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

I've spent the last few years delighting in all the hilarious catastrophes that come with triathlon, as there seems to be at least one blooper in every race. Some bizarre unexpected obstacle, or more often than not, strange and silly predicaments I manage to bring upon myself.

I must admit that I am somewhat at a loss for what to say about IRONMAN Boulder. Everything -- and I mean everything -- went right.

A few times leading into IM Texas, I was struck with a sudden panic of "Oh my god what have I done?!" as I remembered I was about to do another Ironman. But leading into IM Boulder, all I felt was excitement, and a perverse thrill as I watched the forecast hurl us towards 90+ degree temps. "Bring it on!" I thought, "The hotter the better!"

I did a lot of preparation for this race, from my nerdy spreadsheet of 10 hours worth of nutrition to my specific goals about pacing, power, and even attitude. I split the race into five parts: the swim, the first lap of the bike, the second lap of the bike, miles 1-18 of the run, and miles 19-26 of the run. I was hoping for success in each of these, but would treat each as its own individual chapter.

I hadn't expected to do the majority of the swim alone, but once the fifteen of us fell into 4 or 5 distinct pace groups, I was lost in the middle, with no one. As the one hour group disappeared into the distance, I had to find a new goal to stay motivated. It didn't take long. "Don't get caught by the age group men!" I swam hard, imagining those fast guys behind closing in on me. I swam myself right into a swim PR at one hour and three minutes, and just as I headed into the T1 change tent I could hear the announcer, "And, here comes our first age group male, finishing up the swim ..."

Yes!!!

Chapter 1, success.

My goals on the bike were also focused less around catching, and more about not getting caught. I knew at least four women were close behind, so my first objective was to make it to mile 15 without getting passed. As a bonus, I promised myself a cookie for every mile past 15 that I could hold off my competition. Thirty three cookies later, I was still well above my pace targets, and feeling great. The course took us around all the farmland routes north of Boulder that I ride regularly, so I was right at home. The absolute consistency of my training with Coach Tim and QT2 Systems had me feeling confident and prepared, so this ride felt routine. By the end of the first lap I had advanced two positions in the field.

Chapter two, success.


Posted by Kimberly 09/20/2018

Went to watch Nik in his final road race with the Cal Poly team. Since he'll graduate in the Fall, he'll be able to race the Fall Mountain Bike season but won't be around for next year's Spring RoadRace season.

This one was a criterium--a fast, multi-lap race around a short, flat course on paved city streets. Although hosted by Stanford University, the course was a five-cornered, half-mile loop in Morgan Hill, adjacent to the headquarters of Specialized Bicycle Components (who just happen to be one of the most popular makers of racing bicycles in the world).


Posted by Dan 04/25/2011

Nik and I have spent the last 3 months exploring around Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. After spending a fair amount of time in SE Asia, I think it is time for some SE Asia Superlative Awards (*Vietnam must be excluded from this ceremony, as a visit there has been saved for another trip). I would like all of you to keep in mind that these awards are not "how it is." I am not saying I have done a complete sampling of each of the countries and have collected what I believe to be "the truth." These awards are simply based off of my experiences in these countries, which may differ drastically from another traveler's experiences. So please enjoy the Best and the Worst, as accounted by Whitney.

Food (start with the important one)

Best: Thailand, hands down, no question. Curries, spices, fried dishes, fun nuggets... all done perfectly. In Thailand, I can pretty much walk into just about anywhere and get something enjoyable, if not out of this world.

Some delicious Thai food. Can't get enough of this stuff!

Worst: Laos. I'm sorry, but Laos didn't bring it. I actually skipped meals in Laos (which anyone knows is not like me at all!) because they just disappointed me. They did, however, own on the sticky rice! That was their sole contribution to good food.

Coffee

Best: Laos. This partially redeems Laos for their bad food. Lao coffee is amazing. It is possibly, if I may be so bold, some of the best coffee I've had.

Worst: Thailand. NesCafe everywhere! You find the occasional establishment advertising, "Real coffee!" as if it's something out of this world, when in fact, in most cases, it's still just a Denny's-status cup of coffee.

Beer

Best: Laos. To label any southeast Asian beer with the word "best" is a bit difficult (especially coming from beer-tastic Oregon), but BeerLao is still a tasty beer. It's tasty, it comes in big bottles, and it's cheap! (within the country)

BeerLao - good stuff!

Worst: Cambodia. Anchor Beer seemed to be the country's beer... bleh! It's watery, tastes like shoes, and manages to leave you with a throbbing headache the next day after only 2 beers. Something's not right about that.

Posted by Whitney 12/12/2008