Besides work being busy as all get out, here's the best summary I have time for.
Lumberjack was almost a complete success. Besides the fact my new bike has been out of comission since due to a horrific creak that developed during the race, I crossed the line 10th in the Single Speed class in just under 8 hours. A whole hour faster than I could have ever hoped for. Besides the great finish, the weekend was a real blast, hanging out in Lee's camper with Tom and Bryan
Lumberjack Results
Lumberjack Garmin Data -- Apparently, I didn't have enough finger strength to stop my Garmin at the end of the race. I hit the stop but, I was too happy to be done and too tired to care enough at the finish to ensure it was stopped.
Lumberjack Basecamp
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Post race. Dirty, Tired and Very Happy to be finished.
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So, this is where things got rough and haven't let up since. The next 4 weekends were pack, pack, move & move again. With major help from my mom, dad and a cast of family character, we moved into my grandpa'shouse (now ours) and then the following weekend, moved my grandpa into his new place. Our new house needs a ton of work. Other than a new roof, you name it, it needs it. Best of all, it's got leaks in the basement. Something I was hoping to leave behind at our last house. However, it's got a lot of "potenial." Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
At our old house during the first trip. It was over 80 degrees both of the weekends we moved. I am not sure how the grass looks green in these pictures. It was fried.
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Thank goodness for my dad's 26ft enclosed trailer and 3/4 ton, diesel Chevy. I think we took 6 loads in all over 3 days. Not sure. At some point, I became delirious. Could have been more.
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Picture of the new place. Just looking at how many trees need to get cut down and bushes need to be trimmed makes me wince but, it's a pretty sharp looking place.
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New house is complete with Pink Kitchen and pretty much else.
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Not to mention a Safari Bathroom.
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The next weekend, it was time for the single greatest running weekend ever, the GLR. As the volunteered captain this year and with the major help of the Chad Wines, we cobbled together an EMU & Pickney Pirate Alumni team with the addition of a super fast, recent Michigan State graduate, young lady. Party, Camp, Run & Fun was the theme of the weekend. Matt, Nick, Chad, Paul, Steve, Joey, Ace, Scott, Sarah and I pulled out an impressive performance mixing it up with pretty much all but, the top two teams throughout the weekend and pulled off a 6th place team overall finish. We all may still be recovering from post GLR depression. Can't wait until next year. I have lots of pics but, they are all loaded up in my facebook profile. So, you are out of luck unless you are a facebook addict.
GLR Results
The following weekend brought another EMU tradition, the Tigertown5000. After a late night on the town in Liberty Center, OH, I pulled off a pitiful 12th place finish. Unable to catch the lead woman. Still a great weekend seeing some of my EMU alumni friends. There links to pictures of the race on the Tigertown website. I look better than I felt that day.
I didn't take any pics other than the following this weekend. To give you an idea of how rural Liberty Center is, this is a snapshot I took of pets kept right in the front yard.
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The next weekend, I tried to tackle the first of the end list list of projects at the new house. Sanding a few rusty spots on the garage doors exposed an unbelievable amount of rust hiding just under the surface. The weekend project ran into the week, late nights and even resulted in a dead car battery on one occasion. To date, I think I have over 30 hours into the doors and just one coat of paint on the outside of them. I think I snuck a BTT Epic ride in that weekend. However, it's hard to remember.
A pic to give you an idea of how much rust was uncovered. At this point, I had covered it with Rustoleum Heavy Rust Primer. The inside was much worse. Nice basketball net huh?
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I ended up painting most of the garage in the dark during the week and barely finished for our trip out of town.
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Next up was a week in Montreal with the in-laws, extended family and friends. Topped off with a weekend in Gatineau, hanging out around the pool. Driving, driving, driving and socializing were the themes of the week but, definitely a great time. Maybe the best trip yet. I really need a vacation from the vacation. I am beat.
This weekend is what will hopefully be a relaxing one at the lake and camping in Lewiston at my grandfather's cottage. Unfortunately, more driving.
The last two months have left me run down and ragged. In fact, I think I am getting sick. Especially, after hill repeats on Hines Dr. with Meliss and Jim last night. I am hoping to emerge from all of this insanity in September. It's been great spending time with my family but, I don't think I can keep up for much longer and simply have too much to do on the new house before winter. So, it has to. Plus, I'd really like to do some riding again. My riding & running has been extremely hit and miss since early June.
