The Bauer Family

Training had been going pretty much as planned up until this week.  Last Saturday I did a 20 mile ride and got caught out in a storm.  Just rain, no thunder or lightning.  It was a nice ride.  The day before I had worked 13 hours and my back was starting to hurt.  I felt good after the ride and took a nap.  By Monday my back was feeling pretty good and I decided to just rest one more day. On Tuesday I was feeling good.  While at worked I coughed really hard and felt some severe pain in my back. That evening we went to Clio for hair cuts (Michelle and the boys, I do my own).  JJ and I rode home from Clio, he had not rode in a week.  He did good and I felt good on the bike. Wednesday morning I was in a lot of pain and my back was really stiff.  I went to work and called my doctor after the office opened.  The doctor figured it was a muscle spasm and ordered x-rays to be safe.  The results came back and this is what they ...

  We celebrated the 4th of July with Michelle's parents last night. We had dinner here and then fireworks in the driveway. We had a very nice time.  Now to step back a bit.   After returning from church camp we determined that Brendan needed a new bike.  He had outgrown his 24 inch Specialized Hot Rock.  We did a little shopping locally, however we did not find anything that we really liked.  We almost purchased a Diamondback Axis at Dick's.  We decided not to and made a stop at The Stable.  Seen a couple bikes that interested us, but just seemed a little to expensive. That evening I was on line and checked the Mongoose website.  They had bikes on clearance!  I purchased Brendan a Tyax Sport for half price.  It arrived on Thursday and Michelle and I unboxed it and started putting it together.  I finished the assembly Friday morning and then Brendan and I went out for a ride at the Shiawassee Refuge.   Rea...

Saturday morning we woke up to rain.  The forecast was for rain all day.  We did breakfast in the cabin and rotated the campers through till everyone was fed.  The rain let up a little and the kids headed for the dome.  We managed to break down camp on the outside and by the time this was done it was time for closing.  Michelle and Dawn went to pick up pizza.  We had decided to do closing at the dome. Pizza! Questions and Answers. Prizes!   Closing activities went well.  We had pizza, chips, pop, cake and ice cream.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Michelle asked the kids some questions on what they learned and then gave out prizes to everyone that was involved.   I don't believe that this will rank as the best Church Camp to date?  We did learn some things and we took some losses.  The rain showed us that the tents leaked.  JJ's laptop got wet and he has since purchased a new one.  We are go...

Day 3 was interesting.  We had breakfast and then JJ and I headed out on the bikes.  We did 15.5 miles.  It was a nice ride.  We seen a couple deer, snapping turtle and turkeys.    Doe eating leaves from a tree. Snappy! Second to last climb.   We got back from the ride, showered and had lunch. I then headed for home to do some laundry and head to mom's for the weekly visit.  Michelle had some issues at camp and I got back around 10:15pm.     Friday started out good with a nice breakfast and I did the devotion.  I stayed at camp and helped Michelle and did some bike maintenance.  We had lunch and JJ and I went out for our ride.  We did a little exploring and ended up with 17.5 miles.   Turtle rescue, back to the pond.   We got back and showered. Then it was time to get supper ready.  Mom and dad came out again to visit and we also had some other kids join us.  We did d...

We had beautiful weather for our first full day of camp.  We had great food once again and had our first Champion Activity, Putt-Putt Golf.     We wrapped up the night with our fireside devotion.  My lovely wife had the message for the evening.  It was from the book of John.  Jesus turned water into wine.  She then placed a focus on the Fruits of the Spirit.  Tonight it was on self control, very appropriate for the day.     Ride Report: JJ and I did the 13 mile loop this morning.  He did good and he feels he needs to ride the mountain bike for the rest of his Ore to Shore training.  I think he is right.  Tomorrow we will do 15 miles.  We will be up to 20 by the end of the week.  Then we will need to pick up from there when we get home. 

The day started out good with a good forecast and cooler temperatures.  The pop up was definitely done.  After inspection we found out it was just the top.  We made a trip to Menards and they replaced the top.  When we got back we put the top back on and finished set up.  The kids arrived and we enjoyed a great meal.     We had nacho and taco bar which is the tradition for the first night of camp.  After dinner the kids had some free time before devotion.        After devotion we relaxed around the camp fire for a while and then it was time to turn in.  We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow starting with biscuits and gravy.     Todays Ride: I got out for a ride today and planned on doing 15 miles.  Well I was exploring some two track that I had not ben on before and got a little lost.  I ended up with 19.5 miles.  A very good ride.  Tomorrow JJ will join me...

Our day started out early as Brendan was up at 6am.  I got up as I was having problems sleeping.  I started some coffee, Brendan and MacKenzie headed out fishing. I left the cabin shortly after 8am with a list and was headed back home.  I returned around 10:30am and then ended up with this.   The Goose is back together.   I had all the parts at home that I needed to put the Goose back together.  I also picked up some supplies that we needed. Michelle headed out to Meijer then to get the rest of the supplies for Church Camp and I took the bike out for a ride. I got a good 13 mile ride in.  A storm came through in the middle of the afternoon and I ended up catching a short nap before supper.   Michelle's parents came out and we had a very nice meal and spent some time with them. Grampa giving fishing lessons.  The happy Newlyweds! The Goose family returned during the storm.   We had some severe sto...