Meet Smokey, The Foster Dog

Tonight we picked up our new foster dog. Smokey is approximately 1 year old, and is a mix of beagle and something else. He’s incredibly cute and is very curious. He’s pretty much the same size as Maisie, just a bit taller but not as wide-bodied. He’s very energetic, but is also obedient so his energy shouldn’t be a problem. He was getting a little rambunxious tonight so we took him and Maisie on a 2-mile walk. That pretty much wiped him out and he’s been laying down ever since we returned.

Smokey posing for the camera. Photo courtesy of the Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina

He’s well along with his training. He’s already 100% house-trained, and he knows sit and fetch. Since he’s still a puppy he likes to mouth things, but so far that has been limited to his toys and raw hides.

His adoption profile can be found on the Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina website here. Here’s what they have to say about him (note that this was written while he was in a different TBR foster home):

Smokey is one handsome boy.  He is almost a year old and is loving and sweet.  He was found abandoned as a puppy with several female siblings. The girls got new homes and Smokey is still waiting for his Family to find him. He gets along very well with the other female beagle in his foster home and loves kids.  He is a big boy, so older kids are probably best. He walks well on a leash and is currently fostering in a home without a fenced in yard. He is a healthy, happy dog, just larger than a beagle. Hey, more to love!

Smokey Close-up. Photo courtesy of the Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina

Smokey is our 5th foster dog (all 5 have been from TBR). We really enjoy fostering. It’s been good for Maisie as well as she has really opened up since we started with our first foster dog in 2010. You can read about our previous foster dogs here.

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Bike MS 2011 in Historic New Bern, NC

Hello all. Stacy and I, and our friend Amanda Morris participated in a Bike MS ride in New Bern, North Carolina. It is an annual charity ride that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and supports people living with MS in eastern NC. We had some previous post about this ride here, and here. Each of us had to raise $200 each to participate. Thanks to all of our family and friends who found it in their hearts and wallets to donate.

***All of the following pictures can be found here.***

We drove over to New Bern, NC on Friday night just in time to register, find a camping spot, and get some dinner before everything closed. We went to bed early since we knew we had a lot of work to do the next morning.

On Saturday we woke up around 6am, got our bikes ready, got changed, and got some breakfast. Then, at 8am they did the opening ceremonies, gave us a police record out of town, and we were one our way.

Saturday Morning Opening Ceremonies

The ride was interesting. We did 75 miles on both Saturday and Sunday. The area had just been hit directly by Hurricane Irene. New Bern was cleaned up pretty well, but the broken branches, downed trees, etc were very apparent. On parts of the route we had to be careful about debris on the road surface. There were rest stops about ever 15 miles that were fully stocked with food, drinks, water, and music. The rest stops were usually at churches or schools, and were sponsored by different groups, companies, and restaurants. The Saturday ride was very flat, but wasn’t as scenic as Sunday.

Here are some rest stop shots:

Rest Stop

Rest Stop

Here are our three bikes parked in front of a scenic, rural North Carolina neighborhood

Saturday Lunch Break

We stopped and sat in the shade for some lunch

Finish Line

As we rode to the finish line on Saturday they had a huge welcoming committee at the finished line that gave everyone a hearty welcome, cheer, applause, and thanks – a perfect way to end a long ride. They had two shower trailers waiting for us. I didn’t even have to wait for a shower which is a rarity among supported bike rides. We all got cleaned up and rehydrated, then went to the convention center for happy hour that was supported by the Carolina Brewing Company. I called it “carb loading”. As we were hanging out in the AC drinking some beers, I was getting text updates with scores to the Iowa at Iowa State football game from my brother, Matt – an Iowa State student who cheers for the Hawks (I know, I’ve tried to convert him to no avail). Suddenly the text messages stopped, so I called my dad who said ISU won in triple overtime (Matt apparently didn’t want to tell me the good news).

After we were cooled off from happy hour in the air conditioning, we walked to the historic downtown area to find an ice cream shop we heard about. It was called Cow Cafe. The place was a mom and pop ice cream place that made their own ice cream on site. They also had just about anything cow-related for sale in the place too, as well as a toy train that did circles around the ceiling that had a black and white spotted caboose. Their canopy on the front of the store was torn up from Hurricane Irene.

New Bern Convention Center

Cow Cafe

A local church put on a memorial for all of the fallen first responders of 9-11 (picture was taken on 9-10) in which they put up a small flag for each person, along with their photo and obituary.

9-11 Memorial at a Local Church

New Bern was the colonial capital of North Carolina. It’s a very old city, and and all of the old, coastal city that you’d expect. It’s also known as the “Bear City”. They have  bear in their city crest. They also have 50 decorated bears all over the city, painted to different themes. Here are a few that we walked by.

That evening they had a buffet dinner for all of the 2400 cyclists and 400 volunteers. After dinner there was an awards ceremony, but since our team consisted of only 3 people, we elected to walk the water front, and speak with some other cyclists. Later we hung out under the Bald Cypress tree (the species that I research in my graduate work) at our camp site, then went to bed early… we were pretty tired. Here are some pictures of the New Bern waterfront on the Neuse River (the river that flows through Raleigh).

New Bern is also the birthplace of Pepsi, hence the giant Pepsi can vending trailor:

Our campsite under the Bald Cypress tree

The next morning, on 9-11, we had a morning similar to Saturday, but at the morning ceremonies they had a short memorial for the tragedies of September 11, 2001. One of the local fireman played amazing grace and the national anthem on the bag pipes. There were some words spoken, a moment of silence, then the soldiers, officers, firemen, and other first responder  who were riding lead our group of cyclists out onto the route.

The Sunday route had more hills, but the reward of amazing views was worth it. On both days we averaged around 16 mph.

Sunday Morning Start

Amanda ready for another 75 miles

Stacy and Colby ready for another 75 miles

Sunday morning ceremonies

The "campground" in Union Point Park

We stopped for a scenic picture opportunity on the top of a bridge in Oriental, North Carolina – home to some of the world’s best sailing so I’m told.

Colby and Stacy in Oriental, NC; Pamilico Sound in the background

The lady in pink is Theresa. Her group would only do the 30 mile route and she wanted to do 75, so she drafted us all day.

A Marina in Oriental, NC

Colby, Stacy, and Amanda on Bike MS - New Bern

We had an amazing time on this ride. This was by far the best organized ride I’ve ever been on. Everything was planned to the smallest details. Most importantly it is for a great cause. We have one family member who has MS, and one friend from college. Hopefully rides like this will help us get closer to finding a cure. We plan on doing this ride again next year.

We also plan on participating in an upcoming, one-day ride that raises funds for a MS bike team that was at the New Bern ride. It’s called the “Making Room for Turkey Ride“. It’s a 50 mile ride in the Raleigh area. It will be hilly, but it’s not as long so we should have fun.

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Bike MS

Hello all! Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. For a long time in the summer there wasn’t really any newsworthy events happening. Then, all of a sudden there are so many that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write about them, let alone upload some photos. Stacy is heading back to Iowa this coming Thursday for the wedding reception for her brother Randy and wife Melissa (wedding blog post here). Maybe I’ll have a chance to get caught up then when it’s just me and the dogs holding down the fort.

The main reason I’m blogging today is to kindly ask for your support of Stacy and my fundraising efforts for Bike MS. We are part of a small team that’s riding in Bike MS – Historic New Bern ride that raises money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of eastern North Carolina. We posted a bunch of information about it in an earlier blog post. Please follow this link if you want to find out more about it, or if you would like to donate. We have to raise $200 each to participate in the event on September 10th and 11th, and it’s for a great cause!

Thanks for the support!

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Help Support Bike MS

Hello all. Stacy and I recently signed up for Bike MS, a “charity” bike ride that raises funds to support people living with multiple sclerosis, and MS research. Here’s a short summary of the event from the Bike MS – Historic New Bern Ride website:

Bike MS: Historic New Bern Ride 2011 will be held September 10-11. Bike MS is a 2-day cycling event that raises funds to support people living with multiple sclerosis in eastern North Carolina and throughout the United States. Money raised through this event funds MS research, programs, services, and advocacy. In 2010, over 2,800 participants raised $1,628,256 to create a world free of MS. This year, our goal is to raise $1.7 million!  We can do it with YOUR HELP!

Bike MS cyclists enjoy two full days of riding through rural eastern North Carolina. Each day, cyclists can choose to ride 30, 75, 50 or 100 miles on fully-supported routes. At the conclusion of each day’s ride, cyclists are greeted by cheerful volunteers, a delicious, hot meal, ice cold beverages, and live entertainment. It’s a great time, you should join us!

And here is their public service announcement video:

We are both planning on riding the century ride (100 miles) on that Saturday. On Sunday, I plan on doing a second century ride, but Stacy is undecided on if she’ll do the full 100 miles or a shorter 50 or 75 mile ride. Regardless, it will be for a good cause and an equally good challenge.

We are riding for a couple of reasons. One is that one of my friends from graduate school and a fellow Soil and Water Conservation Society student chapter member was diagnosed with MS a few years ago. He organized the team for which we will be riding. We are also riding because MS is a disease that not that many people know much about, which results in research funding not coming close the research funding need. Lastly, both Stacy and I are most motivated to train (and lose weight) when we have an athletic challenge on the horizon (race, ride, etc.).

In order for us to ride in the Bike MS Historic New Bern Ride we have to raise over $200 each. We would very much appreciate your financial and moral support in our fundraising effort. If you are so inclined, you may donate on our behalf at the following links (the links are on the right side of the screen too under “Bike MS”).

Donate on Stacy’s behalf

Donate on Colby’s behalf

Thank you again for your support.

Also, if you would like to join our team, Pack Riders, let us know and we’ll send you the signup details. Thanks for stopping by!

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