Birkie by Numbers

10,000 The number of skiers who competed in the various ski events over the weekend.

5,079 The number of skiers who completed the marathon distance.

1,433 Classic skiers went the distance.

298 My overall position in the classic marathon category.

54 The number of kilometers in the classic race.

35 As in VG35, the base binder I ironed into my skis. This stuff is sticky, and it was perfect for the old, hard, and fast snow.

8 Layers of kick wax. I put down 4 layers of Violet Special, put the skis outside to cool for 20 minutes and then put down 4 layers of Blue Extra. Kick was good until the last 8k or so. Then it was herring bone up the hills and a lot of double polling.

7 The wave I started in.

3:43:38 My time. And I'm pretty happy with it. Under 4 was the general goal. 3:30 would have been amazing. So being in the middle is just fine by me.

2 The wave I can start in next year.

I've Been Skiing

That's my excuse for not blogging, anyways. The season has been great. 48 skis so far this season. That is by far my best year. A few seasons ago I got in 38, but it is not even mid-February and I've exceeded that by 10. Plus we've got about 10 inches of great snow on the ground. So I should have no problem getting over 60 skis this year. That will be a fun milestone.

The rest of my time has been spent horse shopping. After nearly two years of riding Steen with Robin we started to talk about getting another horse. We rode this nice Paint first, but he was big and sluggish and expensive and he might have been lame. Then we rode this very goofy looking and slightly untrained Saddlebred-Paint-Arabian. He was too much horse for me. Finally we went to the Meyer Horse Co. They had a lot of nicely trained ranch geldings. I rode a couple and really liked this big, bay named Shamrock. I decided to call him Sham, for short. He arrived on Thursday, and he's got his own blog now.

It will not be a highly exciting blog. Especially if you're not a horse person and don't feel like reading about someone fumble through their rides and training. But I imagine it will be highly useful for me to keep track of my progress. Unfortunately, it probably won't help me update this blog more regularly. I'll try to work on that, though.

New Look

When you have a wife who builds websites and knows art, you get cool designs.

After I got home from skiing today Robin said, "I've got something for you." I had no idea what it could be. I just had a birthday, so I certainly didn't expect new gifts.

But when I walked into the study I saw three newly designed icons. And I liked them. A lot. So she put some finishing touches on them and now they're here to stay. Enjoy.

First Ski

We've been getting some steady, light snow all day. So after work I headed out to Ashton for some skiing. I was doubly excited because not only was it my first ski, but I also had a super cool new camera in my pocket. A great birthday gift from the Stephen family.

A few people got there first, so I had some tracks to follow.

Eventually I caught up to them and was surprised to see it was Sean, Finn, and Grant. I skied with them a bit. Sean and Finn were having super stick issues, but Grant and I were gliding fairly well. The snow was quite wet. Hopefully the temps will drop a bit in the night and firm it up.

Now I'm sipping a beer and basking in the post ski glow. It feels great.

29

Years Old. Today. That is me. And it has been a great day. I drank many a fine beverage with my wife, rode a horse, went for a run, did a little reading, and generally just relaxed. And I am super excited to see that snow has just started falling. For the past four years I have received flakes on my birthday. It has been great. Only one of those four years was the storm big enough to ski on, but I'm not complaining. And by the looks of it, I could be skiing all week.

Wow the fall has gone quickly. Nearly two months and no post. I have been a bad blogger. I think only for the first year was I a good blogger. Probably more like a mediocre blogger, really. Who knows what the future has in store. Sometimes I think of leaving the e-books, e-bikes, e-beer behind. I will never dump the real goods, don't worry.

But that day has not come just yet. And to catch you all up to speed I can say the last two months were, well, so so. I got the flu. I had my wisdom teeth extracted. I hardly rode a bike. I was temporarily moved up to the oh so inhumane 40 hour work week, which ends Tuesday, thankfully. I went to Arizona for Thanksgiving (check out Robin's blog for a rather dramatic video and the Clegg's blog for some pictures, including some nice desert mountain biking shots (scroll down to the Thanksgiving post)).

And now it is December. The weather reports say ski season is upon us. Perhaps the blogging will come back. We'll see.

Homecoming

This weekend was Iowa's homecoming. So Robin and I decided to leave town and visit my parents in the Chicago burbs. We think it was a great decision. Our house was not burned down, or even singed, in our absence. And we had a fantastic trip full of immediate and extended family hang out time, amazing dinners, and copious amounts of beer, wine, and hot tub time.

Just before we got back into Iowa City on Sunday we veered north and went to the barn. Last Sunday's ride was so fun we decided to go for a repeat. In general the riding was not quite as good. Our horses did not always agree with us on pace or direction, and we had two big spook sessions (don't worry, we both stayed on), but the grooming and other bonding moments were quite nice. Cal and I are getting a little more used to one another, so with each ride we should see continued improvement.

And though the riding was not quite as good as last Sunday, the light was much better. So Robin snapped a few more pics of Cal and I.

In this next one it actually looks like I'm in charge of deciding where we go.

My New Girl

I have a horse! Well, I have a horse I can use. She isn't mine, but at the moment, I appear to be the only person riding her. She has been at the barn for many a month now, and her owner has not done much with her. Despite her recent inactivity, though, she is a somewhat highly trained and reliable horse. Her name is Cal, and she is a red dun somewhere between the age of 10 and 15.

A few days ago Robin and I entered into a rather loose agreement that allows me to use Cal as long as we take care of her during the farrier visits. This pretty much entails getting her from the pasture, holding her while her feet are trimmed, and covering the expenses. It is a true a bargain.

So on Saturday, we went out to the barn to see how Cal and I would get along. I would say she tolerated me. After a slow tack up and some very questionable ground work (all on my part), Cal and I went for a nice stroll with Robin and Steen (you can see another picture of Cal and I here) on a misty, gray, October day. And it was great. We did lots of slow walking and a little bit of trotting. Then we called it good.

Today we went out again and though we had a slow start, it was an even more successful day by the time we were done. Cal and I walked, trotted, and even did a fair bit of loping. And we stayed out for over an hour. As time passed she became more responsive to my fumbling cues and I started to pick up on her little habits, like dropping the trot if I would talk to her in an even, relaxed voice (everyone talks to their horse).

Hopefully this is the beginning of a nice riding relationship. But don't worry, I rode my bike and drank some beer today, too. So this won't turn into a horsey blog.