Author: Andy

Saturday Michelle and I headed up north to Yakima to raft the Tieton river with family (including my surrogate brother Brent) and visit with other family.

This was Michelle’s first rafting trip, and currently the Tieton is swelling with water that is being released from Rimrock dam to make room for this winter’s water. I’d rafted the Tieton twice before with the Manfredis, but this was the first time I’ve ever been in a paddle raft.

My mom won the tickets on the radio. I’m not sure how or when, but it was quite a score. Osprey, the guide company even had wet suits for us to use, which was an improvement over long underwear and rain pants.

The five of us shared one of the smaller play boats and our guide apparently though us the adventurous and responsive type because we got a great ride. The difference between this trip and previous was that I’m used to safely avoiding obstacles, and our guide (since it was his boat), playfully spun off a few rocks, and dipped us into a hole.

The pictures are great – and we got them from Osprey. Sadly, the one missing picture is the failed “Bow & Arrow” affair. You see – our guide instructed the paddlers on the left to hook their paddles onto a low-hanging cable as we passed under it. The idea was that they would hold on as long as possible and then let go – shooting the paddles back at the other rafts. But he didn’t tell us that. And, I missed the part about the people on the left doing it, so I stood up and hooked the cable too, and then didn’t know what to do so I held on as best I could and was pulled out of the boat, (Canoers aren’t supposed to ever let go of their paddle) pulling Brent into the water with me.

It was hilarious, and the water was fairly shallow and really quite warm, so we drifted a bit and go back into the raft to the cheers of the other boats in our flotilla. I suppose I should be more embarrassed, but it was fun, and the water was nice.

The ride lasted roughly two hours and was followed by a satisfying lunch. People were smiling knowingly at me. “There goes the guy who didn’t listen to his guide, then didn’t let go.” Yeah, well it was fun and I don’t regret it. I just hope Brent didn’t mind going for the ride with me.

Congratulations to Meghan and Troy on a wonderful wedding and best wishes to them in the coming years. We love you both and hope the honeymoon goes well. If you can travel together, there’s little you can’t do.

The wedding itself was marvelous. Meghan was glowing and Troy was calm and confident. If you don’t believe me, look at the pictures.

Traffic on Broadway yesterday largely consisted of large trucks and delivery vans. Most were diesel burning beasts that are exempt from DEQ emission standards. The fumes and exhaust were nasty and you could feel the particulate at times, and the pace going up Broadway ensured that you were always paired with a van, truck, or bus for most of the trip.

The effects of the exhaust and exertion did give me an idea though. A bicycle respirator! No – not those cumbersome full-face things, or even the avian-flu-nurse-like mask – something that could mount on the handlebars and allow you to use it only when you needed it – only when you were in a thick cloud of nastiness.

Today is the start of the BTA’s Bike Commute Challenge. The goal is to encourage people to ride their bike to work, and especially to encourage new riders to try it out. Last year I rode 17 days for the month of September and was quite pleased. This year I don’t expect as much given the change in distance. Still, if you want to ride to work, give it a shot. It feels good, and you get an immense sense of satisfaction when you pop a cold one when you get home. Oh, there’s some smugness that comes with it too, and the sense of smugness inflates at the same rate as gas prices.

Go – Ride!

Yesterday I started working as the Student Help Desk Coordinator, a position that Noah left so he could go expat. I’m jealous of his adventure, but for some reason I’m also excited about taking this job. Oddly enough, I researched the position 3 years ago to see if a student help desk at a community college was even feasible. Well, there were only 5 or so at the time, and with varying degrees of success. When we created the job description and posted it, my boss encouraged me to apply for it. I wasn’t that interested and declined. I had a good thing going.

Three years later – what’s different? Well, not much. In fact, I had planned on taking more classes at PSU so the increased responsibility was an odd choice. My decision to take the position was based on the advice of a friend who, like me, is not cut from management cloth. Chris said that I had to do it, and that even if I hated it, I’d learn a ton and gain invaluable experience. Ok.

Ok – I can handle that. Kind of odd how full circle I’ve come. I’ll have to write my old managers at WWU and tell them. This is exactly what I had planned on doing with my degree in Geography. At least I enjoy the work.

For some reason, Michelle signed herself up for the Portland to Coast team at work. She also signed me up. I figured it’d be a walk in the park, figuratively. Now, 36 sleepless hours later, having walked, shuttled, and water-boy’ed for the team, I’m not sure how I’m going to stand back up.

I felt pretty good until about an hour ago, when for some reason I dozed off while reading. I awoke a short time later with afternoon nap headache, and need to shake it before dinner with the in-laws.

My two walking legs were pretty tough. The first was leg 15, a 7.4 mile stretch along the lovely and serene Highway 30. I wasn’t at the hand-off in time because I didn’t change from driving to walking mode quickly enough and sprinted from the car to meet Michelle, who made quick work of the previous leg. So I started my leg without stretching or a bathroom break. Actually, the large trucks did create a nice breeze as they blew by me in the heat. I felt pretty good about the leg – I averaged 4.82 mph and passed 6 people and was only passed by 2.

Once our team finished our first half, we crashed at a small campground for a couple hours. Those in the group who had done the race before took the opportunity to actually sleep. I showered and read. Michelle read and we complained about our blisters together before mole-skinning up.

The second half was a little easier – Michelle led off with a ~ 4 mile leg in the dark. The temperature had dropped considerably and the Natal area was quite lovely in the transition from evening to dusk and finally into darkness. It’s nice to see stars, but as Michelle put it – looking at them messes up your stride.

My second leg was 29, a 4 mile climb over a summit then 2 miles back down towards the coast. The temperature was perfect, it was dark, and I kicked ass. I passed 16 people and was only passed by 2 walkers (and 2 runners, but they don’t count) just as I was reaching the summit. They must have been freakin’ animals because was keeping a 4.6 mph pace, which I am reminded of each time I move. It was a total buzz and easily kept me going through the last of our team’s legs and down to Seaside, where we crashed in a parking lot until we were kicked out. Several people had reported a guy in a sleeping bag in the lot and thought he might be a vagrant. Nope, just an attorney.

When the second half of our team came in just after 1, I was pleased to find we’d managed to finish ahead of the only team I recognized from our starting position and had thus become my nemesis. I don’t think anyone on the team cared, but we’d been behind them since the first leg, and I blew by them on the hill climb. It was satisfying to pass the 50+ year old woman.

Seriously – walking with all these people was very humbling. I was clearly an amateur compared to most of these people, and having someone your grandparents’ age blast by you is a completely new way of getting schooled. It was fun too, and my team, may they all get some real sleep tonight, was awesome and really trucked. I’m already considering doing it next year – but that might be the sheer exhaustion talking.