Off to the Balearic Islands...

Mom and dad are leaving for a holiday in Spain (not to quote Adam Duritz or anything). We have a 50 ft Bavaria booked and are sailing out of Palma on Saturday. Should be a fun week of sun, paella, cava and hopefully plenty of 15 knot southery winds!

(Pics below are not mine. I will try and put some of ours up along the way, otherwise will post them like I did the 2006 Elba trip at www.kauths.phanfare.com ).

Brent

First Day Pics

Katie's first day of school was today and she was so excited to get on the bus!!! She was a little taken aback when a white passenger van showed up instead of a yellow school bus, but she came home in a great mood and according to one of her teacher's had an awesome day.....

First Day of School

More Fair Pics...

Also be sure and check out a couple of video clips at..http://kauths.phanfare.com/album/403417#imageID=25685883

Minnestoa State Fair

Last weekend we went to the fair and had a blast. Katie continued her culinary exporation by eating her first cheese on a stick, as well as her first lemonade. Loved them both, but wouldn't touch dad's corn dog. I think she was holding out for Papa's famous corn dogs to be the first. Had a blast with the animals and rides, and stopped by Giggles restaurant but missed cousins Anne and Gunnar Kauth.

Got the buckle.....

I will do a race report later, but bottom line I did finish in 11:45 and considering the heat and everything else, was happy to have that time. I have put up a few pics of the race taken from UltraRob's blog site. Floyd ended up second, certainly got bit by the course, and swore he would never do the race again:).

Race hero and legend Dave Weins defended his title, and showed that being a Tour de France champion is worth something, but not enoough on this course:). As the guv of California is so fond of saying.....I'llll be baaack..... Brent

Floyd shows the aftermath of his crash on the
Powerlines descent...

Floyd and Weins duking it out coming down from Columbine...

One silly girl:) Also check out Katie on the chairlift at: http://kauths.phanfare.com/album/370540#imageID=23153567

All is well...

Did the last ride that could be considered anything like training yesterday. Went with Mikey and JD up Hagerman Pass past the Sugarloaf cutoff. Attached are a couple of pics of from the ride.

There has been a lot of rain this summer, and the flowers in the high country are stunning. Now we just need a sunny day on Saturday!

Brenda and Emily get in this afternoon, and we are looking forward to spending some time with them.

Katie is doing great and really settling in to what she calls her "mountain house". If she only knew!:)

Take care and talk to you soon.... Brent

And more jumping....

Looks like Lance is definately a no go for Leadville....

According to Velonews:

"Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will not compete in the 2007 Leadville 100 mountain-bike race, held Saturday, August 11 in Leadville, Colorado. A scheduling conflict will keep Armstrong from competing in the race.
"He was in the area a few weeks ago and rode a few of the passes and I think there was speculation in some of the local news that he was back in, but that is not the case," said Mark Higgins, Armstrong's spokesperson.
Embattled 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis will compete in the 100-mile off-road event, and will go up against former Leadville 100 winner Dave Weins and 24-Solo rider Nat Ross. " http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/13043.0.html

More horsing around...

Katie had another great horse experience today. Will post a few pics soon but to get a sense of the fun she had, see to the video at http://kauths.phanfare.com/album/368256#imageID=22977880

One legged Kenyan Mountainbiker to ride Leadville 100

A quick note to let you know about Ibrahim Wafula who is something of a legend in Kenya. He's here in the US and preparing to race in the US after a life changing surgery that allowed him to be fitted with a prosthetic leg. Check out the video of him hauling ass in Kenya on a mountainbike on the road against road riders. He taught himself how to ride with one leg on a single speed 50 pound bike and started racing and beating people with it. Also read the story of how he got to the US, and the work he is doing for other Kenyans with physical Disabilites. http://www.iwafula.com/index.htm This guy is really an inspiration.

Speaking of inpiration, while you are at it head on over to Tom Ritchey's site at Project Rwanda, http://www.projectrwanda.org/ to buy some coffee and make a donation!!

All is well here. Katie has decided that there are a lot of great foods out there, and has gone from being a really picky eater to trying everything on everybody's plate. After 2 years of not getting her to touch ice cream, its her favorite new word. Those chips, salsa and guacamole were a hit as well:)

Brent

And then there was Circus the pony,

who we had to ride. No fear in this girl. I think mom and dad are in big trouble.

Just had to jump....

Walking past the bungee/tramp in Beaver Creek today, Katie saw kids jumping and immediately said "I want to jump". After trying in vain to talk her out of it, we gave in and boy did she have fun.

Awesome kids park right by our unit....

Katie going right for the climbing wall!

Floyd was in town today for the Avon Eagle 100. Where will he be in two weeks???

We completed our very long drive to Colorado. It took 13 hours and Katie was a real trouper. Our condo it great with plenty of room and a nice view of the mountains. Katie calls this her "mountain house." We decided to have a quiet first day to adjust to the altitude and to give Katie a chance to adjust to her new surroundings. We drove into the nearby town of Edwards for lunch and to explored some of the funs shops. Brent went for his first bike ride of the trip! Go Brent Go! Love, Claudia

Hey everyone!

We are off to Colorado for two weeks today. Stopping at the Kauth's in Des Moines tonight, then heading off to Beaver Creek tomorrow!! Will keep you posted as to goings on as well as the occasional pic, so stay tuned:)

Bike Race Thing..

Oh and there is the issue of this little bike race where Lance, Floyd, and Elvis are all supposed to be lining up at the start.

http://www.trainright.com/news.asp?uid=2451&p=1649