Day 1 Recap - Traveling to Bend, Oregon

When Laura and Anna picked us up to take us to the airport it was -13 degrees outside. However, we were cozy and excited to finally be on our way.


We arrived two hours before our flight, but since we were leaving so early in the morning we breezed through all of the lines. That left us with plenty of time to hang out while waiting for our plane. Stephen brought Uno cards and the younger set had a good time playing cards. The older boys surfed the net.



After a bumpy start we were on our way. We were flying with Frontier; our tail mascot was Jo-Jo the Bear Cub.



We landed at the Portland Airport without a problem and called Coach Bill. He was nearby and would pick us up. The kids had a bit of silly fun playing in the auto turning doors. We also thought the decoration/advertisement was clever.




During our drive to Bend, Oregon, we stopped by Mount Hood and had a look around the Timberline Lodge.



The Timberline Lodge was amazing. It bespeaks the beauty of handcrafted items. It was built as a WPA project in 1937-38. Many local artists and craftsmen were employed.



Some of my favorite parts were the panels created by Douglas Lynch in what was a lunch room. It now serves as a recreation room. He had been a town sign and window painter. He created simple images of life in Oregon by carving into large linoleum panels. He colored them by applying many layers of oil glazes. They had been very bright in their day. Some received terrible treatment as a result of being in a lunch room. Others were rediscovered in the attic when a renovation was taking place in the mid 1990's. I loved the lines, movement and color of the art.



I also admired all of the handwork created by a local group of blacksmiths. They were incredibly resourceful.






Each part we visited seemed to be more beautiful than the last.


Many rooms also featured carved wooden panel and dimensional animals. They had been rubbed by so many hands that they were shiny.

Once we were done we went on to Bend, picked up our registration packets and check into the Bend River Suites and Motel.

Cyclocross Nationals - Day 2

As I write this I am enveloped by calm. The only light comes from the crack in the door where we left the light on in the hotel bathroom, the light from the computer screen and the pleasant orangey, flickering glow from the fire in the fireplace. The kids are down for the night, the dishwasher is cleaning the dishes and the bottles that we muddied today. It is the night before the girls, Ellie and Anna race. I'm thankful for the serene mood, knowing it could have been one of nerves and tenseness. This is such a contrast to how we spent our day.

I rose before the rest of the team so that I could prepare a hot breakfast of bacon, pancakes and eggs for all seven of us. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. Then I hurriedly changed out of my pajamas as they loaded the van with the bikes, gear and the food I planned for the day. We were met by subzero weather and clean, lovely skies. When we pulled out of the parking lot it was still dark enough for us to admire the reflection of the moon on the water in the river next to us. Most of it is frozen over, housing assorted ducks who seem not to notice the frigid temperatures. The kids went out to ride the course before the B (non-championship) races started. The ice and the sand-like snow made many parts of the course hard to ride. Thankfully the flight of 15+ stairs that the kids have to haul their bikes up were not impacted. If this was a muddy race that would be a very different story. Meanwhile, Coach Bill and I set up the tent and readied the gear. Dean did a few laps in a race but elected to drop out as he did not want to risk getting injured. His spare bike had not been secured properly and had drug along on the pavement for a while before Anna noticed and alerted us. Bill and Dean saw to getting that fixed. Thankfully they were able to install a new piece and use a bit of electrical tape to make it work again. The younger kids cheered on racers and visited the vendors. I did the same. The older boys were mostly off on their own. They scored some cool schwag from the folks from Scott bikes. I was treated to free oatmeal with lots of fun topping by the people from the Red Mill. I have lots of their various flours, but I had no idea their steel cut oats were so amazing. I added small bits of dried dates, bits of walnut, butter and soy milk - a combination which will most definitely be repeated. During the lunch break the kids went out to ride the course again. Much of the time in between was spent sitting in the van since it was warmer there than the 10 degrees it was outside. However, the sun made the day inviting and more cheery. Once they were done riding the course I fed them grilled cheese sandwiches and apples. I had planned for soup to go along with the sandwiches, but found that they had frozen. It took me much of an hour to remedy that problem and have more hot food for our team members.

The kids and I also spend and interesting hour touring the Deschutes' Brewery. The tour guide was very enthusiastic and informative. Though I don't drink, I might get a little beer to send home to use in some f my recipes.

We waited around until the races were over for the day so the kids could go ride the course again. However, they were still frozen to the core, so the riding was short. The younger ones were happiest when they were playing in the snow.

On the way home we stopped by a local bike shop to get some plates for Ellie's shoes. Her cleats were not functioning properly, but I think we have that fixed now, thanks to our handy coach.

We had a causal evening of card games, computer games and a bit of t.v. viewing. They enjoyed the Swedish Meatballs over pasta that I served for dinner.

My goal in the morning is to be able to get out of the door quicker so we had Ellie, Anna and Stephen set out their gear, pin on their number, etc. I think that helped create the sense of calm that I wrote about at the beginning of the post. I also think some of it comes from the fact that our kids are so used to racing in conditions like they were fact tomorrow. My heart went out to those people that I met today who have never seen snow, or experienced such cold before. One sad woman could not even race for the chill she was experiencing. Bend is a lovely place. It looks much like Grand Junction or Grandby and the weather is similar. This helps the kids rest peacefully. I look forward to joining them in their slumbering state. I am a bit surprised at how tiring being so cold all day can make you.