http://marcwinder.blogspot.com

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

2008-07-24T16:58:00.002-04:00

You'll have to excuse my silence of late because I'm extremely busy with the new job these days. Any way, while searching for an answer to a question I've been struggling with (ie geeking out) I came across Gustaf's blog (which is an excellent CRM reference) and I saw this video that I just had to repost:

That is just classic! I'm no longer worried about the youth of America after seeing that. And doesn't that one girl remind you of Dinsey's daughter?

Another day at the BMX track

2008-05-05T16:58:00.004-04:00

First BMX Race

2008-04-20T11:25:00.002-04:00

York

2008-03-28T19:49:00.003-04:00

We returned home from York just in time to start Spring Break. Of course the crew gets to chill and I get to go back work. Oh well. Anyhow, the team did good winning the first three games and finishing second overall to a much bigger, much faster Reston team. That's what we get for bringing a house team to a house tournament when the winner brings a select team. No worries, the kids did good and had a good time.

The good thing about hockey season ending is that I can finally get back on my bike! I've ridden three days this week (must be a record going back to 2000) including finally making it out to one of Liz's Wednesday night rides out to The Witch and back. Liz, please keep the ride going. I really missed riding my bike.

Playoffs and tournaments

2008-02-22T16:02:00.001-05:00

Well the regular season (12-1-3) is over and the playoffs began last night. Our kids and the other Iceland team played to a tie in a very good, close, game. We have three more games this weekend so we’ll be quite busy with hockey all weekend.

Next weekend we’re playing in the Breakaway at the Beach tournament, which we won last year. I believe we have Mite teams from Greensboro and Roanoke coming in town so it will be nice to see some different teams and to get our kids ready for a tournament towards the end of March.

Speaking of that, we will be going back to York over Easter weekend. I’m not sure if any of the family can come down like last year but its short notice so I understand if everyone already has plans. We didn’t have enough kids to go so we borrowed a couple of kids from the other Jr. Admirals Mite team and I think we have a very good group going so it should be fun.

One of our own is in Patagonia

2008-02-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

Every cyclist in this area is familiar with Rob D. He's won numerous BAR championships over the past several years but he started his cycling career off road by racing mountain bikes. Over the past couple of years he's gone back to the off road world but in the form of adventure racing. Apparently he's done so well at it that he was invited to join a team for a 600km, 9 day event at the end of the world in Patagonia!

He flew out on Friday and the race is due to get underway tomorrow. You can follow his teams progress and listen to audio blogs here: www.untamedadventure.com/

For more info on the event check out the official website here: www.patagoniaexpeditionrace.com

Take a few minutes to leave Rob and his team mates, two of which are also from Virginia Beach, some words of encouragement.

Where's Marco?

2008-02-10T12:27:00.002-05:00

I'm getting a lot of heat for not updating my blog. I'll apologize up front but I've (we've) been extremely busy. I want to specifically apologize for Brian because I know you've been looking for updates and pictures. Sorry bro, it's not easy running the bench and working with them while taking pictures.

On the bright side you're boy is playing outstanding hockey and we've relied upon him a lot these past few games. We've been struggling since we lost Alex (moved) and it seems that every game we are missing at least one other so we're always playing with a shortened roster. He tied it up for us yesterday with just five seconds left in the 3rd! It was a fantastic goal!

As for everything else I don't have much to report. Between working and the usual family stuff I haven't been up to much. Cross season is long since over and I don't plan on racing much (if any because I don't like roadies) on the road this year so I only have a few MTB races to look forward to. Brett is going to race BMX this season and Santa brough him a bad ass little Felt and he got to practice on it yesterday. He was really digging it and I plan to get some photos and videos up of his first race in a couple of weeks. Check out his new ride:

On a soar note I missed the Superbowl day ride :-( I was really looking forward to it but the Colonel wasn't feeling well and I had to stay home. Next year I'm going even if I have to hire a nanny to stay with the family while I'm gone. You can catch up with the details here: K-Dawg's Kblogg.

That's all I have for now. I'd tell you to stay tuned but you can see how that is going...

Happy New Year!!!

2007-12-31T18:13:00.000-05:00

It's on!

The 757 is growing!

2007-12-29T19:11:00.000-05:00

While I didn't make it out to a lot of the cross races this season the ones I did make had the 757 well represented. And now that the season is over and most are starting to prepare for the '08 season I thought I'd update the blog with some of the 757 bloggers that I missed the last time.

Jimmy D Superdork
The Tao of Shawn

Check them out and look for them at the start of the season!

Stanley Cup

2007-12-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

Suzanne took the kids to see the Stanley Cup today! I was in Charlottesville racing (more on that later) but they got to see it, touch it and pictures taken with it!

Team Christmas Party

2007-12-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

We had the team Christmas party last weekend and a good time was had by all. What a great group of folks we have on this team.

First loss of the season :-(

2007-12-02T10:09:00.001-05:00

I realize that I haven't posted anything in quite some time now but we haven't had any games since the second week in November. With the Select team being out of town and Thanksgiving there hasn't been anything to post.

Well all the time off really showed today and Mite 1 dropped their first game of the season. We played the other Jr Admirals team and they out hustled us right from the start. Kudos to those kids, they really played well. Our kids took a very long time to get started and we had to struggle back from a 7-0 deficit to bring it to the final score of 7-5. We made it interesting but we couldn't recover in time.

Overall I think they handled it pretty well and hopefully they all learned something. Brett played a pretty good game and he did a lot of things well. I only wish he approached hockey like he does bike racing. It's hard to believe how focus and aggressive he is at the bike races.

Speaking of bike racing, stay tuned for a Christmas day update ;-)

Cobblestone

2007-11-03T21:56:00.000-04:00

The Mrs took this picture of me at the Cobblestone cross race and I just remember how bad that second race felt. Every lap I wanted to quit. Every lap I felt like turning my bars just slightly to the left and heading to the van. But I stayed out there for some dumb reason and completed 1:35 of very dry, dusty, hot, sunny and painful cross "riding" because what I was doing certainly wasn't racing. Cross racing should be cold and sloppy and you shouldn't get a sun burn!

Meerkats

2007-11-03T14:05:00.000-04:00

Our very own Norfolk Zoo has a small population of the very popular Meerkats. The kids could care less but I sure do like them.

Double Header Weekend

2007-10-28T15:29:00.000-04:00

We had two hockey games this weekend. Yesterday we played Prowl #1 up in Yorktown and won 5-1 in an exciting game that saw the Prowl goalie play one heck of a game. We were already down two players (one with a broken arm and another out of town with his family) so we were missing a couple key kids. As usual Justin and Peter did an outstanding job for us. Brett was kind of asleep out there and missed a couple of great opportunities but he almost had a breakaway so that was pretty exciting.

Today didn't look like it was going to be a good day to Mite 1 because in addition to us being down two kids we were missing one more and Justin wasn't feeling good. Coach Derek had a little pre-game chat with the team and whatever he said must have worked because I haven't seen Brett play a better game! He was hustling, he kept his stick on the ice, he went after the puck and made some good plays happen. I was very proud of him. I'm just as proud with the team because these kids played their hearts out! Down 3-1 in the third they rallied to win 4-3. Mite 2 played an awesome game and it was extremely exciting and the kind of game that will make both teams better. We tried to keep either Justin or Peter on the ice at all times and rotated lines like crazy. I have to mention Nathan as well, he's absolutely on fire.

Brian, you're boy is playing great and making smart, heads up plays. He's awesome and he's got a good supporting cast around him.

The $52.49 goal

2007-10-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

Last year Brett wanted a green, carbon stick so I made a deal with him that when he scored his first goal I'd buy him one. Well it took him 16 games to put his first goal in the net so it was a well deserved reward.

This year we made a deal that when he scored his first goal of the season I'd buy him an equipment bag that has wheels so he can pull it around. All of that hockey equipment is heavy and his bag wasn't big enough for all of his stuff plus my skates, gloves and helmet so something bigger was needed and the wheels would make it easy for him to tow it around instead of me carrying it around all the time.

Well it didn't take him long to cash in on his reward this year. After two assist in the last two games he came roaring (okay maybe not roaring but...) off the bench this morning and scored in the first three minutes of this mornings game! He was hovering around the front of the net when a rebound presented itself. He had a couple of other great chances as well but that goal earned him (or was it me?) a new equipment bag.

Either way I think it will pay for itself in short order. I think we won 10-2 which isn't bad considering the slow start we had due to the fact that the entire team went to the Norfolk Admirals game last night and they were all dog tired.

We have two games next weekend so stay tuned.

I finished!

2007-10-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

I went to Ironcross this year with one goal: to finish.

Being an Ironcross virgin I had no idea what to expect except for the horror stories that my team mates told. I knew it was going to be difficult. I knew it was going to involve a lot of climbing. I knew it would a long time to complete. I knew it would mean carrying my bike while clinging to rocks and roots. But you really don't know until you do it what is BS and what has been drastically exaggerated. Well, as I sit here now I can say that it was difficult; there was a lot of climbing, it took me a long time and there actually was a part where, with my bike on my back, I clawed my way up a steep and rocky hill making sure I had my footing before taking another step so that I didn't tumble back down to the bottom!

The hardest part for me was not knowing the course; not knowing what was coming up or where I was at any given point in time. I probably could have pushed harder but I kept thinking a BIG climb was coming even though I already passed it. JB recon'd the course a couple of times leading up to the race and next year I'd like to join him at least once so that I know where I am and what is up ahead.

I don't have any cool stories like Liz or Dinsey. My race was pretty uneventful. I just pedaled, drank a lot of water (too much) and ate every chance I got so that I didn't bonk. It turns out I probably spent too much time eating and drinking because I had to stop and pee too many times.

When it was all said and done I finished in 5:15 which I think is pretty respectable for my first time and considering my longest ride leading up to the race was only 60 miles. I haven't been out to the mountains in years and I haven't been putting in too many miles so I'll take 5:15 for now.

Thanks to Kevin and Dinsey for keeping me motivated with everything else I have going on and to all my teammates (Bill, Tim, Laura, JB, Dinsey, Liz, Carol, Art, Mike, Mark, Steve-O, Kev, Mike and Sally) for encouraging me through out the day. That crew actually makes racing and suffering fun!

And yes, I'm definitely going back next year!

Look at the face!

2007-10-10T21:27:00.000-04:00

Here's one Jr. Admiral you don't want to mess with because he's leading the team in penalty minutes this season!

Tonight was picture night so just like last year everyone will get a trading card.

HR1 takes the opening game!

2007-10-06T12:09:00.000-04:00

The two Jr Admirals team squared off this morning for the start of the 2007-2008 season. Brett only played a period and a half because he started feeling sick after getting a bad headache. I think his helmet is too small and luckily we bought a new one a month ago. We'll put the new one to use this coming week when we play the Peninsula on Sunday. As for some of the other kids; Peter lit it up several times as did Justin, Ethan and Caleb.

Sorry but I don't have any pictures but if some of the other parents send me some I'll post them up.

Let the games begin!

2007-09-16T08:37:00.000-04:00

Ok friends and family it's that time of year again; hockey time!

For all of you in Western PA and even for Brian (#10 & Brett are on the same team!) overseas I'll try my best to keep you all updated with pics & videos. In addition I'll try and make sure the HRYHA website stays updated as far as results and stats go. Check it here: HRYHA Select House > Mite House 1 from the left hand menu.

There are two Mite (8 & under) teams here at the beach this season and two Yorktown teams so it should be a great season. Games start October 7th. I have to go and get the clipboard and water bottles ready for today's practice.

Later.

Somebody is training for Cross season!

2007-09-07T20:29:00.000-04:00

This is awesome!

Two Quick Changes

2007-08-30T16:25:00.000-04:00

First, Tripp finally got back online after losing 29 Percent so check out Lucky Black Socks. Good to have you back Tripp!

Second, the Dawg has created a new blog for those interested in watching our ramp up to Iron Cross: 757 Iron Cross. It seems half of Tri-Power is going so keep up to date by visiting that blog.

Hockey season starts on Tuesday so stay tuned for weekly Jr Admirals updates!

New Bloggers in the 757!

2007-08-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

I added a couple new local blogs to the Links list so check them out!

- Joshua's FIREbike

- BJ's Podium Girl

- Tyler's blog <-- Not a new blogger but newly added to the links!

Ironcross Primer

2007-07-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

Back on Independence Day The Dingo, Liz, ChrisD, and DBO did an epic cross ride that made several of us that couldn't go jealous. See blog entry HERE.

So when the opportunity for a follow up ride presented itself there was no shortage of those willing to spend their Sunday exploring the back roads of James City County.

I'll admit that going into the ride I was pretty nervous. I had good reason to be in part because I'm still trying to get base miles in and because everyone else that said they were "IN" were local hammerheads. The roster read like this: Crazy, K-Dawg, Tim S, Bill G, Young Mark (who just finished 8th at Junior Nationals!), and the newest member of Tri-Power, The Manimal. In addition some fast dude named Josh and Robert Sawyer joined the mix.

This ride had all the makings of a major bonk! I was hoping to a) not get dropped, b) not get lost and c) make it back alive.

After a quick ride through York River State Park and a brief section of paved road we hit the first gravel/fire road we had our first casualty. Steveo (aka The Manimal) suffered a flat. After a quick fix he was off and running again...but not for long. At the end of the fire road he suffered another flat and instead of getting further out and having more problems he turned back. Then it was Crazy's turn to have an issue when he broke a spoke. I offered to escort him back but he declined, giving the order to press on. So we did! We cruised through some beautiful country side, seeing the occasional JRVS rider and enjoying the cool weather.

Then Young Mark took a wrong turn and went into time trial mode. Crazy, with a broken spoke, had to chase the dude down and get him back on course. This set us back on time and forced us to finish the last of the gravel road sections before we took a shortened route back to York. Still, DBO saved the best fire road section for last and it left us all chomping at the bit for more. A quit trip down route 60 had us back at our cars and home to our HH6's before any of us got into trouble.

In the end we managed about 55 miles of back country/gravel roads...perfect warm up for Ironcross. We were all talking about doing it again real soon so keep your eyes on the blogs to find out when we'll be doing it all over again.

Commuting on a day like today?

2007-07-19T08:57:00.000-04:00

The forecast calls for the temp to reach 98 degrees today but that didn't stop me from jumping on my bike and commuting to work. Now, why on earth would I want to commute to work on a day like today? It's really quite simple: the AC is broken in my car!

So, I'd rather ride to work in 100 degree heat than drive to work in a 140 degree car. Besides, I need the miles and I could stand to drop a pound or two in the process.

Thanks to Harlen for hooking me up with the modified route. The little detour around NSU and Harbor Park is a nice break from the blvd.

Tour de Port

2007-07-15T07:45:00.001-04:00

Took the fam over to the Tour de Port yesterday. I'm not in any form to race but the kids raced and we hung out and watched the Pro/1/2 race afterwards. It was nice to go to a crit and see some old friends and watch some "racin"! As you can see Hope continues to push the boundaries of cycling fashion and Brett's posing with his water bottle and Powerbar prize.

I managed to snap a decent picture of Greco and Crazy together which was purely by luck. And I'm not sure who that kid (Dinsey) thought he was fooling but there was no way the officials were going to believe he was a 6-9 year old!

They say things happen in threes...

2007-06-30T09:51:00.000-04:00

so I hope that means TriPower is done with this streak of bad luck.

First Laura crashed at the beginning of the week requiring stitches then Bill C went down and broke his hip and today The Dawg went down! Keep your eye on K-Dawg's K-Blogg for photos and a full report.

I hope all of them have a quick and speedy recovery.

New Family Pets

2007-06-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

Did you ever go out of town only to arrive home to a new family pet(s)? Well I did.

It seems that while I was gone the kids convinced "Mama" it was time for a couple additions to the family zoo. Of course special thanks has to go out to Dinsey and his clan. Without them this little coup wouldn't have been possible.

Oilville MTB / Kids Race

2007-06-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

The kids participated in their first mountain bike race today! They were the youngest out there but they did great and as you can see, Hope looked good doing it as well! She might just start a new trend in women's racing if she keeps at it. She told us she's ready for a two wheeled bike now. Brett did the singletrack trail with the big kids without assistance. Both seemed to enjoy it and said they wanted to do another one sometime soon.

The Spring Season is over!

2007-05-31T13:07:00.000-04:00

We wrapped up the Jr. Admirals Spring Season up on Tuesday and now it's time to take a little break from hockey. In seven games Brett managed to score 4 goals and the boys (and one girl) finished the season 7-1.

In addition this was my first time coaching and it wasn't too bad. I had a very good group of kids with a few very talented little guys. That certainly made it easier on me.

The next season will ramp up this September but I'll keep Brett on the ice by sending him to Derek Grant's Camp and by getting him to a few Sticks-N-Pucks sessions over the summer.

Next up, I have Brett and Hope registered for a "kids race" at the next mountain bike @ Camp Hilbert. Stand by!

Urban Cyclist?

2007-04-24T08:53:00.000-04:00

It looks like we'll have a new 'zine pretty soon: Urban Cyclist: Bicycle Culture on the Skids

It appears that a couple of guys from Dirt Rag are going to start their own gig.

I hope it works out and good luck to Jeff and Brad!

The Bike Geek Commuting Calculator

2007-04-09T07:54:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how much money you can save by commuting on your bike? Check out The Bike Geek's Commuting Calculator

I found it last night while reading the new Road Bike Action magazine, which is pretty good by the way, and found that I can save almost $700 a year by commuting! Actually it's probably a lot more if you factor in automobile maintenance costs.

Jr. Admirals finish strong!

2007-03-26T19:36:00.000-04:00

The Jr. Admirals finished their season strong by placing second in the York City Ice Arena-6th Annual Spring Youth Hockey Tournament. After dropping the first game to Valley Forge they beat Reston and Montgomery County they faced Valley Forge again in the championship. They fell 5-2 to a much older team but they gave them a run for their money.

Sadly this was our last game with Evan, Nolan, Jacob and Big Ben. We'll miss them and we wish them the best of luck in Squirts!

It was also great to see everyone, thanks for making the trip.

York: First Post

2007-03-24T10:47:00.000-04:00

We got to York around 12:30AM. The boys have already been warned by the hotel management about playing hockey in the hallways.

Hendrick Motorsports is representing in York PA!

Video of Brett's first goal!

2007-03-21T20:04:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Dave for capturing Brett's first goal on video!

Jacob gets the first shot on a breakaway. Peter gets the rebound and his shot bounces off the post right to Brett!

Admirals Game

2007-03-17T22:13:00.000-04:00

The Norfolk Admirals invited the Jr Admirals to play a little exhibition game during the intermission. This is always a crowd-pleaser and the kids absolutely love it.

The full video:

Breakaway At The Beach

2007-03-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

Admirals win, Brett scores his first goal!

2007-03-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

The Jr. Admirals beat Roanoke yesterday to win the Breakaway at the Beach Mite Championship! Not only that but Brett scored his first goal!!! He was excited and everyone was glad to see him get his first of the season. There was a flurry of activity in front of the Roanoke net and eventually Brett was the one that put it in. I saw everyone congratulating him and the ref skated over and said it was #16! Brett immediately skated over to me (I was running the clock) and asked, "will you buy me that $100 stick now"? I made the deal with him at the beginning of the season that I would buy him a green stick when he scored his first goal. I gotta pay up. Luckily we found a less expensive green stick!!!

More later...I'll get pictures and video posted tonight.

Two down, one to go!

2007-03-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

The Jr. Admirals won both their games today and will play for the tournament championship tomorrow! Game one was against Chesapeake and the Admirals won 5-2. The Chesapeake team has improved a lot since we saw them last month. Little Ethan got his first goal, congrats to him!

Next the Admirals beat Roanoke and Brett recorded an assist and almost got his first goal! He had three or four good whacks at it, at point blank range. When he failed to get it in he tried to skate around behind the net to try the other side. Everyone was cheering for him and it was really exciting. Maybe tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Playoff Game 2: Prowl (1) 5, Admirals 3

2007-02-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

The Jr Admirals played another great game yesterday but came up short against the other Peninsula team. They took an early lead and started the second period 1-0 but the Prowl is a much older and experienced team and they kept plugging away and eventually finished the second period 3-2. Towards the end of the third they put it away with a pair of goals and you could see the wind come out of the little Admirals sails :-(

I was very pleased with Brett's hustle for the second straight day and proud of how much he's improved in his first year. He's the youngest on the team and several of the other small kids will have 3 full years to play together so look out!

We have two tournaments coming up and I hope to take lots of pictures and video so check back for updates.

Playoff Game 1: Prowl (2) 3, Admirals 1

2007-02-24T18:05:00.000-05:00

The Jr Admirals played their hearts out today but came up short against the Prowl 2 team. Both teams played a great and very exciting game. Evan was the only Admiral to get on the board and our very own Brett spent 2 minutes in the penalty box for boarding. We have at least one more playoff game tomorrow morning so stay tuned.

No pictures because I was running the scoreboard

The Regular Season is over

2007-02-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

The Jr. Admirals ended their regular season on a high note! They struggled with this particular Prowl team all year but today they played their hearts out taking an early lead on an incredible spin around goal by Evan. However Prowl 2 is great team and by the end of the first period it was all tied up at 2 each.

At the end of the second period the Admirals were down 4-3 but still well in the game.

With 1:13 left in the third period the Admirals tied it up at 5 goals a piece on another goal by Evan and assisted by none other than Brett! It was his second assist of the season and it was a great one. Evan took a shot from the right face off circle and the rebound went straight out to Brett. He took an awesome shot and the rebound found Evan who was able to sneak it in!

However the Prowl is a strong team and with 51 seconds left in the game they scored the game winner.

Tomorrow the Jr Admirals play an exhibition game against the Chilled Pond Mites. Next weekend we start the playoffs, March 10th & 11th we have a tournament here in Virginia Beach with Chesapeake and Roanoke attending and on March 22-24 we travel to York, PA for a another tournament.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Sidney Crosby scores while sliding on his stomach

2007-01-31T09:03:00.000-05:00

Check this out:

The dude is simply amazing. This goal was scored against the Tampa Bay Lightening on 01/07/2007.

Robby Gordon bump drafting in the middle of the desert

2007-01-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

I saw this last night on the Dakar coverage and I had to post it. For those that don't know Robby Gordon is also a NASCAR driver and it really showed in this clip:

Can you imagine what that poor little French dude thought when that big ass American Hummer "tapped" him? w00t!

Jr. Admirals get their first win!

2007-01-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

The Jr. Admirals got their first win today! After yesterdays loss at home they bounced right back and won on the road in Yorktown. The little guys were so excited the even celebrated by jumping on Big Ben. This should really boost their confidence now that they know they can win. Once they took the lead the little guys really stepped it up and everyone hussled and played a great game.

Pictures are from yesterday and today.

Back N' Black

2007-01-12T11:20:00.001-05:00

It's time to show off the new colors!

What do you all think?

Cobblestone Cross

2007-01-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

I officially joined the rakes of cross racer yesterday after K-Dawg and
Cyclo Chris talked me into going to the last Cobblestone Cross race of the season. In a sick and twisted sort of way I'm glad they did. Since they were racing in the afternoon and no one wanted to leave at 7AM my first cross race was in the 35+ class...not the ideal confidence builder for a first timer!

I knew I was in for an ass-whipping but I still had fun and finished 5th out of 7. Not too bad for the beginning of January I guess. I'm still flying the old colors but I hope to pick up my new unis this week from Liz.

A close game!

2007-01-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

The Jr. Admirals played their best game of the season this morning! With a minute left in the third period and the score 5-4 (Prowl) Coach Doug pulled Big Ben and put an extra skater on the ice in an effort to tie it up. Unfortunately the Prowl scored an empty net goal making the final score 6-4 but the Admirals played a great game so they have a lot to be proud of.

Brett played center and he did great considering he hasn't been on the ice for a week and is coming off a nasty little sinus infection that kept him out of school two days this week.

Video: Penguins players visit Children's Hospital

2007-01-04T08:41:00.000-05:00

I can't say too much about this without getting choked up but this is one reason why hockey is the greatest sport on earth. This is also another reason why the Penguins need to stay in Pittsburgh:

Video: Penguins players visit Children's Hospital

April 15, 2007 - The Dragon's Back

2006-12-26T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yes race fans The Dragon's Back will be run on April 15, 2007! Put it on your calendar. I'll be there riding under my new colors and hoping for a top 5.

More details here: The Dragon's Back

Visit to the Great Wolf Lodge

2006-12-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

I'll sum it up for you; if you haven't been, GO!

We headed up after Brett's hockey game and we had a blast. The Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor water park with several pools and literally dozens of things to do. The kids loved it but I think I enjoyed it more ;-)

Rocky...yes, again!

2006-11-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

Quick warning: graphic photos posted below!

I'm a week late posting this but here it goes; Rocky's paw was getting worse. It was swelling up pretty good and he was in a lot of pain and licking it constantly. We figured he had an infection despite being on two different antibiotics so I ran him to the Vets office last Friday. They tried to express it but nothing came out. The Vet suggested that we keep soaking it and gave us something to put on it so he wouldn't lick it. She wanted to see him again on Monday. Well Saturday night I was laying on the bed in the spare bedroom watching TV and Rocky was laying there as well. Eventually I noticed a huge piece of wood laying on the blanket. It was over 1/2 inch long and about 1/4 inch wide. I told Suzanne I think another chunk of wood came out of Rocky's paw and when we looked, here's what we found:

Sure enough, another chunk of wood was in his paw and like the last one worked it's way out. We're happy to report that his paw is healing well and he hasn't messed with it since that night!

My wallet is glad this ordeal is over :-)

Jr. Admirals Team Pictures

2006-11-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

The team pictures arrived yesterday and I thought I'd give you all a sneak-peak. I'm sure you all will get your picture or trading card soon.

Sea & Sand R esults and Pics

2006-11-19T15:46:00.000-05:00

The official results and now posted --> RESULTS

And for your viewing pleasure here is plenty of photos of people (specifically me) suffering --> PICTURES

Note: pictures of Brett riding around at the finish are on page 94.

First Assist!

2006-11-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

Brett recorded his first assist this morning! He broke up a play and Evan was able to get the puck and scored to make the score 2 (Admirals) to 3 (Prowl). Logan played net and did a great job even though the Admirals lost 5-2.

It was a close game and both teams were about even in shots on goal. When Bunny comes back in town she's going to see a noticable improvement in not just Brett but the whole team.

Sorry, no pictures because I was running the clock and scoreboard. I need a camera phone...

Sea & Sand Adventure Race

2006-11-13T10:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry I'm a little late in posting this but I've hardly had the energy to do anything except lay on the couch lately. You see, on Saturday I participated in the Inaugural Sea & Sand Adventure Race in Virginia Beach.

This was my first adventure race and honestly I didn't plan on it being so hard. However, I quickly realized I was in for...well...an adventure.

First thing on the agenda was a 5 mile kayak south along the beaches of Sand Bridge to False Cape State Park. As luck would have it the surf was huge that morning and while Tim made it out with relative ease Rob and I received a beating. On our first attempt out we got hit by a massive wave that filled the boat with water and turned us sideways. Then the next wave rolled us over. We had to swim the boat back to shore to get it emptied out and retrieve all our gear. I don't have to tell you how much I don't like water so being in the ocean, @ 6AM in November didn't make me happy. Our second attempt wasn't successful either but at least we didn't have to swim back to shore. Like the old saying goes; the third time is a charm. We were able to get out and get going even though we were the last team in the water.

When we arrived at CP1 (check point) there were still 4-5 teams milling around on the beach. We hit the shore without any issues but Tim fell victim to the wave this time, that made Rob and I happy :-) We had to transport our kayak and gear 1.5 miles to the bay side for CP2 and then we set out on foot to get CP3-5. This was probably the worst part for me. With a soaking wet pack that felt like it weighed 40lbs my knee started to hurt tremendously. At times I was almost in tears from the pain. I twisted my knee snowboarding a few years ago and it's never been right since...maybe I should have it looked at? Doh!

Next up was a long kayaking leg where we collected two more checkpoints as we headed north in Back Bay. We arrived back at the transition area about 1PM and got ready for the final leg of the race, on BIKES! This is our strong suite so we headed out with the idea that we could make up a lot of time and we did! Because the trip to the Virginia / North Carolina border consisted of a lot of riding on the beach we were able to make up a good bit of time. We arrived at the final CP located at the VA/NC border at 3:30PM and turned around for the trip to the finish. By the time we arrived back at the beach the tide was out and we were able to keep a steady pace and picked off a couple more teams. We finished 3rd in our category and 21st overall, full course!

In hindsight I really enjoyed it. During the race I kept asking myself what the hell was I doing out there but in the end I had a good time suffering and rolling around in the surf, being soaked and sore and tired. In fact I'm already looking forward to the next race in March!

That picture is Rob and i getting out for the third and final time:
The ocean moans over dead mens bones
Sneak Peak

Rockey Update:

2006-11-13T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well things went from bad to worse for Rocky. After getting him home from the emergency vet we discovered that the object was still in his paw! How did we find out? Well for starters he started freaking out. He ripped his cast off and !POP! the 1/2 inch piece of wood shot out the top of his paw and stuck to the wall

The poor dog was in a tremendous amount of pain. Apparently wood is not visible on x-ray and the bandages the vet applied only put more pressure on it, forcing it through the top of his paw. Now he has two stitches on the bottom of his paw and a huge opening on the top! More antibiotics and vet bills are a results.

However, he's putting weight on it and running around like normal now so we'll see how it goes.

Prowl 10, Admirals 2

2006-11-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Well the Jr. Admirals got off to a slow start today allowing 4 goals in the first period. Maybe its because the kids finally got used to the 7:30AM games and couldn't adjust to a 4:00PM game?

Brett was really hustling today and has finally started going after the puck and turning up ice when one of his teammates gets a hold of it. All the kids are showing a lot of improvement and kudos to Justin for scoring his first goal of the season!

More trouble for Rocky

2006-11-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I found Rocky standing at the back door on three legs. Apparently he managed to cut his paw. A trip to the dog emergency room, two stitches, xrays, a cast and one of those goofy e-collars later here he is "resting". Today is the first day that I can remember that the kids ate in the same room with him and he DIDN'T try and steal their breakfast!

Showing Improvement!

2006-10-23T11:48:00.000-04:00

The Jr Admirals are showing quite a bit of improvement lately. This Saturday they scored 5 goals against the team that shut them out in their very first game! They still lost (score of 9-5) against the Tigers but they're getting noticeably better.

Brett was on the ice for at least three of the goals but I don't have any pictures because I was running the clock.

Playing dress up...

2006-10-15T12:12:00.000-04:00

and Princess. Thanks for the new outfit Papa!

Going big time!

2006-10-15T11:42:00.000-04:00

The Jr Admirals were invited to play an exhibition scrimmage at the Norfolk Admirals home game last night.

Brett and "Big Ben" during the national anthem.

Their 2 minutes of fame. Literally, they were only on the ice for 2 minutes.

Getting ready before the game.

Brett talking with Sebastien Caron who played a couple of seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Brett and Sebastien Caron during the national anthem.

First Game!

2006-10-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

Today was the first game of the season! It was great seeing the littlest guys out there for the first time. This years team only has 5 returning players so it's going to take some time for most of the kids to figure out their positions and learn the game.

Brett is the smallest and youngest but he wasn't afraid to get right into the mix with the bigger kids. He broke up a couple of plays even if he was out of position.

They didn't win but they all seemed to have fun and it was fun watching them as well!

Prowl - 9
Admirals - 0

We'll be back on the Peninsula next Saturday morning for another game and then they are playing an exhibition game at the Norfolk Admirals game that evening.

Thanks Aunt Melody!

2006-10-07T12:41:00.000-04:00

I love my dress-up dolls! I dressed one of them up like a figure skater and mom found me an ice rink.

Love H

The Virginia Championship Series!

2006-10-06T15:51:00.000-04:00

I received some good news from my old friend Kyle Inman. The 2007 Virginia Championship Series is taking shape and the Dragon's Back will kick the series off in April!

Check out Kyle's website and blog for updates:
www.mountainbikevirginia.com/race.htm
virginiaclassic.blogspot.com

Good on you Kyle!

Bye-bye Eggbeaters!

2006-09-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

I finally $hit-canned the Eggbeaters and installed a new set of Time ATACs!

I'll break them in this weekend while I'm up in Pittsburgh.

First post!

2006-09-14T08:59:00.000-04:00

It's a little late but this photo was taken back in April when the Hockey Initiation class skated between periods at a Norfolk Admirals playoff game. Now he's on the Junior Admirals (Mite) so more hockey pictures will be posted soon!