Like so many blogs gone stale, I haven’t made a post here in almost seven years.

So much has changed since then.  Not just for me personally, but for the world as well.  Through it all, the one thing that has stayed consistent for me is my love of bikes. 

What’s new?  Well, gravel became a thing.  And of course, I love it.   Tubeless, disc brakes and electronic shifting are legit.  A lot has changed, but not the part that really matters. 

I’m talking about the feeling of being connected to the outdoors, through a bicycle.  The thrill of railing a corner, feeling at one with the machine you’re on.  Feeling your tires float over whatever surface you’re tackling.  The wind in your face as it blows across your ears, and the familiar sting in your legs draw your attention away from your worries and into the moment.  Just for a little while, you’re free, and reminded you’re capable of so much more than you were aware just hours ago.

That’s what keeps me coming back, and why I’ll never stop.

Hi there.   It's been a while since I've checked in.  I'm still around, still enjoying the bike when I can, still the same guy. 

I'm gathering up some creative energy.  Regrouping, rethinking.  I'll be back soon.

It's never too late to learn something from your dad.  As I grew up, I learned some very important lessons from watching my father. 

My dad would help out just about anyone with zero hesitation.  Stranger on the side of the road with a flat tire?  No problem.  In a bind and need some help with the kids?  Of course, bring them over.  No schedule checking or getting back to you.  You name it, he would do it, no big whoop.

He would just give or help whenever someone needed it.  And the kicker is he would never expect anything in return.  No matter what, you never "owed him one" in his book.  And that, my friends, is amazing.  The number one thing we could all learn from and try to emulate. 

Want to make the world a better place?  Be more like Hans.

Happy Fathers Day.  Now go tell your pop you love him.

We did a little experiment today.

Plop seven mentos into two liters of soda, and you get a fizzy little geyser of fun.  Ah, but which fountain would spout higher between Sprite, Coke and Diet Coke?  Let's find out:

To measure the geyser height, we used good ol' math.  The white board behind the bottle has two blue lines on it.  The distance between said two lines is 50cm.  So we took the photos, counted vertical pixel span between the blue lines, and used that number to translate the geyser height in pixels to centimeters.  I could have used feet and inches, but F that.  Metric people.  Metric!

Anyway, after all the pixel counting was over, Diet Coke is the champion!

The left over amounts are not quite accurate, as the kids drank some when I wasn't looking.

We were going to go to the store to get more soda for experimentation, but then someone ran over our test rig.  Oh well.

Start with any number.

If it's even, divide by 2.

If it's odd, multiple by 3 and add 1.

1n 1937, Collatz proposed you ALWAYS end at 1, but nobody can prove or disprove it. 

Winter is almost over.  Flowers are starting to bloom, leaves starting to grow, and the weather is getting hella nice out there.  We're not out of the woods yet, but soon it will be Spring.  Sweet, sweet spring.

Here's an update on a few things:

Bike Stuff:
Cyclocross was fun, and I want to do much better in 2010.  I am training.  I now know what LT is.  And SST.  And zones.  I think it will help.

I have little motivation to do any spring races.  A big pile-up in what would have been my race at the Banana Belt has done nothing but confirm that.  There's plenty of time to race.  For now I just want to ride, get my work stuff organized, and hang out with the family.  Not super exciting, I know, but I'll post some more interesting bike stuff soon.

House:
We have been planning a smallish two story addition for a long time now.  There'll be one bedroom upstairs, two downstairs (for the girls).  Our living room will be expanded so there is more space to play and hang out.  Should be really nice.

Work has just started on this project.  The first step is to dig out some dirt and put in a retaining wall/foundation.  It's going to take a lot of concrete, but it will be very robust.

More news and photos will follow soon, but for now, all I have to show is dirt.  Lots and lots of dirt.

Olympics:
Did you watch the Olympics?  We watched some of it.

Best event: short track skating

Worst event: ice dancing

What were your choices?

Kids:
The girls are awesome and doing well.  We have three now, as we took in a foster child just before Christmas. 

Mette just turned 8 and had a fun ice-skating birthday party at Lloyd Center.  She's had really rotten luck for her birthdays in the past.  I think twice she had to have surgery or was recovering from surgery.  Another time, we moved to our current house and had a ton of work to do.  This year, she celebrated three times, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  She's getting pony lessons for her gift, so that should start Monday.

Annelis is going to be playing spring soccer.  I'll be coaching her team...well, helping coach.  We're pulling in as many resources as possible.  Should be fun. 

Dogs:
We're watching my mom's dogs for the week while she is on vacation.  These animals are horribly dangerous, as you can see here:

This song makes me happy:

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Thanks to Swifty McSnarkypants for the link.

Rodents of unusual size? 

I don't think they exist.