What in the world is WRONG with some people?!

So, as some people may remember, back in 1991 the Oakland Hills were pretty much decimated by wildfires. This happened just two-ish years after the Loma Prieta earthquake. At the base of Tunnel Road in Oakland, a pavilion and small park were created in memory of the events. It's a nice meeting spot because it has a water fountain, some shade, nice landscaping, and a view out over the bay to San Francisco. Also, many cyclists ride up tunnel road so it's a highly trafficked area.

Last week I rode by and noticed graffiti on the stone marker at the pavilion entrance. It pissed me off. It's a MEMORIAL for people who died and things that were destroyed. This morning, Devon went for a ride and noticed that the graffiti was not just on the marker, it was on the pavilion itself, stones in the garden area, and other signs... So I went back to take pictures. I also noticed that there is a website for the memorial, http://www.altrue.net/site/ergateway/, but there is nothing on it about the recent vandalism. I emailed them using the "contact us" button, ooh I just heard back - they said they don't know who did it and they asked the city to clean it.

Anyway here are the photos:

This is a view of the park, Tunnel Road goes up behind it, and the pavilion is on the right side of the photo:

The stone marker at the pavilion entrance:

More vandalism:

They even got the green street sign:

And my personal favorite:

I am so mad.

A Cast of Characters

This past weekend, my cousin Brian got married in Port Townsend, Washington. Like most weddings, there were plenty of funny moments and good photo opportunities. Thankfully Devon was there because he sees good photo opportunities way more frequently than I do!

Here we are at the rehearsal dinner. Not to worry, these are not our hats and we did not pay for them:

Here is my brother Than (on the right) with my cousin Brian (on the left):

Yes ladies, my brother is single. Here is a close-up:

Here is a clue as to why such a handsome guy is still single (hint: the shoes):

Here is clue #2:


And here is what he could look like soon if he is not careful. (Kidding, this is another guest, his name is Alexis and he actually has a wife and kid):

Here I am trying to demonstrate for my brother how to a. match outfit and shoes and b. pose nicely (only mildly successful on that one):

Here is some local scenery. This is a Typical Courtenay Photo of Mt. Baker:

This is a Bald Eagle I saw on the walk where I also saw Mt. Baker:

In case you don't believe me here is the closeup:

This is my cousin Mika's daughter Nadja playing the piano at the rehearsal dinner. Nadja and I are friends because we are both obsessed with puppies, so that makes me cool. I'll take it.

I have another cousin with a kid. This one is Lucy. Lucy and my mom are friends because they are both obsessed with ponies, so that makes my mom cool according to Lucy:

And here is my mom, with 2 of her three kids. My sister Sarah was willingly stranded in Bogota so she couldn't make it, bummer for me because her smile usually makes my smile look good in comparison. My mom told me a million times that I need to seriously practice my smiling because in every photo I looked like some startled forest animal...

Just to prove to her that I can be photogenic, here I am showing my best feature to the camera whilst simultaneously writing a lovely note to the newlyweds:

Speaking of whom, here they are:

And here we are on the way back home, waiting for the ferry, thinking "Damn I had too much wine" and "Damn I had too many white russians" (7 to be exact!):


The one thing I wish I had on my camera is a photo or video of Brian dancing. Maybe someone else got one.

Track Racing!

Yesterday, we went to the velodrome in San Jose to watch the District Championship races and cheer for our friends. Plus it was a good excuse to have a barbecue.
AND, miracle of all miracles, I got some pretty cool photos. Here goes...

Here is Pat warming up. No he is not wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, those are tan lines:


Here is Devon saying lots of nice encouraging friendly things to Pat:


Here is Pat telling Dave that his helmet is funny looking so he may as well give up now during the Madison race:


For those of you who don't know, the Madison race is where you have a partner and you throw him as far down the track as you can, while you are both on your bikes. Here is Pat trying to throw Rob:


That was kind of an oversimplification of the Madison. It's complex. I was shocked there weren't any crashes, with all the swerving and throwing and sprinting, but I guess the guys all know what they are doing. Here is a photo of Rob:


Here is Pat getting ready to drop down for an exchange during the Madison, and no, despite being up on the lingo, I do not really know what was going on:


Here is Dave on his *fancy* bike with the sparkly wheel, which carried him to 3 district championships in as many races:


Here is my token Typical Courtenay Photo of the Day. Taitt is the little yellow spot, she is racing the Pursuit, which she won:

I'm in VeloNews!!

I am in the new VeloNews... the Casey Gibson photo of the start of the women's race at Downer's Grove, the McGuire rider (with, ahem, the non-sponsor sunglasses since I broke my Specialized glasses, oops) at the center of the photo is yours truly! Here is the photo, but it is much more impressive in the actual magazine.

Giro Champion! (a CLEAN one!!)

So yesterday was the Giro di San Francisco race. Silly name, cool race. Devon was second last year and I was third, and we were both hoping to improve on our previous results. I didn't, but that's fine. However, Devon did improve on his result from last year - he won!
And I did a way better job of taking photos than I did at the Crockett race. Here is a shot at the turn after the hill:

Here is turn 3. This is a typical Courtenay photo, people at the bottom and lots of "atmosphere" above:

Here he is midway through the uphill with Danny Holloway on his wheel:

And here is the finish! Devon is the blurry spot way ahead of everyone else, about 15 meters from the finish line. I was so busy jumping up and down screaming "Oh my god. Go Devon go! Oh my god! He's winning!" that I am surprised I managed to take a picture:

Here is what was supposed to be him crossing the line. Oops I got someone's jeans instead, then I gave poor Lisa Hunt a big hug because she was the nearest victim:

The Podium. Devon is flanked by Ken Hanson (who beat him for 3rd place at Crockett) and Chris Hipp:

Yay!

Crockett, CA

On Sunday of this past weekend, there was a criterium in Crockett, CA. Crockett is a cool little town, technically it's part of the east bay but it's not part of the San Leandro-Oakland-Emeryville-Berkeley-Albany-El Cerrito-Richmond-Pinole smashup. It's its own little town. It also has some hills and some wind. Anyway the race was only for men, no women's race for a REALLY dumb reason and I won't bore you with my rant, so I went to cheer for Devon and take some photos.

I did more talking and hanging out than I did photographing, I am blaming it on the poor lighting at the finish line. But I did get a funny shot of the kid's race, where a couple of tenacious little racers did not let a hill or, um, somewhat encumbering footwear get in the way of their race. They got off and pushed! I sense some budding 'cross racers!

Devon's race was right after the kids' race. The race blew apart so fast, it was like the Tour de Nez crit or CSC or something. Devon raced really actively, it was awesome to see how strong he is riding. John Hunt got away solo with around 10 laps to go and held it, and his 8 teammates in the field did a good job of blocking, another dude tried to bridge but wound up riding alone and hanging on for 2nd, and Devon finished a very respectable 4th. Here is a photo, and it gives you a better idea of the "hill" than my photo of the kids. It's actually the same hill.