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

My pro card went into effect January 1, 2016, but for most of the season, nothing really changed. I raced some of the same local events I normally do, this time in a separate Elite category which usually put me in a field of one. Although I got to stand alone on the podium, first in my division, I wasn't even really considered part of the overall stats anymore. I was set off to the side, almost as if I'd done a separate version of the race. They do things differently in the East & Midwest, so those races had cash prizes and a bigger Elite field, consisting of one or two other pro athletes and a handful of Elite Amateurs. But Ironman 70.3 Vineman was my debut into the real world of professional triathlon. The $50,000 prize purse brings in some of the top athletes in the world, and my name was thrown into the middle of a list published in a Triathlete.com article under the intimidating headline, "Impressive Pro Field Headed to 70.3 Vineman."

Not everyone has supported my decision to move up to the Elite category. I've seen plenty of eyebrow raises from those who know all too well that you have to be extraordinarily talented and/or (but mostly and) have access to plenty of financial resources to actually make a living off of racing. The elite license allows access to the most competitive level of racing, but does not guarantee a paycheck as other professional sports do.

But that was never my objective in the first place.

As I considered the various reasons for going pro, winning my annual salary did not even rank in my top ten.

1. Curiosity
2. Greater challenges & tougher competition
3. Preferred start times
4. Discounted race entries
5. Athlete homestays
6. A possibility of meeting Jesse Thomas
7. Street cred
8. To give the women behind me their day on the podium
9. A learning opportunity as a coach
10. Make mom proud

But were those legitimate reasons to throw myself to the wolves? To step into an arena where I was so completely out of my league?

As I considered the reasons for not going pro, I came up with a list of only one:

1. I'm not good enough.

And with that, my mind was made up.

Whether it is an old carryover from my low self esteem pre-teen years, or whether I'm simply the product of a society that encourages assumptions of inadequacy among women and girls, I'm done floating around in self-induced mediocrity.


Posted by Kimberly 07/23/2016

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

Lately, every day seems to go exactly the way it should, and that goes especially for the weekends. The last couple weekends have been great, and this past one was no exception.

Friday night, our volleyball team (who is trying to hold our 4th place spot so we can go to the playoffs in a few weeks) played an awesome game against the 1st place team. We ended up losing 65-60 (high scores, I know! It's just one 40 minute game with rally score), but it was one of the most satisfying, enjoyable games yet. We're really coming together, and it was just a quality game of volleyball.

Saturday morning started off with an awesome picnic breakfast above the town with a few of my friends. We went and sat up on top of Castle Hill, which is the one high point in town - a beautiful jutting piece of rock coming out of the flat land. It looks out over all of Townsville and Maggie Island and the ocean and the coast... it's awesome. We sat on top of an old bunker and enjoyed the view and the morning with food and coffee, just lazing about for a few hours.

Me with friend Ben on Castle Hill, starting the weekend off with coffee and a view.

Then I spent my entire Sunday rock climbing on Mt. Stuart, which is part of the Great Dividing Range, just behind Townsville. As great as the view was from Castle Hill, it was no comparison to Mt. Stuart. My roommate Scott and 2 other friends and I climbed all day, surrounded by the beauty of the ocean and the land down below. It was really great to do some actual outdoor climbing, as well. I had an incredible time, climbing until my muscles could no longer hold me on the wall. I'm hoping I'll get some more chances to go climbing in the next couple weeks, because I really had a great time.

Hanging out on Mt. Stuart on Sunday for a great day of climbing and views.

Check out my Mt. Stuart photo album to see the view I got to enjoy all day yesterday!

Posted by Whitney 06/02/2008, revised 06/02/2008