The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

IRONMAN Oceanside 70.3 was my 2018 season opener. And I guess my main takeaway is... There's nowhere to go but up.

One major setback at this race cost me significantly, but there were plenty of positive moments too, and at the end of the day, I don't have any tears to shed about finishing 17th versus ... I don't know, maybe 14th? We all got the same burrito at the finish line.

Oceanside brings out the top competition, in both the age group and the pro fields. The front of the women's race was exciting this year, with former Oceanside champions Heather Jackson and Holly Lawrence, Olympians Sarah True and Paula Findlay, QT2 superstar Jeanni Seymour fresh off a win at IRONMAN 70.3 South America in January, and Anne Haug (the eventual winner) fresh off a win at IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai in February.

The race was supposed to start on the beach this year, but our swim course got changed at the last minute due to the threat of "four foot waves" at the original swim start. Apologies to the surfers in my Ohana, but I have no idea what this means. Four feet of snow is big snow, so four feet of waves must be big waves.

I mean, I'm sure Eddie would go, but I'm just a triathete; shredding the gnar isn't part of my agenda.

So we were back to a harbor swim (like last year), much to my delight. The water was smooth and calm in the harbor, and 62 degrees is about perfect for a sleeveless wetsuit. It's chilly in the morning, but the sun comes up just in time so we're not swimming in the dark. I lucked out this year and found my peeps -- five of us formed a tight little pod and I enjoyed the twenty nine minutes of bubble massage to my face from the kick of our lead swimmer (However, I could've done without the gash on my hand from one of my fellow swim twins who forgot to trim her claws).

I had a massively clumsy T1 as my pre-chilled (and mysteriously bloody?) hands fumbled with my race belt. This is unique to Oceanside; the requirement that the race belt be worn during the bike, due to strict security within Camp Pendleton where the ride takes place.


Posted by Kimberly 04/16/2018

In December 2001, Nik graduated with honors from Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, with a degree in Automotive and Truck Technology. He made the Director's Honor List 13 times and was named Student of the Phase three times. His final GPA was 3.95.

Nik now works for a boat repair shop on the SF-Bay waterfront in Alameda. He performs maintenance and repairs on all manner of recreational watercraft, including fishing, power and sailboats.

Posted by Dan 01/07/2002

Crossing into the beautifully distinct landscape of northern Peru

I'm in Peru! Over the past 2 days, I've been making my way from Vilcabamba, Ecuador across the border and through northern Peru. It required a lot of vehicle changes, but the whole way has been absolutely beautiful with some views that people elsewhere pay lots of money on special tours just to see. The border crossing was probably the most tranquil crossing I've ever done. It's a new crossing, only opened a few years ago, and the roads to and from are very lightly traveled. I haven't seen another gringo since Vilcabamba (aside from the Aussie muchacha I'm traveling with at the moment). I'll spend 2 days here in the town of Chachapoyas, enjoying the culture and scenery around here, and then keep heading south.


Ancient ruins of the Chachapoyas, or "Cloud People", in Kuelap

I'm heading fairly quickly to the south, where my main priority spots are. Then I can stop at secondary places on the way back according to time left. So this weekend, I bus it to Lima (22 hours!), and then shortly after (maybe one or two days), continue on to Arequipa and canyon country in the south, where I plan to do some awesome treks and hopefully meet up with a friend.


Posted by Whitney 08/18/2011, revised 09/09/2011