Fireworks paddle with Jeff & Julie

Turns out taking fireworks photos from a SUP at night, with a beer between your legs is tough... but well worth the effort.  Always a great excuse to get in the water.  The A's were playing the Giants and blasted off their miseries away in the form of fireworks!

Memorial Day: Lassen NP

We had the worst weather at the beginning of our trip...

see the snake?

Next morning we decided to hike up Cinder Cone.  A part of the park we hadn't been to before... pretty cool landscape.  

The kids has a great time... 

even though it was a bit cold...

back at camp we roasted by the fire... 

then the sky parted and we got a glorious sunset paddle...

Go Kimbo go...

Our first view of Lassen this trip!

Next morning... another hike.  Nikko liking the older ladies.

And we caught another snake at Chaos Crags...

a few of us hiked up to the top... where it was quite windy and cold... 

back at the lake it was nice and warm!

meanwhile... check out what the mushroom hunters gathered!

Oh and it was Riley's B-day!

Another amazing sunset paddle.  That's a bald eagle above Alexis...

pretty sweet paddle

check out the pollan though... 

next morning on our way back we stopped to get a few turns.  The snow was quite manky.  But the kids had fun playing in the snow

Kai dancing at sulfur springs

On the way home we found a brewery with a dunk tank! It was nice as it was 100 deg!

plus a zorb, a beach volleyball court, cornhole, etc... this place was amazing.  

Ride Report: Double Century to Lassen with Sam

Hey Sam, do you road ride?  No?  Good... that's fine.  Let's ride up to Lassen!

I'm pretty good at getting Sam into all kinds of adventures these days.  Climbing with his son up One Hand Clapping, backcountry skiing, peak bagging (more on that in the future), etc... So I knew I could easily convince him into another adventure.  Long distance road biking.  Sam, like me, thought all road bikers were kinda tools as kids.  Wearing spandex, shaving their legs, doping, with no arm muscles, but HUGE thighs.... they just didn't make any sense.  

But here we were... riding through the night to get to Lassen NP before our families.  Despite the shivering, the rain, and the logging trucks, we (maybe just I?) had fun.  

Getting off the Amtrak in Davis

This was my second week at work, so I had to work til late

The first 100 or so miles were fast.  We had a great tail wind, flat course, and the sunset was spectacular.

And this place hit the spot!

At around 3 am in a Safeway somewhere...

Chicken Ceasar wrap?

After riding through the night, it started to rain... 

About 5 min before we arrived here, Sam was uncontrollably shivering.  This place had unlimited tea/coffee bar!  AMAZING.  I love this place!

The food was also very good.

As we entered the park, the rain subsided... 

We started gaining elevation and we started up our last big hill, at about 160 miles in...

The road through the park wasn't open so this was quite a treat.

Sulfur works

Near here, Sam started bonking again.  I should've dosed him with more Military Gum Caffeine... 

Slowly, but surely we all made it.  In fact we arrived before our families... so we checked in, blasted the heater and wrapped up in our emergency blanket for a quick nap.  

Soon my family arrived... and we got to celebrate.  From beers that Kai meticulously packed (he was quite proud of himself).