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

The last two years of pandemic uncertainty have instilled in me a newfound fear of shrinking opportunities, coupled with the acute awareness that time, experiences and human connection are precious. As the summer of 2022 approached, I found myself unable to say no to anything.

...But, as author Jim Collins says:
"If you have more than three priorities, you don't have any."

I wasted no time saying yes to IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon in Salem. It was a new race on the IM calendar, appearing exactly 20 years after I had graduated college in Salem. How could I pass this up?!

It also provided the chance to redeem myself after the disappointing bike split in North Carolina, a performance that did not seem appropriate to the level of fitness I had built.

Meanwhile, coaching opportunities were rolling in faster than I could keep up with, and I had eagerly booked travel to all the third iteration pandemic weddings and social events that had sprouted up on the calendar every other weekend. June hit me like a freight train, with 14 hour work days and 48 hour whirlwind weekend trips out of town. I squeezed in runs when I could but bike training was impossible with all the time away from home (I did, however, get to try out a Peloton. It was fun). Six weeks of trying to be everywhere at once had flown by and when I finally had a moment to focus on Oregon 70.3, it was only two weeks away ...

And then I got COVID.


Posted by Kimberly 07/15/2022

Nik completed his final race for the Cal Poly cycling team, the Wheelmen. The Western Collegiate Cycling Conference's final race of the 2011 Mountain Bike season was hosted by Cal-Berkeley at the Bailey Bike Park course.


Nik racing down the slalom course at Bailey Bike Park


Posted by Dan 11/14/2011

Crossing into the beautifully distinct landscape of northern Peru

I'm in Peru! Over the past 2 days, I've been making my way from Vilcabamba, Ecuador across the border and through northern Peru. It required a lot of vehicle changes, but the whole way has been absolutely beautiful with some views that people elsewhere pay lots of money on special tours just to see. The border crossing was probably the most tranquil crossing I've ever done. It's a new crossing, only opened a few years ago, and the roads to and from are very lightly traveled. I haven't seen another gringo since Vilcabamba (aside from the Aussie muchacha I'm traveling with at the moment). I'll spend 2 days here in the town of Chachapoyas, enjoying the culture and scenery around here, and then keep heading south.


Ancient ruins of the Chachapoyas, or "Cloud People", in Kuelap

I'm heading fairly quickly to the south, where my main priority spots are. Then I can stop at secondary places on the way back according to time left. So this weekend, I bus it to Lima (22 hours!), and then shortly after (maybe one or two days), continue on to Arequipa and canyon country in the south, where I plan to do some awesome treks and hopefully meet up with a friend.


Posted by Whitney 08/18/2011, revised 09/09/2011