In 1987, Ellen Kushner burst upon the fantasy scene with stunning debut novels like Swordspoint and Thomas the Rhymer. With her mastery of language and her delightful characters and prose, I was spellbound with her books and short stories, and waited for further novels.
The wait was long, and somehow, I missed The Fall of Kings a few years ago, but upon reading that The Privilege of the Sword had just come out, I reserved it at the local library.
I'm disappointed to say that for me, at least, the magic is gone. The brilliant language that opened Swordspoint is nowhere in evident in this novel, and the insights into characters so artfully exposed in the 3rd person narrative in that novel is also largely gone, as most of the story is told in the first person by Katherine Talbert, a cousin of Alec Campion who, due to family obligations, is obliged to study the sword to relieve her mother of debt.
The study of martial arts by a neophyte must be the subject of hundreds of novels and movies by now (who can forget Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, or the brilliant Snake in the Eagle's Shadow). But for a Western audience, this is perhaps an unusual topic, and possibly even a first with a female protagonist. Over the next 6 months under various tutors, Katherine becomes a competent swordswoman, and begins developing a new personality, a heroic do-gooder based on the romantic novels she reads while learning swordsmanship.
The novel flips back and forth between Katherine's perspective and a 3rd person narrative expositing the machinations between Lords in the Council of Lords ruling the city of Riverside. Unfortunately, there are too many distractions in too short a space, and the novel never gets past petty rivalries and a few sideshows that are much less interesting than Katherine Talbert. Unfortunately, those who look for a climax as exciting as in the aforementioned Jackie Chan movies will be extremely disappointed. The story ends in a perhaps classic fairy-tale fashion, but feels forced: I definitely hoped for more from the characters than a willingness to settle for status quo.
Naturally, even bad Ellen Kushner is still pretty good, and the book is worth reading, just disappointing if you're used to her previous high standards. Worth your time to check out at the library, but not worth purchasing.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Friday, August 03, 2007
Review: Old Man's War
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army.
With these words, John Scalzi began his first novel to critical acclaim. I've reviewed the other two books in the series, The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony, and reading them in reverse order did not spoil the first novel at all.
The book is about John Perry, the protagonist of the story who trades in his old life for a new one as a soldier. For reasons too complicated to get into (they will be explained in the book), humankind's defense is staffed by geriatrics who are given a new body, along with an obligation to serve for 10 years. At 75, you get to have the body of a fit 20 year old again. Who wouldn't jump at the chance? You might get shot at, but you'd die of other reasons anyway.
As war stories go, this novel isn't interesting at the level of The Forever War or even Star ship Troopers. It is clear here that Scalzi intends merely to spin a grippingly good yarn, and he succeeds, in droves.
Yet, you can see the hints of what would develop in later novels into a more serious streak, and the irreverence and humor is wonderful. One of my favorite sections is the user's manual provided to new recruits on their new body:
Does My New Body Have a Brand Name?
Yes! Your new body is known as the Defender Series XII, "Hercules" model. Technically, it's known as CG/CDF Model 12, Revision 1.2.11... Additionally, each body has its own model number for maintenance purposes. You can access your own number through your BrainPal(tm). Don't worry, you can still use your given name for every day purposes!
This sense of humor (all too frequently missing in Starship Troopers) shows up often enough to amuse the reader, but disappears during action sequences or serious moments. The pacing of the book is also excellent, dragging you along and keeping you turning pages. The characters aren't very well developed, but the first person narrative works very well, and you learn to like the characters. There's a bit of romance that's a little far-fetched to me, but maybe not to everyone. There isn't a bad ending here, though it's nothing profound.
If I have one complaint about this book, it is that it is far too short. If you brought this book onto a 4 hour plane flight, you'd be finished by the end of it, so you'd have to carry a sequel or two if you're flying somewhere far. But maybe that's not a bad thing: extra moments spent in Scalzi's universe will provide entertainment far beyond what you might expect from words on a page.
Highly recommended!
With these words, John Scalzi began his first novel to critical acclaim. I've reviewed the other two books in the series, The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony, and reading them in reverse order did not spoil the first novel at all.
The book is about John Perry, the protagonist of the story who trades in his old life for a new one as a soldier. For reasons too complicated to get into (they will be explained in the book), humankind's defense is staffed by geriatrics who are given a new body, along with an obligation to serve for 10 years. At 75, you get to have the body of a fit 20 year old again. Who wouldn't jump at the chance? You might get shot at, but you'd die of other reasons anyway.
As war stories go, this novel isn't interesting at the level of The Forever War or even Star ship Troopers. It is clear here that Scalzi intends merely to spin a grippingly good yarn, and he succeeds, in droves.
Yet, you can see the hints of what would develop in later novels into a more serious streak, and the irreverence and humor is wonderful. One of my favorite sections is the user's manual provided to new recruits on their new body:
Does My New Body Have a Brand Name?
Yes! Your new body is known as the Defender Series XII, "Hercules" model. Technically, it's known as CG/CDF Model 12, Revision 1.2.11... Additionally, each body has its own model number for maintenance purposes. You can access your own number through your BrainPal(tm). Don't worry, you can still use your given name for every day purposes!
This sense of humor (all too frequently missing in Starship Troopers) shows up often enough to amuse the reader, but disappears during action sequences or serious moments. The pacing of the book is also excellent, dragging you along and keeping you turning pages. The characters aren't very well developed, but the first person narrative works very well, and you learn to like the characters. There's a bit of romance that's a little far-fetched to me, but maybe not to everyone. There isn't a bad ending here, though it's nothing profound.
If I have one complaint about this book, it is that it is far too short. If you brought this book onto a 4 hour plane flight, you'd be finished by the end of it, so you'd have to carry a sequel or two if you're flying somewhere far. But maybe that's not a bad thing: extra moments spent in Scalzi's universe will provide entertainment far beyond what you might expect from words on a page.
Highly recommended!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Review: Glasshouse
I'm a long time Singularity Skeptic, but I have no problems with the singularity as a science fiction concept. It's just that only Charles Stross and Greg Egan have had the guts and imagination to actually postulate and follow through on creating a world where nano-assemblers, unlimited storage and intelligence augmentation can happen, and create a compelling story out of it that is more than just a paean to the gods of Moore's Law.
In his latest novel, Charles Stross postulates a world where nano-assemblers have been perfected, along with the editing of human bodies and memories, as well as FTL-travel through gates. What is the biggest threat to such a civilization? It's energy sources are limitless, as are its ability to churn out material goods. Being a computer scientist itself, Stross postulates a virus/worm, one that insinuates itself using human beings as a vector, and exploits the very operating system behind the civilization.
The story revolves around Robin, a man who wakes up from his latest memory surgery (if you're going to live several thousand years, you're going to have to toss out memories once in a while) with surprisingly little recollection of who he is, except for a note to himself that he wrote (a suspiciously archaic medium for transmission of information). While in his recovery state, he meets an attractive woman named Kay, who sells him on the idea of joining an experiment, one purportedly designed to explore the history of the pre-Singularity civilization.
That civilization, of course, is North American suburbia during the 1990s, and Robin wakes up to find himself in a woman's body, subject to the suffocating rules thought up by those running the experiment in an attempt to simulate the social norms of the 1950s... Or so the reader thinks. As the plot unravels in a series of memory-recovery flashbacks and Robin/Reeve's investigation of her new-found milleu, we discover that the experiment is not what it seems, and Reeve herself is not just an unreliable narrator, but apparently has motives that are not quite revealed to even herself.
The book has several twists and turns, including an ending that's quite a bang, though perhaps the ending is just a bit too Hollywood for my taste.
This book has done something no other book has in recent years: it kept me up well past my bed-time reading. The book starts slow at first, but by the middle chapters Stross hits his stride: the pacing is perfect, the characters believable, and the narration hones to perfection. Charles Stross is definitely at the peak of his craft here, unlike many of his other recent novels. Perhaps the book I can think of most similar to this is Joe Haldeman's All My Sins Remembered, which if you've read that book, is extremely high praise indeed.
Highly recommended, and excellent airplane reading. Just don't expect to be able to put it down once you get going.
In his latest novel, Charles Stross postulates a world where nano-assemblers have been perfected, along with the editing of human bodies and memories, as well as FTL-travel through gates. What is the biggest threat to such a civilization? It's energy sources are limitless, as are its ability to churn out material goods. Being a computer scientist itself, Stross postulates a virus/worm, one that insinuates itself using human beings as a vector, and exploits the very operating system behind the civilization.
The story revolves around Robin, a man who wakes up from his latest memory surgery (if you're going to live several thousand years, you're going to have to toss out memories once in a while) with surprisingly little recollection of who he is, except for a note to himself that he wrote (a suspiciously archaic medium for transmission of information). While in his recovery state, he meets an attractive woman named Kay, who sells him on the idea of joining an experiment, one purportedly designed to explore the history of the pre-Singularity civilization.
That civilization, of course, is North American suburbia during the 1990s, and Robin wakes up to find himself in a woman's body, subject to the suffocating rules thought up by those running the experiment in an attempt to simulate the social norms of the 1950s... Or so the reader thinks. As the plot unravels in a series of memory-recovery flashbacks and Robin/Reeve's investigation of her new-found milleu, we discover that the experiment is not what it seems, and Reeve herself is not just an unreliable narrator, but apparently has motives that are not quite revealed to even herself.
The book has several twists and turns, including an ending that's quite a bang, though perhaps the ending is just a bit too Hollywood for my taste.
This book has done something no other book has in recent years: it kept me up well past my bed-time reading. The book starts slow at first, but by the middle chapters Stross hits his stride: the pacing is perfect, the characters believable, and the narration hones to perfection. Charles Stross is definitely at the peak of his craft here, unlike many of his other recent novels. Perhaps the book I can think of most similar to this is Joe Haldeman's All My Sins Remembered, which if you've read that book, is extremely high praise indeed.
Highly recommended, and excellent airplane reading. Just don't expect to be able to put it down once you get going.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunrise from Mt. Hamilton
Bill Bushnell borrowed my camera to film the sunrise, and had the presence of mind to switch it to video mode. Unfortunately, as you can see, the camera does have some flaws.
I also have still pictures from the trip:
 |
| Moonlight Mt. Hamilton |
Saturday, July 28, 2007
It's Captain Switzerland... er... SwitzerAmerica... er..
One consequence of the airline losing all our lugguage was that at the end of the trip (after riding the entire trip wearing donated jerseys), Mike had to buy new cycling jerseys. One of them (and I will admit it seems like a particularly nice one) is the Switzerland Jersey.Here, Mike poses for a photo as Captain Switzerland! He might not be jumping buildings in a single bound, but he's definitely riding up Sonora Pass (2933m) without stopping!
I think it definitely looks good on him.
Review: Avocet 700x28 Fasgrip Tires
Lisa & I frequently run Fasgrip 700x32 tires on our tandem when we tour. The tires are incredibly durable (lasting well over 3000 miles, even under loaded touring conditions in the mountains), are smooth, grip well, and are pretty much ideal for the kind of riding we like to do.
For local riding, I thought we might want something lighter and faster, so I mounted 700x28 models of the same tire. Now both the 32 and the 28s are labelled "Duro", which means that they should have an additional mm of tread, which is what you want on a tandem.
Well, a couple of years ago, I discovered that my 700x28s didn't last much past 1000 miles. Subsequently, we didn't ride as much, so our tires were wearing out every 6 months or so, which I thought was fast, but not excessively so.
Well, Mike Samuel found 3 of those on sale at the Bicycle Outfitter, so he mounted them on his bike and rode them on our tour of the Swiss, Italian, and Austrian Alps. After the recent Kiss of Death ride, I looked down and saw his worn out 700x28 rear. Now, Mike weighs around 200 pounds, but nowhere as much as a tandem. I estimate his tire had about 1200 miles on it, with an upper limit of 1500 miles. Granted, these are mountainous miles, but that makes me question whether the 28s really do have an extra mm of tread. In any case, if we had had 3 more days of dry weather in the Alps this year, he would have ridden his tire into the nylon.
In any case, if you area heavy (more than 180 pounds or so), don't think that going from the 25s to the 28s will give you more tire life (at least, in the case of Avocets). You need to go all the way to the 32s.
For local riding, I thought we might want something lighter and faster, so I mounted 700x28 models of the same tire. Now both the 32 and the 28s are labelled "Duro", which means that they should have an additional mm of tread, which is what you want on a tandem.
Well, a couple of years ago, I discovered that my 700x28s didn't last much past 1000 miles. Subsequently, we didn't ride as much, so our tires were wearing out every 6 months or so, which I thought was fast, but not excessively so.
Well, Mike Samuel found 3 of those on sale at the Bicycle Outfitter, so he mounted them on his bike and rode them on our tour of the Swiss, Italian, and Austrian Alps. After the recent Kiss of Death ride, I looked down and saw his worn out 700x28 rear. Now, Mike weighs around 200 pounds, but nowhere as much as a tandem. I estimate his tire had about 1200 miles on it, with an upper limit of 1500 miles. Granted, these are mountainous miles, but that makes me question whether the 28s really do have an extra mm of tread. In any case, if we had had 3 more days of dry weather in the Alps this year, he would have ridden his tire into the nylon.
In any case, if you area heavy (more than 180 pounds or so), don't think that going from the 25s to the 28s will give you more tire life (at least, in the case of Avocets). You need to go all the way to the 32s.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Review: Postively False
This is the story of Floyd Landis, his amazing win at the Tour de France last year, and what the court case he's fighting is about. I read this during the recentKiss of Death bike tour.
Before I read the book, I had done quite a bit of independent research into the case and the lab reports around it. To my mind, whether or not Landis doped is besides the question. Any lab that ran analysis the way the Paris doping lab did would have trouble successfully diagnosing diabetes, let alone testosterone doping, so the lab has no credibility to me. It might still be that Landis doped, but I don't think the evidence so far points in that direction. This is just my opinion as someone who's done physics experiments incompetently enough to get ludicrous results, and can recognize incompetence in other lab technicians.
On to the book itself. It's well-written, being ghost-written by a New York Times journalist. It's told in an extremely conversational style, and I could follow along his career. It seems that Landis is an extremely hard worker, and works harder than most other cyclists (25,000 miles a year is an extremely high volume of training). He then found scientists and trainers who took an extremely scientific approach to his training and got himself up to a high level from being Lance's domestique.
The descriptions of bike races, however, was a little disappointing, and I wished he'd spent more time discussing techniques, rather than focusing on all the off-the bike action, as well as a few salacious details about him and Lance's disagreements, etc.
All in all, a short book, well written, and well worth your time, even if you think Landis doped.
Before I read the book, I had done quite a bit of independent research into the case and the lab reports around it. To my mind, whether or not Landis doped is besides the question. Any lab that ran analysis the way the Paris doping lab did would have trouble successfully diagnosing diabetes, let alone testosterone doping, so the lab has no credibility to me. It might still be that Landis doped, but I don't think the evidence so far points in that direction. This is just my opinion as someone who's done physics experiments incompetently enough to get ludicrous results, and can recognize incompetence in other lab technicians.
On to the book itself. It's well-written, being ghost-written by a New York Times journalist. It's told in an extremely conversational style, and I could follow along his career. It seems that Landis is an extremely hard worker, and works harder than most other cyclists (25,000 miles a year is an extremely high volume of training). He then found scientists and trainers who took an extremely scientific approach to his training and got himself up to a high level from being Lance's domestique.
The descriptions of bike races, however, was a little disappointing, and I wished he'd spent more time discussing techniques, rather than focusing on all the off-the bike action, as well as a few salacious details about him and Lance's disagreements, etc.
All in all, a short book, well written, and well worth your time, even if you think Landis doped.
Review: Pimsleur Italian
I checked this out from the library, and used it to try to learn Italian. It's terrible, compared to the competition, for instance the Berlitz series or even the Fodor's French For Travelers that I used 2 years ago to learn French. It goes at a slow pace, which isn't bad for retention, but as far as I'm concerned, it's focussed on entirely the wrong kind of things a traveler would be interested in.
For instance, the initial 3 CDs spend all their time talking about "How are you?" "I'm well." The next 3 are spent asking, "Would you like to eat?" "Would you like to have dinner with me?" "When would you like to eat?" Mike Samueltried to learn German using the German equivalent, and we made jokes about how Pimsleur should really be renamed "Pimpsleur". It's all very useful if your primary focus is picking up members of the opposite sex or trying to be very polite, but for a bicycle tour of Europe, it is absolutely worthless. For survival in the country-side or in the city, it's is also worthless.
When Lisa and I went to Europe 4 years ago, we used Berlitz German, which was much more practical, taught you how to count, etc. The tapes were dense, so we had to listen multiple times, but that's the point of having it on tape, so you can replay the lessons over and over until you get it.
All in all, the Pimsleur language lessons are not good value for money, and not useful for serious travelers. Disrecommended.
For instance, the initial 3 CDs spend all their time talking about "How are you?" "I'm well." The next 3 are spent asking, "Would you like to eat?" "Would you like to have dinner with me?" "When would you like to eat?" Mike Samueltried to learn German using the German equivalent, and we made jokes about how Pimsleur should really be renamed "Pimpsleur". It's all very useful if your primary focus is picking up members of the opposite sex or trying to be very polite, but for a bicycle tour of Europe, it is absolutely worthless. For survival in the country-side or in the city, it's is also worthless.
When Lisa and I went to Europe 4 years ago, we used Berlitz German, which was much more practical, taught you how to count, etc. The tapes were dense, so we had to listen multiple times, but that's the point of having it on tape, so you can replay the lessons over and over until you get it.
All in all, the Pimsleur language lessons are not good value for money, and not useful for serious travelers. Disrecommended.
Book Review: Lark and Wren
Roberto downloaded this book to his cell phone, and we had a few rainy days during the tour, so I had time to finish this book. As novels go, it's not terribly well-written: a lot of the novel tells us how the characters feel and think, rather than demonstrating via their actions. The plot does move fast, so you're never left hanging on wondering what happens next.
The story revolves around a young woman, Rune, and tells the story of how she becomes a Bard and hence is your typical fantasy growing up story. She leaves the small town to the big city, meets a few friends, learns music, loses her mentor, and finds her husband... At the last bit of the book, there's a short section where they find the missing prince of a kingdom, pursued by the former king's brother, who led a revolution of the kingdom. The ending to this little story isn't the typical throne restoration story, so at least it's not a complete cliche.
All in all, not recommended, but it wasn't a bad way to pass a rainy day. Since the book is free, you can't beat the value for money, but I won't be spending money on further novels in the series.
The story revolves around a young woman, Rune, and tells the story of how she becomes a Bard and hence is your typical fantasy growing up story. She leaves the small town to the big city, meets a few friends, learns music, loses her mentor, and finds her husband... At the last bit of the book, there's a short section where they find the missing prince of a kingdom, pursued by the former king's brother, who led a revolution of the kingdom. The ending to this little story isn't the typical throne restoration story, so at least it's not a complete cliche.
All in all, not recommended, but it wasn't a bad way to pass a rainy day. Since the book is free, you can't beat the value for money, but I won't be spending money on further novels in the series.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Thoughts about the Tour de France
I haven't been following the Tour de France, but folks at my recent Kiss of Death ride, as well as folks at work seemed to have paid it quite a bit of attention, and now the yellow jersey's been kicked out of the tour, for lying about his whereabouts and quite possibly doping (though in a way that's undetectable by the probably incompetent French labs that found Landis to be guilty of testosterone boosting with invalid equipment and undocumented procedures).
It seems to me that bicycle racing has long been divorced from what people like me do when we ride bicycles for long distances.
For instance (ignoring the doping thing):
I'm not saying that the old days of the Tour De France were free of cheaters (earliest tours featured "racers" who were caught taking trains to skip stages, etc). But at least the Tour they rode had some resemblance to the kind of riding I do. Now, it's so unrelated I won't really notice if the Tour went away next year because of all the doping scandals. Perhaps bicycle racing has become too mainstream for its own good.
It seems to me that bicycle racing has long been divorced from what people like me do when we ride bicycles for long distances.
For instance (ignoring the doping thing):
- I have to fix my own flat tires and equipment, these guys get follow vehicles with mechanics, doctors, etc.
- I ride just one bike the entire tour, and if I break it, I'm stuck. These guys get special bikes for each stages.
- I carry my own luggage the entire way, these guys don't carry anything, not even tools to fix their own gear.
I'm not saying that the old days of the Tour De France were free of cheaters (earliest tours featured "racers" who were caught taking trains to skip stages, etc). But at least the Tour they rode had some resemblance to the kind of riding I do. Now, it's so unrelated I won't really notice if the Tour went away next year because of all the doping scandals. Perhaps bicycle racing has become too mainstream for its own good.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Back from the Kiss of Death
I just got back from Terry Morse's "Kiss of Death" ride with Undiscovered Country Tours. It's a nice ride:
Day 1: Ebbett's Pass, Pacific Grade to Bear Valley and return. 72 miles, 7200'
Day 2: Monitor Pass, SAG to Sonora pass, return. 50 miles, 5000'
Day 3: Blue lakes, 52 miles, 4100'
It's a healthy amount of climbing, and the last day is pretty. But after riding in the European Alps (especially Switzerland and Austria), the California high mountains don't look very pretty at all. We were really disappointed, and it was hard to motivate ourselves to climb hard.
I think if you were to do this the same year you did an European trip, do the Kiss of Death as a training ride, and then go to Europe. That way, you won't be disappointed. Oh, and I should say that Terry and Mary and their guides provide fabulous support. You won't be disappointed by their service. (Disclaimer: Terry's a long time member of Western Wheelers, my bike club, and gave us club members a discount for this ride) And I say this even as someone who almost never does organized bike tours as a rule.
And now that I've done most of the roads involved in the Death Ride, I think it's a really silly ride. As Mike said, "What's the big deal?"
Mike wore out his Avocet 700x28s at the end of this ride (I noticed it when I dismounted his bike from my car). I guess those tires really don't last more than about 1000 miles for a 200+ pound rider.
Day 1: Ebbett's Pass, Pacific Grade to Bear Valley and return. 72 miles, 7200'
Day 2: Monitor Pass, SAG to Sonora pass, return. 50 miles, 5000'
Day 3: Blue lakes, 52 miles, 4100'
It's a healthy amount of climbing, and the last day is pretty. But after riding in the European Alps (especially Switzerland and Austria), the California high mountains don't look very pretty at all. We were really disappointed, and it was hard to motivate ourselves to climb hard.
I think if you were to do this the same year you did an European trip, do the Kiss of Death as a training ride, and then go to Europe. That way, you won't be disappointed. Oh, and I should say that Terry and Mary and their guides provide fabulous support. You won't be disappointed by their service. (Disclaimer: Terry's a long time member of Western Wheelers, my bike club, and gave us club members a discount for this ride) And I say this even as someone who almost never does organized bike tours as a rule.
And now that I've done most of the roads involved in the Death Ride, I think it's a really silly ride. As Mike said, "What's the big deal?"
Mike wore out his Avocet 700x28s at the end of this ride (I noticed it when I dismounted his bike from my car). I guess those tires really don't last more than about 1000 miles for a 200+ pound rider.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Mike's Trip Report
Mike has put up his trip report, and he uses fancy javascript to convert all units between imperial and metric, which is really cool. It's always interesting to see different people's perspectives on the same trip, so you should definitely read Mike's if you enjoyed mine. If mine was so long you got put off, read his --- it's much shorter.
What always surprises me is that when I offer to let folks stare at the map for a change, nobody else wants to do it. For me, navigating is enjoyable and a mental challenge in addition to the physical challenge of cycling. The whole package is the fun, which is why I enjoy going to new places every year. For me, revisiting a place twice is fun --- it's amazing to see how easily roads I've been to just once come back in my memory, which tells me what to do, and where to go. But more than that, and I'm too familiar to derive any challenge from the navigation --- you'll notice that the first few days, when I was in completely familiar territory, I felt compelled to throw in new challenges like Melchsee-Frutt, or Lauterbrunnen.
What always surprises me is that when I offer to let folks stare at the map for a change, nobody else wants to do it. For me, navigating is enjoyable and a mental challenge in addition to the physical challenge of cycling. The whole package is the fun, which is why I enjoy going to new places every year. For me, revisiting a place twice is fun --- it's amazing to see how easily roads I've been to just once come back in my memory, which tells me what to do, and where to go. But more than that, and I'm too familiar to derive any challenge from the navigation --- you'll notice that the first few days, when I was in completely familiar territory, I felt compelled to throw in new challenges like Melchsee-Frutt, or Lauterbrunnen.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Tour of the Alps 2007 Trip Report
I actually wrote it on the plane, but it took awhile to write the python script, edit pictures, select the ones to embed into the narrative, and then proof-read it. It was a great trip, despite all the rain we encountered, and I learned a lot on the trip, as usual. I hope the report helps anyone in the future who is visiting the same area.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Tour of the Alps 2007 Photos (Edited)
 |
| Tour of the Alps 2007 (Edited) |
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Roberto's pictures are now up...
Roberto's edited his pictures and have them up on PicasaWeb:
He took many more pictures than I did, so enjoy!
He took many more pictures than I did, so enjoy!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Allpenglow from Canazei
This was the view from the hotel room. That snow wasn't there the day we arrived, so yes, it was cold!
Back in Zurich
Shades of the last tour... We had a couple of glorious days in Italy, and rode across to Austria in a day with 3019 meters of climbing in only 80km (Jaufenpass and Timmelsjoch). Then on the next day it started raining as we reached the top of Silvretta, and we made the descent in a massive downpour. It was amazing to see steam come out of the road as the water hit it (it had been so hot!). We managed a 172km day that day into Bludenz. The next day, the rain got too bad, so we took a 2 hour train into Zurich (for 40 Euros per person), and worked from the office. We'll rest up again today and take off again for some more riding on Wednesday.
This tour is so far shorter than my last tour. Only 1277km and 27778m of climbing, so there's no hope of repeating my last tour's numbers. But it's been quite enjoyable, and I think my companions have loved it too. I'll try to get some pictures up today.
This tour is so far shorter than my last tour. Only 1277km and 27778m of climbing, so there's no hope of repeating my last tour's numbers. But it's been quite enjoyable, and I think my companions have loved it too. I'll try to get some pictures up today.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
You only hear from me when its bad news...
That's very natural on tour. Bad weather means I get stuck at an internet cafe. Good weather means I'm riding. I didn't talk about how pretty mendelpass was, or what a fantastic meal we had at Hotel Gran Baita. I didn't talk about the day we descended Garvia, which felt like dropping out of the sky from on top of the world on twisty mountain roads. I didn't talk about Stelvio's fabulous hotel.
All that will wait for the final trip report, so stay tuned...
All that will wait for the final trip report, so stay tuned...
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Stuck in Canazei
Our luck has finally run out. After days of being able to ride every day (even when a thunderstorm caught us on Costalunga pass), we finally hit a day where we were stuck in due to rain. We attempted to ride up to Passo Sella, but freezing rain and hail (of the stinging kind) literally drowned our hopes.
The forecast tomorrow is for partly cloudy weather, so we'll make another attempt!
The forecast tomorrow is for partly cloudy weather, so we'll make another attempt!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
In Chur
We explored the Melchtal route that Jobst wrote about, as well as Grosse Scheidegg and the Lauterbrunnen valley. Its been very pretty, but it rained later yesterday, as well as in the afternoon today, slowing our progress. We are now headed into Italy... Tomorrow is a 2 pass day, and the day after that we should be able to get a good start on the Stelvio. If we are lucky, we shall get it over with before it rains again. This is easily the wettest European tour I've been on, but it's also been very very pretty. I am looking forward to exploring places I've never been.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Many lessons learned...
First of all, don't depend on Swiss Air to be on the ball about getting you lost luggage back to you. They told us we'd get it delivered today at 11:00, but at 10:30 still hadn't called us. We ended up going out to the airport (since we had effectively zero mobility, this meant a Taxi to downtown).
Arriving at the airport, we discovered that the the bike boxes had been incredibly torn up. Mike's Saddlebag and Handlebar bag, which had been packed with the box, had dropped out of the box (or been stolen --- SwissAir filed it as a stolen item). With all that done, we now had 4 bikes, but only 2 sets of pedals, 2 complete set of touring gear, and not nearly enough cycling clothes (especially for Mike, who's so tall that he has a hard time fitting our stuff). What was especially dumb was that I'd forgotten my set of allen wrenches
The rest of the afternoon was spent by Mike and Roberto shopping for gear. There was no question that we wouldn't make any progress today, so my brother and I rode around the Zurichsee, and bought stuff for dinner. We also fixed up our rear wheels, which had gotten some impact damage (a first for me from shipping bikes in cardboard boxes, but seeing the condition of the boxes, I'm not too surprised).
Finally, it appears that Roberto's baggage (with his saddlebag) has shown up, so he's making an airport run to pick up his baggage.
Tomorrow, we'll head over to Sarnen via train and start our first full day of riding. I hope we'll have better luck riding than with flights.
Arriving at the airport, we discovered that the the bike boxes had been incredibly torn up. Mike's Saddlebag and Handlebar bag, which had been packed with the box, had dropped out of the box (or been stolen --- SwissAir filed it as a stolen item). With all that done, we now had 4 bikes, but only 2 sets of pedals, 2 complete set of touring gear, and not nearly enough cycling clothes (especially for Mike, who's so tall that he has a hard time fitting our stuff). What was especially dumb was that I'd forgotten my set of allen wrenches
The rest of the afternoon was spent by Mike and Roberto shopping for gear. There was no question that we wouldn't make any progress today, so my brother and I rode around the Zurichsee, and bought stuff for dinner. We also fixed up our rear wheels, which had gotten some impact damage (a first for me from shipping bikes in cardboard boxes, but seeing the condition of the boxes, I'm not too surprised).
Finally, it appears that Roberto's baggage (with his saddlebag) has shown up, so he's making an airport run to pick up his baggage.
Tomorrow, we'll head over to Sarnen via train and start our first full day of riding. I hope we'll have better luck riding than with flights.
Morning Update
My brother arrived with Good News. He saw our bikes and their boxes at the airport. But they wouldn't let him sign out the bikes, so we have to wait for the delivery, which could take up to 11am. Unfortunately, there's still no sign of Roberto's saddlebag.
Friday, June 22, 2007
A bad start...
We started off with US Airways refusing to supply us with bike boxes. So I ran over to the United Airlines counter and bought 3 boxes. Cost $30. Then there was an amazing delay on one of our legs (into and out of Philadelphia). That cost 4 hours, causing us to miss our connection in Munich.
Then when we got to Zurich, my saddlebag arrived, but none of the bikes did, and neither did Roberto's lugguage. So we are stuck! Hopefully, we'll get everything tomorrow. Otherwise, this tour will start with us all buying new bikes!
Then when we got to Zurich, my saddlebag arrived, but none of the bikes did, and neither did Roberto's lugguage. So we are stuck! Hopefully, we'll get everything tomorrow. Otherwise, this tour will start with us all buying new bikes!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Guinness Storehouse Review
So I'm in Ireland for a couple of weeks, for work mostly. In between the bouts of bad weather and other whatnots, I've been doing a bit of city touring. Dublin is a fairly interesting city, and one of the highlights of it is that its the birthplace of Guinness.
So as part of the city tour, I wanted to visit the Guinness Storehouse....I guess its best to start from the beginning.
First you have to get there, not terribly difficult, just take the bus or the Tram and you're there soon enough. The second part is mostly the line. Its a bad adage that Queuing is an English artform, but it doesn't make it any less true. I must have stood in line for over an hour in the rain before I could have the pleasure of forking over 14 Euros (about 18 USD) so I can visit the Storehouse.
There's really not much to say about it. You can see the pictures I took of it over here...The whole museum is split up into about 7 levels but only the first 3 has any substance, there's a bit of a video section which is interesting but not very interactive. Its also a self-guided tour but it feels substantially lackluster compared to say, the Heineken Factory...which is not only cheaper, but has a more substantive option.
The end of the tour of course ends with you enjoying a pint of Guinness. You also get a fairly lame souvenir, a keychain with a drop of Guinness embedded in it, so that "you may never go thirsty again"...
I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that will convince anyone who likes beer to not go, but lets just say that you'll probably get everything you want to know about Guinness out from Wikipedia, and that you can get a much cheaper pint of Guinness than 14 euros. The store in the storehouse is free to visit and might not be a terrible idea, but you can probably find everything you want in the city center with no need for a lineup.
Still...its a tourist trap, and as a tourist in Dublin, I felt obligated to go. =)
So as part of the city tour, I wanted to visit the Guinness Storehouse....I guess its best to start from the beginning.
First you have to get there, not terribly difficult, just take the bus or the Tram and you're there soon enough. The second part is mostly the line. Its a bad adage that Queuing is an English artform, but it doesn't make it any less true. I must have stood in line for over an hour in the rain before I could have the pleasure of forking over 14 Euros (about 18 USD) so I can visit the Storehouse.
There's really not much to say about it. You can see the pictures I took of it over here...The whole museum is split up into about 7 levels but only the first 3 has any substance, there's a bit of a video section which is interesting but not very interactive. Its also a self-guided tour but it feels substantially lackluster compared to say, the Heineken Factory...which is not only cheaper, but has a more substantive option.
The end of the tour of course ends with you enjoying a pint of Guinness. You also get a fairly lame souvenir, a keychain with a drop of Guinness embedded in it, so that "you may never go thirsty again"...
I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that will convince anyone who likes beer to not go, but lets just say that you'll probably get everything you want to know about Guinness out from Wikipedia, and that you can get a much cheaper pint of Guinness than 14 euros. The store in the storehouse is free to visit and might not be a terrible idea, but you can probably find everything you want in the city center with no need for a lineup.
Still...its a tourist trap, and as a tourist in Dublin, I felt obligated to go. =)
Monday, May 28, 2007
Review: Banjo Brothers Handlebar Bag
Someone on the Rivendell mailing list recommended the Banjo Brothers handlebar bag to me. I found it at Calhoun Cycles for $20, and decided it was worth the risk. The main attraction to me was the side straps that attach to hooks mounted on the fork's eyelets (hooks are provided with the bag) which lend the bag extra stability.
The hooks mount on easily with a socket wrench and a philips head screw driver. My brother had it on his bike for 3 months and it never came loose, but I'd loc-tite it anyway for a long trip. The straps end in a triangle that loops around the hooks, which I thought was pretty clever: past bags I've seen have straps that end in a hook that hook directly into the eyelets, and woe unto you if the strap were to snap or you were to miss the eyelet: the hooks would fly all over the place.
The mesh bags on both sides of the bag are just about right. Enough for a digital camera, and a phone on each side. The space is ample for what I want to do when I'm traveling, and the zippers seem well-made. I did not test the bag for water-proofness, but I'm going to seal stuff that must stay dry with zip-lock bags if it rains.
The big minus that's really obvious is that the bag velcros to your bars, and leaves little room for you to hold the tops of the bars, if that's your favorite position for climbing. Perhaps the Nitto Lamp Holder 2 will solve the problem. That's a costly solution, however.
The hooks mount on easily with a socket wrench and a philips head screw driver. My brother had it on his bike for 3 months and it never came loose, but I'd loc-tite it anyway for a long trip. The straps end in a triangle that loops around the hooks, which I thought was pretty clever: past bags I've seen have straps that end in a hook that hook directly into the eyelets, and woe unto you if the strap were to snap or you were to miss the eyelet: the hooks would fly all over the place.
The mesh bags on both sides of the bag are just about right. Enough for a digital camera, and a phone on each side. The space is ample for what I want to do when I'm traveling, and the zippers seem well-made. I did not test the bag for water-proofness, but I'm going to seal stuff that must stay dry with zip-lock bags if it rains.
The big minus that's really obvious is that the bag velcros to your bars, and leaves little room for you to hold the tops of the bars, if that's your favorite position for climbing. Perhaps the Nitto Lamp Holder 2 will solve the problem. That's a costly solution, however.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Review: 1001 Nights of Snowfall and Other Fables
After my last review of Bill Willingham's Fables, I found as many back issues as I could and read all of them, including the hardback, 1001 Nights of Snowfall.
1001 Nights of Snowfall fills in a back story. Snow White petitions the Arabian legends to form an alliance against the adversary. The individual stories are entertaining, but none of them stack up against the series proper.
The series past volume 3 gets even better. We learn, for instance, who the adversary is (it's someone you've heard of, and it's a surprisingly logical move). We find a happy ending for Snow White and the Big B. Wolf. We thrill to the adventures of Little Boy Blue, and the perhaps hapless self-promotions of Jack Horner. The stories are entertaining, interesting, make a lot of sense, and have the taste of the whimsical that make all fairy tales special. (Come now, any story that reintroduces you to the three blind mice has got to be fun!)
Highly recommended. It's worth paying Amazon.com prices for this series.
1001 Nights of Snowfall fills in a back story. Snow White petitions the Arabian legends to form an alliance against the adversary. The individual stories are entertaining, but none of them stack up against the series proper.
The series past volume 3 gets even better. We learn, for instance, who the adversary is (it's someone you've heard of, and it's a surprisingly logical move). We find a happy ending for Snow White and the Big B. Wolf. We thrill to the adventures of Little Boy Blue, and the perhaps hapless self-promotions of Jack Horner. The stories are entertaining, interesting, make a lot of sense, and have the taste of the whimsical that make all fairy tales special. (Come now, any story that reintroduces you to the three blind mice has got to be fun!)
Highly recommended. It's worth paying Amazon.com prices for this series.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Review: Raising The Bar
Most business books sound too self-congratulatory, especially if written (well, really, ghost-written) by a company founder. But Clif bar has always been one of my favorite bars (since Eric House introduced them to me in 1993), and the front cover of the book had a picture of a cyclist pushing his bike on a dirt path through the alps (an experience I've had once or twice), so it boded well.
The story of Clif bar was very well-written. I hadn't known that they had stayed private through all those years (despite almost getting bought out), and the metaphor Gary Erickson used for running his company was that of a self-supported bicycle tour through the alps! The comparison between secondary roads, pioneering new paths, and big main roads are used very aptly, as is the tips for businesses Gary thought he learned on his bike trips.
But perhaps the most revealing piece of the book is his commitment to his business. I've read a lot of well-meaning pieces written by various company founders as to their aspirations for their businesses (including my current employer), but rarely do these commitments pan out: it is rare to see companies do anything really serious about sustainability, and for all the statements about work-life balance I've seen, most companies just want to squeeze as much work as possible out of each employee.
Gary Erickson is actually proud that his company's offices are empty by 5 or 6pm. He instituted a 9-day fortnight (meaning, every other weekend is a long weekend if you work for him). His sabbatical program for his employees get used, and yet aren't just used to jump ship (as is all too frequent in the tech industry). He deliberately chooses to grow the company slowly. You can argue that perhaps he's in an industry perfectly suited for such an extreme work environment, but the truth is, it takes a special person to choose the road less traveled, and it's clear that Gary Erickson is one of them (for an example, I've asked many members of my 700-person strong bike club if they would like to join me on one of my tours, but none have ever taken me up on it).
This book wins a two thumbs up for me. It's a great book on cycle touring, and a good book on Clif Bar's business. Consider me sold! The negatives are that the layout is terrible, and there are too many interruptions and diversions to interrupt the rhythm of reading the prose, but that is probably another one of Erickson's point.
The story of Clif bar was very well-written. I hadn't known that they had stayed private through all those years (despite almost getting bought out), and the metaphor Gary Erickson used for running his company was that of a self-supported bicycle tour through the alps! The comparison between secondary roads, pioneering new paths, and big main roads are used very aptly, as is the tips for businesses Gary thought he learned on his bike trips.
But perhaps the most revealing piece of the book is his commitment to his business. I've read a lot of well-meaning pieces written by various company founders as to their aspirations for their businesses (including my current employer), but rarely do these commitments pan out: it is rare to see companies do anything really serious about sustainability, and for all the statements about work-life balance I've seen, most companies just want to squeeze as much work as possible out of each employee.
Gary Erickson is actually proud that his company's offices are empty by 5 or 6pm. He instituted a 9-day fortnight (meaning, every other weekend is a long weekend if you work for him). His sabbatical program for his employees get used, and yet aren't just used to jump ship (as is all too frequent in the tech industry). He deliberately chooses to grow the company slowly. You can argue that perhaps he's in an industry perfectly suited for such an extreme work environment, but the truth is, it takes a special person to choose the road less traveled, and it's clear that Gary Erickson is one of them (for an example, I've asked many members of my 700-person strong bike club if they would like to join me on one of my tours, but none have ever taken me up on it).
This book wins a two thumbs up for me. It's a great book on cycle touring, and a good book on Clif Bar's business. Consider me sold! The negatives are that the layout is terrible, and there are too many interruptions and diversions to interrupt the rhythm of reading the prose, but that is probably another one of Erickson's point.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Review: The Ghost Brigades
I reviewed John Scalzi's latest novel, The Last Colony a while back and found it intriguing enough to place holds on his other books at the library. As luck would have it, the books are arriving in reverse order, so I'm reading his oldest work last.
Fortunately, the novel is self-contained, and provides all the background you need in order to understand its context. The plot revolves around a scientist, Charles Boutin, who has defected to an alien race against the humans. What do you do in response? Well, in Scalzi's universe, what you do is to genetically engineer a brain (with a body, of course), force-grow it in several months, and then transfer an imprint of the renegade's consciousness into the new super-body. (It's a super-body because for whatever reason, the powers that be decided to use the special forces imprint for the body so that the effort will at least produce a super soldier if the original plans don't work out)
Well, the imprint does not take, at least initially, so we get a good view of how Special Forces in the Colonial Union works. The story moves pretty quickly, since with the kind of brainware and special coping mechanisms used to train special forces units, the training can be done in just two weeks (why they don't just use the same type of units in all the soldiers I don't quite understand).
In any case, trauma affects the protaganist, Jared Dirac (all of Scalzi's special forces have last names of twentieth century scientists), and he starts regaining Boutin's memories. After he remembers where Boutin went, he is sent as part of the mission to retrieve Boutin, and things start going horribly awry, leading to a confrontation of Boutin and his motivations.
The book is well-written, though not as polished as his latest novel. It is a real page-turner. I started reading it last night, and found myself ignoring newspapers and other books in favor of reading this. There are a few plot holes that don't quite make sense (a military as paranoid as the Colonial Union would have installed anti-viral safeguards and protected against back-doors), but the plot moves you along and you don't have too many moments to question the premise.
All in all, a good read. Once again, the ideal airplane novel. Recommended.
Fortunately, the novel is self-contained, and provides all the background you need in order to understand its context. The plot revolves around a scientist, Charles Boutin, who has defected to an alien race against the humans. What do you do in response? Well, in Scalzi's universe, what you do is to genetically engineer a brain (with a body, of course), force-grow it in several months, and then transfer an imprint of the renegade's consciousness into the new super-body. (It's a super-body because for whatever reason, the powers that be decided to use the special forces imprint for the body so that the effort will at least produce a super soldier if the original plans don't work out)
Well, the imprint does not take, at least initially, so we get a good view of how Special Forces in the Colonial Union works. The story moves pretty quickly, since with the kind of brainware and special coping mechanisms used to train special forces units, the training can be done in just two weeks (why they don't just use the same type of units in all the soldiers I don't quite understand).
In any case, trauma affects the protaganist, Jared Dirac (all of Scalzi's special forces have last names of twentieth century scientists), and he starts regaining Boutin's memories. After he remembers where Boutin went, he is sent as part of the mission to retrieve Boutin, and things start going horribly awry, leading to a confrontation of Boutin and his motivations.
The book is well-written, though not as polished as his latest novel. It is a real page-turner. I started reading it last night, and found myself ignoring newspapers and other books in favor of reading this. There are a few plot holes that don't quite make sense (a military as paranoid as the Colonial Union would have installed anti-viral safeguards and protected against back-doors), but the plot moves you along and you don't have too many moments to question the premise.
All in all, a good read. Once again, the ideal airplane novel. Recommended.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Review: Fables In Exile, Vol 1-3
It is rare that there are new ideas in fantasy series, but there it is, Fables In Exile, a series that deals with fairy tales. Everybody knows that these stories always end with And they lived happily ever after....
The series begins with a postulate that the fairy tale lands have come under attack from a mysterious Adversary (who's not actually revealed yet). All the fairy tale creatures (including Brer Rabbit, for instance) escape from the fairy tale lands into Mundania, most abandoning their possessions. But all are immortal, in the way stories are, and those that have chosen to live amongst humans adopt human guise, while those who can't live in a secluded area of upstate New York, hidden away from the mundanes.
I can't tell you how much I like the mix of whimsy that Bill Willingham brings to this story. He starts off having a very frustrated Snow White (one of the protagonists and the administrator of the community in New York) having to cope with a marital dispute between Beauty and her Beast. The dialog is beautiful, entertaining, and draws you into the fantasy. But the story is anything but whimsical. The first volume deals with Bigby Wolf's (yes, that's the Big Bad Wolf of the fairy tales) attempt to solve the mystery of the murder of Rose Red. The way the clues are placed and provided to the reader are delightful: those who are used to prose mysteries will be surprised that most of the clues are visual --- one has to read the art as carefully as the prose and the dialog in this story.
Volume 2 is centered around the other Fable community, the one with three little pigs, the three bears, their unhappiness with not being able to fit into mundania, and their plan to do something about it. The result is again an ongoing deluge of beautiful ideas, wonderful characters from childhood revisited, and a plot that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love
deals with the consequences of the fallout of volume two, and we find out that fables are really tough to kill. It also begins to resolves a romantic entanglement that we've been teased with so far in the series. Now that you've grown to know the characters, Willigham plays with your expectations for them, and some of them will surprise you.
All throughout the art is consistently great, right up there with the best of The The Sandman
, and the stories are consistently better. I kid you not. I think Willingham is a better writer than Gaiman, and the endings are definitely not lame, since he doesn't write himself into a corner.
All in all, two thumbs up, and worth paying full price at Amazon.com for these books if you can't find them at the local library. I've got the entire series on hold at my local library and I await them eagerly!
The series begins with a postulate that the fairy tale lands have come under attack from a mysterious Adversary (who's not actually revealed yet). All the fairy tale creatures (including Brer Rabbit, for instance) escape from the fairy tale lands into Mundania, most abandoning their possessions. But all are immortal, in the way stories are, and those that have chosen to live amongst humans adopt human guise, while those who can't live in a secluded area of upstate New York, hidden away from the mundanes.
I can't tell you how much I like the mix of whimsy that Bill Willingham brings to this story. He starts off having a very frustrated Snow White (one of the protagonists and the administrator of the community in New York) having to cope with a marital dispute between Beauty and her Beast. The dialog is beautiful, entertaining, and draws you into the fantasy. But the story is anything but whimsical. The first volume deals with Bigby Wolf's (yes, that's the Big Bad Wolf of the fairy tales) attempt to solve the mystery of the murder of Rose Red. The way the clues are placed and provided to the reader are delightful: those who are used to prose mysteries will be surprised that most of the clues are visual --- one has to read the art as carefully as the prose and the dialog in this story.
Volume 2 is centered around the other Fable community, the one with three little pigs, the three bears, their unhappiness with not being able to fit into mundania, and their plan to do something about it. The result is again an ongoing deluge of beautiful ideas, wonderful characters from childhood revisited, and a plot that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love
deals with the consequences of the fallout of volume two, and we find out that fables are really tough to kill. It also begins to resolves a romantic entanglement that we've been teased with so far in the series. Now that you've grown to know the characters, Willigham plays with your expectations for them, and some of them will surprise you.All throughout the art is consistently great, right up there with the best of The The Sandman
, and the stories are consistently better. I kid you not. I think Willingham is a better writer than Gaiman, and the endings are definitely not lame, since he doesn't write himself into a corner.All in all, two thumbs up, and worth paying full price at Amazon.com for these books if you can't find them at the local library. I've got the entire series on hold at my local library and I await them eagerly!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Review: The Last Colony
I was impressed by how much I liked this book. I started reading on chapter one, and the book just sucked me in and I had to keep going until I finished it. It's been a while since a science fiction novel did this to me, and I even picked up some of the inside jokes and references. (A character, Lieutenant Stross, was an obvious reference to fellow science fiction author Charles Stross)
Basically, a retired major in the human race's Colonial Union is called back (along with his wife, a former Special Forces soldier) to establish a new Earth Colony. Unknown to him, the Colonial Union has a not-so-innocent motive for this new colony, which puts his family, his new colony, and the entire fate of the human race in danger.
One odd technique that John Scalzi uses is to treat the entire novel as a mystery. Not a mystery as in a who-dunnit sense, but he basically treats every major plot point as a puzzle for the reader to solve. In most cases, he plays fair, giving you everything you need to guess what's going to happen next.
Yes, there are action sequences in this book, but no, they don't dominate the story or the plot, and they're not egregious, though Scalzi leaves more loose ends than I like at the end of the novel, they're not that important to the overall outcome.
All in all, while I would not pay hardcover price for this book, the paperback would be worth paying for, and it would make fine airplane reading. This book is the third book in a series, but since I hadn't read the first two books and didn't find that an impediment, you can safely read this book on its own. I'll dig up the other two from the library and write reviews on those as well.
Basically, a retired major in the human race's Colonial Union is called back (along with his wife, a former Special Forces soldier) to establish a new Earth Colony. Unknown to him, the Colonial Union has a not-so-innocent motive for this new colony, which puts his family, his new colony, and the entire fate of the human race in danger.
One odd technique that John Scalzi uses is to treat the entire novel as a mystery. Not a mystery as in a who-dunnit sense, but he basically treats every major plot point as a puzzle for the reader to solve. In most cases, he plays fair, giving you everything you need to guess what's going to happen next.
Yes, there are action sequences in this book, but no, they don't dominate the story or the plot, and they're not egregious, though Scalzi leaves more loose ends than I like at the end of the novel, they're not that important to the overall outcome.
All in all, while I would not pay hardcover price for this book, the paperback would be worth paying for, and it would make fine airplane reading. This book is the third book in a series, but since I hadn't read the first two books and didn't find that an impediment, you can safely read this book on its own. I'll dig up the other two from the library and write reviews on those as well.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Review: Plan B 2.0
Apparently, Lester R. Brown is a big shot in the environmental movement, but when he came to Google for a talk I didn't know any better, so I went and sat in and got a copy of the book. The talk was lackluster, but I hoped the book would be better.
The book unfortunately, is a litany of the environmental disasters facing us. Divided into 3 parts, Part I covers the problems facing us, part II provides a plan for getting us out of trouble, and Part III waxes rhapsodic about what a brave new world it's going to be.
I'm a card carrying environmentalist, and I don't disagree with any of the problems Lester Brown covers in Part I. But I have a hard time considering many of the problems he delineates really solvable. For instance, I don't believe 3rd world poverty is solvable through 1st world intervention. All our history indicates that 1st world intervention does nothing but exacerbates the problems. All 3rd world countries that have bootstrapped themselves into becoming developing countries and then developed countries have done so without a lot of help from 1st world countries. I am therefore skeptical of any effort placed into the humanitarian corner of Lester Brown's plan.
Brown points out, in Part II, how cheap it is to save the world. All it takes is 10% of the world's military budget. He neglects to point out that the biggest problem is that while everybody benefits from having the world saved, only the ones who voluntarily chose to pay the costs of doing so pay the cost. That makes it a classic tragedy of the commons problem, which means that the chief job of an environmentalist is really to try to convince the public that it's in their self-interest to clean up. Brown does not go over this, and it is clear that he lacks the necessary training as an economist to propose real systems that can solve this problem.
Part III's call to action sounds a bit idealistic to me. He waxes rhapsodic about gas taxes. I'm a cynic because I've seen over and over again how one woman after another would tell me she's an environmentalist, but then refuse to ride her bike to work because it would screw with her hair, because she considers cycling dangerous, or simply because it would take an act of god to pry the steering wheel from her cold dead hands. I don't believe that people are willing to put their money where their mouth is, so the only hope, I guess is for there to be a politician willing to exercise true leadership.
All in all, this book isn't really worth your time to read. The plan is plausible but likely ineffectual and unlikely to gain traction, and the description of the problems at too high a level and too shallow for you to truly learn anything.
Not recommended, even at the price I paid for it ($0). Go buy yourself a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse instead. (Capsule Review)
The book unfortunately, is a litany of the environmental disasters facing us. Divided into 3 parts, Part I covers the problems facing us, part II provides a plan for getting us out of trouble, and Part III waxes rhapsodic about what a brave new world it's going to be.
I'm a card carrying environmentalist, and I don't disagree with any of the problems Lester Brown covers in Part I. But I have a hard time considering many of the problems he delineates really solvable. For instance, I don't believe 3rd world poverty is solvable through 1st world intervention. All our history indicates that 1st world intervention does nothing but exacerbates the problems. All 3rd world countries that have bootstrapped themselves into becoming developing countries and then developed countries have done so without a lot of help from 1st world countries. I am therefore skeptical of any effort placed into the humanitarian corner of Lester Brown's plan.
Brown points out, in Part II, how cheap it is to save the world. All it takes is 10% of the world's military budget. He neglects to point out that the biggest problem is that while everybody benefits from having the world saved, only the ones who voluntarily chose to pay the costs of doing so pay the cost. That makes it a classic tragedy of the commons problem, which means that the chief job of an environmentalist is really to try to convince the public that it's in their self-interest to clean up. Brown does not go over this, and it is clear that he lacks the necessary training as an economist to propose real systems that can solve this problem.
Part III's call to action sounds a bit idealistic to me. He waxes rhapsodic about gas taxes. I'm a cynic because I've seen over and over again how one woman after another would tell me she's an environmentalist, but then refuse to ride her bike to work because it would screw with her hair, because she considers cycling dangerous, or simply because it would take an act of god to pry the steering wheel from her cold dead hands. I don't believe that people are willing to put their money where their mouth is, so the only hope, I guess is for there to be a politician willing to exercise true leadership.
All in all, this book isn't really worth your time to read. The plan is plausible but likely ineffectual and unlikely to gain traction, and the description of the problems at too high a level and too shallow for you to truly learn anything.
Not recommended, even at the price I paid for it ($0). Go buy yourself a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse instead. (Capsule Review)
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Review: Campagnolo Carbon Record Brake Levers
These brake levers came on my Meridian Cascade tandem in 2002. At that time, they were an unspecified upgrade on the bike (I'd specified Campagnolo brake levers, but not the Record type), and I suffered a few remarks from folks who assumed I put it on the bike as a weight weenie measure.
But as I used them over the next 5 years, their value really grew on me (and it's not because of the weight). First of all, they never get cold. Carbon fiber is an insulator, not a conductor, so on cold mornings where metal brake levers would have frozen my fingers to the lever, they remain finger-temperature and keep my fingers happy. Cold hands are one of the most miserable things to experience, and during my 2005 tour of the alps, there were a few days where I wish I had them on my touring bike.
Secondly, these levers have a quick-release built into the lever. Together with Shimano long reach brake calipers, you end up with sufficient throw in both quick releases to clear 700x32mm tires! This is excellent.
Finally, the last 5 years have proven that they are sturdy enough for touring and heavy-duty use. Any levers that have to frequently stop a tandem on major mountain descents are definitely strong enough for any kind of use on a single bike, be it loaded touring, commuting, or just day riding.
I like these levers so much that I'm putting my money where my mouth is: I'm retiring my metal brake levers on my touring bike and replacing them with these. Highly recommended!
But as I used them over the next 5 years, their value really grew on me (and it's not because of the weight). First of all, they never get cold. Carbon fiber is an insulator, not a conductor, so on cold mornings where metal brake levers would have frozen my fingers to the lever, they remain finger-temperature and keep my fingers happy. Cold hands are one of the most miserable things to experience, and during my 2005 tour of the alps, there were a few days where I wish I had them on my touring bike.
Secondly, these levers have a quick-release built into the lever. Together with Shimano long reach brake calipers, you end up with sufficient throw in both quick releases to clear 700x32mm tires! This is excellent.
Finally, the last 5 years have proven that they are sturdy enough for touring and heavy-duty use. Any levers that have to frequently stop a tandem on major mountain descents are definitely strong enough for any kind of use on a single bike, be it loaded touring, commuting, or just day riding.
I like these levers so much that I'm putting my money where my mouth is: I'm retiring my metal brake levers on my touring bike and replacing them with these. Highly recommended!
Review: The No Asshole Rule
When Robert Sutton came to Google to talk about his book, I thought that most of his points were fairly obvious: assholes are people who beat down on subordinates and kiss up to their superiors. Then again, as I read this book and considered its topics a bit more, I realized that I'd much rather see more books of this type than for instance, Built to Last. Which isn't to say that Built to Last was a bad book, by the way.
Prof. Sutton quantifies how much having an asshole costs the typical organization, and presents a number of examples and anecdotes about it. (A quiz question: who is the biggest asshole in Silion Valley?)
All in all, a quick read, worth the time, but not paying money for.
Prof. Sutton quantifies how much having an asshole costs the typical organization, and presents a number of examples and anecdotes about it. (A quiz question: who is the biggest asshole in Silion Valley?)
All in all, a quick read, worth the time, but not paying money for.
Charity Rides aren't necessarily good for cycling
I recently rode Big Sur, along the beautiful section of coast left out by the AIDS Lifecycle ride. At first, I thought the AIDS Lifecycle riders aren't cyclists, which leads them to pick the flattest, straightest route from San Francisco to LA. Someone else, however told me it was because the CHP had denied the organization permission from riding Highway 1.
Now this is odd. For instance, if you led a car rally down Highway 1, the CHP can't deny you to use legitimate, public roads. But apparently bicycles need permission. Even that aside, AIDS Lifecycle could have made a stink out of this decision. They have thousands of cyclists, and thousands of donors, and the PR ability and the cause to make a big deal out of this and force the CHP to either change its mind or raise awareness that cyclists are being treated as second class citizens, even as they work to raise money for important causes.
But that's not the purpose of the AIDS ride. As long as they get their money for their cause, they don't really care about cycling per se as a endeavor in and of itself. Hence, they are content to accept their second class citizenship and use a flat, boring route to LA from San Francisco. This type of behavior from charities is all too common, unfortunately, thus as I get older and I ride more, I agree more and more with Sheldon Brown's position on charity rides.
In any case, I'm not so sure it's such a good thing to commingle charity with another activity. Just as an insurance scheme sold as an investment is ultimately suboptimal, I think that your giving to a cause is better done directly, not as part of a commingled activity. (A few years ago, there was a scandal about the AIDS Lifecycle's organizers siphoning off the monies for their own purposes. Who knows if that'll repeat itself) Similarly, if you wish to ride from San Francisco to LA, following the AIDS Lifecycle route is not optimal, and the selection of time is also not optimal. (Riding on the coast is optimal, and the right season is in late September/early October or in mid-April to mid-May).
Now this is odd. For instance, if you led a car rally down Highway 1, the CHP can't deny you to use legitimate, public roads. But apparently bicycles need permission. Even that aside, AIDS Lifecycle could have made a stink out of this decision. They have thousands of cyclists, and thousands of donors, and the PR ability and the cause to make a big deal out of this and force the CHP to either change its mind or raise awareness that cyclists are being treated as second class citizens, even as they work to raise money for important causes.
But that's not the purpose of the AIDS ride. As long as they get their money for their cause, they don't really care about cycling per se as a endeavor in and of itself. Hence, they are content to accept their second class citizenship and use a flat, boring route to LA from San Francisco. This type of behavior from charities is all too common, unfortunately, thus as I get older and I ride more, I agree more and more with Sheldon Brown's position on charity rides.
In any case, I'm not so sure it's such a good thing to commingle charity with another activity. Just as an insurance scheme sold as an investment is ultimately suboptimal, I think that your giving to a cause is better done directly, not as part of a commingled activity. (A few years ago, there was a scandal about the AIDS Lifecycle's organizers siphoning off the monies for their own purposes. Who knows if that'll repeat itself) Similarly, if you wish to ride from San Francisco to LA, following the AIDS Lifecycle route is not optimal, and the selection of time is also not optimal. (Riding on the coast is optimal, and the right season is in late September/early October or in mid-April to mid-May).
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Review: Dinotte Taillight
Dinotte setup a deal for employees of my company, so I took the opportunity to buy one of their tail-lights, since my next-to-last Vista-lite was failing, and I can't seem to buy Vista-lites anymore. Lots of folks had raved about how bright it was, so it didn't seem like it would be a big risk.
I got the "Pro" version, since that's the one that runs off AA batteries, which would be most useful for touring. For commuting, NiMH batteries from Battery Space have proven themselves over and over again. The light is bright. Indeed, it's so incredibly bright that it can serve as an emergency light at night for flat repair, and it paints the road behind you red if you point it at the ground. The one time I got it mounted on my chainstays, my brother who was drafting me complained that it blinded me and I had to turn the light down to its lowest setting so as not to irritate him.
The Achille's heel of the system, however, is the mount. A rubber O-ring combines with a notch on the light engine itself to mount onto a seat post or a seat tube. A separate pouch with the AA batteries mounts elsewhere with a hook-and-loop fastener. The hook-and-loop fastener is not very secure, and frequently moves during the ride: it's tough to find a place for it on the bike. But the real problem is the seat-post/seat tube mounting. Seat posts won't work if you're in the habit of using a carradice saddlebag. Seat tube mounting has the annoying feature of possibly hitting your thigh, and also not working with panniers. There's also a lot of wasted light in this system, since most of the light goes down to shine on the road instead of penetrating a driver's eyes.
You would think that the same O-ring system could work for mounting the light onto the seat stays, and you would be wrong. Seat stays are angled the other way from a seat tube, and don't angle the light correctly. On top of that, seat stays are too skinny for the O-ring and the light-engine notch to have adequate purchase.
Another fellow on the net suggested using Cateye's Small Parts Store to hunt for parts for mounting the Dinotte light onto the chainstays or seat stays. The BP-5, for instance, will wrap around the light engine with no problems whatsoever. Other collars seem like they would be perfect for wrapping around the stays. I ordered a bunch for $10 and tried them. The problem is that the geometry of the light engine is such that seat stay mounting is not practical: the engine itself gets in the way of you mounting it on the seat stay with the length protruding back into the seat stay. I had better luck with chain stay mounting, but try as I might, I could not get the mounting to be stable: road shock and vibration would knock it loose and then I would lose the correct angle for the light. All in all, it was easier to switch back to seat tube mounting, which is less than satisfactory if you actively commute with panniers or a saddlebag. And of course, there's no easy way to mount it onto a rack as well --- you simply have to keep ordering stuff from the Cateye small parts catalog until you find something that works for your rack, a frustrating experience at best.
In conclusion, I will keep my Dinotte, but am sad that I cannot use it for touring or any kind of serious night utility riding. The fact that I am able to keep a full set of clothes at my employer and do laundry at work is what keeps me from sending it back to the manufacturer. For the cost of the light ($120 MSRP), I feel that a full set of mounting options is necessary without any of the kludges I had to go through to get things to work. As it is, I will stick with my vista-lite for touring, or a $20 Cat-Eye when that vista-lite finally dies. I cannot in all honesty recommend the Dinotte for serious use on utility or touring bicycles: it is clear that their audience is that long distance randonneur or night racer, not the utility cyclist who has to carry any kind of gear at all.
Two thumbs down for the cost and lack of utility.
[Update: I've found a light that addresses my issues for cheaper]
I got the "Pro" version, since that's the one that runs off AA batteries, which would be most useful for touring. For commuting, NiMH batteries from Battery Space have proven themselves over and over again. The light is bright. Indeed, it's so incredibly bright that it can serve as an emergency light at night for flat repair, and it paints the road behind you red if you point it at the ground. The one time I got it mounted on my chainstays, my brother who was drafting me complained that it blinded me and I had to turn the light down to its lowest setting so as not to irritate him.
The Achille's heel of the system, however, is the mount. A rubber O-ring combines with a notch on the light engine itself to mount onto a seat post or a seat tube. A separate pouch with the AA batteries mounts elsewhere with a hook-and-loop fastener. The hook-and-loop fastener is not very secure, and frequently moves during the ride: it's tough to find a place for it on the bike. But the real problem is the seat-post/seat tube mounting. Seat posts won't work if you're in the habit of using a carradice saddlebag. Seat tube mounting has the annoying feature of possibly hitting your thigh, and also not working with panniers. There's also a lot of wasted light in this system, since most of the light goes down to shine on the road instead of penetrating a driver's eyes.
You would think that the same O-ring system could work for mounting the light onto the seat stays, and you would be wrong. Seat stays are angled the other way from a seat tube, and don't angle the light correctly. On top of that, seat stays are too skinny for the O-ring and the light-engine notch to have adequate purchase.
Another fellow on the net suggested using Cateye's Small Parts Store to hunt for parts for mounting the Dinotte light onto the chainstays or seat stays. The BP-5, for instance, will wrap around the light engine with no problems whatsoever. Other collars seem like they would be perfect for wrapping around the stays. I ordered a bunch for $10 and tried them. The problem is that the geometry of the light engine is such that seat stay mounting is not practical: the engine itself gets in the way of you mounting it on the seat stay with the length protruding back into the seat stay. I had better luck with chain stay mounting, but try as I might, I could not get the mounting to be stable: road shock and vibration would knock it loose and then I would lose the correct angle for the light. All in all, it was easier to switch back to seat tube mounting, which is less than satisfactory if you actively commute with panniers or a saddlebag. And of course, there's no easy way to mount it onto a rack as well --- you simply have to keep ordering stuff from the Cateye small parts catalog until you find something that works for your rack, a frustrating experience at best.
In conclusion, I will keep my Dinotte, but am sad that I cannot use it for touring or any kind of serious night utility riding. The fact that I am able to keep a full set of clothes at my employer and do laundry at work is what keeps me from sending it back to the manufacturer. For the cost of the light ($120 MSRP), I feel that a full set of mounting options is necessary without any of the kludges I had to go through to get things to work. As it is, I will stick with my vista-lite for touring, or a $20 Cat-Eye when that vista-lite finally dies. I cannot in all honesty recommend the Dinotte for serious use on utility or touring bicycles: it is clear that their audience is that long distance randonneur or night racer, not the utility cyclist who has to carry any kind of gear at all.
Two thumbs down for the cost and lack of utility.
[Update: I've found a light that addresses my issues for cheaper]
Monday, April 09, 2007
Review: The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual
For those so young they missed the internet bubble, Henry Blodget was the internet analyst who achieved instant fame in 1998 when he predicted that AMZN would go to $400. It did so in less than 2 weeks, winning Blodget guru status on Wall-Street, along with Mary Meeker.
His fate took a turn for the worst, however, when he was accused of securities fraud after the internet bubble burst, and he had to settle with the SEC and was barred from the securities industry for life. His columns in Slate, however, have been interesting and responsible (unlike many other financial journalists), and his arguments about stocks, trends and industry on his blog, Internet Outsider, are cogent and interesting, if not entertaining.
When he published his this book to help the consumer invest intelligently, I read the internet excerpts and found them to be intelligently as well as simply written, so I placed a hold on the book at the library and forgot about it until it came in.
The book's divided into 3 parts: part one focuses on trying to convince you that the common marketing pitches made by most financial firms, advisors, and journalists are false and not in your best interest. Part 2 covers common investment approaches and points out the pitfalls of each of them. Part 3 (the shortest), covers what to actually do with your investment. What's fascinating to me is that part 3 assumes that he failed to convince you in parts 1 and 2!
This lack of self-confidence, perhaps, is justified, since I have run into any number of intelligent folks who are convinced that they can beat the market. And to a large extent, they do --- for a short while. Blodget's coverage of the common fallacies of active investors covers no less than 25 percent of the book. This is good material, and exceptionally well-written. There's no mathematics or equations to scare away the casual reader, but the examples are well-chosen and easily understood. The casual references to his prior life as a securities person also make for good entertainment.
Blodget's coverage of asset allocation and how you should approach it, however, is sadly lacking. He does point you at David Swenson's, so at least you're not stuck with nothing. He does provide 2 example portfolios, but I suspect that most new investors will be left at a loss to extrapolate from this. The subject of asset allocation, how rebalancing works, and how you change your risk profile over time is definitely worth spending more time on, and I wish Blodget had done so.
Part 2 covers the traditional ways of managing investments (investment advisors, mutual funds, hedge funds, paying for research, and reading financial press), and covers why most of these managers do not have their interests aligned with yours. This is valuable reading, and definitely worth reading. Beginning investors ignore Blodget's advise here at their own peril, and this section is written so well that I think it will actually be read and followed. In one section, for instance, he analyzes the package a financial adviser prepared for him, and points out the over-optimistic assumptions, hidden costs, and sales pitches were. This section is worth reading and reflecting upon, if you ever decide to go the adviser route.
Part 3, where Blodget provides his solution for the typical consumer, is extremely short (about 5 pages or so). He assumes that parts 1 and 2 of the book was completely in vain, and that you will want to go ahead and do some speculation anyway, and so advises that you at least do 95% investing, and spend the other 5% proving that you can beat the market. He then advises using the investment account to get some help from Vanguard or TIAA-CREF with low cost funds and get a portfolio evaluation from them. He does bring up the excellent life-cycle funds, which I think are an excellent solution.
All in all, I think this is an excellent book for beginning investors, and the biggest problem I see is that not enough people will read it. He could cover asset allocation in more detail, but as others have demonstrated, that subject could be an entire book all by itself, and Blodget's prose-style-no-numbers approach would not work well there. In any case, the book is well worth the Amazon.com price for the average beginning investor.
His fate took a turn for the worst, however, when he was accused of securities fraud after the internet bubble burst, and he had to settle with the SEC and was barred from the securities industry for life. His columns in Slate, however, have been interesting and responsible (unlike many other financial journalists), and his arguments about stocks, trends and industry on his blog, Internet Outsider, are cogent and interesting, if not entertaining.
When he published his this book to help the consumer invest intelligently, I read the internet excerpts and found them to be intelligently as well as simply written, so I placed a hold on the book at the library and forgot about it until it came in.
The book's divided into 3 parts: part one focuses on trying to convince you that the common marketing pitches made by most financial firms, advisors, and journalists are false and not in your best interest. Part 2 covers common investment approaches and points out the pitfalls of each of them. Part 3 (the shortest), covers what to actually do with your investment. What's fascinating to me is that part 3 assumes that he failed to convince you in parts 1 and 2!
This lack of self-confidence, perhaps, is justified, since I have run into any number of intelligent folks who are convinced that they can beat the market. And to a large extent, they do --- for a short while. Blodget's coverage of the common fallacies of active investors covers no less than 25 percent of the book. This is good material, and exceptionally well-written. There's no mathematics or equations to scare away the casual reader, but the examples are well-chosen and easily understood. The casual references to his prior life as a securities person also make for good entertainment.
Blodget's coverage of asset allocation and how you should approach it, however, is sadly lacking. He does point you at David Swenson's, so at least you're not stuck with nothing. He does provide 2 example portfolios, but I suspect that most new investors will be left at a loss to extrapolate from this. The subject of asset allocation, how rebalancing works, and how you change your risk profile over time is definitely worth spending more time on, and I wish Blodget had done so.
Part 2 covers the traditional ways of managing investments (investment advisors, mutual funds, hedge funds, paying for research, and reading financial press), and covers why most of these managers do not have their interests aligned with yours. This is valuable reading, and definitely worth reading. Beginning investors ignore Blodget's advise here at their own peril, and this section is written so well that I think it will actually be read and followed. In one section, for instance, he analyzes the package a financial adviser prepared for him, and points out the over-optimistic assumptions, hidden costs, and sales pitches were. This section is worth reading and reflecting upon, if you ever decide to go the adviser route.
Part 3, where Blodget provides his solution for the typical consumer, is extremely short (about 5 pages or so). He assumes that parts 1 and 2 of the book was completely in vain, and that you will want to go ahead and do some speculation anyway, and so advises that you at least do 95% investing, and spend the other 5% proving that you can beat the market. He then advises using the investment account to get some help from Vanguard or TIAA-CREF with low cost funds and get a portfolio evaluation from them. He does bring up the excellent life-cycle funds, which I think are an excellent solution.
All in all, I think this is an excellent book for beginning investors, and the biggest problem I see is that not enough people will read it. He could cover asset allocation in more detail, but as others have demonstrated, that subject could be an entire book all by itself, and Blodget's prose-style-no-numbers approach would not work well there. In any case, the book is well worth the Amazon.com price for the average beginning investor.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Big Sur Trip
 |
| Big Sur Trip |
I was getting stale, doing the same old pigeon point loop every time I wanted a shakedown cruise. Well, this year, I opted for something different: Big Sur. I've ridden down the coast before, in 1997, but I wanted something that wouldn't take a week. My Western Wheeler friends Dick & Donna had done the Big Sur Loop from Carmel many times before, and since I'd never done it, I thought it was worth doing once, just to see what it was like.
Day 1: 51 miles, 3800': The day started out drizzly and cold. So cold that I had to break out warm jackets and gloves. By lunch time, however, the fog had blown off and we had nice sunny weather. As usual on the tandem, the climbs are much much harder than I remember from my previous ride, but the descents were fast and stable. We arrived at Lucia at 3:00pm, after all the other singles, and had plenty of time to enjoy the wonderful views of the coast and a lovely dinner.
Day 2: 51 miles, 4300': The forecast was for rain today, so I was pleasantly surprised to see clear, beautiful weather when we woke up. After breakfast, we climbed a short hill and descended down along the coast for 5 miles. This part of the coast was gorgeous and dreamy, very very pretty, and I wished we were heading further South, but not today. We climbed Nacimiento Road, a climb estimated at about 7 or 8%, which wound around the hills and gave us gorgeous views of the coast. At the top, we ran into Denise & Larry, a couple who were riding to San Luis Obispo, where they would rent a car and drive back home. Then there was a quick descent into Hunter Liggett military base, where unlike Dick's previous experience, we were quickly let through and had lunch at the snack bar on the base. Then we took the closed old road over to Jolon Road, where a gentle climb greeted us to the summit and then a furiously fast descent. This was, however, followed by a ride into a 30mph gale from King City! This gave us an 8mph speed into the city, where we stayed at the Keefer's Inn, after arriving around 4:00pm.
Day 3: 69 miles, 3000'. The morning started off with another headwind. This wasn't as bad as the day before, but we ended up doing 12mph for 2 hours, before turning into Greenfield and riding into Arroyo Seco, where the Easter weekend brought lots of annoying traffic. Then the turnoff onto Carmel Valley Road, where a gentle climb with a little breeze brought us quickly to within 2 miles of the summit before we got bogged down. Once over the summit, a quick descent (lent some urgency by using up all our water) brought us to Carmel Village, where we had lunch and topped up our water bottles. Then a quick push against a much weakened headwind brought us back to the car at 5:00pm.
My brother also has Web Album up for the trip.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Co-Motion provides new details
After yesterday's post, I got a public statement out of Co-Motion:
This date range is not correct. Piaw Na's frame, which he purchased used in
2000, was built in 1997. By the time Piaw had purchased his frame, we had
been reinforcing the eyelets for 3 years. We began reinforcement of the
Cappuccino and Cappuccino Co-Pilot (or SkyCapp) dropouts in 1997 to prevent
these problems from occuring again. I think the eyelet issue cropped up in
1997, but it would be smart to look at any 1996 or 1997 Cappuccino tandems.
If you own any steel Co-Motion Softride beam-equipped tandem manufactured
in 1996 or 1997, I would encourage you to contact us to see if it might be
prudent to reinforce your dropouts. Check your serial number, stamped into
the front bottom bracket shell. If the last two digits (indicating year of
manufacture) are 96 or 97, take a look at your dropouts. If you see a strong
definition line between the eyelet and dropout body, and you plan to mount a
rear rack carrying loaded panniers, give us a call.
This date range is not correct. Piaw Na's frame, which he purchased used in
2000, was built in 1997. By the time Piaw had purchased his frame, we had
been reinforcing the eyelets for 3 years. We began reinforcement of the
Cappuccino and Cappuccino Co-Pilot (or SkyCapp) dropouts in 1997 to prevent
these problems from occuring again. I think the eyelet issue cropped up in
1997, but it would be smart to look at any 1996 or 1997 Cappuccino tandems.
If you own any steel Co-Motion Softride beam-equipped tandem manufactured
in 1996 or 1997, I would encourage you to contact us to see if it might be
prudent to reinforce your dropouts. Check your serial number, stamped into
the front bottom bracket shell. If the last two digits (indicating year of
manufacture) are 96 or 97, take a look at your dropouts. If you see a strong
definition line between the eyelet and dropout body, and you plan to mount a
rear rack carrying loaded panniers, give us a call.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
How not to manage product defects
5 years ago, I owned a Co-Motion SkyCapp. It was my first tandem, and amongst other things it taught me what I liked or did not like about tandems, in particular, S&S couplers are evil. Then in 2002, Lisa & I rode down the Pacific Coast on a 5 day bike trip, and the eyelets on the rear (which attach the rack to the frame) broke.
This was annoying to say the least: in 15 years of touring, no other bicycle frame has ever broken down on me in this fashion, but it was near the end of the trip, so a phone call to my brother got me a pick-up, and I brought it to the frame shop for a repair (cost: $60), and proceeded to eventually sell the frame and buy a new one (which I am very happy with).
In the course of interacting with folks on the internet tandem list, I discovered that a few other folks had had their tandems fail in exactly the same way. Well, so I started telling folks who were buying Co-Motions, to check their dropout eyelets, or to just re-do them. Co-Motion's representative then got on-board and said they had no such problem. When I then posted that I'd found others who'd had the same problem happen to their tandems, they changed their tune and said that it was just a bad batch of dropouts (frame components) that had since been fixed. I asked for a list of serial #s or model years affected, but they did not reply.
Fast forward a few years, and I issue another such warning for a frame made in the same era as mine, and suddenly I'm accused of having a grudge against Co-Motion, as evidenced by this e-mail from them:
It seems that somewhere along the way, I have made an enemy of you. I have
long felt that our reputation would speak for itself, and that in time, you
might mellow about this. Perhaps I underestimated the extent of your
determination. Perhaps you are waiting for an apology.
A further exchange determined the extent of their problem:
> Hm... I still remember your respond to my initial posting about
> broken eyelets:
>
> "I will stand our eyelets up against anybody else's". That was what
> prompted me to ask David Love and Pamela Bayley about their eyelet
> experiences on their co-motions. I'd call that a denial, but hey, you
> can call it whatever you want.
Yes, I made the above statement because I felt that our dropout, which was
made by one of the premier dropout forging companies in the world, was
indeed equal to any other company's dropout. We had no problems with any of
their other dropouts, and their other dropouts, made for Ritchey, Trek,
Schwinn and others enjoyed a strong reputation.
However, the Cappuccino/SkyCapp was hard on dropout eyelets because the
rear rack, having to extend so far to meet the upper rack mounts due to the
compact rear triangle, exhibited more lateral movement. This wasn't the
fault of the eyelets, it was more of a problem with the vast array of rack
adaptations to the beam bikes. Still, it was the eyelet that exhibited the
problem, so it was the eyelet we reinforced. We also made an effort to
recommend that anyone using a Capp/SkyCapp for loaded touring should make an
effort to get a nice rigid rack like a Bruce Gordon or Robert Beckman
design. These racks provide much better lateral stability because of their
superior upper mounts, taking the strain off the dropout eyelets.
> So you're saying that you have a problem even now?
Absolutely not.
>At some point, you
> made a manufacturing change to correct eyelet dropout problems, yes?
> So frames after that point are safe, correct?
Yes, the aditional brazing, as seen on Brian Speck's frame.
>So you could
> theoretically say, "Any frames made after this time will be free of
> eyelet problems", right?
Yes.
>And that would translate to a manufacturing
> serial # past a certain # on Co-Motion frames, correct?
Yes. However, the difficulty is in identifying exactly when the problematic
dropout eyelets initiated. It would not be correct to recall all Cappuccinos
and SkyCapps made before X. Not only would it be extremely costly, it would
also involve a lot more bicycles than necessary. We did not track dropout
lots- the new parts would have gone into the same bin as the old batch.
Because we could not positively identify them, we decided to reinforce
everything after it appeared we had a problem and take care of the rest of
them under warranty. Why your repair was charged by Bicycle Outfitter to
you, I do not know- you should not have been charged.
>Or are you
> saying that you still don't know if your new frames would have this
> problem?
Not at all.
The reason why this is a case study on how not to deal with a product defect is that once a manufacturer has denied there's a problem, and then realizes that there's one, there's an honest way to deal with it: post it on your web-site, made it known there are are problems, and either issue a recall or tell folks that if you have a possibly affected frame we'll take care of you. To try to tell everyone else that my frame was suspect because it was bought used and because of its history, is being disingenuous. To then try to brush it off because it's too expensive to recall all affected frames, but not to explain to the general public what the problem was, and that they could be affected is to be cavalier about the most important part of a relationship between a producer and consumer: trust. If I can't trust you to always tell me what's wrong with even minor things, how can I trust you to tell me about major problems? If future Co-Motions were to have a manufacturing defect in their steerer tube which could cause a serious crash, would their past performance/waffling about their eyelet problems tell you that they would do the right thing and lose money and replace bad steerers? Or would they try to cover up, and fight the inevitable lawsuits.
I'll take the reverse example: when Rivendell Bicycles sold me a custom frame 10 years ago, they made it with a seat tube slightly too big. It was a 27.2mm seat tube instead of a 27mm seat tube. Just 0.2mm difference. I wouldn't have noticed. If the bike shop had called me about the problem I would have said, "no problem, put in a 27.2mm American Classic seat post." But my shop called Rivendell, and I immediately got e-mail from the company apologizing for the mistake, the employee on the shop floor berated himself, telling me he'd betrayed my trust had let me down and would never do this to me again. The company sent a UPS tag back to the shop, took back the frame, and sent me another custom frame. Let me tell you that if Grant Petersen had a bad batch of dropouts, he would personally see to it that every frame with the potential for this problem would be fixed. The man (and the company) has shown that he will never ever let making money get in the way of doing the right thing, and I will heartily recommend a Rivendell bicycle to anyone.
To me, these potential breaches of trust are what cause me to tell friends who ask me to steer away from Co-Motion bicycles. They might ride great, but integrity in business and personal relations on products that might potentially cause you and your partner great damage is just too important to me.
This was annoying to say the least: in 15 years of touring, no other bicycle frame has ever broken down on me in this fashion, but it was near the end of the trip, so a phone call to my brother got me a pick-up, and I brought it to the frame shop for a repair (cost: $60), and proceeded to eventually sell the frame and buy a new one (which I am very happy with).
In the course of interacting with folks on the internet tandem list, I discovered that a few other folks had had their tandems fail in exactly the same way. Well, so I started telling folks who were buying Co-Motions, to check their dropout eyelets, or to just re-do them. Co-Motion's representative then got on-board and said they had no such problem. When I then posted that I'd found others who'd had the same problem happen to their tandems, they changed their tune and said that it was just a bad batch of dropouts (frame components) that had since been fixed. I asked for a list of serial #s or model years affected, but they did not reply.
Fast forward a few years, and I issue another such warning for a frame made in the same era as mine, and suddenly I'm accused of having a grudge against Co-Motion, as evidenced by this e-mail from them:
It seems that somewhere along the way, I have made an enemy of you. I have
long felt that our reputation would speak for itself, and that in time, you
might mellow about this. Perhaps I underestimated the extent of your
determination. Perhaps you are waiting for an apology.
A further exchange determined the extent of their problem:
> Hm... I still remember your respond to my initial posting about
> broken eyelets:
>
> "I will stand our eyelets up against anybody else's". That was what
> prompted me to ask David Love and Pamela Bayley about their eyelet
> experiences on their co-motions. I'd call that a denial, but hey, you
> can call it whatever you want.
Yes, I made the above statement because I felt that our dropout, which was
made by one of the premier dropout forging companies in the world, was
indeed equal to any other company's dropout. We had no problems with any of
their other dropouts, and their other dropouts, made for Ritchey, Trek,
Schwinn and others enjoyed a strong reputation.
However, the Cappuccino/SkyCapp was hard on dropout eyelets because the
rear rack, having to extend so far to meet the upper rack mounts due to the
compact rear triangle, exhibited more lateral movement. This wasn't the
fault of the eyelets, it was more of a problem with the vast array of rack
adaptations to the beam bikes. Still, it was the eyelet that exhibited the
problem, so it was the eyelet we reinforced. We also made an effort to
recommend that anyone using a Capp/SkyCapp for loaded touring should make an
effort to get a nice rigid rack like a Bruce Gordon or Robert Beckman
design. These racks provide much better lateral stability because of their
superior upper mounts, taking the strain off the dropout eyelets.
> So you're saying that you have a problem even now?
Absolutely not.
>At some point, you
> made a manufacturing change to correct eyelet dropout problems, yes?
> So frames after that point are safe, correct?
Yes, the aditional brazing, as seen on Brian Speck's frame.
>So you could
> theoretically say, "Any frames made after this time will be free of
> eyelet problems", right?
Yes.
>And that would translate to a manufacturing
> serial # past a certain # on Co-Motion frames, correct?
Yes. However, the difficulty is in identifying exactly when the problematic
dropout eyelets initiated. It would not be correct to recall all Cappuccinos
and SkyCapps made before X. Not only would it be extremely costly, it would
also involve a lot more bicycles than necessary. We did not track dropout
lots- the new parts would have gone into the same bin as the old batch.
Because we could not positively identify them, we decided to reinforce
everything after it appeared we had a problem and take care of the rest of
them under warranty. Why your repair was charged by Bicycle Outfitter to
you, I do not know- you should not have been charged.
>Or are you
> saying that you still don't know if your new frames would have this
> problem?
Not at all.
The reason why this is a case study on how not to deal with a product defect is that once a manufacturer has denied there's a problem, and then realizes that there's one, there's an honest way to deal with it: post it on your web-site, made it known there are are problems, and either issue a recall or tell folks that if you have a possibly affected frame we'll take care of you. To try to tell everyone else that my frame was suspect because it was bought used and because of its history, is being disingenuous. To then try to brush it off because it's too expensive to recall all affected frames, but not to explain to the general public what the problem was, and that they could be affected is to be cavalier about the most important part of a relationship between a producer and consumer: trust. If I can't trust you to always tell me what's wrong with even minor things, how can I trust you to tell me about major problems? If future Co-Motions were to have a manufacturing defect in their steerer tube which could cause a serious crash, would their past performance/waffling about their eyelet problems tell you that they would do the right thing and lose money and replace bad steerers? Or would they try to cover up, and fight the inevitable lawsuits.
I'll take the reverse example: when Rivendell Bicycles sold me a custom frame 10 years ago, they made it with a seat tube slightly too big. It was a 27.2mm seat tube instead of a 27mm seat tube. Just 0.2mm difference. I wouldn't have noticed. If the bike shop had called me about the problem I would have said, "no problem, put in a 27.2mm American Classic seat post." But my shop called Rivendell, and I immediately got e-mail from the company apologizing for the mistake, the employee on the shop floor berated himself, telling me he'd betrayed my trust had let me down and would never do this to me again. The company sent a UPS tag back to the shop, took back the frame, and sent me another custom frame. Let me tell you that if Grant Petersen had a bad batch of dropouts, he would personally see to it that every frame with the potential for this problem would be fixed. The man (and the company) has shown that he will never ever let making money get in the way of doing the right thing, and I will heartily recommend a Rivendell bicycle to anyone.
To me, these potential breaches of trust are what cause me to tell friends who ask me to steer away from Co-Motion bicycles. They might ride great, but integrity in business and personal relations on products that might potentially cause you and your partner great damage is just too important to me.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Marathon Pictures!
Finally I got my pictures from the folks who took them...it wasn't cheap, about 50 bucks, but I figured its worth it since I don't know if I'll do another full marathon anytime soon!
My favourites...
Me crossing the finish line
Me about 2 miles from the finish line
And me looking quite energetic..must have been before the halfway point =)
My favourites...
Me crossing the finish line
Me about 2 miles from the finish line
And me looking quite energetic..must have been before the halfway point =)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Review: Shen Wei Dance Arts
Last night, I saw one of the most impressive dance performances in my relatively short dance experience. The Shen Wei Dance Arts was up at my old school, Berkeley, so I took the opportunity to go up there and see this.
The short review goes like this, there are 2 sequences, with an intermission between each sequence. The first sequence went on for 40 minutes and was composed of the exploration between what seems to be random movement and how one dancer's random movement can affect another dancer's movement. A lot of it seemed like water effects and the dance moves themselves were a mix of Chinese Kung Fu katas and traditional western ballet dance moves. It was interesting, a little thought provoking, but nothing spectacular.
The second sequence however, completely blew my mind away. The curtain opened to a still painting, a moving painting if one will. Inspired by a painting that the choreographer saw years ago, he has transformed that painting into a surreal piece of dance, not too much unlike something you'll see from a Salvador Dali painting..except its motion. The entire theatre was deathly quiet and you could hear people's breathing as somehow tension was brought onto everyone. At the end of the 20 minute sequence, everyone finally started breathing regularly again, and then gave a standing ovation.
Together, the random motion of the first sequence of the dance arts coupled with the slow and deliberate second sequence of the dance painting simply serves to give me my most memorable and intense dance performance that I've ever witnessed.
To summarize, if you get the chance to see this, don't pass it up. The tickets weren't terribly expensive and it is one of the most surreal and incredibly intense dance performances that I think I'l bear witness to
The only bad thing...it has a very limited showing, and I believe there are no more shows in the Bay Area...but for those of you reading outside the Bay Area, definitely something to look forward to if it shows up in your area! Here's a schedule.
The short review goes like this, there are 2 sequences, with an intermission between each sequence. The first sequence went on for 40 minutes and was composed of the exploration between what seems to be random movement and how one dancer's random movement can affect another dancer's movement. A lot of it seemed like water effects and the dance moves themselves were a mix of Chinese Kung Fu katas and traditional western ballet dance moves. It was interesting, a little thought provoking, but nothing spectacular.
The second sequence however, completely blew my mind away. The curtain opened to a still painting, a moving painting if one will. Inspired by a painting that the choreographer saw years ago, he has transformed that painting into a surreal piece of dance, not too much unlike something you'll see from a Salvador Dali painting..except its motion. The entire theatre was deathly quiet and you could hear people's breathing as somehow tension was brought onto everyone. At the end of the 20 minute sequence, everyone finally started breathing regularly again, and then gave a standing ovation.
Together, the random motion of the first sequence of the dance arts coupled with the slow and deliberate second sequence of the dance painting simply serves to give me my most memorable and intense dance performance that I've ever witnessed.
To summarize, if you get the chance to see this, don't pass it up. The tickets weren't terribly expensive and it is one of the most surreal and incredibly intense dance performances that I think I'l bear witness to
The only bad thing...it has a very limited showing, and I believe there are no more shows in the Bay Area...but for those of you reading outside the Bay Area, definitely something to look forward to if it shows up in your area! Here's a schedule.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
An explanation of the mortgage alphabet soup
Calculated Risk is one of the best bloggers around on the housing bubble and its effect on the economy. His posts are incisive, and he also has a great habit of picking up comments from his blog and hoisting them up to the main page. I consider the blog a must-read for those who wish to understand the housing market, how it works, and how it affects the economy.
The post I'm linking to here is a good explanation of what conforming loans are, and why they were created: to effectively homogenize and streamline loans that are easy for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy (both are quasi-government agencies whose goals are to subsidize housing for as many Americans as possible by buying up loans from banks so that fresh capital is injected into the housing market).
In recent years, however, non-conforming loans have become the norm, since rising housing prices made loans made to folks who couldn't handle the prior requirements "less risky." Of course, that created a moral hazard, which drove the risk up until today, when housing prices stopped rising. Now with Mortgage REITs going out of business, it will be interesting to see if housing prices drop since there won't be any new money coming into the market for awhile.
The post I'm linking to here is a good explanation of what conforming loans are, and why they were created: to effectively homogenize and streamline loans that are easy for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy (both are quasi-government agencies whose goals are to subsidize housing for as many Americans as possible by buying up loans from banks so that fresh capital is injected into the housing market).
In recent years, however, non-conforming loans have become the norm, since rising housing prices made loans made to folks who couldn't handle the prior requirements "less risky." Of course, that created a moral hazard, which drove the risk up until today, when housing prices stopped rising. Now with Mortgage REITs going out of business, it will be interesting to see if housing prices drop since there won't be any new money coming into the market for awhile.
Friday, March 09, 2007
The high prices of plane tickets...
This year seems to be exceedingly expensive for plane travel. 3 years ago when I bought plane tickets for Zurich, I found tickets for $650 each. Last year, for the Coast to Coast, we only found tickets for $775 each. This year, tickets to Zurich are going for about $1050 each, though a few weeks ago we found some for $950 or so. Record high oil prices are definitely partly to blame, but I also think that the airlines seem to have wised up a bit and not released discount fairs so early (last October's prices were still insanely high, while October 2004 had very nice prices for June 2005). It might be that in the future, last minute tickets will end up being much cheaper than pre-booked tickets. We'll have to track prices a bit more to see.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Review: Rising Stars
This is a review of J. M. Straczynski's series, Rising Stars. It's published in 3 parts: Rising Stars , Power (Rising Stars, Book 2)
, and Rising Stars Volume 3: Fire And Ash.
Part one covers the origins of the Pedersen 113, the children who were in the town of Pedersen when a strange fireball appeared in the sky. The children turn out to be special. Most of them develop interesting special powers, and the story begins when one of them is murdered. It turns out that the death of one of the specials increases the powers of the survivors. A lesser writer would make the story about the mystery behind the murders, and how the narrator solves it. Instead, Straczynski solves the mystery almost immediately, and misdirects the reader into thinking that this would end in a big Highlander-style battle until there is only one.
Instead, the story turns into one of betrayal and recovery from betrayal, followed by an Authority-style exploration of what true superpowers with a humanitarian bent would really do for the Earth, and humanity in general. The stories leap forward in time, spanning decades at a time in between books, and the ending was unpredictable, leaving you guessing all the way until the end. (It does get a bit hokey at the end, but not in a bad way)
Recommended.
, and Rising Stars Volume 3: Fire And Ash.Part one covers the origins of the Pedersen 113, the children who were in the town of Pedersen when a strange fireball appeared in the sky. The children turn out to be special. Most of them develop interesting special powers, and the story begins when one of them is murdered. It turns out that the death of one of the specials increases the powers of the survivors. A lesser writer would make the story about the mystery behind the murders, and how the narrator solves it. Instead, Straczynski solves the mystery almost immediately, and misdirects the reader into thinking that this would end in a big Highlander-style battle until there is only one.
Instead, the story turns into one of betrayal and recovery from betrayal, followed by an Authority-style exploration of what true superpowers with a humanitarian bent would really do for the Earth, and humanity in general. The stories leap forward in time, spanning decades at a time in between books, and the ending was unpredictable, leaving you guessing all the way until the end. (It does get a bit hokey at the end, but not in a bad way)
Recommended.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
26.2 in 4:30
So this past sunday was the culmination of about 6 months worth of training. From the time I returned to the Bay Area in July and decided that I wanted to run a Marathon, to my first Half Marathon in October, to this Marathon in March....its been a long road. After 400 miles of running since last late october (probably closer to 600 if I add the training for my half-marathon, but I didn't keep track of mileage as meticulously as I do now...), this is an extremely satisfying culmination of all that hard work.
The blow by blow went like, this...I flew by the first 13 miles, getting a sub 2 hour time at the half marathon mark...felt good all the way to mile 17 or 18, and then just had to slow down. It felt like my heart was going to pop and decided to walk a minute or two per mile after that. Even before my body gave up, I had slowed down already, but not by too much, from a 6.6 to a 6.0 pace. But after mile 18, I think I was going at about a sub 6 pace. I maintained that pace all the way to the finish line.
I had an incredibly good kick for the last few hundred yards though, I kept telling myself, almost yelling "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" and I blew by about 10 or 15 folks, the cheering really kept me going and the people at the finish line was worried I was going to collapse, but did congratulate me for finishing. They were also surprised that I had such a strong finish for such a lousy time =p
This was an incredibly well organized and supported Marathon. I showed up at the finish line at 5:45, caught the bus to Calistoga that took about 45 minutes, took a leak, got some hydration and some extra Guu, and then at 7 promptly, we went. I started my clock at 7:01 because of the crowd in front of me and my official time was 4:31:44. The course was gorgeous, a little shivery in the 7 o'clock hour, warming up at 8 o'clock, got really comfy at 9 o'clock, then got uncomfortably warm at 10, but a great cloud cover came at around 10:30 and the last hour of my run was in relative shade and comfort.
I ran all the way with my Nano and could not use my Nike+ kit cause I lost the bluetooth portion that attached to my Nano. This was a race that I didn't really need it though, since I knew the start time AND the exact distance =).
Back to the marathon being organized, there was rest stops every 2 miles officially, but there were lots more in actuality, closer to 14 I counted. And yes, these were the ones that were official. At the 21 mile mark they actually had sorbet! That was great even though I'm not a sorbet person and only took one or two licks.
So although I'm 30 minutes later than my desired time, I'm still extremely happy that I finished and this 30 minutes only gives me more incentive to improve should I choose to run another one.
In retrospect, I should have done a practice run up to 23 miles a few times before the event, and I should have paced myself a lot better during the event. Towards the end of the training, I just did not have enough long runs under my belt, so that might explain why I'm just glad to have finished at the 4:30 mark (the lowest boundary of my desired time).
My stat line:
Bib Name Time Overall Place Gender Place Pace
1707 Sy Na 4:31:44 882 569 64 / Men 30 to 34 10:22/M
I also signed up for the San Jose Rock & Roll Marathon for October, right now i'm tentatively saying a time of 1:50! So at least I won't be hanging up those sneakers anytime soon!
Pics forthcoming! I want to see the pics of my incredible (for me anyway) finish! =)
The blow by blow went like, this...I flew by the first 13 miles, getting a sub 2 hour time at the half marathon mark...felt good all the way to mile 17 or 18, and then just had to slow down. It felt like my heart was going to pop and decided to walk a minute or two per mile after that. Even before my body gave up, I had slowed down already, but not by too much, from a 6.6 to a 6.0 pace. But after mile 18, I think I was going at about a sub 6 pace. I maintained that pace all the way to the finish line.
I had an incredibly good kick for the last few hundred yards though, I kept telling myself, almost yelling "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" and I blew by about 10 or 15 folks, the cheering really kept me going and the people at the finish line was worried I was going to collapse, but did congratulate me for finishing. They were also surprised that I had such a strong finish for such a lousy time =p
This was an incredibly well organized and supported Marathon. I showed up at the finish line at 5:45, caught the bus to Calistoga that took about 45 minutes, took a leak, got some hydration and some extra Guu, and then at 7 promptly, we went. I started my clock at 7:01 because of the crowd in front of me and my official time was 4:31:44. The course was gorgeous, a little shivery in the 7 o'clock hour, warming up at 8 o'clock, got really comfy at 9 o'clock, then got uncomfortably warm at 10, but a great cloud cover came at around 10:30 and the last hour of my run was in relative shade and comfort.
I ran all the way with my Nano and could not use my Nike+ kit cause I lost the bluetooth portion that attached to my Nano. This was a race that I didn't really need it though, since I knew the start time AND the exact distance =).
Back to the marathon being organized, there was rest stops every 2 miles officially, but there were lots more in actuality, closer to 14 I counted. And yes, these were the ones that were official. At the 21 mile mark they actually had sorbet! That was great even though I'm not a sorbet person and only took one or two licks.
So although I'm 30 minutes later than my desired time, I'm still extremely happy that I finished and this 30 minutes only gives me more incentive to improve should I choose to run another one.
In retrospect, I should have done a practice run up to 23 miles a few times before the event, and I should have paced myself a lot better during the event. Towards the end of the training, I just did not have enough long runs under my belt, so that might explain why I'm just glad to have finished at the 4:30 mark (the lowest boundary of my desired time).
My stat line:
Bib Name Time Overall Place Gender Place Pace
1707 Sy Na 4:31:44 882 569 64 / Men 30 to 34 10:22/M
I also signed up for the San Jose Rock & Roll Marathon for October, right now i'm tentatively saying a time of 1:50! So at least I won't be hanging up those sneakers anytime soon!
Pics forthcoming! I want to see the pics of my incredible (for me anyway) finish! =)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
