My little sister and I have been riding weekday mornings early before work. It has been so fun to get out there while it’s still relatively cool, the morning fog is out, and I think it helps us both get a good start on the day. Although we both missed it this morning, for the last five weeks, we’ve made it out there almost every weekday.

The first week or two, we used saddles to ride the horses, but since then (to save time, energy, and to work a little more on quality riding skills) we have been riding exclusively bareback. At first, we were a bit unstable, but we’ve both gotten much more stable and I have even gotten up to trotting and cantering bareback, which I thought was going to be hard, but actually isn’t.

Anyway, something I’ve always wanted to do is to learn how to ’swing up’ on a horse. I’ve seen others do it and have been told that virtually anyone can learn with tons of practice, so we thought we’d give it a go. While it isn’t impossible, it is quite challenging and it looks like we may have a fairly long road ahead to being very reliable at making it up on the horse. As a benchmark on how we look starting out this journey, I’ve included a link to a video of some of our first attempts to get up without any help. To get us practicing at least once a week, Fridays were dubbed “Swing-Up Fridays”, then later changed to “Fling-Up Fridays”, the change due to added alliteration value as well as more accurately describing what we look like. As we progress (and I’m pretty sure we will since I’m already better than is seen in the video), I’ll keep you updated.

It's always rewarding to find something and make it a personal challenge. From here on out, I'm going to make sure I'm always working on something either mself or someone else challenged me to do. And I'm not afraid of failing.

THE MOVIE

Couldn't figure out if I can attach video here or not, so it's just a link.

In most circumstances 22-miles is not that arduous adistance to fathom. However, whenyou speak nautically the feat becomes a little more real. When you add another variable likestanding up on a paddleboard it becomes indisputably difficult.

Last week I took part in an event that had 27 international athletes from six different sports, many of whom had never been on a paddleboard before, crossing Lake Tahoe south to north. The 22-mile journey took us around five and a half hours, and with around ten minutes total experience on a paddleboard before the event started I was a little wary of my decision to participate. However, at 6:20am we  left the beach and the water was calm and the lake was completely tranquil. There was not a boat on  the water aside from our support groups, and the wind was only moving just enough to assure us that our efforts were not feeble.

As the miles clicked off and we fell into a rhythm and got our stroke on, I found myself alone for a long period of time in the middle of the lake. I continued to paddle,but it gave a me a lot of time to reflect of the true nature of our endeavor. The event had been organized to bring some attention and support to the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation; which is an organization making waves in the world of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as post traumatic stress. Many have asked, “How does crossing a lake help such a foundation?” This is a valid concern, but when organizers Hinter Claxton and Rob Howard set out to start the event their idea was to get a unique group of individuals together and raise awareness as well as a little funding for a unique and commonly overlooked cause. The idea was to gather a unique, but top-tear group of people together, and in the process undertake,and hopefully concur, a formidable endeavor.

This is exactly what they did, and the event was a spectacular experience for everyone involved. The athlete and participant roster included some of the biggest names in Snow and Surf, as well as some unique individuals from different aspects of life. Daron  Rhalves, one of the most decorated American alpine skiers of all time; JeremyJones, who some say is the greatest big mountains snowboard pioneer of all time; Dave Kalama, big wave surfer and professional paddle-boarder; Julian Carr; world record holding big mountain skier; Chuck Patterson, skier as well  as big wave surfer; Mark Wellman, the first and only paraplegic to climb Half Dome and El Capitan; Craig Sorensen, US “Top Gun” Navy Pilot who has logged the most combat and training flight hours in history; Ken “SkinDog” Collins ,member of the Mavericks Crew big wave surf group; Dana Point Life Guards; JT Holmes, Skier and Professional BASE jumper; and the list goes on. For many it was just an honor to be in the presence of such mythological creatures and heroes in their respective discipline.

This was the first of what hope to be an annual event, but next year organizers are already pondering ideas to make things a little more interesting. “Maybe we do it at night under a full moon…?” Said Rob Howard. Either way, whatever transpires I am sure the event will gather a select group of people and raise awareness for the foundations for which it is aligned.

The time we spent on the water offered the perfect setting to remember those who we were helping in the process as well as an opportune time to reminisce about experiences with friends who had suffered from brain injuries. In the sport of skiing alone there has been miraculous recoveries from people like Charlie Gaylord, CR Johnson, and others whom have suffered from TBI in the last few years. With support from organizations like The Bob Woodruff Family Foundation, people like Charlie and CR have been able to make solid recoveries, but there are those in the world that have been less fortunate and have not received the care and support needed to over come such tragedies.

Tragic stories keep rolling I from the Middle East, but there are few organizations like the BWFF that are making and effort to help these forgotten heroes. Crossing lake Tahoe was only the start in a long line of support necessary to make such organizations a success and thanks to Hunter Claxton and Rob Howard for putting this together. Sore, but proud,everyone finished the event humbled, but honored to take part.

As we prepare for another season and wait for the snow to fall it is important to be aware of the greater story unfolding around us and be thankful for those making our experiences possible. For more information please visit The Bob Woodruff Family Fund at www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org. To learn more about the Tahoe Stand-Up Paddle Board Crossing 2008 and how you or your firm can support for this worthy cause, please contact Dr. Robb Gaffney, 530-412-1325, robbgaffney@hotmail.com, or Rob Howard, 510-773-4701,rhoward@bikeskills.com.

Finally...........I have arrived to add a chapter to the adventure Journal!

I have been around the world drinking far too much Silver Joe's Coffee(well thats not possible), enjoying my life and getting myself injured. My adventure is more like a 5 month ongoing adventure. After my ski season and rigorous travel schedule throughout Europe and then North America in the spring, I decided it was time to take a little me time. So I joined two of my teamates on Maui, where one of them now returns home to when she is done her long season in Europe. My other teamate who was staying wtih her boyfriend--a professional windsurfer (with a lot of toys, thats why i mention it more adventure opps), was who I stayed and trained with. I brought my road bike over so we could trek around Maui and get our aerobic basis back to start out our summer training! We had a blast! We did so many new things that were just amazing and the ocean is an unbelievable natural healer. Did some down wind stand up paddleboarding, windsurfing, camping, surfing, yoga, you name it we did it. It was unreal.....then I headed back home to Park City, UT and was planning my move to Jackson Hole, WY where I live now. I didn't realize how much stuff I actually owned, needless to say it took a lot longer than expected to pack it all up. I finally did it though, moved my stuff up and was ready to enjoy the amazing summer in Jackson. It was right after I moved, second weekend out camping and I decided to jump on a dirtbike for a little cruise. It was a 450yz and I shouldn't have been riding it. There was still snow up in the mountains, and the bike hit it, fishtailed, and fell towards my left kinee and my knee fell towards the bike, spraining my mcl and what I thought after six weeks of rehab for the mcl was a tear in my meniscus. I went for a scope two weeks ago and walked out of surgery no problems. They took some irritated tissue out of the joint and I am working on getting back on my mountain bike and 100% back to my adventures.

Although in the last six weeks I did enjoy two ski trips, more for the little kids I was coaching, but I did get to get out on some snow. I traveled to Mt. Hodd for a camp around the 4th of July and then Whistler....which is an amazing, amazing place, two weekis ago. I had so much fun with the little kids it really made me remember the days that hooked me to the sport for life. I had a moment in Whistler that I felt that child back in me just so happy to be on snow! Glad I could share with you and until the next adventure I gotta go drink some Espresso Roast!

Ciao for now,

Caitlin

While hiking in Dinosaur National Monument Emily and I came across several petroglyphs in the area. One of the lizard markings even measures up to 9 foot long. I highly recommend a visit.

Here's the story featured in the CB magazine....I wrote it and am sharing. This summer's group is insane, off the richter! I will get some photos up soon.

Having celebrated the birth of our local women’s skateboard group (a.k.a. the Crested Butte Women’s skateboard Club), I was ecstatic to be asked to write about it. These ladies rip. And, our instructors are just as awesome. So here’s how the story begins.

As the mother of three boys, I’ve spent countless hours at the super sweet Crested Butte skateboard park. Crank’s Tank to be exact. The scene (and it is a “scene”) is usually something along these lines: moms, girlfriends and/or girls that are friends sit on the bleachers watching while dads, boyfriends, friends that are boys, and sons skate. Not so often, a fearless female will jump into the mix. Most times, this female is some spirited little girl who hasn’t realized that she is an anomaly in the world of skateboarding. One glorious day this past summer, while I was camped out on the bleachers watching my sons attempt to skateboard, that daring little girl showed up. Watching her was inspiring. I dreamed about my younger days of skateboarding, half pipes and Black Flag. Why was I sitting here? Why were we all sitting here?

I phoned Dave White at the Air Up There that afternoon, and posed the idea of a woman’s skateboard clinic. He was thrilled and made immediate time for us. Now, it was the women that I had to convince. I made several calls to women who might be willing to go out on a limb. A few jumped in right away, while several others were very intimidated by the whole idea. I could tell that there hearts were in it but their rational, defensive minds were winning the battle (concrete, wheels, ramps, bowls, people pointing fingers, peopling laughing, etc.). A number of these ladies worked through their fears and began encouraging each other to find that heroic, youthful person inside of themselves. Before we knew it we had a solid unit. Our unit consisted mainly of mothers with a few other gals we nicknamed “aunties”. The average age fell somewhere around 34. We were pumped, exceptionally nervous, and ready for day one of our adult skateboard lives.

Day one of the CB Women’s Skateboard Club can be summed up in three words: hysterical, painful, and empowering. The majority of the women who arrived on day one had never stepped on a skateboard, therefore our instructors Dave White and Jason Erickson started at square one. The sight was surreal. There were falls, spills, screams, blood, and flying skateboards. I am sure the neighbors and nearby businesses wondered what was going on as the laughter grew thunderous. The girls supported each other cheering as each mom or auntie advanced. We took turns nursing each others wounds, some worse than others. Dave and Jason appeared a bit surprised at the determination these crazy women possessed. After one lesson, the women were carving and riding the pyramid. It was fantastic! As I watched the girls leave, one by one, they all appeared a few inches taller. They were definitely empowered. Dave and Jason made us feel like we ruled the park. The lessons continued and these tough women progressed. We all had beautiful scabs and bruises to prove our efforts. We were official.

On our last day of instruction, to my astonishment (as well as Dave and Jason’s, I assume), every member of the CB Women’s Skateboard Club was rolling into the big bowl at the park. If at the beginning of our lessons I’d told the women that they would be able to do this or, even better, that they wouldn’t be scared to do this, they would have deemed me insane. Our sons, daughters, spouses, boyfriends, and friends came out to the park to check us out and root us on. Our audience gasped at the falls, wanting to help but knowing not to. Their jaws dropped as we got up, shook it off, and got back on our boards. I saw the pride and affection in daughters and sons eyes as they gazed up at their totally hip moms and their mom’s awesome girlfriends.

I am unbelievably proud of these gutsy Crested Butte women. These ladies gave themselves up to something that left them completely vulnerable. There were “naysayers” along the way and the potential for embarrassment was huge. But, they went after it, grew into sick skate bettys and in the process became exceptional role models for their children and the other children in the park. Like I said before, these women rip.