Santa Fe Vacation, Day 1

Ice build-up on all the leading edges

Recently T and I took a little vacation to Santa Fe. We couldn't decide which bikes to bring so we brought all of them, hoping to get a good road ride in together with our road bikes and the other two bikes for cruising around town and maybe a mountain bike ride when we got sick of each other. I went out and got two more bike carriers for my rooftop rack so we could bring the four bikes.



The drive down featured rain, freezing rain, sleet, and more rain. As we made our way out of Colorado the ice was building up so thick on the bikes that anytime we slowed down it sounded like the sky was falling as big chunks of ice broke off from the bikes and landed on the Jetta's roof. When we stopped for fuel (The Jetta doesn't take gas), I snapped this picture of all the ice that had built up on all the leading edges. Carrying four ice-covered bicycles on the roof absolutely slaughtered the Jetta's fuel economy. I'm used to getting well over 50 mpg highway, but with the fully loaded roof rack I got about 25 mpg on the trip down.

Upon Arrival in Santa Fe

The skies started to clear as we approached Santa Fe. Instead of the cloudy gray rain we had all day, Santa Fe was sunny, warm, and very inviting. In this picture you can see the bikes are now clear of ice but there's still big chunks of ice melting off the rack. On the windshield wiper is a huge chunk that was attached to my mountain bike tire.

Casita Chiquita

We unpacked the car under the waning light of the setting sun. Here you can see the casita we rented for the week; ours was named Casita Chiquita. More pictures of the casita are available in my Flickr account. After unpacking the car we walked downtown to find something to eat. We were hungry, tired, and cranky by the time we found a good eatery called Mucho Gusto. It had one of my favorite food innovations from the entire trip; refried beans made with black beans instead of the more traditional pinto beans! Hallelujah!! Black beans are so infinitely superior to pinto beans, and finally here was a restaurant that saw the light! The salsas were delicious, too! I love me that southwestern food!

How many words do the eskimos have for "hydrography"?

Found out my next assignment is going to be in Alaska. More on this breaking development later.

Update: The title of this post is a nod to the original snowclone. I'm a big fan those wacky linguists over at Language Log and had to throw it in.

I finally talked to CDR Glang last friday after playing phone tag for a couple of weeks. He's the technical liaison officer to the assignment board for NOAA's National Ocean Service. I believe he was gearing up to sell me on the idea of going to Alaska to be FOO on NOAA Ship Fairweather when I politely interrupted him by saying that I want to go to Alaska. He said it could be a done deal but they're going to have me go through a newly formed official process in which I get vetted by a board of "Senior Hydrographers", in other words, the proverbial smoke-filled room.

NOAA Ship Fairweather is based in Ketchikan, Alaska, a city reachable only by sea or air. Or maybe doglsed. The ship conducts hydrographic surveys all throughout Alaskan waters.

I'm looking forward to my new adventure.

We're in the news!

Space storm disrupted GPS, experts say - Yahoo! News

This news article, about how intense solar flares in December were observed to disrupt GPS service, briefly mentions NOAA with regard to our Space Environment Center. I'm now signing autographs.

Edit: The story is now on CNN here with a little more information.

Edit 2: And now listen to the podcast!

All the way, baby!

I just got back from riding all the way up flagstaff. I hadn't gone all the way in a really long time. Georgia and I used to go all the way all the time, but this time I had to go all the way solo. It's sunny, but rather chilly outside, so the descent was freezing. My hands, arms, and legs were all numb from the cold. I got passed by five people on the way up, but two of those don't count because they stopped and turned around just after passing me at the turn-off for flagstaff summit road while I kept going all the way to the top. Wusses.

Here's a neat website that shows some of the views from flagstaff.

My kickball team suffered a demoralizing defeat last night. The final score was 18 to 17. The opposition went up by 11 runs in the first inning! We came back to tie it up at 15 each, but then they scored three runs in the top of the last inning and we could only muster two. We fought valiantly and it was an exciting game, but alas the kickball gods were not smiling upon us.

In other news, I might find out soon where I'm going for my next assignment. When I came into the office yesterday I had a message from the liaison officer who deals with hydro assignments. He said he had an assignment that may interest me. So now I'm going nuts wondering what it is. I tried calling him back yesterday but ended up leaving a message for him, and he hasn't called me back yet. I'm pretty sure I'll be going to Alaska on the Fairweather for my next assignment, which I'm honestly pretty excited about. I'm starting to get anxious to go back to sea, even though it means less road biking. When I find out anything I'll post it here.

Black20 Trailer Park: 300 - PG Version

This is the trailer for the PG version of "300".

Monday

Andrew I rode a portion of the way up Flagstaff today. As much as we could in our lunch hour, anyway. We prolly got about 3/4 of the way up, just before the insanely steep part, before turning around. It was good to get out on the bike again after working forecaster shift all weekend last weekend and the snow storm we had just before this weekend. I did try to ride up Sunshine on Sunday, but I only had an hour before Scotty was supposed to show up and I wasted half an hour of that hooking up my new bike computer, totally incorrectly, it turns out. And then when I finally did get out on the mountain it looked like some weather was moving in. So I cut the ride way short. But I did see an indeterminate number of deer on the way down. I was going too fast to count. I hit 47 mph on that descent.

So yeah, I'm an idiot. I installed the bike computer sensor in such a way that turning the handle bars put too much stress on the cord and I severed it on the way up. Then, like an idiot, I didn't really fix it properly for the descent, so I was cruising down a mountain with a wire potentially flopping around right next to my front spokes. I'm lucky I didn't catch it and get ejected down the side of the mountain.

In other news, my kickball team has another game at 9:00 tonight. So far we're 0-2, but we're a young, hungry team. Expect to see great things from us any time now. Yup, any second now we'll do something really cool...

More biking

On thursday after work Andrew and I went up to Betasso Preserve and did a lap on our mountain bikes. We tried to do the same a couple of weeks back but it was less mountain biking and more hiking through snow while carrying said mountain bikes. Two weeks of glorious spring sunshine made all the difference in the world. There were a few small patches that had a vague memory of what moisture must have been like in the far distant past, but other than that the trail was in beautiful condition. Betasso is a great trail. It's mostly gentle up and down and not technical at all, so it's an insanely fast ride. Fast, and fun!

Yesterday I rode my new road bike up Sunshine again. It was in the afternoon and some clouds were rolling in after what had begun as a typical sunny Boulder day. I sure didn't want to be caught in the rain on a mountain with my roadbike, so I was ready to turn around at a moment's notice should I feel the first hint of a raindrop. I made it to the top as the clouds were getting darker and the temperature was noticably dropping. I could tell it was going to hail soon, or at least rain. I'd never seen as much hail come out of the sky as I did when I first moved to Boulder. It must hail at least 5 times a year here.

The one good thing about being in this position is that it can take an hour to ride up the mountain, but mere minutes to ride down. I took a couple seconds to catch my breath at the top so I wouldn't be shaky on the descent. Being fatigued can make you sloppy, and I sure didn't want to be sloppy on a steep, fast descent in potential rain on a new bike with which I'm not totally familiar.

Minutes later I was sitting at my dining room table talking to my roommate when the hail started outside. The power flickered off for a moment and I relaxed by taking a nice hot shower.

p.s. Sunshine Canyon animal tally '07-2: One deer who startled me by being about 2 feet away when I noticed it; two large brown eyes watching me impassivley as I peddled by.

MadTV - iRack

My sister brought my attention to this brilliant piece of MadTV satire. I didn't even know this show was still on the air, but this skit is pure genius. By the way, I just now had to have my in-browser spell-checker correct my spelling of genius. I'm a super-genius.

Flagstaff

Rode 3/4 of the way up flagstaff today on my lunch break. Wow what a difference having an actual road bike makes! Got passed by three people and passed two. Not bad for my first ride up flagstaff for the year. The road bike geometry is getting more comfortable, but it's still nerve-wracking going down mountains with road bike style brakes. I'm used to mountain bike style v-brakes that let you stop on a dime. I'm pretty sure I've gone down flagstaff faster on my old-school cannondale, but maybe that's because my cannondale weighs a metric ton compared to my scott. Current plan is to mountain bike betasso on thursday, but maybe I'll be too addicted to my shiny new road bike.

Oh, by the way, my new kickball team, which rules, unfortunately lost yesterday. We didn't completely make fools of ourselves, though. I think the final was something like 10 to 6. Um, go Thermo Fisher Scientific!

Sunshine Canyon Animal Tally '07-1

Scott Speedster S40

So I just got a new road bike yesterday. I've been all talk and no action about getting a road bike for a couple years now. I finally decided to spend part of my federal tax refund on a shiny new road bike. I decided on a Scott Speedster S40. It has an aluminum frame with a carbon fork and Shimano Tiagra components.

I broke it in today with my first ride up Sunshine canyon for the year. Animals seen: 2 female deer shedding their winter coats. The ride kicked my ass since I got a little out of shape over the winter, but I made it up without stopping. My bike has the triple chain ring, which definitely came in handy, as I was in granny gear most of the way up. My goal, whenever I ride up sunshine, is to make it to the top without getting passed by some ironman type on an $8,000 bike, and sure enough I made it to the top without getting passed by anyone. Hopefully, riding up sunshine will be at least a weekly occurrence from here on out. Plus, I need to get in shape for my upcoming vacation to Santa Fe.

Jim Flora is my new Hero

If anyone is looking for something to buy me I'd take this.



It would look sweet in my condo. I love this guy's art. I've always had a soft spot for visual art that captures music, and this does it gloriously well, being vibrant and alive. Maybe I should pounce on this before they're all gone. Get it? Pounce? I'm so funny.

Pirate Blogging Tools

I'm gonna start blogging using my brand new pirate keyboard.

RRrrrrrrr!

Spoonerism

Many months ago I was talking on the phone with my gf and I meant to say "I gotta go; I gotta go meet my kickball team." But what actually came out was "I gotta go kick my meatball team."

I thought of this because it's the middle of winter and I want it to be summer so I can jump in my pool with my cell phone in my pocket (again) and play kickball with my fabulous kickball team. Go away, winter.

Flatirons

Flatirons
Originally uploaded by thewbert.

This is what the flatirons looked like from my office window after my workout this morning. I love Boulder.

Breaking News...

It was announced this morning that Denver has been chosen to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention! Woot!

Helpful tip from your friendly neighborhood Thew

Try to avoid sneezing when your mouth is full of partially chewed banana.

I'm just sayin'.

Snowshoeing!

tongue-operated cell phone
Originally uploaded by thewbert.

Yesterday a few of us went snowshoeing up flagstaff mountain. The trailhead is literally right outside my girlfriend's front door, so this photo was snapped mere minutes into the excursion. This shot is looking north from the base of flagstaff, so there's a bit of Boulder there in the background. And of course ScottyB being his usual self in the foreground.

new table

new table
Originally uploaded by thewbert.

I finally got around to getting an end table for my fancy eco-glam sofa. I ended up going to a furniture refurbisher right next to my house. They had one that's a perfect fit and it hadn't even been painted yet so I got to customize what color I wanted. I was actually going for more of a deep blue and less purple, but I'm pleased with the result. When they were done with it I walked to the store and carried it back to my place. It felt very Boulder to have walked to the furniture recycler and carried my recycled furniture back to my house.

nice rack!

nice rack!
Originally uploaded by thewbert.

This is the pot rack my awesome girlfriend got me. Isn't it spiffy? And I only drilled one unnecessary hole in my ceiling!

Notice the delicious home-made banana bread in the bottom of the frame. MMmmmmm.

Old Friends, New Adventures

Ten years after my study abroad experience in Bupapest, there's only one fellow BSM'er with whom I've kept in sporadic contact. Rebecca and I travelled together after our program ended, and spent Christmas Day amidst the new-fallen snow in Dracula's Castle, and New Year's Eve dancing the macarena in Istanbul with French Canadians. The last time I saw her was a few years ago when my ship pulled into Boston Harbor and she lived in Cambridge. I was pleasantly surprised when, yesterday, I found an email in my inbox from her. I had been considering a trip to California and possibly visiting her at her relatively new job at Stanford. But, surprise! She's joined the Peace Corps! And is leaving for Guinea, Africa imminently!



I wish her the best in her adventures, work, and self-discovery. Fair winds and following seas, the sailor in me would say.



You can follow her adventures on the blog she has created to detail her experiences in the Peace Corps: www.rebeccahunt.com/peacecorps