. He dropped out and went to the hospital for stitches, apparently the chain ring badly cut his ankle. We do not know if he'll be able to race tomorrow. Update: He had to get 15 stitches but will be racing tomorrow. Jon, you're an animal!!!

Here is Axel, the morning after our 35 person debate watch party. I saw him standing there and thought it would be a cute pic, when he was still standing there 5 minutes later I decided to actually take the picture. Axel decided to drink right when I snapped the pic. The party was fun but a little weird. I've never thrown a TV watching party before, everyone was basically engrossed in the debate for 90 minutes, only getting up for more beer. There was a huge run on the bathrooms after the debate.

Team Vitamin Cottage was invited to the World Foosball Championships, hosted by Cliff Bar. We lost in the first round to the Luna Chicks team of Kat Nash and Georgia Gould; rumor has it Nash has a foosball table at home in her native Czech Republic, where it is hugely popular.

Obama's team sent an email to all debate watch party hosts saying that the gatherings are more important than ever, so we are going to hold the party... whether or not McCain decides to come.

Here is Jon hangin out with his friend Eddy [Merckx] at Interbike. Both their sons are named Axel so that gives them a lot to talk about. haha Jon sounded very happy with his top ten result last night. His chain kept coming off into the chain guard, which he says he will tighten up before Wisconsin this weekend. He was in the lead group of 15 or so but had to chase back up several times after falling back with chain issues. This just confirms two things to me: 1.) Vegas is a good course for Jon 2.) His form is good this year, on a perfect day (no mechanical issues) he could have been top 5. For those Lance-o-philes, Sir Armstrong never made it to the front group and finished in 22nd place. People on the ground in Vegas report seeing Lance chasing hard, moving up though swarms of people throughout the race, but it wasn't enough to see the front. Jon said that after the race Lance was commenting on how he surprised he was at the speed. Perhaps Jon himself will post a race report...

Jon left for 'Cross Vegas this morning, here's a pic of him ready to get all fierce on the cx punks. Some guy named Lance will be there as well but we expect he'll never see the front of the race. Leah also left this morning, for Outdoor Education in Larkspur. She'll be back just in time for my sold out Debate Watching Beer Fest. I hope guests 20 through 30 don't mind sitting on the floor ;) Does anyone have any finger food ideas? I need all the help I can get!

My friend Crystal thought this was a good message to pass on... Dear Friends, There are about 2 months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike. If you support the policies and character of Barak Obama, please drive with your headlights on during the day. If you support John McCain, please drive with your headlights off at night. Thank you.

We're looking forward to Jon laying the smack down! He's hungry for 'Cross after last year's shortened season. There are rumors that Lance Armstrong will be racing as well. We'll see. Lance is supposed to making an announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Wednesday, too.

Axel got a late b-day present from the cousin Bordens; he loves it!

Maybe the jeans just weren't very fashionable.

Axel has been jumping off big rocks lately. I think he inherited his lack of a fear gene from his papa.

He spends a lot of his time with these tires, today it was in the driveway painting on a layer of glue.

My friend Laura and I are hosting a Beer for Barack Obama debate watching party at my house on September 26th. If you would like to come please visit: BeerForBarack and RSVP. Feel free to invite your friends for beer and debate watching fun, just make sure they RSVP on the website so we know how many people are coming. This will be a kid friendly event so please bring the kiddos and let them participate in the democratic process. (so I guess with the election this close, it is nearly impossible to not mix the politics and the blogging- sorry)

Did you know that Bart Wellens eats a pigeon before each important Cyclocross race? And here we are eating GU's like chumps!

Lately I try to avoid mixing blogging and politics but... If you want Obama to win the election please join Colorado Women for Obama by clicking on this link: Join Colorado Women for Obama If you're not a woman, perhaps pass this link on to someone else.

Posted by Mr. Pooks As an extravagence suggested by pooks, we gave a bit of the birthday sashimi to Maggertz. With some gutteral noises of contentment, she quickly consumed it. Since then, she's transformed from her usual skittish self into frindly lap cat! Who knew that was all it took. Pooks promises to serve the occasional treat to the cat now.

For those that haven't heard, Jon bleached his mohawk. The mohawk was getting back to his Native American roots now I suppose he is just getting roots. I think it looks hawt.

This morning Lina, Megan, and I were supposed to ride mountain bikes from my house but the rain and the cold sapped our will to ride. Here is Megan in my living room wondering why she drove up from Denver at 7:30 in the morning. Then Megan mentions she has a gift certificate for Tee and Cakes. I love cupcakes yet have never been, and it's my birthday, so we pile into Megan's car and head downtown. Megan's dog gave me big birthday kisses from the backseat and has surprisingly sweet smelling breath. The strawberry milkshake cupcake on the top tier cries out to me. Lina went with the Hostess style and Megan had the peanut butter. It was a tough decision and we all seemed to enjoy our cakes. We brought back a Red Velvet for Jon. Thanks Lina and Megan for such a fun morning!

The 1965 counter tops are outtie!

Yes, Lina and I are sitting in a classroom about to watch a Powerpoint Presentation on Cyclocross. And I forgot my pen and paper!