GB

Mike had the hook up for Pack -vs- Bears. (Thanks)

Do you think we had a good time???

Do I even need to say it.

max misses amy

Mr Max is a Jumper

Pudge used to leep off the end of a pier. I used to love that. Turns out Max is a jumper too. Some dogs know air time is faster than swim time.

Bike Practice

My mom sent me some video of when we were kids. Here is Ben starting to ride a two wheeler. No wonder he switched to road, less obstacles.



Little Kid on Bike Rides Into Pole - Watch more Free Videos

Are Treats No Longer Treats

I have been home for 15 minutes from work. I gave Max a treat. He hasn't eating it. He has carried it to the living room. Tossed it around like a toy. Looked out the window with it hanging out his mouth. Dropped it on the kitchen floor. Picked it up and dropped it in the hallway. Picked it back up and dropped it in the living room. Now he is laying on the kitchen floor staring at his treat in the living room. What the??? From what I remember you give a dog a treat, they eat it, then want more.

More on Mr Max

We have been wanting a dog. I am a bit more patient than Amy would like so it has been a while since that came up the first time. I just didn't want to rush into anything. She wanted a Goldendoodle and I was more than happy with that. We see them here or there and ohhh and ahhh at them. A couple "he's so cute" and the conversation would strike up again. We almost got one not to long ago but it didn't work out. I happened to find out about Max and after a couple e-mails with his prior family we were off to meet. I was nervous and Amy was excited. "Are we really going to get him?" I, as usual, had all my doubts and questions. What it came down to was that I wasn't going to get any old dog. I wanted one that was going to be right for us. Housebroken and somewhat trained were requirements in my head and not wild and crazy were a big plus.

We get there and Max is SOOOO excited to see us that at first I think he is a bit of a handful. In a couple minutes he is calm and laying around. We talk to his owners and they are upset about this but due to working hours and two small children they don't feel he is getting what he deserves.

Then they start on about him. He has been to 3 levels of obedience school out of 4. He cant go to 4 until he is 2 years old. He knows all of his commands: sit, stay. lay down, drop it, leave it, and settle. He knows all of his commands not just verbally but also in sign language. Yeah, he knows sign language. They have 2 kids so since he was pup they poke and twist his ears and stick their hands in his mouth on purpose so he is used to it. The 10yr son comes over and sticks his hand in his mouth to prove it. Cool! The whole time Max is just chilling. He is house broken and can hold it for 9 hours. When he does have to go he rings a bell. Yeah, he is coming home with us and now we have a dog.

It has only been since Monday and we are already attached. It happens fast. He LOVES Amy. I mean he LOVES Amy.

So, we are really excited andmore to follow as things progress.

Scrappy and Happy

Our new addition. His name is Max. He is a 1 yr old Goldendoodle. Stories to follow.

Pain Train

Polska Puker

I was up Saturday at the crack of dawn to head to Milwaukee for the Polska cross race. Having done my first cross race last weekend I was excited to try and improve. I rode a little during the week and kept the calorie intake to solid foods, not liquids, so I thought I was ready.

The thing about cross, like everything else I do on a bike, it takes a while to figure things out. You always read about the starts and where guys line up ,apparently it is pretty important. In mtb racing its not such a big deal so I didn't put much thought into it, well in cross it is. I extended my warm up on Saturday. That is what I learned last week, warm up a little, spiking your heart rate in a cross race takes a while to come back down and by then the race is over. So I lallygag to the start and get stuck pretty far back. Not such a big deal I think. I will just sprint the start. That is what everyone else is thinking though. Whistle blows and I whiff my pedal not one but twice and everyone else in full sprint heads to the first corner with me dragging behind. By the time I get through the first set of chicanes there is a line of riders as far as I can see. I pick of a couple guys in the loose dirt that bobble and there I pretty much stay for the rest of the race. I get some time checks up to Brian Merklein during the laps and we hold a pretty even gap. He finished around 10th I finished 23rd. That shows me how important the start is. While I don't expect to finish top 10 if I can get my starts down a little better I have a pretty good chance at some improved results.

It was great having everyone out to the race. We had myself, Joe, Mike, Brian M, Jon H, Raging Ron, and Brian P all racing. Big Steve and littlest Sam were out plus the Merklein crew and the Curtes Mom were all Superfaning for us.

We had a great time with great weather and there were a bunch of pics taken. Check out Flikr "poska puker" and see for yourself.