McQ's FAVORITE PHOTOS OF '09

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite photos 'n' memories from 2009.

Here's a primo campsite at the foot of Sahale Glacier in the middle of the North Cascades. Jim Robbins (now of Maine, dammit) and I went on an awesome hike there last August. To get there, head to Cascade Pass and just keep going. Up and up and up ...

The lovely Jen McQuaide snapped this photo just after I finished the Padden Mountain Bike duathlon. Perfect composition: she managed to get Team Unattacked's Titanium Cowboy and Mellow Johnny in there as well. (Not to mention my fringed cowboy shirt.)

John Clark (Mellow Johnny) rides the Little Summit Trail near the top of Mount Constitution on Orcas Island.

 

Cool shot taken by Baker McQuaide at the Bellingham Skatepark.

Some really cool guy racing the Padden Mountain Pedal just moments before his dang chain busted. Photo by http://www.adamleahyphotography.com/.

Scott "Titanium Cowboy" Young joined the 29er ranks this past year and, to noone's surprise, proved to be a fat-tire stud right off the bat.

Swans near sunset in the Skagit Valley.

 

Chiropractor nice guy Steve Noble ripping up a descent on Lower Bob's up at Galby, as the kids call it.

And lastly, the McQ family wishin' y'all a Happy 'n' Healty 2010!

EARLY SEASON SNOWBOARDING

Headed up to the Mount Baker Ski Area to give snowboarding another shot. 'Til now we hadn't quite dialed it in yet as a family. I board, Jen boards, and Baker liked to think of himself as a snowboarder but betwixt you and me, he'd not quite gotten there yet. Still way too frustrating for him. Until ... yesterday!!!

Great time had by all--that's Bake in the lower right, Jen way up in the upper left, me behind the camera, Mount Shuksan livin' large there in the middle. Bake's a fifth grader (fifth graders ski and board free at Mount Baker), almost 11, and I think now has the strength and patience needed. Hung out mostly on Chair 7 with some blue run forays off Chair 8 and Chair 5. Super cool, super fun, super cold.

Below is the view just off Chair 5.

And this is the Nooksack Ridge, also in view from up there.

 

Today, the Clark Man, Glenn Gervais and I were going to ride to the top of Lookout Mountain just beyond Galbraith, but when I woke to 30-degree temps and 30-plus mph winds--and a high wind advisory for the next 24 hours--I wimped out with nary a second thought. The Assaulting Alder incident is still less than a month ago and I'm real tentative right now about heading back into the woods when it's windy out.

AREA MAN JOINS CULT OF ANNOYING 29er RIGID FORK SINGLE-SPEEDERS

Bellingham's Mike McQuaide took delivery yesterday on a Redline Monocog Flight 29er. (Not sure what to make of the cowboy hat or the guitar.) As he likes to tell people--even people who aren't the least bit interested in this sort of thing--it's a single-speed with a rigid fork. (Good for you, Mike. You think you're so special.)

Later that same day, McQuaide commenced riding said bike up at Galbraith with John Clark and Steve Vanderstaay nearly blowing a gasket, busting a gut, and blowing out his quads out rassling the darn thing to the top of the Towers. But McQuaide, who resembles a much better-looking and much younger-looking Johnny Depp, got the job done.

"This thing is either going to kill me or make me strong as a horse," he said later. (He then repeated that sentiment several times because he thought no one had heard him the first few times. They heard him; they just weren't interested. Could you blame them?)

In other news, area man's son--also known as area son (and as Baker)--returned to the skatepark, dropping in several times at the bowl, something he hasn't done for maybe a year-and-a-half now.

"I don't know why, but it all came back to me somehow," area boy is reported as saying.

Great to see his hawk pose again. 

AREA MAN BUYS BOY FIRST ROAD BIKE

TOUR OF CALIFORNIA PHOTOS!

Just got back from a fun-filled trip to California that included three stages of the Amgen Tour of California, trips to Disneyland and Legoland, as well as dinner mit me brother Chris and his lovely family including wife Dee (Happy B-day!) and daughter McKinley. Added bonus: caught up with high school pal Mike D'Annucci whom we hooked up with at stage 7 in Pasadena. Speaking of which, above, please check out the great shot Jen took of the breakaway group, including big George Hincapie on the first of five circuits around the Rose Bowl. Below, Lance Armstrong guts his way through the Solvang time trial held the day before in Solvang. He must be famous or something; we noticed a lot of people cheering for him throughout the three days.

About 10 minutes after we arrived in Solvang, we found Mark Cavendish (who'd won the tour's previous two stages) cooling down after the time trial. He's the man of the moment in professional cycling right now and was gracious enough to give Baker his autograph.
Below, that's me with the giddy grin behind Tom Boonen who'd just emerged from the anti-doping bus where he'd had to make a contribution, as it were.
Below, Jen scores another great shot: this one of the Astana machine on a minor bump in Pasadena. Chris Horner is at the far left, Levi in yellow, and Lance at the far right in the yellow helmet.

GALBRAITH MOUNTAIN TOWERS '09

Bake and I commenced a joint MLK-Inauguration Day celebration by mountain biking to the top of Galbraith Mountain for the first time together in '09. Weather, for about the fifth day in a row now, was just about perfect--not a cloud in the sky for seemingly hundreds of miles. Contrast this with below posts detailing the month of shite weather we not so much enjoyed as endured. Bake was, as per usual, awesomely strong. (Is awesomely a word? If so, should it be?) And on the way down--Wonderland (still too much snow to ride), Mullet, Cheech and Chong, Meth Lab--picked all the best lines making my tentative, old-man descent a breeze.

Above, Baker and Baker. Below, Baker and what's-his-face. Below that, Baker and the last, evil stretch to the Towers. Man, that's steep!

Because no one has been clamoring to know, here are my tentative race-type plans for the first part of '09. At the end of March, John Clark and I are road-tripping down to Northern California for the Boggs IV 8-Hour Endurance Mountain Bike Race. (www.bikemonkey.net/?page_id=57) I actually don't know a whole lot about it, 'cept that it's eight hours long. The other thing I know is that I've never done a mountain bike race before so there's that. I'm also doing the Test of Metal mountain bike race in Squamish on June 20 (www.testofmetal.com/) and in between those two, I'll probably do the Mount Constitution Hill Climb on Orcas Island (www.islandathleticevents.com/). They've moved the date of this last one to May 17 so that it no longer conflicts with Ski to Sea, also known as Bellingham's World Championships. (Or much ado about nothing, one of the two.)

For inspiration, interest's sake, and fun, I'm also working with a coach, Daryl Smith, who coaches triathlon stud Damian Hill and MTBer Brett Bauer. Three months ago, Bauer successfully completed the La Ruta mountain bike stage race, often referred to as the toughest race in the world. (He coaches ultra-cool Glenn Gervais too, who's training for Ironman Coeur D'Alene.) Daryl's a great guy; here's his website: www.advantagemultisport.com

Also, I'm registered for Ironman Canada at the end of August but hmm, I'm not sure about that one. I've been having so much fun riding this 29er, I just can't see myself putting in the required pool time. But I've still got a while to decide.

MORE MTB

Chris Behee's Galbraith map shows 70 different named trails and Bake's and my goal is to ride them all. Saturday we added eight--Dan's, The Sh*t, Pick Up Sticks (Purple Heart), B.S., Reflux, Meat Grinder, Art's Trail and Old Issues--bringing our total to 54, most of which we've done in the past month. Overall, our Galbraith favorites so far are Mullet, SST, 911, Cheech and Chong's Wild Ride, Wonderland, and Upper and Lower Bob's. Sunday, John Clark and I went on a semi-epic. Out the Interurban, up Cleator, down the Chinscraper, up and down to Lost Lake, then back to town through Arroyo Park. Above, what's with Clark's rock star sneer? Who does he think he is--Kurt Cobain?

MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAINING CAMP

After today's Galbraith Mountain ride, Bake and I took out the Galbraith map and counted up how many different trails we've ridden up there. The answer? Forty-six. We couldn't believe it. If someone had asked me I'd have said, "I don't know, 10 or 12." But 46? Crazy. All of them in the past two months, and probably 30 in the last three days in which we've ridden to the Towers twice, done Mullet three times, as well as Evo, Cheech and Chong, 911, Not Shawn's and a bunch of others. Bake had four days off from school and though the forecast called for rain and clouds, much of it didn't materialize so we turned it into a mountain bike training camp, as it were. Super fun.

Backing up, on Saturday, the day before Bake and I started our camp, I rode to the Towers with Glenn Gervais and Brian Wheeler, whom I met for the first time. (Real nice guy.) We rode to the Towers pedaling up trails I've previously only ridden down--Keystone, Naughty Nellie, Wonderland, etc. That was a super ride too, the last hour of which we enjoyed in pouring rain.

Kinda funny: somewhere on Wonderland, I heard Brian just behind me say, "Wo! Did you see that?" No, I didn't. Apparently, as I was riding a small bird landed on the trail just behind my front wheel but in front of my back wheel. (A moving space of about 18 inches.) I rode over its tail feathers just before the bird safely darted away, it leaving a few of its feathers on the trail. Both bird and rider are now resting comfortably.

MORE GALBRAITH PHOTOS, VIDEO

ANNOYING DAD POSTS YET ANOTHER VIDEO OF MOUNTAIN-BIKING SON

Baker rips up Galbraith's Cedar Dust Trail.

METHOW MOUNTAIN BIKING

The boy Baker and I headed east earlier this week--Winthrop, to be exact. Mountain biking and camping were on the agenda and well ... after that three-hour drive and then pedaling our bikes around for a few hours, then trying to figure out to microwave our dinner at our campsite, we figured one out of two ain't bad. So we stayed at a motel, the Winthrop Inn. (Truth be told, the dad finds camping to be a bit of a hassle 'lest there're others around to help take care of those hassles. Plus, he'd much rather sleep in a bed.)

On the way over we stopped at the Washington Pass Overlook. That's Liberty Bell. I've climbed South Early Winter Spire, the farthest nubbin there on the left, which I never cease to tell people in the hopes that they'll be impressed. (If you've climbed it, you know that you approach it from the other side where it's not nearly so burly.)

Monday afternoon, we mountain biked from the Chickadee Trailhead up by Sun Mountain Lodge where all the rich folks get to stay. We also had the unique opportunity to find out just what you do when the derailleur snaps off the nine-year-old's bike. You ... anyone? ... that's right, you carry the bike yourself and have your son ride yours. (That's Bake riding me K2 Lithium.)

Day two, after dropping Bake's bike at Methow Cycle and Sport, we headed east, up over Loup Loup Pass to Omak because there's a skateboard park there. Kinda. Pretty run down. Pretty depressing. Pretty much wanted to get the heck out of Omak almost as soon as we got there. But hey, it killed a few hours and Loup Loup is definitely something I shall return and ride someday. Perhaps soon. (The Methow's Fall Bike Festival www.mvsta.com/summer/bikefest.html?)

Back at our Methow motel, Bake swam ... ... then we picked up his bike--now with a new derailleur--and headed back up to Chickadee. Pedaled 'round Beaver Pond then climbed to Sun Mountain Lodge from where we enjoyed a screamin' descent back down. The boy's new derailleur worked like a charm.

Back to B'ham this afternoon. A great trip!

ARTIST POINT ABOUT TO OPEN

Above, Bake and I sumo wrestling. (No explanation needed.)
On Saturday, I made it to Artist Point for the first time this year. The road is clear, not yet for cars, but good enough for me and the dozens of walkers I saw taking advantage of the stunning weather we've been having lately. (I assume the road will be clear for cars by next weekend, about a week earlier than last year. Kinda surprising given this rainy, damp spring and Juneuary we whined about just weeks ago.)

Below see bulldozer poised to doze some of Artist Point's 10-foot snowpiles. It was important to get in some big mountain climbing; RAMROD--Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day--beckons in little more than two weeks.Our lovely sis Kath was here for a visit and of course we took her up the Mount Baker Highway. (Not on a bike, mind you; this photo is about five days previous.) It was a wonderful visit; as usual, way too short, but long enough for her to get hooked on the Tour de France and "Deadliest Catch," and also to look at a few neighborhoods if she decides to relocate out here.
The boy Baker--he of skateboarding fame--and I have been riding lots to Galbraith and the back trails at Padden.
Here he descends Padden ...
... and here he finishes off climbing the Wall at Galbraith which, if you can climb that, you can pretty much climb anything there. Good job, boyo!

JUNEUARY NO MORE

Summer came to Bellingham this weekend and this time it seems like it's here to stay. John Clark, America's Sweetheart, and I took advantage and headed up the Mount Baker Highway as far as it's plowed, just past the upper ski lodge. (See video above.) It was John's first time up with his compact crank, which I ask him about, and as I pull ahead I make some unintelligable comment about how he better get used to this view.

Here, the boy Baker flies high at the Burlington Skatepark, about 25 minutes south of B'ham. Nice blue sky, huh? We've had it for a few days now and I think we've got two more coming. Last week, the McQuaides welcomed a new addition to the family: a Specialized Tarmac Pro delivered via craigslist. That's me (the proud papa) below trying to nudge John out of the photo opp. Up at the ski area, we went around the gate and kept riding for as far as we could. As you can see the snow banks are still pretty high. Great day. Great ride. About 45 miles with 4,400 feet climbing. Felt pretty darn hot, actually, which isn't too common out these parts. We saw many riders just heading up as we were finishing and we didn't envy them at all.

It won't be our last time up. We've got RAMROD in about a month so we've got to get some big mountain mileage in our legs.

SUNNY SUNDAY

Sunday was Bake's birthday. After our neighborhood birthday walk, as seen above, (not that it's a tradition or anything, it was just sunny for the first time in a while; though it does seem like a nice tradition, dunnit?), we headed north to Vancouver. That's where the Pink Pearl (www.pinkpearl.com/) is, Bake's favorite restaurant. It's a vast Chinese place with dim sum that's out of this, or any other world.
The Pink Pearl happens to be on Hastings Street, definitely the scariest, skankiest street I've ever been on in my life. Nothing but junkies, junkies, and more junkies! Last November, we stumbled upon it on our way to the Pink Pearl from Chinatown and had the holy bejesus scared out of us. See my November archives for my write-up of that thrilling experience. (Though I didn't include the bit about the ancient, scraggly junkie with the upset tummy who pulled down his pants and well, I'll leave that to your imagination ...)

Luckily, the Pink Pearl is not on the real, real bad section of Hastings. Below, please take note of me pretending to vomit from having mainlined too much H. (I understand that Vancouver officials are pretty freaked about the impression that Hastings and its environs will give to visitors during the coming 2010 Winter Olympics. No Doubt.)All righty. Enough about that. Sunday was also Fanatik team picture day, but of course I wasn't there. But here they are anyway: