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

The White Lake Half Pro-Am was my first race of the 2022 season. It's a long-running local race in North Carolina, which featured a pro prize purse this year, thanks to the tireless work of Aaron Kolk, a fellow pro triathlete who had secured sponsor deals and the support of the PTO (Professional Triathletes Organisation).

This race had a long, long shallow water run into (and out of) the lake, and with the "Aussie exit," (run up on the beach, make a U-turn, then run back into the water for the second lap) that meant four installments of a high-stepping 50 yard dash through shin-deep water. I had played around with this the day before, practicing my entries and exits, and quickly discovered that despite the greater supply of sea level oxygen, my general lack of anaerobic training was a limiter when it came to maximizing my vertical leap.

Still, the long-leg swimmers and natural hurdlers have a clear advantage, and there was a brief moment early on in the race where I couldn't see anyone around me and had the sensation of leading the swim. That's not really my thing, so lucky for me, Ali Brauer handled it by churning her way into a four minute lead on the rest of us. I eventually tucked in nicely behind Summer Deal, and even stuck with her when the wind sent a giant triangle turn buoy swinging right towards my face. Instinctively, I dove underneath it and porpoised my way back up the surface on the other side, which worked like a dream. Swimming like a mermaid just makes everything better.



I exited the water in fourth place, but my quick transition got me out on the bike in third. I chased down Ginger Howell and moved into second, aggressively pursuing some wattage goals that turned out to be just too ambitious for me. Or too ambitious for me that day. Or maybe too ambitious to maintain while tucked in aero position for 56 miles of the flattest course I've ever seen.


Posted by Kimberly 05/12/2022

Thailand is generally considered to be a safe country for travellers to visit, but if you plan a trip to Thailand it would be wise to avoid the island of Ko Tao. You wont find this in your Lonely Planet but many tourists who venture to Ko Tao never return. The island, considered to be one of the best places in Asia to get scuba certified, is packed with over 40 dive companies and the instructors and divers that go with it. All on an island small enough to walk across in an hour. Nearly everyone on the island is here to dive, and to party, and everyone does alot of both. If you're not familiar with the dive community, they are the most laid back, fun people you'll ever meet. By diving or enrolling in a course you immediatley make friends and get plugged into the local scene. The problem? The island drags you in. Countless many people have the same story; 'Yeah, I came here for a week long vacation and never left..' Within 6 hours of arriving it was plain that our original 1 week target was totally unrealistic.

Posted by nik 09/21/2008

-My watch doesn't know what a leap year is.

-Pandora.com is not available in Australia. Those of you who know what that is, you can understand how crushed and heartbroken I am. Those of you who don't know what that is, go find out. It's amazing.

-Ants here don't form neat, single-file lines. They run around all over the place in a big mob, no order at all.

-People in Townsville are actually not as friendly as those is Sydney. This surprises me, I figured a small town would have even friendlier people. They aren't noticeably UNfriendly, but they don't make me feel warm and special the way Sydneyers did.

-However, the people in Townsville WILL give you directions... even if they don't know where something is. If you ask them, "Excuse me, do you know how I can get to such and such a place?" they won't say "No, sorry I don't know," they will give you directions that perfectly contradict the previous guide's advice.

That's all for now. More to come in the future, I'm sure.
Posted by Whitney 02/28/2008