The Bike Guy and His Family

I remember my mom telling me about my grandpa Bob. He was a Jeep man. She told me that a lot of her memories of him were referenced in time by the Jeep grandpa Bob drove. Even if I own a jeep I will never be considered a Jeep man. I am a bike guy. From a pre-teen, my family will probably remember me by the particular bikes I own.

Huffy

The Huffy

For a couple of years I rode my dad's old 10 speed. After a major crash caused by a broken brake lever that got caught in the spokes flipping me over, Santa gave me a Huffy mountain bike for Christmas.  It was a perfect bike. It opened up a new world of exploration which I fully exploited.


Gary Fisher

The Gary Fisher on its second frame.

By the time I was getting ready to start High School, the Huffy was on its last legs and needed to be replaced with a real bike from a bike shop.  So the summer before my freshman year my dad hired me to do some work replacing lights and ceiling tiles at work.  Over the course of the summer I was able to save nearly enough money to buy a Gary Fisher mountain bike.

The Gary Fisher on its third frame.

Of all the bikes I have owned since, the Gary Fisher is still my favorite. Yes, I rode the bike hard and have replaced every single part on it including the frame twice, but it is still alive and well after more than 16 years.

Giant

My Giant full suspension trail bike.

I remember the bike ride when I decided my Gary Fisher was no longer adequate. I had my sisters drop me off at the base of a trail head in Provo canyon. When I reached the top of a miles long climb, I started traversing the side of the mountain on some single track. For whatever reason I decided to give my Mom a call to test out my bluetooth. Riding along, I offered a dramatic narrative of the several thousand foot steeply slopped mountain side and the various obstacles along the trail. As cell phone reception began to wane I told my Mom I would call her back when I got home. At that point the ride got challenging as I defended the mountain. I was essentially riding down a trail that was more a rock strewn stream than a trail. In fact many sections were either covered in snow or washed clean by spring runoff. Three hours and a frantic mother later I decided I needed a more robust bike to handle mountain biking in Utah.

 So when I went back to home for the summer I went to working saving for a bike, I mean college. I ended purchasing an really nice full suspension trail bike that was ready for whatever I threw at it. I sold it last year to clear up some space in the closet and to get some extra cash.

Cannondale

My dream bike broken into pieces.

Later while still in college I purchased a Cannondale road bike and just fell in love with road biking. Initially I bought a basic road bike and later upgraded to a nicer more expensive one once I realized how much I liked road riding. The more expensive one was destroyed shortly after I purchased it when a car thought it would be a good idea to turn right in front of me.  So I took the components off the nice bike and put them back on my other road frame. That is the bike I am still riding today.

My current ride.

So today I ride the Cannondale frame from my first road bike and the components off my dream bike.  Anyway it makes for a really nice bike if not what I had really dreamed up. I've had a ton of great adventures on this bike and most of all I love towing the kids along.

Biking with the Family

Although I love riding to be healthy, fast and to have adventures my favorite part of bicycling now is that it is a family affair. When Janet and I got engaged our first major purchase was a nice bike for Janet. I love being able to go out on rides with my girl. I love having been able to ride with her in the Rockies, Hawaii, Maine, Georgia, and Virginia.  I look forward to more rides in Norway and who knows what countries other in the coming years.

Arguably my favorite part of bicycles has been getting my kids bikes. Last summer I took Maddie over to REI and helped her pick out a really cool green bike that she just loves because it sparkles.  In the year since I got her the bike she has learned how to ride without training wheels.  That was a proud day for me.

This summer I felt bad watching James try to keep up with Maddie while trying to ride a small trike so I went out and got James a Specialized bike from a local bike shop.  When I brought the bike home Janet suggested I should wait until Christmas to give James the bike.  The obvious answer was no, so the next morning I think I woke James us before I went to work so that I could show him his new bike. He was pretty excited and is getting pretty good at riding.

So I'm the bike guy who is working hard to make my family a bike family. I've always loved biking and as I get to share my passion with my family, my love for both the sport and my family grow.

Father's Day - My Dad

So today I've had a nice Father's Day. Janet has made sure to give me plenty of time to relax. I used my free time today to work on my bike and tune it up.  More than that I got to spend time hanging out with the kids and just enjoying myself.  I also had time to reminisce on my own Dad who lives two thousand miles away in Arizona. I went through the pictures I have and computer and pulled up a few of my favorites of me and my Dad. Each pictures exemplifies something about my Dad.

Supporting Me in My Activities

All growing up I remember how my Dad would support me in the activities as I grew up. As a young kid it was things like soccer. As I grew older it was music, musicals, scouts, church, and a 100 other activities.  My memories are of him going above and beyond to support me.  He was by no means one of the crazy sports Dads that was more interested in the activities than I was, but what he did always do was work behind the scenes to make sure I was successful.  Using his construction skills he would build scenery for different plays me and my siblings were in.  

My Dad probably spent 10 plus years as a scout master.  That has to be one of the toughest calling in the church.  He did it not some much because he loved scouting, but because when he was asked he always accepted the responsibility and he did it well. 

One story I love is when I was 17 and 9 months.  I had completed my Eagle project when I was 14 and had yet to earn my eagle. I believe the only thing I had left was to write up my project report and submit my paper work to earn my Eagle. My Dad sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms that he "had worked too hard on my Eagle for me not to earn it." So with some more help from my Dad I got my paper work in and I earn my Eagle. How grateful I am for that he pushed me to complete something I am so proud of. Below is a picture of my Eagle project when I was 14.

Hard Work

From a very early age my Dad taught me the value of hard work. I'm not sure how old I am in the picture below, but I wash't much older than five or six.  My Dad always took me to work and taught me to work hard. When we lived in Colorado my parents managed an apartment complex and were responsible for all the maintenance including snow removal.  By the time I was 9 my parents had me clearing the sidewalks using the snow blower that must have weighed two or three times my size.  

When we lived in Pennsylvania my Dad worked for a real estate company he always made sure I had opportunities to work.  One of my favorite jobs was contracting with him to do interior demolition projects for office spaces.  I learned that the harder I worked the higher my hourly rate was and the more money I was able to learn.

I've chosen the same career as my Dad. I am trying to be like my Dad in two aspects of my career.  

Technical Competency: My Dad knows buildings better than just about anyone I know. It comes from his years of working with his Dad who did construction and also his years as a builder himself. So as I position my career and take jobs I have made sure to take jobs, tasks, positions that would help me to develop that same technical competency.  Following that example has help my career so much.

Treat People Kindly: It is easy to be rude and bulldoze your way through work.  My Dad doesn't work that way. He treats people with respect and honestly and it has paid huge dividends.  When I've had a chance to work with or meet people who work my Dad everyone only has to most positive things to say. Most people would do anything for my Dad.  I am far from meeting that level of working well with people, but I am striving to treat people like my Dad Treats people.

Road Trips

My Dad is a road tripper and has supported me in when I've needed to do a couple a major road trips. One road trip was when I was looking to take a job in New Mexico.  I flew out to Phoenix and we hopped in a car and drove 14 hours straight only stopping for food and gas so that I could check out Hobbs New Mexico and the job site.  Below is a picture of the job site.  Then we after a few hours in Hobbs we turned around and went home. 

Another road trip was only a few months later when I was moving to Washington DC.  He drove one car and I drove our other car from Arizona to Virginia in three days.  I am grateful that he was willing to do things like that to help out.

A Righteous Father

The most important thing about my Dad is that he is a righteous man. I have always been impressed by how good and genuine a person he is. He is always serving others and does it freely.  A couple of weeks ago my older sister got married.  She asked him to give her a Father's blessing.  It was so nice to hear him bless my sister.  I was one of those moments when I was really able to feel the Holy Spirit and know that my Dad was a righteous man that I want am trying to be like. The picture was taken right before he gave my sister a blessing.  It is hard not to look at the picture and get a lump in my throat.

Dad, thank you for supporting my throughout my life and living in a way that make me want to be more like you.

FSI is Exactly Like the MTC

When I was 19, I was a missionary for my church in Italy for two years. During that time I learned Italian, taught people about my beliefs in Christ and helped people become better. On Friday when I was walking through the halls of the Foreign Service Institute the thought hit me, the Foreign Service Institute is exactly like the Missionary Training Center.  Below I explain the similarities between the Missionary Training Center and the Foreign Service Institute.

The Orange Dot: At the MTC an orange dot on the missionary name tag marked you as a newbie. At FSI it was a pink name tag.

The Campus: Both sites are in a campus setting with some really nice open spaces. Both places are kind of secluded and really foster learning and preparing for future assignments.

Language Training: The MTC is filled with rooms that can seat about a dozen people for language training. The same is true of FSI. When you walk down the halls of both places you see signs on the doors telling you what languages are being taught.  Also going down the halls you hear many conversations in languages you don't recognize.

Anxious to Go: Everyone is eager to get to country and get to work.  When you put someone in training for two months or six months they have a tendency to go stir crazy.  I remember that halfway through my time at the MTC I was dying to go to Italy and get started. So far I have completed 5 weeks of my 25 weeks of training and I am ready to go.

In my first few weeks I've run into a lot more mormons than I would have expected compared to the population. I've also had a couple of people tell me that you can't turn around without hitting a lawyer or a mormon in the State Department. I would guess the reason might be that a mission does prepares a person for the life and career of a diplomat. I know for myself and Janet it was our missions that made us comfortable with the challenges and opportunities of this new job and lifestyle. As I get further into my training I realize and am thankful for how much my mission prepared me.