Thanks for all the fish

We won.



That news, like an epic ride in Sun Valley, is superdonkeyawesomegnarlyburger.

I was so pleased when I found our first congratulatory message on our youtube video (moderated):

"Just checking in. Looked at the Sun Valley page. You sure do have a lot of people to go ride with, and you live and breathe bikes. I hope the judges found your blog and realized that you ride alot. Well, worst of luck cuz your a douche." - J. D*****

I felt warm and fuzzy to see that he came back to spread more love.

After my first two years of majoring in science education, I decided to pursue my true passion, art education. In my art classes there was always another student who did things his/her way. I would hit all the requirements on every project on time and create "art" as best as I could. I would get an A or a B, and that was that.

The other student would spend so much time on one single project that he/she would skip other projects to complete their masterpiece.

They would end up with an A for the semester despite the fact that they didn't do some of the other projects. They put their heart and soul into one painting/sculpture/underwater woven basket and created memorable pieces that are still stuck in my head. Did it bother me that I did all the work just to get the same grade? No. I was more bothered with the fact that I didn't have the artistic balls to create something so incredible.

So when we got the "Ten Finalists" email from Sun Valley, my head crimpled.

"We want you and your friend to wow us with your mad video skills (a 90 second video) showing us just how bad these symptoms are..."

90 seconds?

I had been thinking about this video ever since we entered the contest. At one point I wanted to do an Inception style movie, a dream within a dream within a dream... complete with loads of BWOON!



I knew that our somewhat out of the box concept would be hard to squeeze into 90 seconds. We reduced our dreams down, shot the footage we needed over five hours, splashed in a creek down by the sewage plant, spent another hour and a half picking out the good shots, and prepared for a final edit on Sunday.

The dramatic event that took place at 4:00am on Sunday was a trip to the doggie ER with a foster pet. Buster, who's owner is serving over in Pakistan, managed to gore his neck on a broken soap dish. Blood, more than I ever wanted to see, and The Pie out of town. Needless to say, I had my hands full trying to stop the bleeding, clean things up, call my good friends (and fellow dog lovers) to help me get him in the car while still holding pressure on his neck...

A few hours later, I had to leave him at the vet so they could see how bad the damage was and stitch him back up. I can share that information now that the owner knows about what happened.

Needless to say, I was freaked the fuck out. Although Buster is only here for a few months, I love him like he is my own. This humungous pit/lab mix sleeps in my arms at night. Crying jags the rest of the day.

Running late and wracked, I headed over to Kurt's to edit the video. I was still freaking out, doing push-ups, drinking caffeine and then beer, waiting to hear from the vet regarding Buster's condition. After a few hours, it was apparent the video was gonna run long. We tried to cut it down, but we didn't want to compromise the work that we did. In the end, we wanted something that would stand up and entertain people, even if that meant losing the contest.

So we went with the 1:59 second video, complete with opening title and closing "fin" shot. We decided that if the judges applied what they said in their email as a "rule," then so be it.

Eventually, before I discovered the moderation button on youtube, some comments went up regarding our "blatant" disregard for the "rules." Once an argument started, I took them all down. I figured if someone has a problem, they can take it to the professor... I mean judges.

We went hard in the paint and stuck to our guns. Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy style, last ball, grabbing the wood, swatting towards the green. A lot of you took the time to support Zac and I, and I am grateful to no end. What we did meant nothing if you didn't join in on the fun, and I would hug you all... as long as you're bathed and wearing appropriate-for-hugging clothes. We only won because of you.

Sun Valley, Zac and I will not disappoint. We're planning on epic rides every day and hopefully we'll get to take part in some of the bike related stuff going on all week. Seriously? There's something going on every single day that we're there? Holy shit. I'm thinking about poaching the kids race on the 6th. Total immersion and up to our eyeballs in bikes.

We plan on coming home t-totally destroyed from riding, libating, and general bike overdose. I do live and breathe bikes, and I always will.

What can I say?

I'm a douche.

We celebrated last night.

Lacking an Idaho brewed beer, we decided to go with a theme.

Most importantly, I want to thank my wife, The Pie, for putting up with all my shit. She's the reason I am who I am... a douche.

She means well, though.

This Sunday, I'm going to have a very, very happy birthday.

For those that would want to know, Buster is all stitched up and back at home recouping. I don't think he has a clue what happened to him, and he's back to his over-sized puppy self.