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

Folsom International Triathlon was located a bit further away than the last few, but we still opted to drive up the morning of. My plans for being prepared and well-rested for this race were sidelined by numerous obstacles (Two hours standing in line for the rental car I'd already reserved, a late night war against an invading ant colony in the bathroom, etc) so I had to be adaptable and just hope for the best.

I compromised by settling for almost 5 hours of sleep, but intentionally arriving an hour and a half after transition opened. I knew what this meant: last pick on transition rack location and very little time to get ready.

The transition area was packed when I arrived, but race officials were carving out spaces on crowded racks for the latecomers like me. Instead of orderly, alternating bike positions, every single person had faced their bike towards the Bike Exit, creating a jammed mess of handlebars. Athletes had staked out giant transition spaces with what looked like picnic blankets and a week's worth of camping gear. I slipped my bike into the three inch gap between two campsites while the announcer on the loudspeaker interviewed the feature Elite triathlete of the day, Robin Pomeroy. I was familiar with Robin and her skills -- in particular, her swim skills. I knew I had my work cut out for me, and the bike and run were going to be all about undoing whatever damage she was about to do in the water!

My late arrival meant that my only warm up was a quick few minutes of swimming, but I was feeling good at the starting line. My biggest challenge with the swim is making it feel like a race. I can't see a pace clock or my heart rate monitor, and it's hard to gauge my speed based on the speeds of other anonymous swimmers around me. I often catch myself having too much fun out there in the middle of the lake, and not really focusing on Work.

As luck would have it, I landed right on the feet of the perfect draft. She was just slightly faster than me, but with the advantage of tucking in behind her slipstream, I was able to push just enough to hang on to her swift pace. I was laser-focused on swimming strong and keeping her bubbles in view, and before I knew it, we were rounding the final buoy towards the finish.

Already done?!

Holy crap, quickest swim ever!

And it turns out, it WAS my quickest swim ever. Open water splits are hard to compare since there are so many variables with water conditions, course measurement, and placement of the timing mats. But this was definitely my fastest 1500 meter swim in eleven years of competition, by a full minute! I like to think it has something to do with increasing my training from three to five swim days per week, but it was probably more due to tactical maneuvering this time. Hey, I'll take it!

Transition was quick and I zipped out to the bike course to see how many dudes I could catch. Robin was up ahead somewhere, but I wasn't likely to see her until the run. I passed a few guys but for the most part, it was pretty lonely out there. With so many turns I lost track of which direction I was going, but I noted with irritation that the wind seemed to be pummeling my face no matter how many turns I took. After getting beaten up in the headwind for awhile, a guy blew past me at top speed, and then promptly slowed down as he pulled in front.

Ah yes, headwind's a bitch ain't it?

I had passed him early on, just out of transition, so I figured he must have been enjoying my draft for quite awhile.


Posted by Kimberly 08/03/2015

Well we managed to extricate ourselves from Koh Tao last week. The trick is to do it fast and with no warning. We went down to check on tickets to Chiang Mai and found that it was either leave the next day or wait another week for availability, so we booked it and got the next boat off.

Goodells Rule!

Posted by nik 10/21/2008, revised 11/05/2008

Kampuchea! Nik and I spent a little over a week in Cambodia, in the bustling capital city of Phnom Penh and the cheery town of Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. Although our time in Cambodia was short, we were able to get a wonderful glimpse at the personality and energy of the country and its people. It was a week that fell right in line with the splendor of the rest of our journey through the southeast thus far. And now for an unorganized smattering of commentary on aspects of that week...

Monkey on a street corner in Phnom Penh

People

The people of Cambodia are some of my favorite people of Southeast Asia. It's amazing because the tumultuous history of the Khmer people can still be felt and seen in the streets, the buildings, and the population, yet these people were some of the smiliest, friendliest, most genuine and gentle people I have ever encountered.

It was only about 30 years ago that the country endured the regime of the Khmer Rouge, a period of bloodshed, starvation, and genocide. Also, due to US efforts in the 1970's to flush out the Viet Cong, Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and de-limbed mine victims are a common sight in the streets of the cities. Physical and sociological stuggles are undeniably present within the Khmer people, but they come with smiles and easy laughter that light them up as an incredibly resilient nation.

Some of the smiley children of Siem Reap

Posted by Whitney 12/03/2008, revised 12/05/2008