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

A mountain bike race??!

Why on earth would I do that?

Other than just morbid curiosity, perhaps I felt compelled to kick off my 2016 season with the XTERRA Granite Bay Off Road Triathlon because I figured if my little brother can mountain bike, then probably I can too. Over the years, my younger siblings have displayed natural cycling and running athleticism and I've come to think of them basically as optimized versions of myself. My brother has won various mountain bike awards and based on his limited updates, I get the idea he and his bike pretty much spend all their time in Moab.

What's so great about mountain biking? I had to know.

I started renting a demo bike from Trailhead Cyclery, attempting to teach myself how to bunny hop and shred. Next, I checked in with my resident MTB guru to find out his secrets. What skills defined an excellent mountain biker? Little brother cited his "total disregard for personal safety," as one of his best assets.

Crap. That one is nowhere near the top of my list of personal traits. I don't think it's even on the list anymore. My youthful invincibility ended abruptly on the softball field one summer day ten years ago when an ill-conceived slide left me captive inside a plaster leg cast for 8 long weeks. NEVER AGAIN.

The popular refrain embedded in all mountain biking advice I received was, "When you go down -- and you will go down ... "

Ugh.

No way I could perhaps negotiate around that requirement?

I had very little familiarity with the course in Granite Bay. I read about "swoopy trails" and a variety of conditions including sand, dirt, rock, etc. It was two 8 mile loops for the bike, with less than 400′ of climbing on each, and that sounded pretty reasonable.

Honestly, I was most concerned about the swim. I had heard rumors that Folsom Lake was snow runoff, and therefore extremely cold this time of year. At just a half mile, the swim would be quick, but very unpleasant.

It turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

... At least as far as the swim was concerned.

The water temperature was just fine, almost comfortable, even. The short swim was complete in just over ten minutes, and transition was smooth, my new XTERRA wetsuit melted right off my legs like hot butter.


Posted by Kimberly 04/11/2016

Bangkok is one of those cities that makes an impression the second you get there. However after you get over the smell and the traffic there actually is some wonderful wonders to be found. We were fortunate enough to be staying with a couchsurfer and he acted as our tour guide while we were in the city. Our first day we made our way by train, boat and taxi to Canchanaburi where there is a train bridge.

Jen got over the wonderful wonders quick.

Posted by nik 09/14/2008, revised 09/21/2008

Last Sunday, 3 friends and I went on a road trip to Bowen, a coast town about 3 hours south of Townsville. The drive was exactly what a road trip should be: having a great time on a sunny day with the windows rolled down, listening to fun music, and stopping along the road at anyplace that looks worth stopping for (polo-cross game, fresh produce stand...). It was the type of drive where you don't even really want to get to your destination because you're having such a great time on the road.

We got to Bowen, which doesn't have much to offer except for fruit farms, sugar cane fields, and a cemetary that greets you as you enter the town. But it's got beautiful beaches with nobody on them, and great boulders to climb around on. And that's what makes it a great place - it's a beach town that is not considered a "beach town."

My friends Ben, Hamish, and Rachel and I loaded up on fresh produce at a roadside stand on the way to Bowen, to last us the whole day. So we spend a glorious day on the beach, eating the juiciest, tastiest melons, manderins, oranges, green beans, and avacados, without proper cutlery, just letting the juices run down our faces and arms. It was wonderful. The food-highlight of my day, however, was the fresh-off-the-tree coconut that we enjoyed whilst sitting on the horizontally orientated coconut tree than hung over the sand, overlooking the clear blue water. It was picture perfect. We managed to bore a hole in the coconut and pass the goblet of milk around - so wonderfully sweet and smooth! Incredible! We then cracked our empty goblet open to scrape the delicious gooey flesh off the inside with our teeth. It was the perfect experience for a lazy beach day.

There's not much else to say about the day - just picture your perfect tropical beach day, and that was it.

But take a look at the pictures!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.543431242468.2132448.19700757&l=1bdca056dd

Ben, Rachel, Hamish, and me, enjoying our beautiful day

Posted by Whitney 06/25/2008