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

It was a rough week leading into this race, culminating with the theft of my training/commuter bike less than two days before the race. Saturday morning the alarm went off way too early, but fortunately my dad is really good at being (still) awake at 3am, so we left the driving to him. With so many interferences throughout the week, I decided to call this one a "Training Day," and just focus on a smart, well-paced effort. This made for a more relaxing pre-race routine than usual, despite an early morning flat tire (the 5th one this week). I was looking forward to cruising easy on the bike, and then actually enjoying the half marathon. I love running strong and fast, so it's a shame that I make a habit of wearing myself out first with all that swimming and biking, invariably turning a run of any distance into an exhausting shuffle.

HITS is my kind of race! Efficient and professional, but low-key and not too crowded. They let us drive all the way up to transition for athlete drop off, and then packet pickup was a breeze, with short lines and no waiting.

The transition area was awesome; spacious, organized and more functional than a bunch of flimsy racks. I hope more races adopt this set-up (Minus the gravel underfoot -- ouch!)

I was worried about the lake temperature, quoted as being 54-59 degrees. Even though I enjoy cold water swimming more than most humans, I refer to anything below 58 degrees as "freeze-your-face-off cold," because it gives you brain-freeze from the outside. But it was a great swim -- at least the water was warmer than the air!

I took a pass on the wetsuit strippers, even though it's tons of fun, because I figured it was a good opportunity to practice my transition skills. Sharp as ever, at 1 minute 6 seconds, my T1 was the fastest of the day, with only five other athletes coming in under 2 minutes. While this is largely irrelevant in a 5+ hour race, it is still a matter of great pride for me. Transition Queen!!

... On the other hand, I found myself tragically under-dressed for the 3 hours of cycling that followed, so a jacket (or perhaps a snowsuit) might have been worth the extra 42 seconds. Or maybe I should've just left the wetsuit on?

The bike ride didn't go as smoothly as expected. Within the first 10 miles, I discovered that my bottle cage had come loose, and was flopping dangerously from side to side. If it came fully detached and jumped ship, I would be responsible for going back to retrieve it, or risk breaking the rule of Abandoning Gear on the Course. My first course of action was to reduce the weight of the water bottle, by emptying it. I quickly discovered that the pathetic, frozen claw that was once my hand had no strength with which to squeeze the water bottle. I pulled over and attempted to tighten the bolts on the cage, but the tiny allen wrench was no good in my lifeless, shaking fingers. (I got rid of the water bottle at the first aid station, and the cage rattled noisily for the remainder of the ride, but at least it stayed with me).


Posted by Kimberly 04/17/2015

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

We've been in Laos for about a week and a half now, and we have seen some amazing works of nature! Laos truly is a gem of a country, land-locked between the more-traveled Thailand and Vietnam. It is a country of dramatic limestone mountains and cliffs, gorgeous green valleys, and beautiful, simple villages of happy people.

Dramatic limestone mountains and gorgeous green valleys... didn't I tell you?

While the country of Laos is a bit further off the beaten trail, the backpacker trail that does exist through Laos has very deep ruts - fewer people travel here, but the ones that do generally follow a very similar route at a very similar pace. It sort of feels like getting caught in a swift current of a narrow river. If you just let the flow take you, you will keep seeing the same people that were on the boat with you for 2 days from the border crossing, and you'll see them in every single town every single day the whole way through Laos. So you have to work a bit to get out of the current, but once you do, it's a gorgeous country to travel!

Nik and I have managed to do and see some amazing stuff in the time we've been here! In the otherwise-uninteresting tourist city of Luang Prabang, we met up with some friends and went out to the impressive Kuang Si waterfall, where we got to do a bit of hiking and swimming. In the next uninteresting-tourist city of Vang Vieng, we were able to rent some climbing gear and head out on our own to a nearby mountain to do some phenomenal rock-climbing! After a quick visit to the capital city of Vientiene (and a celebration for the future of our country!), we finally broke out of the swift tourist current to a lighter flow... that carried us straight onto a river through a 7-km cave!!

Kuang Si waterfall outside of Luang Prabang

It's been a rich experience thus far, and we're only just beginning our "off the beaten track" part of Laos!

Heading off the beaten track, through rice paddies, to the mountain for some rock climbing!

Posted by Whitney 11/09/2008, revised 11/09/2008