Holiday Highlights

1. Just spending quality time with Becki, Meg, and Luke has been great. One of the main reasons I wanted to be a teacher was to be off around the holidays and of course the summer with the family.
2. Spending Christmas day with the Wendler family at our home. I bought my house from my grandmother. She bought it new in the 1950's so it is a special place to everyone. My dad even lived here as a kid and I spent many a Christmas day in this house as a child. I feel like it makes everyone happy to be in the house were they grew up and spent so many previous holidays.
3. Going out with some old friends and one new one to the Ye Old. The Dogg and I have been going out on a regular basis to get "beefs" and hang out. This time my brother and neighbor went with us. The beef, beer, and the company were super. It was nice to go out with my brother Andy. We always have a good time and don't get together enough. Dave is a great guy who it was nice to get to know a bit more. Lets do it again soon.
4. Eating! Becki made a great dinner for Xmas day. We are still eating the left overs! It is great to have a wife that is a great cook and likes to entertain the family. I must also mention Mary Kay's (mom) cookies. Her butter cookies are a Xmas tradition for me that I love!
5. Riding! Training! It is nice to have a goal in the near future of racing. I look forward to testing myself in 08!

Last Day

Today is a great day to be a teacher! We have a week and a half off to recharge, spend time with family, and ride the bike. One thing I need to do during the break is spend time with Becki, Luke, and Meghan to make the holiday as fun as possible. I am also going to use this break as the start of my training for the 2008 mountain bike racing and riding season. Getting back to some racing this season will do the body and mind good. I will say it now, "I am going to dedicate my racing season to Dave C". Go out for a ride and realize how lucky you are to be able to get on your bike and enjoy the outdoors. Dave thanks for the inspiration! Becki thanks for being great mother, wife, and support person for your mountain biking husband!
D.O.N.E

Meg

My daughter Meghan got up early the past two days. When I say early it was about 5:30 a.m., not that bad. As much as I would have liked to continue to sleep I got up with her. When I realize that she is not going to go back to sleep I take her down stairs so we don't wake up Becki and Luke. It has been really nice to spend the time in the morning with just her. We get to play and read without the Luke factor. Meg being the second child has had to share the spot light with Luke. Since Meg has been the "easier" child to deal with all of her life daddy usually gets Luke duty. Although I love Luke duty I never realized how little time I get to spend with just Meg. Thanks for the morning time Meg.

Pictures

I do not have the best computer skills so putting pictures on a blog was challenging. Becki was the one who ended up doing it. Thank you for the help! All the blogs that I read have pictures so I felt I really needed to get with the program. I hope all that check out the blog will enjoy. The bike is my son Luke's. The picture was taken at the end of the summer at Valley Green after a 5 mile ride and some wonderful rock throwing. Yes, he rode 5 miles of gravel road at 3 1/2 years old with no training wheels! Amazing! The other picture is of some super singletrack at White Clay. I love that picture because of the way the light is coming through the trees.

single track

Big Day

12/3/07 will be a day that goes down in history in the Wendler household. Luke is a Binky kid. From the time he was born he had to have the Binky. When he took a nap or went to sleep at night it was like a magic, give him the binky he was out. He would of had the binky 24/7 if we let him. We started to just give it to him to go to bed at night a few months ago trying to get him ready for the day he would be done with it. Becki came up with a way to get him to get rid of the binky quickly. He could use them to buy something. He would tell us when he was ready to use them and then be done with it. He did it. What did he get you ask? A hockey helmet, hockey stick, and two toy motorcycles. He had three binky's! Last night when it was time for bed we were a little nervous, but he did pretty good. Our only mistake was letting him sleep with his new motorcycles, he was up most of the night playing with them! D.O.N.E

Weekend Report

Friday the Dog and I went to Ye Old for some drinks and the best roast beef sandwiches in the world. The conversation is always good with the Dog. A funny thing happened when we were their, a song came on the radio by Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs Fame)She was one of Rob's favorites. I will talk about Rob in detail soon just know that he was my best friend, and the Dog's brother who passed away from cancer a few years ago.
Sat. was clean up the yard day. The whole family was out in the cold raking leaves. Luke and Meghan were doing more jumping in leaves then raking. It is fun to see them having so much fun. I am lucky to live in Plymouth all I have to do is get the leaves to the curb then the township guys come by with a big vacuum and suck them up. The kids love to watch the vacuum go by. Then I was able to get out for a mountain bike ride at Valley Green. The rig is a whole lot of fun, a single speed in those trails will never be easy.
Sunday we watched the Transformers movie with Luke. This was the first "big" person movie for Luke. He sat for the whole thing. It was fun to have a relaxing Sunday with the family.

Dave C

I got to see Dave C today. (thanks Kevin) It was great to he him. I miss talking to him everyday at work. So talking with him when I can is very special. Today we talked about Eulogy, Hooggarden, bikes, and as always food. Dave stay strong and remember I love you! Talk to you soon! D.O.N.E

Not Riding

Not riding my bike is hard for me. Sometimes life gets in the way. Not having the feeling of freedom you get from a ride is something I miss. Even if it is only a few days between rides it is tough. I end up spending alot of time planning out the next ride. Riding is also my stress relief and with a job, family,and car problems it is always nice to get rid or the stress. Not riding my mountain bike is even worse. The woods and the singletrack draw me in! Go out and ride if you can! D.O.N.E

Painting with Luke

My son will be 4 at the end of Feb. and I am already proud to be his father. Overall, he is great! Still has an occational melt down. He is only 3 and 3/4! We get to do great father son stuff all the time. We can ride bikes together, (yes he rode a two wheeler at 3 1/2!)play baseball and basketball, and draw. Now we have two new things to do. First, he is starting to use the computer. We play games and explore the World Wide Web! (Andy that was for you!) On Sunday Becki and I decided to paint the master bedroom to get rid of the kidergarden like color and job I did when we first moved in to the house. Luke was going to help. He has helped on painting jobs before although most were smaller. When I told him we were going to paint he was excited and said " I need to get my painting clothes on" thats training!I got the paint and tape ready as he got changed. First, Luke helped with the tape then I gave him a roller. This kid painted for hours with me. The room got done in one day. It was a great father son day, a day I will treasure and remember everytime I walk into that room.

Singlespeed Fever / Thanksgiving

What is it about riding a single speed mountain bike that is so much fun? As I said in a former posting I was anti-single speed for a very long time. Once I tried it I was hooked! Thanks Dave C. I have since purchased a 29er Rig. I must say I love the bike. The only real complaint I have about the bike is the weight. Coming from a XC racing back round I like a light bike. I plan on lightening things up soon! The 29er wheels are great as well. Once you get them moving they really go. The best part is the way the just roll over small bumps. Once I got the tire pressure right it was great.
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday! It is a great time to be with family and catch up with extended family. I want to give thanks to my parents right now for the way they raised me and my brother. Now that I have my own family I truely understand the sacrifices they made for us. I also realize they did a good job because of the life and relationships me and my brother have. We were both able see what a family should be like and therefore had the blueprint for our own. I only hope I will be as good of a parent as Mary Kay and Lar. Thanks for everything.

Thanks Andy

I just want to say thanks for the Pearl Jam DVD and always keeping me up to date with the band. That would also include downloading music into my I-pod. Lastly your blog rules!

Single Speed

I was always the guy who said that singlespeed mountain bikes were dumb. I thought that there is no way that could be fun. I was wrong! Yes, I can admit it. Dave C. let me borrow his bike which is to big for me and has no disc brakes. Why? I thought I would give it a try so I switched my pedals from my geared mountain bike and off I went. I thought I would go to Valley Green for two reasons; one because I would not ride that long "I don't even like singlespeeds" and two I know the trails and could pick some that would be better suited to a rigid bike. I rode for about an hour and got used to the bike and was hooked. The bike is very light and a great climber and on trails that flow it was just a rocket. As I was finishing my ride I could not help having good thoughts of riding this lightweight rocket at White Clay with its smooth, flowing trails. So I talked to the wife and set up a time for me to head out to White Clay. I even put on a pair of fast rolling semi-slick tires to further increase the joy factor. It was GREAT! Singlespeeds RULE! Thanks to the wife for putting up with my trips to White Clay!
D.O.N.E

Summer is Over!

1. The summer for me was great! I did not work which is always good! I got to spend alot of time with the kids and the wife which is also always good! And of course I did ride my bike.
2. There were several major highlights one of the biggest being my son riding a bike without training wheels at 3 and a half. The kid is good! It has been one of the greatest times for me as a dad. I really did not think he would be able to do it but he was riding around the park on a paved path after 2 hours.
3. Me and the wife ahd some great times. We had several dates that were good for two parents or young chidren. I really enjoy being with Becki in every way.
4. Another highlight for me was throwing rocks at Valley Green. I would take the kids to the park and my son would ride his bike and my daughter would ride in the trailer behind my bike. We would start at Nothwetern Ave. and go down to the covered bridge. We cross the bridge and go down to the "beach" and start to look for good skimmers. Let the throwing start.
5. It was a great summer that I feel lucky to have had the chance to spend so much time with the family!
Stay tuned for the back to school report!
D.O.N.E

music

I am by no means someone who knows a lot about music but, i can say that this is what I like. Pearl Jam is my favorite group for many reasons lyrics, energy, performance, and overall good style. This video is from MTV unplugged from 1992 and really it doesn't get much better. Thanks to my brother for helping me find this video again and putting on this blog for you and me to enjoy. i also must say to Glenn and Chris from work that this is real music!
D.O.N.E

pearl jam-porch

Add to My Profile | More Videos

trail work

I created a trail at my school for the middle schoolers to use when I teach them biking. I am here to tell you it is alot of work. The project was started in the spring of 2006. Dave C and I had talked about it for some time and then finally picked up a shovel and a rake and broke ground. The trail was in place after a few weeks thanks to me, Dave C, various student teachers, and others. Thanks to everyone who helped get us started!(Glenn) A year and a half later we have a mile and a half of very sweet singletrack. It has been a smashing success for our phys. ed. program. We use it all the time for hiking, biking, and general fun. I am also able to use the trail for training on days when I otherwise would not be able to ride. I call them "hot laps" it is fun for about an hour then starts to get boring.
I also find myself always working on the trail. Even when I just want to ride I will always find something to do, pick up a branch, chop down a tree, or build a bridge. All in all it is great having singletrack at work.
Pictures of my work singletrack coming soon!
D.O.N.E, (Moran) Later

Commuting by Bike

I have been riding mt.bikes and road bikes since 1990. I started out mt. biking because it reminded me of a time when as a kid I would ride my bike for the fun of it. I had nothing better to do but to ride though the park or ride to the local trails to jump over a few tires. I wanted that feeling back, that sense of freedom that I could only get from a bike. After I drove for a couple of years the car had not done it for me anymore. When I got that first mountain bike and went for I ride I was back and knew at that moment that I had found what I was looking for. This brings me to the present. I am a husband, a father, and a teacher my time is limited and one of the best times for me to ride is going to work. When I first started doing my 18 miles each way I was back to being that kid again. I would leave early in the morning and ride through different areas and see what was happening. The whole day felt different. I felt like I had more energy and not to mention fitness. I also saw other cyclists doing the same thing as me. I thought I would wave to them because I am a nice person and lets face it there are not that many of us and a whole lot of them. ( By them I mean Cars ) Many of the other riders would not wave back! Why is that? I don't really understand? Even school bus drivers take that extra second to wave to each other. This non-waving usually only happens when road cyclists are involved, mt. bikers tend to always say hi or wave. I just think it would be nice if we could all get along and take that extra second to say hello. Think of the people like Dave C who get hurt while riding and realize that what you and a few others are doing is fun and a privilege.
Later

Why I'm Blogging

There are two main reasons why I became a blogger. First is a man who rides his bike named fatmarc. His blog became apart of my life about 2 years ago when one of my best friends and co-workers Dave C introduced me to fatmarc and the blog world. Being a mountain biker at heart fatmarc was interesting to me and he seemed to be a creative writer. Dave C was more into fatmarc and other biking bloggers then I in the begining and I would often look over his shoulder in the office and see what the people in blog had to say. Then On Jan. 2, 2007 my world and that of Dave C changed forever. Dave C was riding his bike to work and was struck by a car. I will never forget driving to work that day and seeing the helicopters hovering in the sky and thinking someone is in trouble, little did I know they were there for my best friend who was doing something that he loved. Dave C spent several weeks in the ICU at the U of Penn and is now in Bryn Mar rehab. Dave C suffered a brain injury and is now improving slowly day by day. Dave C stay strong.
That brings us back to fatmarc. After the accident I would find myself going to see what fatmarc was upto. Somehow it made me feel closer to my friend who I could no longer have a conversation with. This is really deep. Sorry fatmarc. I must also say thank you to fatmarc for the help at this difficult time.
Finally, don't forget to enjoy the day. Have fun and go for a bike ride!
Later

Thanks

Glenn, Thanks for the help with the new blog! There is no @ in the address!
Later

hello

Hi! I will just say I am a simple man. I love my wife, my kids, my bike, and my job. Yes, I did say my job. I am a Phys. Ed. teacher. No I don't do dodgeball all day, we do things like rock climbing and mountain biking. I should also say that my wife is the best even if I don't tell her all the time. Stay tuned for some family, riding, and gym class stories.
Later