Carter started a business in April and it has taken off here in TC! Check it out: His own little Facebook Page. A Fancy Schmancy Blog. And a professional Photo Shoot with Beth at Priceless Photography

AZ to MI. Notes from the Road.

3-30-12 Up at 4. Pack the jetta. Remarkably we get it all in despite having way more stuff!?! Drop gma off at the airport at 530 then eastbound on I10 with boys rocking the DS before the sun rises. Take the hwy 70/54 route through new mexico stopping at the shell in Tularossa to fill up. Quick pit stop at a rest area in northeastern NM on I40 then through Texas to Oklahoma. As soon as dad gets behind the wheel the check engine light comes on for the first time. Jetta still has power though so we kept going. Another tankful of diesel in Sayre then into the Clinton Super8 by 945 local time. 865miles in 14hrs15min. Ouch.

3-31-12 Team sleep in. Ahhh feels good. Up at 8 for breakfast then on the road by 935. Hot in the jetta through Oklahoma so we actually turned the ac on. First time in a long time but jetta seems to handle it well despite the check engine light still being on. Stop for diesel in Springfield, MO eating lunch in a bucket (mmm!) while sitting at the pumps. Dad loves his burrito in a mason jar and is dreaming of new eats to jam into it for next year. Pizza? Cornbread and beans? Veggie dog and mac n’ cheese? Pee stop at a reststop in southern IL then mum drives the rest of the way to the Bloomington Super8. 760miles in 11hrs30min total time.

4-1-12 Sunday. April Fools day. No pranks. Breakfast/bikes back on jetta/showers/coffee in dad's carafe and we're back on I55. Finally diesel is less than gas, this makes dad happy so we stop to fuel up south of chicago. Jetta passes the 130K mark somewhere in southern MI. Mum drives the whole way. Back in TC around 430 EDT after an easy 400miles. Mission accomplished.

TeamCamp. Week#4

3-27-12 Mum and dad up at 500 again. TMR together with a little extra up trails end road and on the bike path. Gma and boys get to the zoo right as it opens and get to see the new elephants. A mum and 2 babies plus a bull and another female. Pretty exciting. They get some lunch there then walk back home to meet mum and dad. An hour or so of lounging then back in the car heading to the children's museum. Scott gave us a free pass good for 2adults/3kids so dad had to skip it but he headed to the library for awhile then hung out outside. Fun times...stomp rockets and mentos guyser outside. Grocery stop at Safeway on the way home before mum's crockpot lentils for dinner.

3-28-12 Top of Mt Lemmon day! Mum, dad and Steven drive to le buzz then ride up with boys, gma, rua/phoebe/nevin in the minivan to rendezvous at Summerhaven. Dad and Steven luck out and get to ride up into the Steward Observatory toping out at 9751ft. Pizzas at the "no fun" restaurant then the cyclists head back down while the rest go for a hike in the pine trees and then at windy point. Back home we start the packing process then get ready to go to toby's for dinner. Stop at bookman's for some gifts first then up to the foothills for jen's yummy butternut squash enchiladas. Morgan/zac/izzie and scott/janine/kellan are there too. Great night. We're lucking to have such good friends.

3-29-12 Last ride of camp. Rua joins mum and dad for an easy spin out to saguaro east. Boys and gma walk to the park then to target and the movie theater at el con. They see the The Lorax while mum and dad pack and run a few errands. Back home to get organized then drive down to rua's for dinner. Dad makes one last stop at himmel library then everyone walks down to the monster slide/swings/climbing tree before dinner. Excellent lasagna and delicious blueberry crumble with mum's stand-by red cabbage salad. Long day again. Boys wiped. In bed at 7.

TeamCamp. Week#3.

3-19-12 Dad goes for a ride despite windy/rainy/cold weather and surprise! gets hailed on coming back home on Broadway. That'll learn him. Sun comes out just as he gets home so we all walk down to the zoo. Gibbons are fired up and doing their hooting thing. Pretty fun to watch. Spend more time today watching the lion tailed macaques who are cool primates indeed. Walk home as it just starts to rain. Some downtime then drive over to St.Joe's to visit mum and dad's old coworkers. Got to the Wilmot library after which they've redone and is now super nice. Stop by Sunflower for supplies then home for fajitas for dinner. Eggplant/tomatoes/tofu/peppers/cabbage! Yum.

3-20-12 First day of spring! Doesn't feel like it though as it's 33F at 630 for dad's ride with the tuesday morning group. Sun is back out though and things should be back to normal tomorrow. Mum leaves to ride with rua while the boys bike downtown to go to the children's museum. Play there for 5hrs! Great place. Boys have a blast. They learn about a spider crab, chocolate chip starfish and sea cucumber. Carter's and Jamo's fave was the rope maze plus the blue blocks outside aptly names WipeOut! On the way home, the trailer rolls over a thorn so dad has to drag it flat with 100lbs of boy in it the whole way back. Not fun. Mum makes some tortilla soup for dinner then we walk to reid park to blow off some energy. Boys go nonstop. All day. Everyday.

3-21-12 Day#17 of camp. Time sure flies down here. Boys spend a lazy morning at home reading/doing homework/cleaning. Mum gets back around 10, Rua crashed and hurt her shoulder, bummer. Dad leaves to ride Lemmon with Morgan while everyone else eats lunch then goes to the bike shop to get a new tube for the trailer and then to Himmel library. Boys read to Homer the dog again then home for some more lentil deliciousness from mum's slow cooker. Boys walk to Reid after eating to do some pull-ups but manage to get into the U of A baseball game at Hi-Corbett field in the 6th inning. They were playing the New Mexico State Aggies and lost bad but it was fun. Got seats right behind home plate then the boys got to run the bases after the game and even scored some squishy balls. Home at sunset. Fun day!

Team Camp. Week#2.

3-11-12 Mum and boys go to the zoo early. Daddy Lion is finally out and boy is he big. Monkeys put on a good show too. Back home to meet dad for lunch then we rode back down to the bookfest for Day2. More Science City with Carter in the Gak and Jamo sifting for rocks. Watch a rock band play then stay for the circus again. "Peter Pan" this time and it was pretty amazing. Maggie meets us there too for a bit then we went to the planetarium. Bye to Maggie and then we ride down to Himmel library and park for an hour before walking to La Salsa for Burritos!! Yummo. Our first time this year and it was well worth the wait. Back home around 530 to meet mum. Looong day. Too much sun. Straight to bed.

3-12-12 Monday! Dad rides with morgan while mum and boys went to the big playground at Reid Park. Jamo organizes his rocks that he got from the bookfest. Home for lunch, mum leaves to ride Colossal cave while boys bike to Himmel to go to the library and park. Boys play a quick game of chess at the chess club. More lentils for dinner from the slow cooker. Showers. Books by mum. Bed.

3-13-12 Tuesday morning ride for Dad. Mum and boys go grocery shopping then to Target for some stuff. Boys score some BeyBlades and battle with them all morning. Adventure #2 to the arroyo chico wash where dad sits in the shade and the boys dig/climb/run/hike/throw. Home for lunch with mum then we all bike downtown by the way of the aviation parkway path over the basket/snake/4th ave bridges. Some reading/hanging at the main library. Dad checks out some seeds and mum gets a free pass to the children's museum. How cool is that?! Walk over to the Presidio for a bit before biking back home for dinner. Tired from too much sun/heat/riding. Can't handle the 80F. Bed!

Team Camp. Week #1.

3-5-12 Dad rides early again. Up Lemmon with Morgan. Mum and boys go to Reid park for a bit then meet Dad at home for lunch. Carter isn't felling well. Sore throat. Mild fever. 86F today! Hot ride. Ride over to the EdithBall pool to cool off. Still only $4 for the 3 of us!?! Best deal in town. Carter promptly falls asleep poolside while Jamo plays in the splashpad. Almost had the place all to ourselves. A nice way to spend a hot day in Tucson. Walk over to the zoo after and end up doing the whole thing. So quiet on a Monday afternoon. Much more pleasant than yesterday. Gibbons were swinging around and fun to watch. The 3 lion cubs, 8months old, were cool too. Back home to meet mum who had a flat on her ride. Bummer. Some downtime in front of the TV then we all rode down Treat to the Himmel library. Checked out a ton of books then barely made it back home before dark. Sun sets at around7pm here nowadays.

3-6-12 Tuesday morning ride (TMR) for dad and he manages to do fairly well. 5th up Gates but he thinks everyone was taking it easy after the TBC this past weekend. Carter still not feeling awesome and sleeps into 9am. Some homework with mum then some ScoobyDoo on the TV before riding back down to Himmel with Dad. Still warm. 80F plus. Jamo falls asleep in trailer so Carter and Dad hang out in the shade by the park. After Jamo wakes up, we walk down to the monsterslide park for a bit. Kind of windy. Howling a bit out of the southwest. Back to library for some reading/homework then the boys jump into the teen event playing video games and Jamo even grabbing a piece of cake. Home to meet mum after her 4hour ride!?! Some super yummy tortilla soup for dinner then some work on Carter's new business "Carter's Compost". Bed by 8.

Notes from the Road. TC to AZ. 2012 edition.

This being our 5th year coming down to training camp in Tucson we have the trip dialed in. We made crazy time with very little whining from Dad. Jetta kicked ass again. Who needs a minivan? 4bikes, 4humans, gear and Dad's oatmeal pot with room to spare. Plus 38miles per gallon, the little diesel that could continues to impress.

Here's some notes from the road from the Team's Journal:

3-1-12 Up at 4. On the road by 430 with jetta packed and boys playing their DSs immediately. Mum drives 400miles straight to the "limestone" rest area in central IL where we stop for a break. PBJ, trail mix, apples and bananas then dad drives 200miles to a MO rest area for lunch. Sunny. Warm. Tshirts. Feels good. Cold soup from Georganne to eat then back on I44 to Springfield where we stay at the Daysinn like last year. Mum checks in while boys go walk around the neighborhood. Beans and rice for dinner with cereal for snack. Showers. Bed. Carter with dad and mum with jamo. Not a great sleep. Dad's coughing. Jamo's ear hurts. Mum getting kicked by jamo.

3-2-12 Up at 6. Pack car. Upstairs for breakfast. Carter sets a new "world record": waffle with pb/banana/syrup, corn flakes, 3 cups of apple juice, bagel with cream cheese and finally a muffin. Diesel. ~3.75/gallon. ~$50 to fill getting just over 400miles per tank. Mum back behind the wheel (she'd rather drive) westbound on I44 not stooping till Clinton, OK for diesel. Get some drugs for Jamo too as his ear is still killing him. Dad drives the rest of the way to Santa Rosa, NM with Jamo taking a snooze while Mum and Carter doing activity books. Get to Super8 around 530 local time. Nice place. Beans and rice cooked up on griddle for dinner while boys watch TV and Dad gets diesel. Bed at 730.

3-3-12 Up at 515. Pack car. Eat breakfast in lobby. On the road at 650 taking a new way south on highway 54 instead of I40. Nice views in the high desert without much traffic and decent roads through Vaughn and Corizozo to Las Cruces. I10 west stooping only once in Willcox, AZ for diesel and to pee then make it to Tucson at 4. Townhouse on 17th is great! We get unpacked then walk over to Reid park. It's going to be really nice having that so close. Boys explore and play outside. Carter does some PE.... jump ups/push ups/pull ups/wind sprints. Bed early at 730.

Dad continues to pretend he's a runner. Took 4th overall in the FrozenFoot 5mile race then 4th again here in the Bigfoot10k. One more snowshoe race in late February before Tucson when it'll be all bike all day.

For those of you outside of TC, TeamSchmitty got a little Press recently in the local paper. Still haven't turned the furnace heating strictly with Michigan hardwood. 2weeks till Tucson so it looks good for leaving it off for the entire winter. Enery misers unite!

Dear WinterBike, Good job today. You may look like shit. You might not have 4inch or studded tires, or any derailleurs. Your paint job might not match my kit and you might not have Moonlander or Mukluk decals on your top tube but that's OK, I know you can't help that. Your drive train might be covered in rust, your seat post seized in place and duct tape might be holding your fender together. You might have two different pedals and your rear brake may be missing along with one of your grips but that's cool, nobody's perfect. You may have been abandoned in the alley trash but I still love you Mr. Pacific Ricochet. Thanks for getting me to work and my boys to school. Everyday. You're alright by me. Cheers. Ty

Happy 5th Birthday, Jameson. Out to breakfast, movie at the State Theater, Count-Down-to-Noon at the Children's Museum, party with friends, asleep by 6:30 on New Year's Eve. Doesn't get much better.

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