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

This was my second year at HITS Palm Springs, returning to defend my 2015 title. Since I didn't write about last year, and last year was kind of a long time ago, just a single, emphatic word summed up my memory of that winter desert race:

COLD!!!!

So this year I did a fair amount of preparation to brace myself for the 55 degree water and the prospect of emerging soaking wet into 55 degree air to go bike in the wind:

1. I spent the week reminding myself to quit whining like a wimp.
   
   
2. I showed up to transition dressed like I was ready to go ice fishing, to preserve my core temperature as long as possible. (This made body marking something of a challenge).
   
   
3. I got in the icy lake 10 minutes before my wave start to "warm up" or more precisely, to "numb up." This was a critical step. I got the painful part out of the way early, so that I was able to start the race devoid of all feeling.
   
   
4. I added one more piece to my T1: an insulated vest with the pockets loaded up with hand warmer packets.

The swim was a success, despite the fact that almost half of it was into the direct glare of the morning sun.

I put on my toasty vest in transition, and I knew I was going to be plenty cozy, even if I couldn't feel my feet for the next three hours.

And then I set off for the "easy" part of the race.

The first obstacle came up early in the ride. The course support was a bit sparse out on those desert highways, and a few intersections had police presence, but they weren't necessarily actively directing traffic.

I approached a red light, and felt a little nervous since no one was preventing cross traffic from taking their green. But you don't stop for red lights during a race! I proceeded through with some hesitation, and cleared the intersection just in time to avoid a pickup truck barreling through. Yikes!

Not long after, I found myself at another huge intersection. There were no other racers in view ahead, and I panicked, wondering which way the course went. One of the downsides of being at the front of a race is that sometimes the course disappears.


Posted by Kimberly 12/07/2016

It was immediately apparent that the $25 30 day visa in Indonesia was not long enough so we made an executive decision to stay for 31 days for a mere $20 extra. While in Sumatra we took a night boat to the remote Mentawai Islands south of Padang. There we stayed with a local Mentawai family and enjoyed jungle trekking and experienced traditional Mentawai medicine man rituals. It became apparent why all the medicine men are all so thin and wiry; the rituals go through the night and involve singing, chanting and dancing until you collapse from exhaustion. Then you repeat.

Mentawai medicine man dancing away evil spirits

Posted by nik 02/06/2009, revised 02/24/2009

Well it's been quite an adventure getting to this country! In a "quick" summary:

• Original flight was LAX to Sydney with a 4-hour layover in Fiji.
  
  
• LAX to Fiji flight was delayed to the next day, so I got put up in a great room at the Sheraton with overly-sufficient meal vouchers for the delicious hotel restaurant.
  
  
• Due to the late arrival in Fiji, no flights were departing for Sydney that night, so I got put up in a beautiful resort in Fiji, with yet again more meal vouchers than I could use.
  
  
• Finally got to Sydney, Neil and I had to sort out a place to stay (I guess most people sort this out ahead of time, but that's not our style). We found a house to stay in - $60 for a night, $175 for a week. Neil went with a week, since he needs time to sort out his permanent residence in Sydney.
  
  
• The place is an absolute dump! It's run down, about to fall over, mold growing on the walls, mushrooms growing out of the ceiling...It's actually quite amusing, but only because it's a temporary thing. We can put up with it with a laugh for a few days, but there's actually a woman that lives there permanently! I don't get it.

Posted by Whitney 02/23/2008, revised 03/08/2008