Catastrophe! With a bandage on my thumb I can only work half as fast on the phone! All thanks to my flat tire repair job today.

The audio on this one pretty much explains everything.

Donna was less than enthusiastic about the first part of our ride. Believe me, this climb was steeper than it appears to be in the video.

Panoramic shot from Mondays ride. Rode from the distant marine layer into the sunny mtns.

Donna, trying to remember why she 'enjoys' this. Super steep climb to start our ride today.

They don't call them 'bladed' spokes for no reason. Ouch! Great Monday ride in the SM Mountains otherwise.

Gadget of the day: Dexim AV Dock Station with remote control for iPod & iPhone. This thing is super cool. Gone are the days of DVDs.

New Mavic Cosmic wheelset from my sweetheart. 3 year no questions asked warranty! Woohoo!

Donna whipped up one of my favorites for lunch - seafood salad over soft flat bread with lettuce & tomato. Yummm!

Dry day on the trails today. Wow! This place really needs some rain, as much as I hate precipitation.

The cactuseses are really taking over Wildwood Park. Met a guy Fri. that took a dive into them. Ouch!!

Coaching my favorite athlete Sunday morning

Donna got me the brightest bike tail light I've EVER seen. Leave it to the awesome folks at NiteRider!

Donna said I could have anything I wanted for my birthday breakfast. This is what I chose. Junk food!

REST DOES A BODY GOOD

I was certain that the vacation and time off the bike was going to be damaging. How wrong was I. After 15 minutes of riding I found a ton if power my body apparently had in reserve!

AHHHH, TIME FOR A RIDE

This has been one heck of a week. My day started with an amateur photographer telling me to &#*@& *#%¥<. From there, the day couldn't get much worse. I was certainly overdue to get out on the trails.

ADMIRING MY HARD WORK

By time I got home from work today I had just enough daylight to get
the yard work done. By time I stepped back to admire my work...
well... um.

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

After getting out of the shower tonight I paused for a second while
asking myself... "Why do I still use shampoo?"

ABOARD THE QUEEN MARY

Just some more photos of the Queen Mary. The horn was EXTREMELY loud and sounded three minutes early, which gave us all a good surprise, considering how close we were to the actual horns.

THE QUEEN MARY

Sunday we started the day with the drive to Long Beach and a tour of the Queen Mary. The historic ship was a sight to, having, at one time, transported over 16,000 troops in a single voyage during WWII. Donna got to hang out with Clark and we were able to enjoy the view of Long Beach from the ships deck.

CHILLIN AFTER WORK

After concluding the earlier part of my two-part work day today, it was off to the coast with mom & dad... after a stop at the coffee shop that is. Listening to the waves crashing into the rocks is a form of therapy hard to describe. Thirty minutes later my stresses were drowned in the ocean.

TESTING BLOGPRESS

Trying out a new iPhone app for blogging

AWESOME VACATION

Well this is a little belated having returned a few days ago but we
had an awesome family vacation last week. We started in Pismo Beach
then headed to Morro Bay then Sequoia National Forest. A week of r&r
was just what the doctor ordered. My parents and sister as well as one
of my aunts came out from Ohio for some SoCal sunshine and beautiful
weather.

TRAINING RIDE

What better way to help Donna prepare for her next race then to have her provide the pedal power for four people during a rental bike outing along the beach!

TAKE ME HOME

I know pet stores are no good and if Donna and I ever get a dog, it will be a rescue dog, not some pure breed from a shop like this... nevertheless, we thought this little guy was cute and I couldn't help but get a short video clip.

BUSY BEE

Caught this little guy hard at work during a Sunday trip to Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks. Yes, I was holding the camera still - the flower was blowing in the wind.

MALLS MAKE ME INSECURE

Just a quote from Donna while hanging out by VS at The Oaks.

ABE ROCKS

I always knew I liked Abe.

THE FAMILY HAS ARRIVED

Mom, Dad, Tiff and aunt Pat made it in today. Time for staycation!! WooHoo!!