smashing pumpkins

it is our goal (and when i say "our," i mean "my") this year to participate in more holiday traditions. to kick off, we bought our own fireworks in july (and then were sorely shown up by all of our neighbors who must have saved for their pyrotechnic displays for months). since that terrible understatement, our lives have been pretty devoid of special occasions.

but the holiday we owe to the Celts, All-hallow-even, is upon us.

here is bryan cleaning out the pumpkin guts. an impressive feat given his disdain for organic ickiness. but it was all he could contribute as the lefthandedness doesn't lend itself well to carving.

i think we did fairly well for our first time.

The Return

Do you remember what you were doing on April 20th, 1999? I do. Owen Young, Mark Taylor, and myself were at a gas station in Bellevue, Washington. Some punk kid asked us if we wanted some weed. We politely declined.

To us, the little road trip to Washington was an epic adventure. When we planned the trip, I seriously believed Owen just wanted to do some serious riding in the Pacific Northwest. It didn't even cross my mind that his girlfriend was from the area and it would be the last time he would see her before spending two years as a missionary. Fortunately, Owen has always been a man of priorities. The girlfriend thing didn't interfere with the riding at all (in fact, girlfriend's mom even washed our muddy clothes at one point in time. Thank you, girlfriend's mom).

I receently revisited one of the trails we rode. Preston Railroad. It was just as good as I remembered. Halfway through the ride, I realized I was riding the same bike on the same trail that I rode 7 years ago. Unfortunately, my body isn't nearly as supple anymore. I decided on the spot to begin investigating full suspension bikes. It was as if the Bontrager had returned to give me one last good ride before entering retirement.

One highlight of the ride came at the end of a nasty, rooted section followed by a sharp switchback. I cleared the section with relative ease, but two riders waiting below the switch back gave me a node and said "Nice." For someone who hasn't done any serious riding in a very long time, it was rather gratifying.

sweetness

i just found this photo from last year's rockin birthday party.

is it just me or does kenny always seem to have a fistful of candy?
his elixir of life.