It's taken awhile to do the recap of the week leading up to Father's Day, but I finally made it. Friday I had to return to work for the day. It was a little difficult to stay focused in the midst of a mini-vacation, but I managed to make it through.
That night, Amy and I hit Granite City for dinner courtesy of a gift card that I had received for helping with the SD Outdoor Expo in Huron a few weeks before. We then headed to C.J. Callaway's for a send-off party for Nich, our lead guitar player. Nich got an offer to move to California to record and tour with someone that he's been playing with for the last year or so and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. We'll definitely miss him at church, but how often do you get a legit chance to chase after a dream like that? We hung out until they closed the place down at midnight and then headed home to get some rest.
Saturday I decided to head out to Beaver Creek with the Rig for some mountain biking. The corporation is doing a contest between all of the stores much like last year and I was selected as an alternate for the team. When Eric dropped out, I inherited his spot and had to make up some miles and time that he missed while he was on a missions trip. This year instead of doing strictly road bike miles, we alternate road weeks with mountain bike weeks where we need to ride for four hours off road (no bike path or street riding). I had four hours to make up for Eric, plus four for myself for this week which I wrapped up this morning. There's also a sales requirement for high end bikes for team members that I managed to wrap up early on.
After getting home and cleaning up, Amy and I had lunch and then went for a bike ride to the church where Amy had a vocal coaching session with someone from the first service. When we got home, we got ready for Josiah's wedding (a co-worker and brother in Christ) in Watertown. The wedding was a great time of worship and I was really happy for Josiah. He's a great guy who I respect a lot and who makes the work environment much more enjoyable.
Sunday was Father's Day (finally) and we started off with services at the church where we did several songs Nich had requested since it was his last service before moving. After church, we headed to Mom and Dad's where a ton of family had gathered. My grandpa, step-grandma, sister's family, aunts, uncles and several cousins had gathered. We hung out in the art gallery where we had lunch and conversation and pretty much just hung out for the day. It was fun conversing on the new patio off the front of the gallery and enjoying a gorgeous day.
Monday finally brought a return to reality and I'm still trying to reacclimate to a regular work schedule again. I get to work today and tomorrow and hope to hit a groove again soon.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The week that was (part 2)
After a disappointing Tour de Kota, we had Maia's fourth birthday party to look forward to. The buildup had been great as her excitement began to grow in the weeks ahead. It wound up being a family only affair which was probably a good thing because we had 18 people at our house for the party from Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Yankton and Hartley, IA.
Maia is nothing if not a grateful recipient of gifts and everything she opened brought a positive reaction, including some of the boxes. She made out pretty well with clothes (everyday and dressup) and toys and got a Little Tykes playhouse that our friends Chip and Kim gave us that will hopefully entice some outdoor playtime for the remainder of the summer. After the party, the kids went with my folks back to the farm in NW Iowa for the rest of the week along with cousins Cassie and Lexi.
Wednesday dawned cool, windy and threatening rain, perfect conditions for a nice six hour drive. We left for Brainerd, MN and the annual Scheels Awards Dinner where I was a fortunate recipient because the youth cold weather shop that I inherited when I moved into sales is the strongest in the corporation out of 22 stores. I couldn't help but think about how much Pam, Deb, Heather and Jill did to help me stumble through my first season running the shop and how undeserving I was to receive anything in recognition for it.
I still gladly accepted the invite to Madden's on Gull Lake, a resort outside of Brainerd, since it meant a good meal, a chance to dress up and a mini-vacation for me and Amy. We rolled in at about 4:30 to temperatures of about 45 degrees and a little rain, got checked in and started getting ready. The events kicked off with a social hour from 6 to 7, dinner from 7 to 8 and then the awards. We had a good showing from Sioux Falls and had a chance to hang out with some of the folks from the store who I don't usually get to spend as much time with.
The next morning dawned clear, still, peaceful and warmer. We headed down to breakfast at about 8:30 and missed just about everyone from Sioux Falls, but enjoyed a great buffet that tided us over until we stopped for lunch at about 3:00. We decided since it was about 60 degrees and sunny, we'd check out and take a little time to hang out on the grounds of the resort before we headed back. We checked out the gift shop, and spent a little time in a little marshy area in the middle of the grounds to watch a turtle flirt with the water's edge and enjoyed the birds singing.
The drive home was entirely uneventful and we got home at about 4:30 with time enough to nap before we had to take off for worship team rehearsal.
All in all, it was a good, if too brief, trip that we might take more time for if I get to go again. I think if I do get to go again, I will feel like a much more deserving award recipient since I have a much more active role in the direction of my shops this year. If the year ended now, I would actually get to go for both my youth cold weather and bike shops. I'm hoping I can hold my leads in the shops, but only time will tell.
Still to come: farewell to a rock star, a worshipful wedding and a Father's Day extravaganza.
Maia is nothing if not a grateful recipient of gifts and everything she opened brought a positive reaction, including some of the boxes. She made out pretty well with clothes (everyday and dressup) and toys and got a Little Tykes playhouse that our friends Chip and Kim gave us that will hopefully entice some outdoor playtime for the remainder of the summer. After the party, the kids went with my folks back to the farm in NW Iowa for the rest of the week along with cousins Cassie and Lexi.
Wednesday dawned cool, windy and threatening rain, perfect conditions for a nice six hour drive. We left for Brainerd, MN and the annual Scheels Awards Dinner where I was a fortunate recipient because the youth cold weather shop that I inherited when I moved into sales is the strongest in the corporation out of 22 stores. I couldn't help but think about how much Pam, Deb, Heather and Jill did to help me stumble through my first season running the shop and how undeserving I was to receive anything in recognition for it.
I still gladly accepted the invite to Madden's on Gull Lake, a resort outside of Brainerd, since it meant a good meal, a chance to dress up and a mini-vacation for me and Amy. We rolled in at about 4:30 to temperatures of about 45 degrees and a little rain, got checked in and started getting ready. The events kicked off with a social hour from 6 to 7, dinner from 7 to 8 and then the awards. We had a good showing from Sioux Falls and had a chance to hang out with some of the folks from the store who I don't usually get to spend as much time with.
The next morning dawned clear, still, peaceful and warmer. We headed down to breakfast at about 8:30 and missed just about everyone from Sioux Falls, but enjoyed a great buffet that tided us over until we stopped for lunch at about 3:00. We decided since it was about 60 degrees and sunny, we'd check out and take a little time to hang out on the grounds of the resort before we headed back. We checked out the gift shop, and spent a little time in a little marshy area in the middle of the grounds to watch a turtle flirt with the water's edge and enjoyed the birds singing.
The drive home was entirely uneventful and we got home at about 4:30 with time enough to nap before we had to take off for worship team rehearsal.
All in all, it was a good, if too brief, trip that we might take more time for if I get to go again. I think if I do get to go again, I will feel like a much more deserving award recipient since I have a much more active role in the direction of my shops this year. If the year ended now, I would actually get to go for both my youth cold weather and bike shops. I'm hoping I can hold my leads in the shops, but only time will tell.
Still to come: farewell to a rock star, a worshipful wedding and a Father's Day extravaganza.
Monday, June 16, 2008
The week that was (part 1)
Rarely do we find ourselves with a week of recreational and social engagements that keep us running for an entire week, but last week was a perfect storm that had us bike touring, birthday partying, awards dinnering, goodbye partying, wedding attending and family gathering until we're just about worn out.
Sunday and Monday last week were the only two days that I was available to do the 4th Annual Argus Leader Tour de Kota. I've done at least two days each year and was looking forward to this year's ride, although with a little trepidation. Sunday dawned idyllic with slight sprinkles, little wind and a good, first day of a bike tour buzz as riders left Sioux Falls for Mitchell. Unfortunately, I only got to experience the atmosphere at the check in since I wasn't going to be able to leave until after leading worship for church.
By the time I left, it was 1:30, the wind had come up just a little and shifted so that it would be in my face the entire way. I felt pretty good getting started though and plugged through the towns of Hartford and Humboldt with little trouble. The next stretch was a little windier and I started to regret not having anybody else around. I mean, is it really a bike tour if you are the only one riding? Not only were there no riders, but all of the food stands and communities had packed everything up and there were few signs remaining to indicate what kind of activity had taken place earlier. I met up with Amy to grab some food and top off the drinks and was already pretty knackered from the wind.
I knew that leaving so late I was running the risk of higher winds with no one to share the work with through drafting and that I very well could be the last person into the campground that day. That nearly proved true, but I caught my first "riders" about six miles before Mitchell. They were walking at the time and told me they had left Sioux Falls at 7:30 in the morning. One of the guys was having leg problems and they were plodding along as best they could. I'd ridden the last stretch of the ride late last summer when we were in Mitchell for Amy's grandma's birthday celebration, so I anticipated the valley and final uphill into town and was surprised as I came down the hill on the east side of the valley to see that there were two more riders struggling up the hill on the west side. With a couple of rabbits to chase, I put in a little more effort and managed to pass the two riders about a quarter of a mile before the campground. The last day that I rode on last year's Tour, I wound up being the first rider in by a good hour. This time, I was nearly the last after a late start and 70 miles of riding by myself into a headwind.
I rolled into camp and caught up with a few friends from Sioux Falls and from previous Tours before calling Amy to have her pick me up. We went over to her dad's for dinner in the back yard and then over to Leigh Anne's where we were spending the night. The kids got to sleep on a hide-a-bed which Maia thought was the coolest thing she'd ever seen (she talked about it every 15 minutes that she was awake) and we crashed pretty hard.
The next day was another 70 mile day to Chamberlain with an optional loop to make it 100 miles, but talk of a west wind had made most riders consider bagging the century ride long before they set out. I was more fearful of how my body was going to react after only being off the bike for 12 hours. Leigh Anne got me started with a good breakfast at 6:00 and I left from her house at about 6:30.
The wind was already strong out of the west leaving most riders struggling along at 9-10 mph which was a little slower than I wanted to go. I was plugging along at 12-13 mph and looking for a group going slightly faster that I could join up with to share the load and pound out the miles. 20 miles into the ride, that group had not yet materialized and it was all I could do to hold 12 mph with my heart rate consistently in the 150's. I had the realization that I ride because it's fun and I wasn't having fun anymore. I had already done one full day into the wind and I would be out there for another four hours at my current rate of speed suffering like a dog. I decided that I'd turn around at Plankinton and head back since Amy and the kids were still in Mitchell. I made the turn around and passed about a million riders that I'd already passed from the opposite direction and made them all wonder what glory it would be to ride with the wind instead of against it. I looked down at one point and was riding effortlessly at 26 mph with my heart rate at 129 and for the first time on this year's Tour de Kota, had some fun.
I know, there are those that will deride me for being a quitter, but I've done communal suffering before and have my own war stories to tell and decided that this just wasn't a ride worth finishing. Had I been doing the next day's ride I would have absolutely plugged on and ridden to Chamberlain, but since I was heading back to Sioux Falls that night, it just wasn't worth the struggle.
I arrived back at Leigh Anne's about an hour after I had turned around and hit the shower and hung out for conversation for a bit. We decided to get together with Casey and Heidi and their family for lunch and had a good time hanging out with them for awhile. We then headed back to Sioux Falls. I had the realization that we probably saved about 8 gallons of gas by not going to Chamberlain, so I suggested that we take the kids to "Kung Fu Panda" when we got back to town. The kids were excited and we actually managed to salvage a pretty decent family day out of a pretty crappy bike tour day.
Still to come: Maia's birthday party, the Scheels Awards Dinner, Nich's farewell party, Josiah's wedding and a trip to the farm for Father's Day
Sunday and Monday last week were the only two days that I was available to do the 4th Annual Argus Leader Tour de Kota. I've done at least two days each year and was looking forward to this year's ride, although with a little trepidation. Sunday dawned idyllic with slight sprinkles, little wind and a good, first day of a bike tour buzz as riders left Sioux Falls for Mitchell. Unfortunately, I only got to experience the atmosphere at the check in since I wasn't going to be able to leave until after leading worship for church.
By the time I left, it was 1:30, the wind had come up just a little and shifted so that it would be in my face the entire way. I felt pretty good getting started though and plugged through the towns of Hartford and Humboldt with little trouble. The next stretch was a little windier and I started to regret not having anybody else around. I mean, is it really a bike tour if you are the only one riding? Not only were there no riders, but all of the food stands and communities had packed everything up and there were few signs remaining to indicate what kind of activity had taken place earlier. I met up with Amy to grab some food and top off the drinks and was already pretty knackered from the wind.
I knew that leaving so late I was running the risk of higher winds with no one to share the work with through drafting and that I very well could be the last person into the campground that day. That nearly proved true, but I caught my first "riders" about six miles before Mitchell. They were walking at the time and told me they had left Sioux Falls at 7:30 in the morning. One of the guys was having leg problems and they were plodding along as best they could. I'd ridden the last stretch of the ride late last summer when we were in Mitchell for Amy's grandma's birthday celebration, so I anticipated the valley and final uphill into town and was surprised as I came down the hill on the east side of the valley to see that there were two more riders struggling up the hill on the west side. With a couple of rabbits to chase, I put in a little more effort and managed to pass the two riders about a quarter of a mile before the campground. The last day that I rode on last year's Tour, I wound up being the first rider in by a good hour. This time, I was nearly the last after a late start and 70 miles of riding by myself into a headwind.
I rolled into camp and caught up with a few friends from Sioux Falls and from previous Tours before calling Amy to have her pick me up. We went over to her dad's for dinner in the back yard and then over to Leigh Anne's where we were spending the night. The kids got to sleep on a hide-a-bed which Maia thought was the coolest thing she'd ever seen (she talked about it every 15 minutes that she was awake) and we crashed pretty hard.
The next day was another 70 mile day to Chamberlain with an optional loop to make it 100 miles, but talk of a west wind had made most riders consider bagging the century ride long before they set out. I was more fearful of how my body was going to react after only being off the bike for 12 hours. Leigh Anne got me started with a good breakfast at 6:00 and I left from her house at about 6:30.
The wind was already strong out of the west leaving most riders struggling along at 9-10 mph which was a little slower than I wanted to go. I was plugging along at 12-13 mph and looking for a group going slightly faster that I could join up with to share the load and pound out the miles. 20 miles into the ride, that group had not yet materialized and it was all I could do to hold 12 mph with my heart rate consistently in the 150's. I had the realization that I ride because it's fun and I wasn't having fun anymore. I had already done one full day into the wind and I would be out there for another four hours at my current rate of speed suffering like a dog. I decided that I'd turn around at Plankinton and head back since Amy and the kids were still in Mitchell. I made the turn around and passed about a million riders that I'd already passed from the opposite direction and made them all wonder what glory it would be to ride with the wind instead of against it. I looked down at one point and was riding effortlessly at 26 mph with my heart rate at 129 and for the first time on this year's Tour de Kota, had some fun.
I know, there are those that will deride me for being a quitter, but I've done communal suffering before and have my own war stories to tell and decided that this just wasn't a ride worth finishing. Had I been doing the next day's ride I would have absolutely plugged on and ridden to Chamberlain, but since I was heading back to Sioux Falls that night, it just wasn't worth the struggle.
I arrived back at Leigh Anne's about an hour after I had turned around and hit the shower and hung out for conversation for a bit. We decided to get together with Casey and Heidi and their family for lunch and had a good time hanging out with them for awhile. We then headed back to Sioux Falls. I had the realization that we probably saved about 8 gallons of gas by not going to Chamberlain, so I suggested that we take the kids to "Kung Fu Panda" when we got back to town. The kids were excited and we actually managed to salvage a pretty decent family day out of a pretty crappy bike tour day.
Still to come: Maia's birthday party, the Scheels Awards Dinner, Nich's farewell party, Josiah's wedding and a trip to the farm for Father's Day
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