David Multer

We’re off to the Cherry Pie Criterium this weekend for Gabe’s first big official group crit. He’s pretty nervous considering he’s lumped in with the 17-18 year old group, and there are tons of advanced category riders. Looks like Specialized, SJBC, Tieni Duro, and Team Swift are here in force. A slow clip in doesn’t bode well. The pack is moving very fast today and there’s one crash at the switch over that came close to Gabe. They’ll be heading up and over this hill quite a few times. Specialized is working really hard at the front. ...

Gabe did very well at last week’s Early Bird Criterium, and we’re back again for another race. The field is quite a bit smaller given the rain today, but it looks like SJBC is here with a few of their best. I wish they had shown up at the group ride for SJBC we did together yesterday, so they would have known him and they could have worked together. ...

Gabe was sick last weekend and missed the second Early Bird Criterium, but he’s excited to do another one after a successful first race. It’s another big field, but fortunately the Spokesman rabbit isn’t here today. The pack holds together nicely for the whole race, though Gabe had to slow once for another rider’s slight crash. He’s in great position for the last couple of laps. The finish was easily won by one guy, then second and third by another, followed by the fast pack. Gabe was tired, but pulled in a nice fifth place finish. I think he’s got the fever now. ...

Gabe’s planning on doing all the Early Bird Criterium races this year, and here we are for the first mentoring and racing session. A bit of warmup on the rollers, and it’s off to the start of the race. It’s a good sized field, and I’ve tried to pass on the key advice Gabe will need today. The pack wound up getting shredded when a really fast Spokesman guy took off the front. After a couple of laps between two packs, Gabe dropped to the second pack and finished a strong first. Outstanding job Gabe! ...

Gabe’s racing season gets off to a start with the San Bruno Hill Climb. There’s plenty of rain and cold threatening as usual, but fortunately there’s a somewhat sunny pocket just for the race. Warming up is a trick at this race, but we’ve got the tent and rollers that do the job nicely. It’s too bad the long line of starting groups cools him down completely before the start. I know Gabe is nervous with national champions and older kids in this race, but he’ll do his best. I think he was happy with his result of 22:20.7 for the day. ...

It was a tough night yesterday, and I knew I had to get Nick to lower elevation to help him feel better. So it’s back down the trail to see how he feels when we get to the Pear Lake turnoff. Plenty of great views along the way, and I’m happy to see Nick starting to feel better. Unfortunately Nick is in no mood for another tough night in the back country, so it’s back to the car for the both of us. I’m looking forward to our next trip, with a little more time to acclimate. ...

It’s been a long time since I’ve gone backpacking with any of the kids, and this fall it’s Nick’s turn to enjoy the great outdoors with his grizzly dad. We’re headed to a new hike for me out in Sequoia National Park. We drove out early in hopes of getting a permit for one of the nicer areas. We decided on the Lakes Trail route out to Alta Peak for the first night, then over to Pear Lakes for the second night. It was a dusty hike with a good amount of climbing, up through Panther Gap and on to Mehrten Meadow. Unfortunately I didn’t anticipate that Nick might get hit with altitude issues, so we took it easy and setup camp in the Meadow. It was a tough night for him getting up every hour or so. ...

Yesterday was a long drive up to Bishop, but the route up Highway 95 and then over to Bishop was really beautiful. We start nice the day early and head for Mammoth Lakes and Devils Postpile for some excellent hiking. We checked out the rock formations from above and below, and then hiked out to Rainbow Falls. Our next stop is Mono Lake. And then it’s up and over Tioga Pass into Yosemite via Tuolumne Meadows. I’ve really wanted to do some backpacking out this way, but permits are always so tough to come by. One of these days I’m thinking I’ll have to do the Pacific Crest Trail from here down to Whitney. One of these days. ...

We arrived at the North Rim yesterday, and this morning it’s pretty cold, but that certainly doesn’t hinder any of the beauty of this place. Charlotte and I hike around the edge of the canyon, but we don’t have a lot of time today as we’ve got a long drive up to Bishop for our last night of the road trip.

We arrived in Bryce Canyon yesterday, so it’s time to dive into a new National Park to see what it has to offer. It’s a spectacular morning and a good chance to capture some great lighting. This is easily the most unique hike I’ve ever done. Everywhere you look there are amazing rock formations. The colors and quiet trails lead you on a wonderfully meandering path. We spend most of the day exploring as many areas as we can find. ...