When my brother-in-law heard about the First Annual Indoor Triathlon being sponsored by his athletic club in UT on New Year’s Eve, he knew it would be the perfect event for the family.  When he found out we could compete as two teams of four, it made it even better.  After 20 minutes on the spin bike, 15 minutes on the treadmill, a 5 minute lap swim and an hour of trash talking and friendly family rivalry, distances were added up, points were given and our team came out on top (barely).  Before accepting our award medals, we had to make proper podiums (of course). Hopefully the Ogden Athletic Club will continue to organize this race because it’s a holiday family tradition I’d love to keep.

A few weekends ago, we borrowed some gear and headed out to the local BMX track to make one of Todd’s dreams come true: a night of riding BMX style as a family. Even though the girls had been resistant to the plan for months, once they got out there (one tumble aside) we couldn’t get them off the track.  Despite being schooled by a freakishly skilled three year old, I also had way more fun than I thought I would taking my practice laps around the course.

Rumor has it that Santa might be bringing BMX bikes for Christmas.  When your kids say, “we need to come to the BMX track more often” after a night of family fun, what else is a bike-loving dad to do?

You can read more about our first experience at the BMX track and the life lessons we learned in my post today at the Together Counts blog.

Every guy deserves a little vacation with the boys.  Over a month ago, they took their “mancation” to Mammoth to do a little mountain biking.  If you only watch 10 seconds of the video, Todd wants you to know he is the one jumping in the very first shot.  Watching the crazy stuff they do on their bikes makes me giddy, jealous and scared all at the same time.

It’s one of our favorite days of the year.  140 people (80 kids) took to the trails in Orange County on the first Saturday in October to celebrate Take Your Kid Mountain Biking Day! I’ve never seen so many smiles per mile.

Showing up for the last 3 events with an ever growing number of children and bikes has coined us the name, “The First Family of Mountain Biking” by the event’s organizer.  Now that is a nickname we can be proud of.

Check out the video of the event HERE.

Located in Kernville, the “Cannell Plunge” is a popular bike ride of epic proportions in the southern Sierra Nevada with incredible views of the surrounding peaks, forested single track, and non-stop action. You get over 28 miles of riding starting at 9,200 feet, most of it on single track.

We had been talking about doing the “Cannell Plunge” for a few years.  As a final adventure before leaving on a two year mission to Argentina, my nineteen year old nephew finally made Todd and I (and my two adult nieces) commit to a weekend in September and made it happen.  The ride definitely proved to be a one of “epic proportions”.

The weather was threatening rain the entire car ride up the mountain on our way to the trail head, but that didn’t worry us as much as all the pick-up trucks full of hunters also on their way up the mountain.

Surely the hunters weren’t allowed to hunt in the same place we were going to ride….right?  WRONG. That guy in neon orange was not happy we were riding through his hunting area.  And you better believe we were not happy he was hunting in our riding area.

The thunder and lightening turned into a hailstorm.  It was like a million little bb’s being shot from the sky.  It did not feel good on my bare arms. But, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it shooed all the hunters away real quick.

When the sun started to come out, the beauty of our surroundings was overwhelming.

The terrain changed around every corner.

Around mile 24 (10 miles longer than any of my previous mountain bike rides), I was ready to be done.  My arms and legs were so tired from the previous 5 hours of riding, every little bump in the trail threatened to throw me over my handlebars. I sent the boys ahead down the mountain while my nieces and I cautiously covered those last four miles, determined to make it an injury free day.  At mile 28 we declared victory over the “Cannell Plunge” and celebrated by plunging our feet into the Kern River.

Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa, we were able to sneak away to Park City, UT for a long weekend full of good food, beautiful scenery and amazing mountain biking.

We experienced the Alpine Slide and Alpine Coaster at the Park City Resort (and wished the kids were with us just a little bit).

We rode the fabulous Mid Mountain Trail from The Canyons to Park City.

And we met up with good friends, Kelly & Jeff, to ride Deer Valley: sll the ski lift assisted downhill you could want with some skill park features thrown in for fun.

I couldn’t imagine spending our 15th anniversary in a more perfect way (except for maybe good food, beautiful scenery and amazing mountain biking in Italy).

We owe it all to the Strider balance bike. They have revolutionized the way parents teach kids to ride their bikes.  Learn balance first then learn to pedal.  Brilliant.

Learning to ride a bike using a Strider balance bike Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Race #10 was Family Night again at Over the Hump Race.  Brother always looks forward for his chance to race with the little tikes,

The girls both raced hard, Princess coming in second girl and Pumpkin feeling so proud of being able to stay in front of her sister for the first half of the kid’s race.

The adult race was run backwards (the first time I’ve raced that direction). I loved conquering one of the “just walk it” hills.  It’s all about the personal victories. I also loved seeing our friend (and past riding coach) Rich, race with a custom made, pink Team Sparkle cape over his Crank Brothers kit to support his friend living with breast cancer.

Carrie’s Finish Time: 50:07 (9th out of 18)

Todd’s Finish Time: 44:21 (25 out of 53)

For this race, we suited up in our Team Poseidon gear, determined to ride our very best as a birthday present to Todd.  The good news: we looked great and ended the race with smiles on our faces.  Bad news: we raced terribly.  Worst race of the season for all four of us.

Carrie’s finish time: 57:48 (9th out of 15)

Todd’s finish time: he’d rather forget.

Luckily, there was more good news than just our cute matching outfits. Good friend and teammate, Kelly, brought home her first “awards glass” by placing third in our division!