Been a while since I made an update, so here it goes.

Let’s start with the most exciting news. Reagan won the age group for the Grand Junction/PTS bank triathlon. In fact, all 3 of us entered this Triathon. Mason has been doing great in the pool, but we never trained him for a start where you jump in. He made a great leap with everyone else, then came back to the wall to kick off like he usually does. Although he came out of the water last, he still tells everyone he passed two kids on the bike, and three on the run. He keeps wearing the kids medal they handed out. I also entered this one too. I was way last out of the pool, and I can only say it’s been three years since I have even entered water. I will say, that I think I made a good transitions, flew on the bike, and ended up 1/4 mile behind Reagan, finishing about 4 minutes behind her. Wow, I’ll only say that Reagan is more amazing then I thought, and I’m sticking to bike racing for now.

The 4th. We came back to Omaha early, for Jan’s birthday, as we do every year. The fried shrimp and catfish dinner is something not to miss. On the 4th, we let Blake talk us into riding around the lake until we reached a century, 100 miles for you non-bike people. This lake is 7.25 miles around, and follows every hill and bay. This makes it hilly and full of sharp corners. Add bunches of clueless kids, arrogant parents, and don’t forget that everyone else riding has no helmet - just an iPod. It was a mess. Reagan gave up around 45 miles. She felt fine, but her mind was not into fighting the battle of the moving obstacle course. Blake and I held in rather well. We took a few breaks, including a long one at mile 78. We learned that this course had no momentum at all. The best part of riding is getting up to speed and cruising along, right? Not the case. This simple, cute, suburban local pond ride was one of the most grueling rides I’ve ever done. I guess that most people do 1-2 laps. Not 15 laps!!! I was the first one out, and finished first. Blake was bonking hard during the last 20 miles. He headed back towards the house after mile 90, thinking he could ride around a few blocks to make up his missing last lap. I took the truck, which I had parked trailside full of snacks and drinks, back up to the house and went looking for him. At mile 95, he had called it quits and coasted back to the house. Full-out bonk. Ouch.

The next day, Mason and I went back to Jefferson. I got a bunch of work done on the crib. The Tyvek is done, the starter strip was on, and the first trim board was up. Then I got out the tractor and went to take care of our weeds. I don’t know if I knocked them down, or mowed them. After a day withering in the sun, we see dirt again. On Sunday, we got a late start. I told Mason I would pay him for each piece of siding he helped me put up. After some more prep work, we got 17 pieces up while working together. That kid is an awesome siding installer. I penciled in a mark on the end pieces, or he matched up against a previous board perfectly - every time. I even think he had a great time doing it. I think the biggest expense of building out the corn crib will be Mason’s bribes. I also filled one of Reagan’s 55 gallon drums full of water while in town and used it to water our corn and pumpkins.

The house. If you have kept up, you heard that we made an offer on a house near downtown Jefferson. If you read that, you also realized our need for our own space, just to have something close by, and free from parental units. The background is this: We want Two Barn Farm to be fun. If we wanted to get this crib done, we would work ourselves to the bone all summer and fall and focus on only that until it was done. No fun. My thoughts were that we could live nearby, and slow down a little on the building. It would not be a high priority anymore. We could fix the roof on the barn and preserve and protect all of the buildings first, then continue working on the crib. I think our point was proved the day after we made the offer and found the well to be dry. The well was one of first things on the list to have done. If it was still first, it would now cost us all of the cash we had left. Instead, we move into Jefferson, take care of what we own, and start using Two Barn Farm for what it is. We will plant our gardens, tend the worms, and have fun with our site, that is only biking distance away. I think the house is a different path to finding our dreams here. It might take longer now, but I think it removes a great deal of stress, and gets us a step closer. At least we are living in Iowa now.
We should be back with more construction work, all the photos, and some race highlights next Sunday/Monday time frame. Reagan and I are racing the Papillion Twilight Crit here in Omaha next Saturday night. She’s doing a bike race for payback for my triathlon experience. After that, we plan on being in Jefferson until the start of RAGBRAI.