Ryan Leech got a lot of cheers Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic

This guy is amazing to watch. He was at last year's Sea Otter Classic but we missed him somehow. We've seen him in a number of videos but there's no comparison. To put things in perspective... he's ALMOST as good as Donna! Adding to his bike skills is his personality, seemingly very down to earth and few if any ego problems. It's funny how the best guys are the most down to earth and the pro-wanna-be guys are the ones on ego trips.

Race day with Donna at the Sea Otter Classic

Donna finished the day in 17th place out of 27. I think she rocks - she cranked out 20 miles in 2hrs 12min, a MUCH faster average speed than he race last year. Most of all I tip my hat to Donna for entering Cat 2, especially considering this is only her third race. Had she repeated the beginner class again, judging by the times, she would been on top of the podium. Congrats to my sweetie for pushing her comfort level and entering a more competitive field. SHE ROCKS!

Donna is RACING at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic! Wooohooo!

Hangin' with the man, Gary Fisher, at the Sea Otter Classic.

Ahhh, the Monterey coast... It doesn't get much better than this. We're only $1.2 million shy of our $1.3 million dream home.

Beautiful scenery puts a big smile on my face. A beach at sunset doesn't hurt either.

Yes, I have an amazingly beautiful wife! Happy moments, spectacular sites... none of them mean as much when she isn't around. Today was a great, relaxing day. It's been ages since we didn't 'do anything.' I forgot how relaxing such a day can be & we vowed to do it more often in the future.


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I never get tired of sunsets at the beach. This might be the only one we catch for a while.

After an early dinner it was off to REI, where we didn't find any of the things we were looking for - that place has really gone downhill over the past five years. On the way back we pulled off HWY 1 just in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon.


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Nap time came early today, despite the fact that I didn't get out of bed until 9am.

We found a great spot along the waterfront this afternoon and as soon as I reclined the seat I realized I might miss tomorrow's race if I didn't set an alarm clock. A little sugar kick picked me up and got me back to the motel room. Donna knew better than to recline the seat in the first place.


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I couldn't talk Donna into going for a swim today. She kept saying something about too big of a drop into shallow water.

She's always got some sort of excuse... oh, and with her race being tomorrow she also said something about an injury less than 24 hours from the XC start.


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Marine life in Monterey is spectacular. This guy has not a penny to his name, nevertheless, ocean-front property.

I think this guy was expecting I had some food for him, like most tourists do. He let me get a lot closer than I expected.


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Why carry an SLR with telephoto lens when you can just place arrows in the frame to establish a focal point?

The last thing I want to carry around on vacation is a big bulky camera with a long lens. Of course earlier today I was wishing I had one with me. We spotted a number of harbor seals beached in Monterey and a few of them had babies with them. Despite the fact that they appeared to be about 1/2 mile away, I couldn't help but grab a snapshot. The mothers and babies were super cute. Yes, I said 'cute' - you got a problem with that, you know where to find me.


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I'm glad Donna is the one racing tomorrow and not me!

Thursday's ride through the Sea Otter XC course was great and the weather couldn't possibly be any better. The forecast is for great weather the whole way through the Sea Otter weekend! There are about four spots on the course that are marked with 'Technical Descent Ahead' and they're not kidding. I took a spill on the one descent (nothing major, just a few scrapes) but Donna came through unscathed. It's the same course she road last year, with an 8-mile section added on that she didn't have to do last year since she was racing in the beginner women's category. The extra 8 miles are a pretty tough 8 miles - lots of tight, tricky sections where it will be hard to get around other riders should the occasion arise. Her real strength seemed to kick in when she hit to dirt road climbs - she turns into a rocket. The technical descent aren't bad in terms of rocks and steep drops, just very deep sand with a few small drops and tree roots mixed in. We haven't ridden in sand since we lived in Oregon and when you don't ride it often, it's tough to get used to. I can't help but seed the irony in the fact that we live so close to the ocean and beaches yet so rarely encounter sand pits on the trail.

Today is a rest day for me, as is tomorrow and the entire weekend. I was in no shape to get on a bike this morning but Donna needed to get out and just spin for a little while to loosen up and stay warmed up, so she's out for a one-hour ride right now and I'm sitting at Starbucks sipping on coffee and eating some yogurt with blueberries and strawberries.

I really blew it after yesterday's ride - despite all the 'great' seafood restaurants in Ventura County, I LOVE Long John Silver's, so after running myself into the ground on the ride we went to a LJS/KFC. Donna walked to the table with a single grilled chicken breast (which she pulled the skin off of) and some corn and mashed potatoes. I, on the other hand, had two deep fried fish fillets and three deep fried chicken strips with French fries and coleslaw. Her dedication and will power are absolutely amazing.

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My favorite part of the ride... post-ride chill time.

Donna smoked me on today's ride and start to finish would have easily beat me if we were racing. I managed to get ahead a few times on some technical descents but she always passed me like I was sitting still on the climbs. She, and her legs, are soooo ready for Saturday's race.

A ride just isn't a ride without a photo of the two of us together.

These were by far the best wool jerseys we saw on the trail today.

Donna had a nice, calm, relaxing ride today while I followed 10-30 feet behind...

The Sea Otter XC course offers some sweet diversity, from rocky fire roads to lush, fern covered singletrack

This was one of my favorite sections of the Sea Otter XC course, though the vegetation didn't last for long. For a few brief moments I took a mental trip back to Oregon.

Sometimes running is faster than pedaling... believe it or not.

There's a particularly steep section in the Sea Otter XC course and today we determined that Donna can run it faster than I can pedal it. It's easy to feel like a failure, walking a bike up a hill instead of pedaling it, but after all, racing is more about speed and less about the cool factor. I can almost guarantee that Donna will pass someone on this climb as she runs to the top.