Jay's Mobile Ramblings

Haystack Rock

2008-10-11T14:16:00.001-05:00

Me and my baby!

Breakfast at Cannon Beach

2008-10-11T12:54:00.001-05:00

A winter fire

2008-10-03T22:08:00.001-05:00

Nice and snug in our home.

Last Tues. Night Ride of the Season

2008-10-01T00:47:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe the summer is over.

Cookies

2008-10-01T00:17:00.002-05:00

Me and sarah made oatmeal cookies tonight from my own recipe!

A little ride

2008-09-29T20:07:00.001-05:00

I was able to sneak in a short ride from work. A nice warm day.

Saturday was a beautiful day

2008-09-14T14:43:00.001-05:00

I took a nice bike ride and enjoyed the warm sunshine.

Jay's new toy

2008-09-11T08:21:00.001-05:00

I got a new iPod touch. It is incredible.

Sarah's 20th Birthday

2008-08-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that my Sarah is 20 years old. The years really do fly by.

My new car

2008-08-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

My new old car. It is a sweet '97 Civic EX coupe.

Birthday Party!

2008-08-15T22:07:00.001-05:00

Hannah and Sarah's joint party. What a great group of young people.

Hannah's 18th Birthday

2008-08-14T09:45:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe, but yesterday, Aug. 13, 2008, my Hannah girl turned 18. We had a little family celebration at home, but tomorrow night we will host a joint party for Hannah and Sarah. I am so proud of Hannah and excited about her entry into nanny school in September.

Portland Bridge Pedal

2008-08-10T14:50:00.001-05:00

I road the 11 bridge pedal today with a friend from work, Wolfgang Wedler. 40 + miles of fun with 20,000 or so other friends. I love this event.

Classic Home Cooking

2008-08-05T14:51:00.001-05:00

This place is incredible. Open for over 115 years.

Ice Cream!

2008-08-05T14:45:00.001-05:00

In-N-Out Burger

2008-08-04T09:51:00.001-05:00

A first for the Thomas family. Yummy! In San Francisco on less.

Muir Woods

2008-08-04T09:33:00.001-05:00

Incredible old growth redwoods.

A Smoothie

2008-08-02T10:43:00.001-05:00

I an getting a fruit smoothie at this interesting shop.

Alcatraz

2008-08-01T16:45:00.001-05:00

The they from Pier 39. We enjoyed our tour.

We are on

2008-08-01T10:39:00.001-05:00

We made it on the 10:30 am tour.

Waiting

2008-08-01T10:07:00.001-05:00

We are waiting for tickets to Alcatraz.

We are in San Francisco!

2008-07-31T18:56:00.001-05:00

We made it into San Francisco fine.

On Our Way to San Francisco

2008-07-31T10:10:00.004-05:00

Here we are at the Olive Garden in Eugene, Oregon. We spent the night in Medford, Oregon and it is on to San Francisco today.

2008 Co-Motion Tandem Race

2008-07-27T21:38:00.004-05:00

Here is the view looking back during one of the quieter times early in the race. The final 5 miles included a fairly good climb that we were able to dominate and control. Then a mile and a half or so of slight rollers where there were probably half a dozen or so team with us, we traded the lead a few times. Then the last 1 km was a right turn off the main road and a hard climb to the finish at the King Estates Vineyard. We were the first through the turn and Nathan kicked into after burner mode. We surged ahead and held the lead to the finish!

This was pretty special, out of 32 years of active cycling/racing this is only the second sanctioned bike race that I have won (my other one was in 1978)! Very sweet. Nathan & I are both so thankful to the Lord for strength and protection. This really is a wonderful stage race. We ended up 3rd in overall classification in the B group. It was fun to meet others who love tandem riding and racing. Lot's of fathers with sons and daughters. One impressive team was a father & son duo. The son was 17 and was the captain. They won the A group stage for the day. It was a wonderful Oregon summer day.

We won the stage!

2008-07-27T16:43:00.001-05:00

We won the stage and came in 3rd in overall GC!

Dinner at PF Changs

2008-07-26T20:50:00.001-05:00

The reward for a hard days ride. We checked out tomorrow's course in the car. It looks like it will be challenging. Now, to dinner.

8th place in the Crit.

2008-07-26T18:03:00.001-05:00

6th over all, 44 seconds off the lead. The road race is tomorrow.

6th place in B group.

2008-07-26T13:31:00.001-05:00

15:30 in 6th place. Something like 10 seconds separates 6 teams. The crit. Starts at 2:30 pm.

Ready to Start - Sat. 7/26

2008-07-26T11:54:00.002-05:00

Getting our race instructions. The time trial will start in 45 minutes.

Dinner at Cracker Barrel

2008-07-21T18:15:00.001-05:00

On my way to Toronto, I'm stopping for dinner at Cracker Barrel in Buffalo Ny

Tuesday night (7/15) tandem ride

2008-07-17T18:59:00.002-05:00

Nathan & I had a fantastic 38 mile ride in Portland Wheelmen Tour Club's Tualatin Tuesday night ride. We led the ride for a good bit of the flats and finished in the middle of the front group on the climb (not bad for a tandem). While not as difficult as some of the rides we do on Tuesday night, the grade does tip into double digits at several spots. It was pretty hot and we both ran out of water before the end. I think the picture was taken while we were cruising on Hwy 219 near Scholls. We are training for the tandem race in Eugene at the end of the month.

Lilies

2008-07-13T21:12:00.002-05:00

These beautiful lilies are a wonderful gift from Rosie's parents, even though they left this earth years ago. Many years back, Rosie's father, Ray, collected these bulbs and grew them in her folks yard in North Carolina. After her father died her mother, Carlene, continued to nurture the flowers. Then, a few years before her own death she gave a few bulbs to Rosie to plant in our yard in Oregon. My, those bulbs produce! It seems each year there are more flowers. I love to look at them and smell their fragrance and think of two really wonderful people. Thank you Ray & Carlene.

Tandem ride with Nathan

2008-07-12T19:39:00.002-05:00

Nathan and I had a great training ride on the tandem. We are pictured here on the Canby Ferry on our way out. We are preparing for a tandem race at the end of the month. We rode about 86 miles today starting at West Linn and riding to Silverton and even a bit further on towards the Silver Creek Falls before turning around and coming home. Fortunately, we got a fairly early start because it was a little over 90°F when we finished. As you can tell, not a cloud in the sky. Lots of cyclists were out, we even saw other tandems. We are wearing our jerseys from last year's "Death Ride."

July 4th

2008-07-04T22:16:00.001-05:00

Waiting for the fireworks to start in Canby. We went to the movie Wall E too.

Family Picnic

2008-07-03T18:07:00.001-05:00

A beautiful day for a family picnic.

Scholls Oregon

2008-06-28T17:57:00.004-05:00

Nathan Davis & I took a 43 mile ride this afternoon on the tandem in the 97°F (note, the official high was 102°F, my bike computers read well in excess of 100°F, but I didn't want to exaggerate!) plus heat. We took a rest stop at the cute cafe in Scholls, Oregon. Schools is just the intersection of Hwy 219 and Hwy 210 out in the middle of no where. This cafe in a 104 year old building was so interesting. The owner was very nice. Nathan and I consumed lots of Coke and an Italian drink, Bibicafee (carbonated sweet coffee). All combined it made for a wonderful stop. I have ridden by this spot many times on our Tuesday night rides. However, on those rides I go flying by, not realizing what was there all the time. Hum... I guess life is that way too. The "races" are fun, but it is nice to also stop and "smell the roses" sometimes too.

Ride to work - rotated!

2008-06-27T23:44:00.002-05:00

A beautiful sunset

2008-06-27T23:00:00.001-05:00

Ride into work

2008-06-27T11:45:00.001-05:00

This is my first day to ride into work in some time. It was a beautiful ride in. It is supposed to get pretty hot today though. I'm happy to be able to ride into work. The jersey is a special gift from a friend.

Cannon Beach

2008-06-23T21:31:00.001-05:00

Cannon Beach from 2nd street.

Lunch at Left Coast Siesta

2008-06-23T14:58:00.001-05:00

This is one of the funky places in Manzanita.

Dinner at the usual spot

2008-06-22T20:05:00.001-05:00

We almost always have pizza when we first arrive.

Manzanita Beach

2008-06-22T18:34:00.001-05:00

Out for a ride to Estacada

2008-06-21T15:51:00.001-05:00

This is the farmers market in estacada. I'll ride a little less than 50 miles today.

Summer - maybe it is finially here in Oregon

2008-06-20T14:46:00.002-05:00

Blue sky, bright sunshine, maybe summer really is going to come to Oregon. It is a great day because my bride returned home last night from visiting family in North Carolina. Three humans and four cats are VERY happy to have Rosie back home.

Tuesday night romp on the tandem

2008-06-17T22:09:00.003-05:00

39 miles in 1 hour 44 min. on a relatively 'flat' course. A fun ride with Nathan on the back. This was one of the Portland Wheelmen's Tuesday night rides. We are sporting our "cool" Death Ride 5 Pass Finisher jerseys from last year. I got the iBike working on the tandem. It was fun to watch our power data during the ride. Tandems rock!

Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:21:00.002-05:00

Today I had lunch at my Uncle Clint Thomas' home. We celebrated Father's Day and his 84th birthday. My Uncle Clint and Aunt Lucille (and their family) are the only family that we have in the Northwest, so it is always special to be with them. Since my father passed away, Uncle Clint is a cherished connection to that side of my family.

I have been blessed by my daughters with wonderful cards today. My youngest daughter, Hannah, soon to be 18, wrote an incredible blog for me, My-Papa.

I am a very bless man.

Finished!

2008-06-14T16:03:00.002-05:00

This is why they call it the Strawberry Century. The last 20 miles were tough with head/cross winds. 71.8 miles, 3 hrs. 58 min, 18 mph. Not bad for an 'ol man and a solo effort (just a few miles with one other guy). A beautiful ride.

Brownsville Oregon

2008-06-14T14:13:00.001-05:00

50 miles, still 18.8 mph average, mostly solo.

Food stop near Foster Res.

2008-06-14T12:27:00.001-05:00

25 miles in, averaging 18.8 mph, feeling good.

On the way with a beautiful day

2008-06-14T11:42:00.001-05:00

Strawberry century

2008-06-14T10:17:00.001-05:00

Registration area for the Strawberry Centuy. I'm going to do the 70 mile loop.

Mile high in Denver

2008-06-11T20:44:00.001-05:00

In Denver on our way to Portland.

On board!

2008-06-11T16:04:00.001-05:00

Pdx here we come!

Billy Graham Library

2008-06-11T15:44:00.001-05:00

The girls and I visited the Billy Graham Library. It was awesome and very inspiring. It motivates you to serve God with all of your strength. We are now ready to fly home.

Lunch with my girls.

2008-06-11T11:41:00.001-05:00

Lunch at Olive Garden on our way to the Charlotte airport.

Finished!

2008-06-09T14:15:00.003-05:00

8 hrs. 7 min. Actually, my official time was 8 hrs. 21 min., but we had a new addition to the ride, a 14 min. delay due to road paving! The heat was fierce. I think a lot more people than normal dropped out. A fair amount slower than last year, but I think that is probably due to the heat.

Marion in under 4 hrs.

2008-06-09T09:30:00.001-05:00

74 miles down, 28 to go. In the 90's °F.

Ready to start

2008-06-09T05:25:00.002-05:00

Start at 6:30 am. Already hot and humid.

The end of an era.

2008-06-08T21:47:00.003-05:00

I registered for Mt. Mitchell this evening. This picture is of me & John Bryan. John was part of the small group that started The Assault on Mt. Mitchell 33 years ago and has been the ride director all along. Age and health have caught up to John and this is the last year that he will be the ride director. John has known me over the years as the crazy guy who moved to Oregon, but keeps coming back for more. This will be my 23rd Assault on Mt. Mitchell. John, thanks and I wish you the very best in the future.

DeeAnne, Alyssa and Braedon

2008-06-07T14:17:00.001-05:00

A fun visit from my niece and her family.

Warm up ride for Mitchel

2008-06-07T11:46:00.002-05:00

A real warm up for me. It is in the mid 90's at my sister-in-law's in Weaverville, NC. Mt. Mitchell is on Monday. My checkout ride went well. The bike made it fine and is running well.

Cracker Barrel - Asheville NC

2008-06-06T20:47:00.002-05:00

Oh, it is so good to be at Cracker Barrell with my family. We had a great time at Ghost Mtn. and Cherokee.