12/26/09
I'm posting this using Flickr's email posting system. We'll see if it
works. I wrote this last night but couldn't get the email to post due to
poor cell coverage.
Good thing we have four more months… Today was rough. Even if this picture
of Lori hammering up the steepest, longest climb of the day doesn’t show
that.
Today Lori and I rode the Ironman St. George bike “loop” that she will have
to ride twice during her race in May. It was a beautiful, crisp day in the
low 40s when we started out from Snow Canyon. I think it made it up to the
high 40s, but it was still pretty cold for us.
And the course is a real challenge. The west side of the loop is a steady
climb with about three challenging (though short) climbs in it. The east
side is relatively flat or just flat-out downhill. We flew down that part
of the course. Even with full-length tights, long-sleeve jerseys,
wind-resistant hats, gloves, and shoe-covers, it was very cold on the fast
sections.
We only rode 50 miles, but it was enough. The scenery was super, and the
riding was fine. Lori was loving her bike, and Eddy was way into riding
with his new friend. And my knee worked out its issues (I adjusted my cleat
after the difficult pains of Christmas Eve). It was a lot of fun. Now we
are tire
Tonight we caught up our bodies w/ yummy steak at the Anasazi Steakhouse &
Gallery in St. George. It’s time for some sleep. Tomorrow we get to do
more Ironman training! Can’t wait. ;-)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Waking Up to Ironman Training
Saturday, December 19, 2009
352/365 Golden Gate Bridge
Another late night shot coming home from the airport. It was a rough week... Last trip of the year though!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
181/365 - Don't sit on this fence.
Posting for fun from flicker here. www.mymountaintrail.com is still the place to be...
Today was my first shift as a Mt. Tamalpais lookout. No fires today and nice weather. It was a great way to start.
The view is to the ENE. This razor wire surrounds the lookout to keep people from trying to climb into the building when it is not occupied. Or, maybe it is to keep lookouts from trying to escape... Maybe both!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Blog Migration...
If things don't work out, I'll just move back here. After all, I just figured out how to add a small border around my photos, which is a nice improvement. Anyway, see you on the new trail!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
168/365 - Resilience
There is a seam of serpentine rock cutting through Mt. Tam. It usually results in sparse vegitation and rugged, (green) rocky terrain. This tree has taken on the challenge to survive here. So far, so good.
167/365 - Ah, the Tree!
Guess where I ended up while hiking on Mt. Tamalpais yesterday evening? It was quite windy, and I wanted to show the action. It's a bit hard to see at this size, but you may see some if you look close.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
162/365 - Foggy Start
Here's Hal at about 5:45 a.m. last Thursday morning in Thomas, OK. Packing up for another day in the saddle...
The Pursuit of Happiness
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
165/365 - Another Dipsea in the Books
1:05:25 actual, and 1:01:25 adjusted. No injuries, though I am very sore now and tomorrow and Tuesday will be worse. I am now 47 in Dipsea years. One more year and I age up again. Can't wait!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Better Day
From Cordell. Dad felt much better after day 2, and is doing just as well now after Day 4.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
157/365 - Taking One for the Team
Mom and Amber drove us to the start of OKFree. 8 hours, round trip, of driving. Then they toughed out our big wind storm over night. I thought our tent would come down during the biggest gusts (>50 mph I think), But we, and our tent, survived.
Thanks Mom! We couldn't have gotten rolling w/o you! And now, we are counting on seeing you soon in KS!
156/365 - Our Adventure Begins
This, not very clear picture, is the last 11 minutes of our flight in to Tulsa. Those are the most 11 of the 14 most dangerous minutes of a flight. Me, I had to take a picture of the city.
We made it safe and sound. Time to ride our bikes.
Friday, June 5, 2009
OKay to be Free
Last week my client changed our timeline... on Thursday. That means this week was completely unfillable. When you work for yourself that means that you either get caught up in the office (which I did), or take some vacation (which I also did).
Where did I go on my vacation, you ask? Balconville. Well, actually, Yardville which is a hamlet just below Balconville. As a result, my house is much more fire safe than it was. I still need a couple of more days to get all of the way there. But at least I made some progress.
Before I do that though, I just need a bike ride I think.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
153/365 - Climbing Rose
This is one of our climbing roses. It is an amazing display to see in real life.
This photo is actually a double exposure. It's a bit confusing to look at I guess, but I was just experimenting with the effect.
Three days to OK. Four to be Free. OK.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
151/365 - Lori
We rode our bikes through Muir Woods/Beach, Stiinson Beach, and up over Mt. Tamalpais today. It was cold for all except the first 5 minutes and last 15 minutes of the ride. Bolinas ridge was a solid wall of rushing fog.
Lori schooled me on the flats from Stinson to the Mt. Tam climb. I hung on for a while, but gave up for the last 1.5 miles. If she rides like that in OK, her responsibility is going to be to get us a good campsite. I'll be riding w/ the Phat Phorties group. :-)
I'm just glad she isn't seriously training for something right now!
Boy, I can't wait to get out of these temperate temperatures. 90/90 is going to be so awesome, and so OKFree!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Reaching for the Sun
I visited the tree today. This is a picture from below the tree. The sun is trying to burn through the fog on the right, and the tree is reaching for the sun. They never quite met while I was there, but it was fun to see some of the action.
Of course I got soaked by the thick fog and wet grass. So from here, I drove up Middle Peak above the fog and soaked up some of that sun too. It was glorious!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
148/365 - Fog Line
This morning it was 46 degrees, very foggy, and the wind was blowing 12-15 mph. That means that there is lots of what I call "fog rain" under all the trees. Fog rain feels like real rain -- just to be clear.
Those are not fun cycling conditions, and it is even harder to get out there after spending 6.5 hours riding to/from work over the previous two days. I knew it would be warmer once I got above the fog, I just wasn't too excited about getting there.
After 500' of climbing I hit the fog line. Then, another 500' and it was 70 degrees with just a light breeze. Ah, Paradise again! This was the view before I dropped off the ridge back into the 50 degree fog.
There was lots of fog rain, it was cold, it was warm. It was a great ride.
Last night we dropped Lori's car off for service, so after work I rode over to pick it up. It saved me 12 miles and 2500' of climbing. I can't say that I needed the break, but I didn't compain either.
So, 132 miles of riding, about 14,000' of climbing, and most importantly, 9 hours of saddle time these last three days. Am I ready for OKFree? Probably not, but I'm going to survive.
Good news (sort of) today. My Memphis client changed our timeline. This means I don't have to travel next week. At least not to Memphis. Anyway, it also means I can travel to OK from home. This will be much better for us here, and lowers the risk of problems (due to misconnects) on the OK end. Cool.
Can't wait for some heat and humidity. I hope OK doesn't let us down! :-)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
146/365 - San Francisco Looks Cold To Me
When I ride to work, I'm almost always compelled to take a picture of SF as I climb Mt. Tam. This was today's view.
48 miles w/ 5466 ft. of climbing invested towards being free in OK. Oh, and some more stats: 228 watts average, 261 watts normalized. Min temp, 49 degrees, max 100, 2600 calories burned, and I'm tired.
But will it be enough? Guess I will ride to work tomorrow too.
Monday, May 25, 2009
145/365 - The Gardener
Lori has been working hard in the yard this weekend, and she has made some amazing progress.
Note the cherries above her head too! They're yummy!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
141/365 - Old is Good
Steve Larsen, a very talented cyclist and mult-sport athlete from Bend, OR died during a workout this past Tuesday. He was 39. The cause is not known yet, but it apparently was more than just a heart attack.
We're talking one super fit individual here. He placed as high as 9th in the Ironman world championships in Hawaii. But that was not enough.
Steve's death is a loss to the community and devastating for his family (including five children). Our hearts and prayers go out to/for them.
So, on reflection, I'm good with these wrinkles. No botox or face lifts needed here. Old is definitely good.
I'm not too sure I'm happy with those crazy eyebrows though...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
139/365 - Going Gold
I finished my run at the peak of the "golden hour" of the day. 8.2 miles in Memphis at a perfect 72 degrees. It would only be better if I had been home on the Mountain with Lori and Cookie.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ouch!
Physically, this has been a hard weekend. Yesterday I had planned to run a bit on the Dipsea to scout the trail and measure a couple of possible shortcuts (it's a point to point race with some flexibility in the course you run). But I didn't do that.
Lori had a 3-hour bike ride she needed to do (her coach is demanding isn't he?). She was struggling to find the right ride, so I decided to help her out by suggesting a bombastic ride through Central and Western Marin. I couldn't do that without agreeing to join her.
The course turned out to be 55 miles with 5500 feet of climbing. Oh yeah, and the temperature ranged from 90 degrees at home to 100 degrees on the last climb back up the mountain. Lori did great.
I got dehydrated and started feeling like I was going to cramp in both quads and/or hamstrings (depending on how I was pedaling) with about 10 miles to go. I never fully locked into a cramp, but it was touchy. Lori ended up dropping me and then waiting for me in Stinson. I managed to keep up with her on that last climb (but had to bum a water bottle from her), and survived the last few miles to home. I was whipped for sure.
So, today I still needed to do my Dipsea preps. We had to give Cookie a little run (and she is not allowed in the state and national parks which is where the Dipsea is), so we did a quick 3 miles with her. Then it took 11 more miles of slogging up and down the hills of Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais State Park to accomplish my goals. Plus, Lori spanked me for a while on the last leg to home before letting up. I got the last laugh though and didn't slow down -- trying to maintain some self-respect after letting a girl make me hurt like that! Oh boy, were we ever tired when we got home.
As a result of all that fun, the yard work plans were scaled back. The jeep got washed (tons of red sand and gray mud from our trip is now in the driveway), but that was about it this afternoon.
Lastly, a picture of the cherry tree. Another couple of weeks and we will be Bing city. That's good because I'm out of homemade cherry jam. Nice thing about the Bings is it takes almost no sugar to make the jam. Oh yeah, and their a blast to pick. "One for the bowl, one for me, and every other one for Cookie". Cookie is funny because she runs around and eats all the cherries that I accidentally drop. You can imagine what happens to a little dog's stomach after she eats her weight in cherries! That's not the funny part -- just ask Cookie!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
133/365 - Take a Hack!
After working a couple of hours this morning (see the pic), I got back to finishing some of the post-vacation chores. Lori and I offloaded the camper -- and Lori started scaling a mountain of laundry. After carting my stuff from the camper, putting the bikes away, cleaning out the cooler, unloading the Jeep (no small task), trimming some hedges (for better access to the camper/jeep -- always practical w/ yardwork), and working on Eddy (new computer), I managed to put in 27 miles of bike riding.
It was very windy, which should be good training for OKfree. The thousands of feet of climbing confuse the issue, but why worry about that? Oh, that Brooks saddle is the cat's meow let me tell you!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
132/365 - Home at last
We negotiated the last 500 miles today. No adventures to speak of, and that is good.
131/365 Sunrise at the second-to-last campsite
Cookie is checking the Jeep over to make sure it is ready to go. Gas cans, check. Bike rack, check. Shovel, check (needed later that day to save the Mothership). Mud, dirt, and sand everywhere, check...
Saturday, May 9, 2009
126/365 - You talkin' to me?
Did a 10-mile run in the middle of nowhere on this day. These guys were at the turnaround point. This is one hard place to live. One of the ranches around here is at Poverty Flat. It's abandoned (as was this one), but is aptly named.
Friday, May 8, 2009
128/365 - Not quite yet...
One day short of a full moon.
We have been on vacation for the last week. So between work and our vacation, I am way behind on my 365 project. Plus, no internet for the last few days... Much to do.
This is the view from our campsite tonight. Yeah, it's amazing. And we are glad to be here enjoying it too. Good to have a Jeep, let me tell you.
Oh, and a four-wheel drive camper too. The sand was pretty deep driving here, but as long as you keep your speed up, you are probably okay. At least that has been our experience.
We have many other pictures of other views/things. I wish I could remember where we have been! Ha, ha! Life is good. It takes some work to get it right, and that's good.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
122/365 Wildflower Power!
Yesterday Lori competed in the Wildflower long course (70.3) triathlon. She has trained very consistently and hard for this race. As a result, she had to make a trip to the podium for some hardware. Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!
She was given the runner-up trophy last night at the awards ceremony. Today, they show her in third place. Either way, this is an amazing result in a very, very competitive field. Wow! WOW! That is the word.
Here is a picture of Lori and Dorette after their successful race. They both PRed, which was super cool.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
116/365 -- Luxury
Eddy got some new summer shoes today, but wanted to show off the saddle instead. Go figure...
I ran 13.5 miles instead of riding today. Takes less time.
I travel to Memphis tomorrow for a couple of days. Then we leave for Wildflower.
Lori is ready for her race but the taper is mentally difficult. It just doesn't feel right after all that work.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
115/365 - OKFree
Training for OK Free today my back tire blew off the rim. I thought I had been shot! If only I had been packin'!
Anyway, my tire was trashed because I couldn't stop fast enough. Lori had to ride home and get the car to come rescue me. In the mean time, I passed the 1:40 waiting for her by taking pictures of the cars, bikes, and motorcycles going by. This was one of those shots.
I went for a run this evening to make up for my lack of game on the bike. I only rode about 14 miles, so the run was definitely needed.
111/365 - Same view different day.
The only picture I took this day. Very busy w/ work in Savannah. Glad this week is over...
Friday, April 24, 2009
107/365 - Luigi
I'm a bit behind on posting. Very, very busy. And it won't let up for another... hmmm, I'm not sure at the moment. Let's say two months.
In this photo Luigi Bialla shows demonstrates the finer points of the water fetch during the golden hour.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
106/365 - Birds, but not of a feather.
Spent some time at the firehouse getting trained on emergency communications. I'm a RACES elf because I'm too stubborn to meet the county's ridiculous requirements to be official. Finger prints, lie detector test, background check, wind humidity test. Hey, I'm just volunteering to pass along emergency communication when no one else can do it. It's not like I was offering to drive a ballistic missle submarine, for crying out loud.
I digress. Sorry.
Anyway, this cool scene of the hawk, ravens, and airplane is such a good represntation of today's world. I saw them while I was walking home from the firehouse.
By the way, our firefighters are very engaged in their jobs. They actually care about our little neighberhood up here. That's really great for us, but I guess in retrospect, not real surprising.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Living in the Lee
Location is everything on the mountain. This tree lives the good life in the lee of the ridge. Oh yeah, but it still has a view of San Francisco and the Farallon Islands.
Today was a very windy day, but this tree just enjoyed the fresh breeze.
This was taken on my run this evening.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
102/365 - Easter Sunrise
Every year on Easter Sunday morning about 250 motorcycles fly by our house; some at very high speeds. They have an informal meet-up at the top of Mt. Tamalpais for the sunrise.
I got the chance to talk w/ one of the park rangers about it. He says that if the gate to the top is locked, the bikers cut the locks and go anyway. So, instead of making a big deal out of it, the park now unlocks the gate at about 5:30 a.m. and then charges them all $6 to park in the parking lot at the top (which is the normal fee). The park makes a bunch of money, and the bikers watch their sunrise...
I figured I would get up and photograph them. If you can't beat em' join them, right? I should work for the park...
I missed the photo of the biggest group. They were on both sides of the road. Not the sharpest tools in the ol' shed.
And we don't have to set an alarm clock. A half hour of noise-pollution takes care of that task for us.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
94/365 - No Guessing Required
Just another reason why we love living here. This is the view of Stinson Beach from Mt. Tamalpais, taken while we were out on the bikes today.
