Pictoral year in review

Holiday Times

During the holiday time Mike & I explored the whole Santos trail system and noted all the unique things bordering the trails. This car reminded him of his first car.. well not really.


We are in the midst of getting a metal roof. Our original roof lasted 19 years and this style is something Bern has wanted for a long time.




We enjoyed getting to spend time with Mike & Cayce and other family and friends during the past two weeks. Good conversation food and activities made for good memories.




The boys had a good time opening presents and hanging out together. It was fun times and laughter as they interacted.



Here is a video of Mike riding an elevated ramp at Santos. I told him risk reward factor was not worth me doing it.

Motrcycle trip Thursday 12/27 & 12/28

Got in a short timewise (2 days /1 night) but long in miles 723 with some good friends this week. We left early Thursdday morning and heading first to the Front Porch in Dunnellon for some breakfast. Then we headed north on all backroads to south Georgia. Once north and east of Valdosta we headed west through Thomasville and then south once well west of Talahassee. We went all the wat to the Gulf of Mexico staying at Panacea, FL for the night.

The first day we had 4 of us ... Me on the FZ6 and another Mike on an FZ1 We also had Jim & Larry on Harley's. The first day we covererd 376 miles... after checking into the Condo we headed to Hook Wreck Henry's for some Oysters. There we were met by Allen and Steve (also on Harley's). We had a GREAT seafood dinner at Angelo's.

The next morning we were treated to a nice sunrise. We headed West along the Gulf. We had breakfast at a little lace called 2 Al's then headed further west ultimately looping north then east. We made it to Steinhatchie for a late lunch before heading home. The second day we covered 347 miles.

Here is a video along the coast on Friday AM.


Here are the pics:

Mountain Biking /Skiing / and time with Michael

Derek went on a ski trip this week with Alethia (his church youth group). They went up on Wednesday and came home yesterday, giving him two full days and evenings to ski. They went to Winter Place in Beckley, West Virginia.


This picture is not indicative of the temperature it is as his Grandfather would say demonstrating he has not quite reached the top of Fool's Hill. Not sure if it was a dare or what but he and another boy skied down with no shirts. Derek made it without falling the other boy was not so lucky. He apparently had someone carry his Jacket down -- meaning at least he did not ride the lift up like this.



Michael and I covered over 40 miles in the woods in two days of riding. It was nice to ride with him as he rides a very similar style to myself. Not that... that should surprise you as I taught him from a pretty young age how to mountain bike.

When he was young I used to bribe him with nickles. Telling him if you can make it over an obstacle without touching your feet to the ground (dabbing) I will give you a nickle. It took me a while to realize he was playing me by acting nervous.

Now I have to plead with him not to do certain obstacles because they are too scary for me to watch. This led to some interesting business discussions while riding we talked about the "cost-benefit" principle.

As we ride we try to take time time to both notice and enjoy some of the sights. I am not sure of the story behind this mask but it matched Michaels Greatful dead jersey so we stopped for a photo.


Staying in line with the photo though the bike frame I did much of this summers cross country ride here is a banana spider and her web shot through Mike's Specialized S Works Epic frame

A short video showing a loopy section of a trail called John Brown at Santos


Finally a picture of Michael coming out of a cave that boarders the trail called Cowbone. I am not sure how deep it goes but it is deep.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas is coming and so is some time off

As of today we are 10 days from Christmas. I am done saying Happy Holidays.... dog gone it it is CHRISTmas and that is how I am greeting people this year no more saying Happy Holidays for me. I am done seeing clients for the year.. though I will still return calls and work a bit at home doing some planning for clients. I will also take some time to enjoy the season.

This week a client of mine sent me a cool snowman... one on a bicycle. She also gave a nice one to Bernice-- thanks to Mary & Craig Ehle. She is the niece of "Mean Betty Green" the math teacher from Knox

We got the tree up in the past week and we had 40+ people over yesterday a Christmas Open House. It went very well. This year we introduced Cayce to the clients and she did a great job of chatting with them and helping the event to go well. With Derek Michael Cayce Bernice, Susan (my assistant) and I pitching in we were all able to enjoy the
party.
It will be nice to have the kids at home for at least part of the time during the Holidays. Mike has to work his job at Sonny's but will be home a good part of the time.


Today the training continues for the Ididaride. There are now 34 days till the event. Today my neighbor John and I headed to the Landbridge.I was a 20+ mile ride. We are blessed with a really cool Trail system just 3 miles from our door.


It is part of the Cross Florida Greenway. We can acutally ride about 20 miles of singletrack one way from the trailhead.
Today was warm almost 80 degrees and the dirt was flying and we had a blast.






The patch is one I wear on my Harley vest in honor of my friend Jack Hennessy. Jack died a little over 2 years ago. I miss him at this time of year as we always spent Christmas morning together.

Basketball and Meetings with friends

It was a busy week for Derek and his basketball team. They had three games the first one first was an away game in Gainesville against Eastside (one of the best teams they will play). They also had two games at home. Their record improved to 6 wins and no losses. if you are wondering where the pictures of the basketball are... I am the official scorekeeper so I am writing in the book non stop during the game-- keeping track of who scores what, who had how many fouls and how many time outs are left.

I did fit in 2 half days and one whole day of meetings with friends of mine. Each year we meet someplace and spend several days bouncing ideas and strategies for our respective practices. The main topics we covered this time were portfolio profit targets, Exchange traded funds, and integrating Michael and ultimately Derek into my practice.


Wes is from Tallahassee. We have been friends for many years. Johnny (pictured with Wes) is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. We actually spent a night in Idaho Falls on our cross country bicycle trip this Summer. We were treated to a feast put together by Johnny and his wife Michelle.

Dave is from Michigan. He is the comic and the analytic in the group. An interesting combination. We met while we all used to do consulting for American Express in Minneapolis. We laugh alot and are not shy to push the limits - no idea is scoffed at or accepted without careful bantering of the pros and cons

Though this weeks post is not full of fabulous pictures it gives you a peek into some close friends who make the fabric of life stronger. We have known each other for 8 or nine years and have pushed each other, challenged each other and all become better at meeting our clients needs as a result of this friendship.

Monkeys, Wild Boar, and Reflection

This week was an excellent week at the office. I was able to get in 3 nice mountain bike rides and one on the road so the training for the Ididaride event in January is on track.

On Friday Bernice and I kayaked the Silver River. We were on the river early, it was like a trip back in time. The river is a glimpse at the way Florida was years ago. We were the first up the river and were treated to a rare glimpse of the wild pigs that roam the area.

We saw monkeys that are rumored to have been left behind from the Tarzan movies filmed here years ago. They put on a good show leaping from tree to tree, wrestling and being curious. They are not native to the area but for many years have had river travelers looking for glimpses of them in the trees.

As we silently traveled upstream we cruised for a while within about 15 yards of an 8 foot gator making its way upstream. We peacefully coexisted side by side for a few minutes respectfully enjoying his beauty.

We saw a boat on the river that would have looked at home in a Vietnam port...no big story about it it just looked odd on this river.

It was enjoyable to take in the colors and sights as we glided within feet of turtles, birds, and plant life that defies words painting the landscape with splashes of color among the many shades of green

Click on the arrow to get a feel of the river


I got news a good friend of mine, Darrell, from California was involved in a car bike collision on the day before Thanksgiving. He was stuck by a car that cut in front of him. And thanks to great bike handling he is alive. He was able to avoid a high impact crash and received a glancing blow which resulted in a compound fracture of his lower left leg. He had surgery and is healing now with a titanium rod in place. I would ask that you pray for a quick and full recovery for him. He is pictured on the left below.

We are truly blessed.... as I pause to give thanks for things we sometimes take for granted: Life, bountiful provision, family, a network of friends around the country and so many other things. Thank you to God for all our blessings

Thanksgiving Week

It was a great week full of lots of good stuff. Started out with a bunch of appointments at work but since I like all my clients it is fun to work. Once Thursday got here it was raining; this is the first time in years it rained on Thanksgiving. It was perfect because this year we only had 17 people for dinner instead of the usual 25- 30+. So other than missing the traditional morning bike ride the day went well.
We had a visitor from Bristol England join us, his name is Paul and he just finished a ride from Canada to Mexico then across the country. (He is featured in this weeks video)


On Friday Michael, Paul and I paddled up the Silver River. It is a 4-5 mile upstream paddle with plenty of wildlife along the way. We saw plenty of Gators as we enjoyed a gorgeous day.



Friday night we got 4 tickets given to us for the Florida/ FSU basketball game. Saturday AM I met some friends for breakfast and 200+ motorcycle ride towards Daytona.


FLORIDA 45 Florida State 12
It is rumored that Tim Tebow Stiff Armed this Car

Hiking and Mountain biking

This week was a good one- a full week of work with good rides on Monday and Wednesday from 4:15 till dark. Then Friday it was too cold to ride so we took Pepper and heading to the woods for a nice hike. We ended up walking about 6 miles through Marshall Swamp.

Pepper loved running thru the woods... she does a great job off lead and still loves to run. She stays close but runs and enjoys the woods.

Along the way we had some fun on downed trees and such. By the two pictures you can see the one of us was not sure this was a good idea.



Today(Saturday) I went for a 30 mile off road ride with a friend John Borowski. He is 14 years younger so he causes me to work hard. We covered the 30 miles at an average speed of 11.7 mph. I am training fo ra 50 mile off road endurance event on January 19th.


IDIDARIDE XIV
January 19, 2008
White Springs, Florida
IDIDARIDE XIV is a bicycle challenge ride. It is an off-road endurance ride through woodlands along the Suwannee River.

Something new this week VIDEO. Click on the arrow in the pic below and watch a brief portion of the ride.