Happy Birthday Dave!

Dave, his fiance Mandi, and his three kids Ian, Brooke & Lily

I just had to wish my brother Dave a Happy Birthday (I won't say his age...but he's just 2 years younger than me). Out of all my brothers, Dave and I have always had the worst and best of a relationship. We tried to kill eachother when we were little, but by the time we got to junior high we were the best of friends and that friendship and stuck through the years--it has had its ups and downs--just like our lives, but I still consider him a great friend. Dave has been through a lot in his life, more than most, and he has made it through some very tough times. Today he owns his own construction painting business; he has found an incredible girl; he has three great kids--he is and has always been an incredible dad.

So...here's a fun story for you--I just had to share one of my fondest memories of my brother. It was our first road trip on our own--just me, my best friend Carrie, and my brother. I was 16, Dave was 14 and we wanted to go to Moab for some of the first riding of the spring. So...we loaded my Volkswagon Sportruck. Yes, Sportruck--Rabbit in the front, truck in the back (and yes, only one t in sportruck...see picture below) and headed to Moab. Well, the Sportruck was a little reluctant to go Moab for some reason. It would not go any faster than 20 miles and hour and would just die randomly. I had been driving this truck for a year, though, so I knew what to do with it. There was this little "air-box" in the engine that would get stuck and cause it to die; so every time it died, we'd have to undo the bikes which were tied to the front, open the hood, unstick this airbox, then put it all back together again. We'd make it another 30-40 miles and it would die again. I believe it took us over 7-8 hours to get to Moab (a trip that normally would only take 4).

Carrie and Dave unsticking playing mechanic on the sportruck!

Once we got there, we found a great little camping spot by the river, but the truck could never make it back out of the campground without Dave pushing it up the hill--so everyday, I'd gun it with Dave and Carrie pushing from behind.

On one of the first days, we decided to try this trail called Gemini Bridges. We had heard it was a great ride, but had never been on it...so we asked around and someone told us where the parking lot was. We parked and started to ride UP and UP and UP and UP more and more red rock hills. All these bikers were passing us going the other way. Little did we know that only crazy people road Gemini Bridges from the bottom UP. The way to do it was to park one car at the bottom, drive another to the top and ride DOWN. Who knew! We kept riding and riding and asking people how close we were. Needless to say, we never made it to Gemini Bridges on that trip. We finally gave up and turned around, but not until Dave had made the hill climb of his life without stopping. My friend Carrie and I were so impressed. Gemini Bridges became an annual ride for us after that--even when we started going back with kids--but we always rode down with the kids in a jeep following right behind. That's the way to do it. It is an amazing fun ride.

Me and Dave biking Gemini Bridges

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful...the drive home was again very long because the sportruck still wouldn't drive over 20 miles an hour UNTIL we hit I-15 in Spanish Fork. As soon as it hit the freeway, that truck went faster than it had ever gone in its life. It was like it finally recognized where it was, knew it was heading home, and took off. Nothing like that truck and the memories it gave us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!! Hope its a good one!