Photographs from Home - for Jonny & Mingming

Locked out the church for Francesca's christening.

All photographs are courtesy of Owl - thanks Ian.



Francesca demonstrating her horsemanship skills...



...and having a wonderful time.
OK, that's done. I can get rid of the hat now, Harry!

Ward Creek Falls

Ward Creek drops over a cliff near Lake Tahoe.

Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking

Saturday was a blustery day for THOR's Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking day. This was held in conjunction IMBA's annual function. Temperatures hovered in the 40s with gusty winds from the NW. THOR's party was held in Tranquility Park, Omaha.

The photo is the kids on their bikes and ready to ride some singletrack.

The group headed out for a ride on the Tranquility Park trail. Then it was time for food. Dave, the THOR Grill Master, had grub ready.

After lunch, the kids tested their bike handling abilities with an obstacle course. The adults were ready to help learn techniques and offer some encouragement. The day ending with a pinata filled with candy.

There were plans for "smores" but folks were ready to call it a day, getting out if the cold. All-in-all, a good time was had by all.

Darkness Be Gone

I thank the blog Gladsome Lights at http://gretchenjoanna.blogspot.com/ for the following George MacDonald poem. It's from A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul.
With every morn my life afresh must breakThe crust of self, gathered about me fresh;That thy wind-spirit may rush in and shakeThe darkness out of me, and rend the meshThe spider-devils spin out of the flesh—Eager to net the soul before it wake,That it may slumberous lie, and listen to the snake.
I've finally shaken off the melancholy of the last few weeks and stopped listening to the snake.

Fall in Tennessee

Some photos from my visit home this week. The leaves were pretty much gone, but there still was plenty to see. I love, love, love this time of year!

Races and a Ride

Saturday was Maskenthine XC Classic mountain bike races. It was a long day. About 130 miles one way, a stop for breakfast, the races, and drive back home. Left the house before 6am, got home after 5pm.
The last Psycowpath race I shot was back on May 1st. And, it showed. I am not pleased with the quality of the photos I shot Saturday. I did get some good shots, but just too many with improper exposure and/or out of focus.
I will do some touch-up before sending files to purchasers. For my customers, if you wish to look at a touched-up proof copies before purchase, I will provide them.
The hosting company for my photos is updating servers. That has been delaying me publishing the photos. They are saying server should be back up to full speed Tuesday.
My legs were really tired by the time I got home. But, I got up for a Sunday ride. Surprisingly, I felt great, ready for a ride Sunday morning.
I rode the Sunday Breakfast Ride with Denny D. Was just the two of us. The ride started from the Wabash Trace Trailhead. We rode around Council Bluffs on the bicycle paths, stopping at Hy-Vee on N. 16th for breakfast.
From there, on city streets through Council Bluffs. That was the real "tour" de Bluffs took place. Exited downtown to the South and rode Harry Langdon to the Mall. Back on the bicycle path to the trailhead.
When I got home, I just undressed and climbed into bed. Too tired to do much the rest of the day.

Black Diamond video of Fight the Feeling

The video of my 8c+/9a from last autumn ‘Fight the Feeling at Steall is now up on the Black Diamond digital catalogue here. It’s on page 9. While you are there you should check out some of the other videos and articles from fellow BD climbers. There are pretty damn good. My favourite has to be The Wheel of Life footage of James Kassay. Would LOVE to go there sometime soon.