Eclipse!!
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.
Nik's photo of the August 21 eclipse, photographed from Glendo, Wyoming. The star, Regulus, is barely visible to the lower left of the solar corona.
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
(Our kids have grown and are no longer posting blog stories here.
Below are some highlights from past posts.)
Being Comfortable With Discomfort
I write this with Janice in mind, although it likely applies to nearly every endurance athlete
I coach, train with, or compete against. We all start with some type of lofty goal; completing
an Ironman, or cycling around Lake Michigan, or maybe trying to break some specific record
(our own or someone else's). In Janice's case, she's swimming across Lake Mendota, as part of
the Gills for Gilda's charity event. Lake Mendota is 6 miles across, so a swim of this magnitude
is something very few of us will ever dare to confront.
Once the goal is set, the training plan is put in place, and the work begins, we usually feel
a pleasing sense of determination and courage at the start of the journey. There are good
training days, and there are bad training days, but inevitably, at some point in the weeks
leading up to the Big Day (for me it usually happens the morning of), you suddenly find
yourself anxiously wondering, "Wait ... Do I actually have to go through with this?"
Posted by Kimberly 08/18/2014
Nik's Final RoadRace Weekend
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).
Nik, in Cal Poly green, racing in the Stanford Criterium, the final race of the RoadRace season.
Posted by Dan 04/25/2011
New Zealand... ROCKS!!!
This will be a short entry since I'm paying for internet, but I think it's best to update you guys on what a great time I'm having in New Zealand! Yes, I'm in New Zealand on my mid-semester break, here for one week. And yes, it's incredible. I (probably) won't have pictures posted until I get free internet, but check back in a few days, because I've got some GREAT pictures! Although they don't do justice to the beauty of this place.
Alright, how do I update you on everything whilst still keeping it short? Let's see how this goes...
My whole trip is on the South Island, I don't have time to head up to the North Island. My time is too short here as it is. I stayed my first night in Christchurch, but left the next morning and spent the next day and a half hitching my way to Queenstown, the "Adventure Capital of the World." This is where all the bungeeing, skydiving, snowboarding, anything extreme happens.
Anyway, it's a gorgeous little tourist town on a gorgeous glacial lake with a gorgeous backdrop of dramatic, craggy mountains. My first day, I took the gondola up the hillside for a great view of the whole area. Breathtaking. However, "breathtaking" took on a whole new meaning yesterday, when I took a day trip to Milford Sound. The 4-hour bus ride took me through incredible landscapes that had me snapping pictures out the window the whole time. But once we actually got to the Sound (which is actually not a sound, but a fjord), I don't think my lens was ever closed!
For the 2 hour cruise up and down the Sound, I couldn't look up without feeling like the view in front of me must be the most spectacular view in the world. Thank God for a spare camera battery and 2 GB card! Actually no, thank G&G for those! :) Perfect Christmas gifts!
Me on the cruise through Milford Sound... absolutely gorgeous scenery all around!
Posted by Whitney 04/30/2008, revised 04/30/2008