It's Not Even Winter Yet

It's getting a little colder around here.  With a projected high of 34 today, I think it will be the first time in a couple weeks that it has been above freezing.  Of course none of this matters when I'm at work living in an artificially lit and climate controlled bubble.  But in my 200+ year old house, its a little more obvious.  For example, every morning there are ice crystals on the windows.

There are really only two things that I do outside of work these days and they are cooking and riding.  Cooking, like being at work, is a perfect shelter from the weather.  Riding isn't so much.  I'm still enjoying my commutes and recreation/training rides, but it now takes about as long to dress and undress as it does to get to work.  Its about a 20 to 25 minute ride with 15 to 20 minutes total time to dress and undress.

The real crazy part for me is that I have less than two weeks of this left for the year.  I leave for California in a couple days and I'll be there over two weeks.  Boy am I excited about that!  And then I come back to CT for a week to get ready for Taiwan.  I'll be in Taiwan for about 3 months, which backs up into some personal travel.  So I wont be back to CT again until MAY!  I just can't forget to leave post dated rent checks or I'll be in a real pickle.

Oh, interesting tid bit for urban dwellers ... Our well pump died last night.  This is probably not a concern for most of you, but this is a huge problem here.  We're not really supported like you would be in a city so there is no other way to get water.  We can't find anyone to work on the well until Monday.  Its easy enough to buy drinking water to get by, but the furnace and radiator system needs water too.  I'm getting a little nervous about becoming a popsicle if we have to shut the furnace down.

I think this picture is from our second snow this year. Yes, I still rode to work that morning in sub 20 degree, windy weather ... just to spite those who said I couldn't do it.  Well, actually I'm just doing it for myself.  Every time I ride I feel a little stronger and a little tougher.

Ithaca is Gorges

Ithaca is Gorges.  You should go.  I only stopped by for a day and a half on my way back from Niagara.  The town is beautiful and not unlike San Luis Obispo.  Its a little more how shall we say ... bohemian than SLO or just about anywhere.

Here are some photos that I took in and around Ithaca.  Sadly, I didn't manage to take any photos of the downtown area.  I was always too busy eating :).

Niagara Falls

I took a nice trip to Niagara falls with Andrea back in October.  Its been more than a month now and the leaves have long since fallen.  There's not a lot to report here, you just have to see it.

A Pleasant Food Experiment

You might not believe it but I am actually posting something that I did today!  This might be a first - even other posts that are dated properly were probably post dated weeks after.

Anyway, I'm fresh off of some great experiences with new foods.  In China I ate so many new things that I couldn't even remember all of them, and I still don't know what noises some of them made before I ate them.  That used to be a loose guideline on what I would eat, by the way.  I also got lucky at home making pasta.  It is not quite, but almost as easy as buying it.  Its actually faster for me to make it than to go to the store from home and buy it.

Oh the Huge Manatee

I have recently lost track of the score, but it was something like Connecticut 9 - Aaron 0.  I have now had 1 leech, 1 hornet sting, 1 bee sting (on the neck during a criterium race), and I lost track of how many times I got poison ivy after about 5 or 6.  So if you're coming this way, be warned.

I was feeling down when I came out here with poison oak or some other mystery rash, but I've toughened up a little since then.

Cannondale Factory Racing Team

Today the Cannondale Factory Racing Team stopped by work for lunch and a mountain bike ride on the Cannondale R&D trails at Bogus mountain.  We had a dog and pony show meet and greet over lunch and then a nice big group ride.  The team riders are much surlier and more technically skilled than I could have imagined.  They started the ride by racing wheelies around our parking lot, with Marco taking the lead after 2 and a half laps.  Then they embarrassed us by bush whacking off trail to pass us mere mortals before clearing every bit of trail we rode.  Some of the trails behind our office are nearly impossible for me to ride cleanly and challenge our best riders.  These guys showed us all up without even knowing the trails.  Oh to be world class...

More info on CFR: http://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng/News-CFR
Image borrowed without permission from www.cannondale.com

Race the Worlds

I got all pumped up to race the citizens' race on the World Cup MTB course at Windham Mountain in New York.  I decided that this would be a good place for me to upgrade to CAT 2 in mountain biking racing.  The course was very climby, probably even too climby for me, but it was a lot of fun.  I didn't finish well enough to really brag, but I'll try it anyway.  I finished 5th in my age group, which some might say is a podium finish.  That was 5 of 9 finishers and I'm not sure how many dropped out, maybe about 5 or so.

The course was surprisingly technical for a cross country race.  I enjoyed a number of wooden bridged and structures and some excellent, techincal pick-your-way down descents.  One of my favorite parts of the course was a stretch of trail known as blackout where you drop into dark woods from an open trail.  It was a little tough to ride and I only like it because the name was appropriate.

I had had it in my mind that cross country racing was generally for wimps - wimps who are stronger and faster than me, but still wimps.  The other races I have done on the East Coast have been techy, as in general the terrain here is much much more technical than San Luis Obispo.  For those familiar with mountain biking in SLO, most of our trails here are on par with rock garden.

More photos of the event: http://singletrack.competitor.com/2010/08/uncategorized/windham-world-cup-2010-photo-gallery_10031
http://www.racewindham.com/
Image borrowed without permission from www.cannondale.com

It's All Downhill from Here

Yes, I did it.  I went downhilling.  It was awesome!  And best of all, we ventured into the most 'Bro' segment of cycling in a perfectly Bro way - the GT So Cal truck.

FYI: I'm working on buying (and expensing) some big and nasty sunglasses to leave in the truck.  It'll be mandatory that you wear them when you drive the truck during daylight hours.

Changes

As many of you have mentioned, some repeatedly, I held on to my last wallet past its prime. To be fair, I didn't ever have any money to put into it, so it didn't really matter. I remain proud of that little piece of worn green leather, because it was watching my ass through it all for seven years.

With the new job and all, I needed a little more carrying capacity, so I had to get a new one. And no, I haven't lost my soul, I'm still wearing worn shoes and clothes that I have owned since middle school.

AW

Miscellany.blog.beta

To those who have subscribed to this blog, I apologize if you are getting a ton of emails about the same post.  We're still in beta up here at HQ and the tech department hasn't found a smooth way to preview content before posting.  This, combined with some other organizational struggles, means that the design staff and copy desk are both left to update errors on the live page.  Everyone here is working diligently to address this issue.

We're not in California Anymore

This is part of the Putnam Memorial, one of approximately 2 million state parks in Connecticut. I ventured out to escape the four walls of my hotel room before I started work. And you should be proud of me for not losing my lens cap in the snow this time. But that's only because I lost it in January.

More here 

Winter Weather Advice (I love my coworkers)

When I explained to my new coworkers how excited I was about the novelty of snow on the ground they had a few ideas for me.  Collectively they told me how to drive in the snow, what kind of socks to wear, and how to make good snow balls.  In two unrelated instances I was told that lemon grass is very common in Connecticut and when snow sits on it the snow picks up flavor, turning it into a natural unsweetened snow cone.  One mentioned that I would find more of this near trees, because the grass grows better in the shade.

Hot damn I thought, free snow cone.  When I saw the first patch, I was excited to give it a try, but I couldn't really get to it through the brush.  It was the first find on my short hunt, but it wasn't worth pushing through the brush.

More after the jump

Connect-I-cut

This just in: Connecticut has a growing population of headless geese.  Everyone was right, this place is a whole world away from home.

Dinner is Served

The most challenging part of my relocation was continuing to eat well, especially at dinner time.  My system, which I recommend to any travelers, is to get a frozen entree with vegetables and sauce and then add fresh vegetables and rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  I've been pretty happy with the variety (Its only been a few days) and it only takes a few minutes to prep and a few minutes to microwave.  And best of all, I have been able to keep eating enough fiber to fuel my signature gas problem.

New Home

(This was already emailed to some people, feel free to skip)
I am currently in an extended stay hotel suite, but I just found the perfect new home.  I'll move in on March 1st.  Its a shared house with a retired farmer named Bob.  I'll have two private rooms upstairs and free run of kitchen and living room.  The house overlooks a big meadow and nearby dense woods.  Bob, being the kickass farmer that he is has a pretty sizable plot of land with two houses and a big kickass barn.  He has horses, donkeys (yes, donkeys), chickens (but they are far away from the house, thank goodness), and some sheep.  When I met Bob, he was wearing a home knit sweater underneath well worn overalls with big work boots.  I get the feeling that Bob doesn't give a hoot about anything as long as his work gets done - he must be the most laid back person in New England.   

Bon Voyage

Some of my friends came over to send me off in style. We shot these portraits in the living room in a total of about 20 to 30 minutes. To those of you who were there, I thank you again, for your company and the chance to make these portraits. To those of you who weren't there, I missed you then as I do now.

What it Takes

At first I was upset that I was covered in poison oak when I made my first trip to Connecticut to interview. Now that I think about it, this turned out to be a good strategy for my job interview. Everyone remembered me, and anyone who forgot could find evidence of my presence smeared around for the next week.

A Great Divide

My parents and I went up to Palm Springs to visit my Grandparents at their home.  Dad and I split off for half a day to ride the tram up into the snow.  I loved watching these folks consider the tramway.  I couldn't hear what they were saying and I didn't talk to them.  To me, the divide between them and myself is as interesting as the gap between them and the tram.  I see the tram as a pretty straightforward piece of technology with relatively few surprises - they on the other hand, seemed to see it a little differently.

First Sighting

I traveled to Bethel, Connecticut early in January this year to interview with CSG.  This picture was taken on Greenwood Ave, my favorite place in Bethel thus far.  More here.