Both teams played hard.

If I wasn't already in love with Greg Oden this fantastic interview would have pushed me over the edge. I can't wait to spot him downtown so I can be like "What's up, G. O.?"

Vino joins Team WRECK

Alexander Vinokourov, my favorite to win the tour this year, went down at 60kph and lost over a minute in the GC. His teamate Andreas Kloden rode into a ditch and fractured his coccyx. A tough day for Astana.

a few photos from Sunday polo

bike poloChakra was playing well.
Clash of the titans.
Irving, after giving up a goal to Brian.
The long arm of Tiah.
The Ringer about to fall over.
Damien and his wound.

Capsule Reviews

Trail Review : Bell's Mountain

We went back again, mostly for the great swimming at Moulton Falls. Unlike last time the trail was dry and fast. We still had to walk 80% of the first climb but the downhills were worth it. I didn't crash at all and led on several descents, which was gratifying. We only went as far as the first helicopter bridge, maybe 2 hours up and 1 hour back, but it was intense the whole way.

Timmy and the volcano.



A little brown snake.



One good thing about clearcuts is they produce views. In one of the clearcuts Drew spotted another Giant Land Beaver lodge. Timmy told us the clearcuts were actually produced by cranes, trucks and even helicopters,. That doesn't make any sense, though. I don't think any beaver could operate that kind machinery, no matter how giant. Timmy has some pretty weird ideas sometimes.


Toast Review : Cinnabon
As you well know I am a huge fan of toast. Especially cinnamon raisin toast. So when Roth's was sold out of Sunmaid Raisin bread I took a flyer on this new "Cinnabon" bread.
My first impression was good, nice thick slices, decent aroma. As I engaged my trusty Dualit I looked over the label. "Ciannmon Bursts"...I'm not a huge fan of things that burst with the exception of water balloons. The ingredients also featured lots of artificial flavors and somthing that seemed like a made up word and had a "tm" after it. Metreax? Metral? I don't know but it made me think of some genetically modified organism designed to burst with flavor. Anyway even with a liberal application of butter the toast was dry and bad. It's in the freezer now, but I'm sure it will be gleefully consumed during the Rickreall Open next weekend.

Dear Dabby

I recently instigated, edited and posted the rebirth of Dear Dabby. If you have any questions about life, love, bikes, chefing, navigation, money management or pretty much anything else he can help you out. He is an expert on everything. Like that guy on the Daily Show but not as funny. Or like Dr. and Mr. Haggis-On-Whey but not as old.
I've taken lots of interesting photos lately of mountains, snakes, my new John Deere riding mower, voracious carp and more, but I forgot my memory card reader so you'll have to wait a few days to see them.

God Bless America

I've got this year's hot dog eating contest on tivo but haven't watched it yet. I saw a replay of last year the other day at the Yamhill and it was nauseating. I don't know why I'm so interested in this, I guess it just seems like the quintessential American "sport".



"Once the contest ended, the runner-up suffered a reversal -- competitive eating-speak for barfing -- leading to a deduction from his final total. Kobayashi finished with 63 HDBs (hot dogs and buns eaten) in his best performance ever."


"The two gastric gladiators quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the 17 competitors, processing more beef than a slaughterhouse within the first few minutes. The two had each downed 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut -- the veins on his forehead extended -- put away the final franks to end Kobayashi's reign."

Quotes coutesy of the AP, who really outdid themselves on this one.

Scenes from a weekend retreat at Mud Branch Acres

My favorite magnolia tree is finally blooming.


Pitting wild cherries. Dabby made cobbler, syrup and martinis out of them. I don't know if we'll get around to an Iron Chef competition at the Rickreall Open this year but if we do expect Battle Wild Cherry or Battle Filbert.


Blood on his hands.






I told Dabby he should send this photo to the president of IHOP and ask for 60k plus benefits. These were some fine pancakes.

I had some old comics out for Jaden to look at. Here's Dabby "enjoying" Miracle Man Special #1 by Alan Moore in 3D.


The cherry cobbler was excellent. He topped it with Krusteaz, cinnamon, sugar and butter.


I finally got a haircut.

I was afraid I might lose my mystical power but if anything it's increased.

Agent Zero joins Team WRECK

Again on the NBA tip here's a quote from Gilbet Arena's hilarious blog:

"I wasn’t wearing a bike helmet. The only people who wear bike helmets are 13-year old girls and Tony Hawk, but that’s skateboarding and he’s doing flips and stuff. I’m going straight. Ha, well I guess I did end up doing a flip off my bike, but it wasn’t a planned one."

Draft Day!

*Warning. Don't bother reading this post unless you are a big Trailblazers fan. This one is pretty much just for my blazers buddies.*


Tomorrow is the NBA drft and my beloved Trailblazers will pick either

Greg Oden





or Kevin Durant



I've had a lot of time on my hands lately and have read a lot of opinion on who we should pick. Most of it says Oden, he is the safe pick, the defensive anchor and by all accounts a genuinely nice, personable guy. Durant is more of a gamble but if he reaches his potential he could be incredible. He's got so many beautiful offensive moves and he seems to have that Jordanesque will to win, he described himself as an assasin who lives to play basketball. Oden wanted to be a dentist. Anyway, I trust Kevin Pritchard to do the right thing. I expect a few trades on draft day and probably another mid range lottery pick.

I'd be totally happy with either of these scenarios:

1. Draft Kevin Durant, trade Zach and Jack for a mid range pick and cap fodder then select Joakim Noah. I know a lot of people can't stand him with the hair and the screaming and everything but I think he would be a good fit. He plays Team D, doesn't need the ball, is a good passer and can run the floor. Then make LMA and Sergio starters and sign Steve Blake (who just bought a house in West Linn btw) to the mid level exception.

Starting linup:

Noah / Ghostface Pryzbilla
LaMarcus Aldridge / T. "Trout" Outlaw / Raef
Kevin Durant / Ime Udoka / Martell
B. Roy / Martell
Sergio / S. Blake

2. Draft Greg Oden, trade Zach and Jack for a high pick and cap fodder then draft Corey Brewer or Jeff Green. If we don't draft Durant we'll need someone to shut him down, because he's going to be pissed and we'll play him a lot if he goes to Seattle. Once again, sign Steve Blake and make LMA and Sergio starters.

lineup:

Oden / Pryzbilla
LMA / Trout
Corey Brewer / Ime / Martell
B. Roy / Martell
Sergio / Blake


In either scenario I would move Zach Randolph and Jarret Jack. Though I like both players a lot I don't think they fit the uptempo game that B. Roy, LMA and Sergio are suited to and I think that is where the team and the NBA are headed. Zach has been truly impressive in his recovery from microfracture surgery and I love his work ethic. I remember watching him play for Michigan State and thinking "wow, he's trying really hard, I hope the Blazers draft him", and they did. Thank you Bob Whitsett. He gets an amazing number of points and rebounds for being 6'9" with a 2 inch vertical. But...he needs the ball to be effective and so do B. Roy, LMA and whoever we draft, he's not good on D, sometimes walking back, he has gotten a lot better at passing out of the double team but he still throws up a lot of wild, double teamed shots, and he is the last vestige of the Jail Blazers (well, except for D. Miles). I think Jack will be a good player in the L but I think he is suited for a half court game and I think it will be Sergio's team soon. Both players should have decent trade value and I could see several teams giving up a 4-9 pick, a role player and an expiring contract for them. KP also has four second round picks that I expect he will trade or pick Europeans and leave them there. Wow, I'm excited, this is a good time to be a Trailblazers fan. I might even go to the Rose Garden for the draft day party.

The 24 Hour Alleycat

So Team WRECK/Murder was going strong in the 24 hour alleycat until we started to fade around 1AM. In the immortal words of Bart and Lisa, "It was hard so we quit". It was a lot of fun, the bits we did. Damien put a lot of work into that manifest. 137 questions and all of them intertwined. If I can find a scanned in copy somewhere I'll link to it. I didn't make it to the Florida room for the finish and I'm glad. I heard there was some drama and a questionable decision on who won. Here's my 2 cents : At the start I clearly heard the race organizer announce that the race would finish at 4:07 PM on the dot and anyone coming in after 4:07PM will be disqualified and could not win. Team Haus finished at 4:15PM and managed to talk their way into a coin flip with Team Hazel/Grizzly to determine the winner. That's bullshit. Rules are rules, as Dabby would say "black and white, black and white". I'm just glad we weren't the second place team because it would have been ugly. OK... /rantmode

Anyway, other than the finsh it seems the race was a great success and I look forward to Damien's next offering.

Oh, and I'd like to give a shout out to Disco and Drew, who pacelined with me on the 9:30PM downtown to St. John's connection. That was an intense 26 minutes.

Here are a few photos from halfway through this thing.


Grasshopper and Lucky Pierre, representing Team Haus. They are the Floyd Landis of alleycat racing. Champions or cheaters? History will decide.


Look, we're at a party.

Team WRECK/Murder at the 10pm checkpoint.



On the dot.

The shocker...crass.


At the 9:30pm checkpoint.


Here is our house built out of 7 one dollar bills.


On a steel horse he rides, cause he's wanted, wanted, dead or alive.

Bell's Mountain Trail

Team WRECK made it to Bell's Mountain for the first time on Sunday. This was Dabby's legendary "swimming hole trail" and it proved difficult, painful and rewarding. We completed a 7.2 mile out and back with a short spur to Clear Creek Campground. So ~15 miles took us 4 hours 3 minutes. Either we're getting slow or this was a hard trail. We spent a lot of time walking on the ups but the downhills more than made up for it.







It's too bad this photo is all misty or foggy, it was a good capture of Drew endoing into a puddle. Hey Mary Lou, can you do anything with this in photoshop? Maybe add an outline to Drew's figure and increase the contrast or something? It might make an ideal Team WRECK logo.

Drew dropping in.



Dabby looks scared here, and he should be. Like most of the trail this section was steep and had lots of rocks and slippery roots.


These are not bicycle tracks. Violation!

While waiting for Dabby at the top (he rode up saying "mechanical, mechanical" which I think is code for "out of shape") Drew noticed this huge pile of logs which he theorized might be the work of Giant Land Beavers.

schedule changes

The Rickreall Open has been moved up one week to July 13-15. Mostly to avoid a conflict with Messman's polo tournament the following weekend and also so Beefa (champion of the inaugural Open) can attend. Beefa and Disco are leading a crew that is riding down around noon on Friday. I'll post the meeting place when I find out. Knowing Disco the pace will be relaxed and the route will include stops at a few wineries.

Also please note the Mckenzie River trip scheduled for June 22 has been postponed. In a moment of weakness I let C. Murder talk me into being his team mate for some stupid 24 hour alleycat. Don't even bother registering because Team WRECK/Murder has the grand prize pretty much locked down. You would just be wasting your time.

photographic evidence

Inspired by Dabby, here are some recent photos :


This is what Team WRECK is all about.

Dabby almost made it but the dog was in the way.




Still life featuring Dabby's heat rash, victorian ankle brace and some beef jerky I gave him out of pity.



Natty cooling off her feet in Stebbins Creek.






Lucky taking a picture of a butterfly.



I made it up this switchback for the first time ever, with a little sideways bunny hop move in the middle. Personal Record!




The garden is growing rapidly. I'm very happy with the seeds I got from Baker Creek




My nascent vineyard. The posts are cherry trees that were knocked down by the latest oak to fall in the woods. At nine feet long they were too heavy to carry and too big to fit on the cart so I tied a slip knot into one of Jaden's ropes and drug them out, digging a furrow across the lawn.




Interlaklen table grapes, courtesy of B&K. I helped them plant about 70 over at their place.



One of my posts is trying to become a tree again. I hope it succeeds.



I'm not sure what these plants are but they look good together, my mom had a real flair for garden design.