The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

Step 1: Swim in this lake.

Just kidding.

Lake San Antonio is now 96% empty, making Wildflower even more unique than before. Because the California drought has caused the lake to creep 2.2 miles away from the original swim start, the format is now 1.2 mile swim, 2.2 mile run, 56 mile bike, 10.9 mile run.

Quadathlon?

We camped out the night before the race, atop a hill overlooking the puddle that would serve as the swim venue. This would have been a super convenient location were it not for the multiple transition areas. Race morning required some maneuvering as I dropped off my bike and second pair of run shoes across the park at the "Real" transition, and then deposited my first pair of run shoes and my wetsuit bag on the boat ramp that served as "T1a"

The lake temperature was announced as 73 degrees, which was downright toasty once you got moving! The water was murky, but overall the swim was smooth.

I was excited to knock off a few of the run miles early in the race while my legs were still fresh, but before you start the 2.2 mile T1 run, you have to first ascend the world's longest boat ramp. Steep and seemingly endless, T1a was lined with spectators, cheering on the turtle race of soggy runners who were, of course, too proud to walk this early in the day.


Posted by Kimberly 05/07/2015

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

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


Posted by Dan 04/25/2011

Within several days of returning to Ecuador from the trip to Argentina, my friend Heather from Oregon came to visit me! Her 3-week visit to Ecuador was the perfect chance for me to finally tourist it up and go to many of the places I've been wanting to see. We started things off with a day in Colonial Quito, the old part of the city with much Spanish influence, beautiful churches, and old cobblestone alleyways. As I live 30-40 minutes outside of the city, I acutally haven't spent much time in Quito in my months here.

Off we went on our first excursion, beginning with a 40-minute bus ride into the city (for only 25 cents!), and then a crowded, stop-and-go bus all the way across the city to the historical district. We spent a wonderful afternoon visiting breath-taking churches, eating delicious treats we came across, and trying to avoid involuntarily taking part in the activities of Carnival weekend, which was just commencing.

La Basílica with Heather

Posted by Whitney 03/30/2011