Running in the Redwoods

A couple weekends ago, Brian and I headed south for my first time seeing the Redwoods, and his first time running a half-marathon in the Redwoods.  We drove down with two of his running buds, Chris & Tyler, and met up with a few other friends who were also running.  We stayed overnight at a KOA campground in Eureka, CA and hung out and watched the Duck football game, and slept 8 people + 1 dog in a cabin that was only meant to sleep 4 humans.  It was a quick trip, driving down Saturday morning and driving back Sunday afternoon.  We didn't have time for much sightseeing outside of the race, but we did get to do a little tour of Humboldt State University by running on some of the awesome trails they have!

The campus trails were pretty hilly, which is why I look like, "Ok, take the picture quick so I can hunch over to catch my breath!"  Check out how big that tree is!

Pre-race group photo: Sofie (the dog), Andrew, Scott, Tyler, Brian, Dirk & Chris.  As the only female in the bunch that weekend, I can attest to the fact that these are all very nice, very cool guys!

This is my attempt at being artsy with the trees :)

A little Redwood education for you...

Sofie and I cheered on all the runners with gusto!

Scott (in blue) was Sofie's favorite runner...he's her owner :)

There was no distracting Sofie after she saw Scott go by...after that, all she wanted to do was go in the direction he was running.

Tyler's so fast, we can barely see him!

Sofie really means it...she must get to Scott!

There's MY favorite runner!

Tyler & Chris, post-race...they both ran a great race!

Andrew, a Kiwi Brian & Andrew  met during the race, and Brian...all happy to be finished!  This was Andrew's first half-marathon and Brian ran with him the whole time, and had fun bonding rather than trying to kill himself for a certain finish time.  Even still, they finished around 1:54!

Post-race, tired legs and all smiles!

Back at the KOA for a shower before hitting the road...had to snap this shot.  Notice that Brian is the Mama Bear here :)

Brian is a Famous Runner!

Brian's photographed in the November issue of Runner's World!  On page 112, there is an article highlighting a run we both participated in last year (I did the 5K and he ran the half-marathon); it's a fundraising run for those who need assistance paying their utilities in Eugene.  Anyway, in the photo Brian is on the left and one of his running buddies, Tyler, is on the right.

He's had friends from all over the place continue to email him and call him to tell him he's famous.  How cool is that?!?! 

The next half-marathon for both Brian & Tyler (and another running buddy) is next weekend in the Redwoods!

Rocky Mountain High

Thanks to some handy flight points that were about to expire, we were able to fit in one last trip this summer before school got going full force for both of us.  We flew into Denver where Milt & Cheryl picked us up and took us on a whirlwhind tour of beautiful Colorado and Wyoming. (They live in Laramie, WY where they both work for University of Wyoming.)

Best friends since they were little boys on tricycles...now look at them!

This is in the Medicine Bow National Forest area.

Look, Brian's taller!

Their dog, Bella, had a blast running all around and fetching her toy out of the lake.  She's a good swimmer!

The men fixed us up some mighty yummy kebabs that we baked in their camper stove.

Bella was feeling the effects from all her exercise that day.

Milt turned 31 while we were there!

Milt got his upper body workout in from the well, while filling up our water bottles.

We got to see the Aspens turning, beautiful greens, yellows, and some reds too.

Cheryl and the Aspen trees glowing bright yellow!

Our last morning there, Milt & Brian went for a hike to summit Medicine Bow peak.  Meanwhile, Cheryl & I slept in and had the truck and camper all hooked up when the boys got back! (It only involved a little bit of pipe whacking and jumping on the back of the truck...but we got it!) :)

From the top of Medicine Bow

On the way to the airport, we stopped at Odell's Brewery in Fort Collins, CO and enjoyed some tasty sampler trays and trivial pursuit.  Good for the brain and our tastebuds!

We did so much more than what these pictures show, including a stop at Steamboat Hot Springs (one of my favorite stops), a tour of the CCO camp where Milt & Brian worked as camp counselors for a couple summers, a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, a lot of good eating, wildlife sightings (we saw a bull moose chase after a female moose and her calf at full speed, lots of elk, antelope, random cattle on the side of the road, etc).  We got to see where Milt & Cheryl live in Laramie, and I got to meet Cheryl's horse, Johnny!

Milt & Cheryl were wonderful hosts and we got to see a ton in a short amount of time.  Such good friends and such a good trip!  Thanks you two!

Spandex & Espresso

Brian joined Tom & friends for a few days on a bike tour down the Oregon coast at the beginning of August.  In preparation for a comfortable ride, they both ordered some fancy spandex biking bibs.  As you can see, they weren't shy about letting it all hang out (mostly)! 

As a result of Brian's time with Tom on the bike ride, he came back with a new appreciation of....espresso!  This was great news because thanks to some very generous friends, we have not only an espresso machine (thanks Shelly!) but also the cute little cups and saucers to serve (thanks Gabi!).  

Eugene Celebration Parade w/Bike Friday

Every year Eugene puts on a weekend festival called Eugene Celebration, and part of that is a Saturday morning parade.  This isn't your normal parade, though, because let's face it - it's Eugene!  It's an opportunity for people and companies to express themselves in whatever quirky, off-beat, politically charged-or-not, just for fun kind of way they want.  

Our friends, Michael & Damon work for Bike Friday, and Michael was in charge of creating Bike Friday's spot in the parade.  Michael is not only a great bike builder, but he's also very musically talented, and so are his co-workers as it turns out!  He arranged a song for he and his co-workers to play while riding on the back of Bike Friday tandem bikes.  He did an amazing job, actually, and the group received a lot of recognition and even won a few awards!  

Brian's part in all this was to captain the tandem with the oh so important (and oh so loud!) snare drummer, Bethany.  Bethany also happens to be a mascot for one of the local roller derby teams, if that gives you any inkling about her personality...Brian was fully expecting her to stick her drumstick somewhere it shouldn't go, but thankfully she was well-behaved and only banged around on his helmet a little bit, but mostly kept to her drums :) 

Each tandem bicycle had a Bike Friday employee on the back, playing some sort of musical instrument, reading music that was taped to the driver's back.

And here he is, sporting the Bike Friday jersey, with marching band suspender set and plume (which was a little droopy, I might add)!

That's Michael with his accordion!

Bethany helps Brian fix his suspenders.

This was another group's "vehicle" in the parade...pretty cool, huh?  They actually maneuvered it really well together.

And there they are, the whole Bike Friday gang, quirks and all!  Oh the Tandemonium!

Bethany's getting warmed up.

Michael's leads the way with his stellar rhythm and enthusiasm :)

Don't mess with Bike Friday.

Brian, Damon (on the sousaphone) and Michael