tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227797732011-11-07T03:44:36.811-07:00highlighting the Journey of my life here on Earth. Striving to get where I'm going wherever that may be.Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.comBlogger1021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-8695326372932299562010-01-24T17:35:00.005-07:002010-01-24T18:16:02.261-07:00

So it's been 3 days since my surgery. I guess the whole procedure was pretty routine for my doctor, as nothing special was prescribed. As I suspected, I was overly nervous of the whole general anesthesia thing. My Anesthesiologist was really nice, very smart, and presented an amount of confidence that made me comfortable with what was going on. At last it was time for me to walk myself into

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-31717910890616350992010-01-17T18:18:00.002-07:002010-01-17T19:13:08.166-07:00

If all goes as planned (I don't get sick between now and Thursday), I'll finally be going in for my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery on my left knee. For the sake of any type of amateur comparative study, below is a picture of my current state. Post surgery images to follow soon. (I apologize for the ugly picture. I've decided there's no way to elegantly present this

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-64934410480876187692009-12-04T13:18:00.004-07:002009-12-04T13:59:05.783-07:00

Well,It's been a long time since I've posted here. Only excuse I have had is that my life has been pretty mundane for the most part. Yes, I am busy with Alpine, but I have decided to not really post things about many aspects of what I do on the team. Mostly to prevent myself from posting things about missions or this involved with missions. Its to easy to stir up a hornets nest around that

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-58063904439960584872009-05-16T17:37:00.006-06:002009-05-16T17:50:27.351-06:00

Okay,So some people have been complaining to me lately about the fact that I haven't updated my blog in some time. Little more than 3 months to be exact I suppose. So here's a post. Stop complaining. Since I don't really have anything to talk about, I guess I'll just write about what has happened Since February. The short if it is, not a whole lot. People outside of our nuclear family (

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-67923591567310130702009-02-06T16:36:00.003-07:002009-02-06T16:47:49.444-07:00

Hrmm... I only know one person on that list (JFK). Can't say I think I look like any of them really. I suppose I should start looking up who these people are. What do you think, good matches? Is it because my look is that unique, or the face matching technology is good or bad?MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Roots - Family name history

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-32585192306365748422009-01-10T14:21:00.006-07:002009-01-14T22:05:15.829-07:00

Some time ago I had mentioned that I was going to apply to the alpine rescue team, and be an active member of their rescue contingent.  There were only two nights during the past two years that membership applications where being offered, and you had to be present, on site, at one of those meetings to get an application.  It was also in your favor if you showed up to both nights, even though they

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-25096262947115978742009-01-01T19:06:00.003-07:002009-01-01T19:13:59.125-07:00

Today the family and I went for a hike up in Rocky Mountain National Park with some friends. We had done this same hike the first week or so we moved to Colorado in November of 2007. Needless to say, the weather would have been considered by many more pleasant in November. I figured it would be easy enough to do in more hostile weather. We made it, not with complaining by the little ones, but

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-44756703562152797252008-12-30T10:17:00.009-07:002008-12-30T19:58:34.031-07:00

Yesterday probably ranks in as one of the hardest hikes I've ever done... Sadly. Some friends and I decided to go make an attempt on Mt. Sherman from the fourmile creek road. Snow drifts had covered parts of the road that caused us to stop short of the trail head by vehicle. GPS readings showed that we started at about 10,500 in elevation.As always, I was well prepared for anything. I had my

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-60671857725605306582008-12-22T21:17:00.002-07:002008-12-22T21:26:02.824-07:00

Made it home from Christchurch last friday, the absolutely longest day I've ever had in my life. I did after all, land in Denver about 3 hours after I took off from Christchurch. It's nice to be home again, and even better to be on vacation from work until January 5th. I'm still trying to readjust to Mountain Time schedules, but I'm improving, should be better by Christmas :) I spent most of

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-86507288515834936712008-12-17T20:30:00.004-07:002008-12-17T21:18:42.979-07:00

I've spent more time in Christchurch, NZ that I had originally intended to. As a result I've had the opportunity to sample several of the restaurants within walking distance of the Heritage Hotel, which is located on Cathedral Square, in down town Christchurch. Several of these restaurants certainly stand out in my mind as ones I would certainly love to return to, and a few that I have. Listed

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-72044280329737507852008-12-14T12:41:00.003-07:002008-12-14T13:05:41.240-07:00

Well, its Monday here in New Zealand, and back to work I go. I had to learn how the Christchurch Metro system works, so I could get transportation from the city center to the Antarctic Center at the airport. Its not to bad, and they have handy little RFID based "MetroCards" you can buy, and deposit cash on them as needed. The bus fares here are pretty cheap, at least with the exchange rate.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-48185362111113047602008-12-11T16:59:00.004-07:002008-12-11T20:37:19.365-07:00

My time has come to leave this place, and head back to Christchurch. Overall, I have to say that this place is pretty amazing. It's unique, harsh, and beautiful all at the same time. Outside the confines of 'Mac Town,' you can find yourself in a peaceful surrounding with refreshingly clean air, crisp blue skies (with no contrails), and a quietness to still your soul. Mountains (and volcanos)

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-45648506001333700502008-12-09T12:08:00.002-07:002008-12-09T12:50:38.844-07:00

Still alive down here at McMurdo base, finishing things up. Work is work. My after work activity involvement could certainly be more interesting. I've been having a really hard time sleeping lately though, which hasn't left me with much motivation to go do anything. You can rent cross country skis here for a few bucks a day, and go skiing around, but I just haven't had the energy (as I sit

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-85767632674206974202008-12-07T13:07:00.003-07:002008-12-07T13:10:15.409-07:00

Well, here are a few pics of the South Pole that should give you some idea of what its like down there... I'm not sleeping well, and have been pretty exhausted this whole trip, and it feels like its really starting to catch up to me. Probably doesn't help that I hiked about 8 miles yesterday either. Oh well... Enjoy.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-14524237273266456942008-12-05T22:40:00.003-07:002008-12-05T23:13:10.780-07:00

Its been a few days since I posted here, not entirely by choice, but somewhat so. Last Thursday I took an LC-130 flight 3 hours south to reach Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The flight was pleasant and we see some interesting terrain from the air. Most of it was quite desolate though. Recent changes in orbiting satellites, more specifically, the de-orbiting of one has left the station

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-74865307308693765882008-12-02T00:37:00.004-07:002008-12-02T01:03:06.454-07:00

Well, life at McMurdo has given me a throw back to my college years, kind of. Many of my colleagues have described this place as a cross between a College campus and a mining town and I would have to agree. From what I understand, do to the fact that I am staying here for a relatively short period of time, I have been placed in a building houses people who are also in for similarly short

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-11242982450577693222008-11-30T22:26:00.002-07:002008-11-30T22:36:30.668-07:00

Yep, I arrived on station today. It's impressive, and seemingly cold, but probably because I left 70+ degree weather. Its around 30 F here, not too bad considering I suppose. Pics coming soon. Just wanted to give a quick update. It's busy here, and there is a lot I have yet to figure out, and information isn't exactly forthcoming and obvious. After finding the proper building, and stuff, it

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-7789122807078157662008-11-29T21:35:00.002-07:002008-11-29T21:58:40.484-07:00

So, I've spent the last 3 days traveling the South Island. The first, a bus ride to Akaroa, secondly, a visit to a location where Lord of the Rings was filmed, and thirdly (yesterday) a Train ride over the southern Alps to Greymouth, with a one hour layover then the ride back. After spending cash on that, and the potential of possibly flying south today, I had nothing planned. I arrived back

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-64358083774415034092008-11-27T22:56:00.008-07:002008-11-27T23:42:25.511-07:00

So the roller coaster of "We're flying... no we aren't, yes we are, no we aren't" continues. About an hour before scheduled departure from the hotel last night (11:45 pm) I received yet another call saying the flight has been delayed by an unknown amount of time, and "we'll be in touch." Oh Joy! So I turned my alarm off, and tried to go to sleep. I had pumped myself full of caffeine, by

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-83578316082294567092008-11-26T22:05:00.002-07:002008-11-26T22:12:14.583-07:00

So, it turns out that I was scheduled to fly out this morning, but somehow got bumped by a few Italians who had "more urgent things to tend to" on the ice. That meant that I had yet another day to blow on the south island here. So I celebrated my Thanksgiving touring in Akaroa. It was about 1.5 hour tour bus ride from Christchurch. Overall, very nice place. Apparently its popular for its

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-72152721799790109242008-11-25T18:47:00.002-07:002008-11-25T18:50:51.271-07:00

The pictures, as previously mentioned:This is the main church in the center square of Christchurch. I wasn't happy about the vendor cart, so hopefully it will be gone at some point with an equally nice sky on my way back.Here's a picture of the 2 main types of planes that fly to the ice. In the foreground is an LC-130. These are the main mode of transportation between McMurdo station and South

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-35789080509448966562008-11-25T14:36:00.003-07:002008-11-25T18:47:18.385-07:00

Yep... delayed 24 hours more. Crazy. Its going to become difficult to actually get the work done I was sent down there to do if this keeps up. On the flip side, I am getting work done in New Zealand that I was scheduled to do on my way back up, so maybe it will even out. Who knows. I think I've got some decent pictures of the church at the center of Christchurch. Haven't looked at them yet.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-68005650113048828272008-11-24T13:56:00.002-07:002008-11-25T18:46:53.905-07:00

Flight south delayed another 24 hours.... :-/

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-43404357711695817322008-11-23T13:59:00.003-07:002008-11-25T18:46:40.629-07:00

I had my bags all packed, everything sorted, and organized for how I would need it. Carefully setup my "boomerang bag" with an extra days worth of clothing, and toiletries. Set my alarm for 4:50 AM. That should be just enough time to get up, take a quick shower, grab my things, and head down to the lobby to catch the 5:15 shuttle to the airport. If we were to boomerang, which means after we

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-13934975570382703402008-11-22T18:22:00.003-07:002008-11-25T18:45:59.896-07:00

I've just gone through clothing issue here at the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center), in Christchurch. The CDC building here houses the main US presence in New Zealand for the United States Antarctic program. I contains travel offices, logistical office, a post office, and all the gear that people deploying to the ICE get. I was impressed with the size of the building. It also seems

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-86814035241987950982008-11-21T21:01:00.003-07:002008-11-25T18:45:44.893-07:00

Well, I have safely arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand. It's weird to have taken off on Thursday night, traveled for a total of about 15-16 hours and land where its Saturday. I'm missing a day somewhere. At least I'll get it back when I fly home, kind of.It's overcast, and probably in the mid 60's here, and sprinkling occasionally. The flights, well, were flights. 13 hours stuck in economy

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-31063806736312718002008-11-19T23:11:00.006-07:002008-11-25T18:45:08.919-07:00

Well, my short time in California is about up. My first thoughts of the state aren't anything great...I'm surprised its not greener. I was expecting something more like Georgia I guess, but it seems more like Denver, with Palm trees. I suspect I'd have to go further north for things to "green up." That does explain the wildfires though.Yes, the traffic around LA is absolutely as bad is they

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-55200247980243523302008-11-14T16:41:00.004-07:002008-11-25T18:44:45.376-07:00

So all my flights and hotels have been booked through my companies travel department, travel documents collected, and itineraries confirmed with the people I am meeting at various locations to conduct business.  Next Tuesday I start my journey to highest, driest, coldest, windiest, most isolated place on earth, the South Pole.  Some may argue if it is truly all those things,  I can neither

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-70266104787022766532008-11-02T19:59:00.005-07:002008-11-02T20:45:55.468-07:00

I don't have a whole lot to report.  Well, maybe I do, the more I think about it.  Got a promotion at work last week.  Not bad almost exactly a year to date at this new job, and things are working out well.  I enjoy the people I work with the most.  Doing Federal Government work certainly has its drawbacks, but there's a lot to be said about working with a bunch of intelligent people.  That was

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-88605181105219778892008-10-20T18:09:00.006-06:002008-10-20T19:45:54.028-06:00

Speaking of wildlife... We had another visitor last night. It would seem that the racoon's are feeling territorial over our yard (more than likely, our compost bin). We were woken by an amazingly noisy ruckus. You would have thought there was some part dog, part rabbit creature being subjected to some sort of medieval torture device in our backyard or something. Jess and I scurried out of bed

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-36839467292044168062008-10-19T15:38:00.004-06:002008-10-19T16:02:03.262-06:00

Well, I have to say, the fall sure does bring about some wonderful weather here in Colorado. Nice cool nights, perfect for sleeping, with crisp mornings that don't offer much incentive for getting out of bed in the morning. By afternoon though the temperature is near perfect, coupled with the wonderful sun shiny weather that the state is known for. Fall has always been my favorite time of year

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-7470337421962843032008-10-05T13:37:00.010-06:002008-10-05T16:26:51.976-06:00

So we took a trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park again this weekend. The leaves are beginning to turn down here in the front range, so I figured that a lot of leaves up at higher elevation must be getting close to peak. I had this planned for at least a week and was quite excited to get back up in the mountains. I've been limited to 7000 foot maximum elevation due to the clinical study I

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-64140541353737075672008-09-11T19:47:00.004-06:002008-10-05T16:26:30.303-06:00

So just when I was beginning to come to grips with my camera equipment, what it can do, what it can't, and what I can['t] afford, this guy comes and plops down on my neighbors roof and start munching on what I believe to be a fuzzy rabbit.Taken with my Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 fully extended to 300mm, which is a Canon XTi equivelant of 480mm. 1/3 sec exposure at ISO 200. The tripod and

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-77100388556236070152008-09-01T19:25:00.003-06:002008-10-05T16:26:00.569-06:00

I know, its been some time since I posted to this blog. Okay its been a long time, almost two months. I don't really have many excuses. Mostly I just haven't had a lot to say. Life has been a lot of the same, go to work during the week, relax on the weekends. Cycling has been sliding, and I haven't ridden to work in a while. Mostly due to the shortening of daylight hours I think. My body

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-37711176507618421792008-07-11T18:41:00.005-06:002008-07-12T09:18:22.648-06:00

Lots of pain, and lots of gain (in elevation), let's hope there's some fitness gains in there too.Somehow I got it in my head that it looked like it should be fun to bike up Mt. Evans. I think the important part is picking your starting location. Initially I had illusions of grandeur that it would be really cool to start from my house. That changed when I drove the family up Mt. Evans last

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1875197738550310372008-07-02T11:48:00.003-06:002008-10-05T16:25:03.858-06:00

It sure seems like a long time since I've posted anything here, not quite a month. Mostly I've just been doing the same routine, work, eat, sleep, etc. Life is good. Parenting is difficult. Work is work. Nothing new really. I did however manage to go on a backpacking trip with a friend from Pennsylvania, and his friend. We spent 4 days and 3 nights hiking around Rocky Mountain National

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-55932062249952161342008-06-10T20:35:00.005-06:002008-06-10T20:53:38.268-06:00

So I ran out and got what are considered to be some of my friends most favorite lenses.... The Canon 50mm f/1.8. Its my first prime lens, and will take a little getting used to me thinks. I found myself wanting to twist something to zoom in or out on the subject. Also had fun playing with it stopped wide open at f/1.8 and the very narrow Depth of Field it gives you ( as seen in the 1st picture

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-12023687818490072852008-06-06T17:24:00.003-06:002008-06-06T17:50:47.274-06:00

This past week marks the beginning of me using cycling as more than just recreation. Of the 4 days I was in the office this week, I commuted mostly by bike twice. I say mostly because I am driving 10 miles to a park-n-ride close to my house and a convenient bike path. From there it's an additional 23 miles by bike into the office. Maybe by the end of the summer I'll be in enough shape to go

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-42382377035730478142008-05-30T20:08:00.002-06:002008-05-30T20:18:42.661-06:00

And to top off my already wonderful day, I was able to get in a bike ride today. Weather was warm, and the winds were mostly calm... I figured I'd go climb Lookout Mountain, and check out a new route I found to get to the approach. My previous route had me going through some pretty busy roads. Turns out this new route is MUCH better. I also had the chance to put new batteries in my Heart Rate

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-70711496094486899922008-05-30T19:21:00.005-06:002008-05-30T20:19:08.501-06:00

I had the privilege this morning of taking a ride with a friend of mine up in a cessna 172s. I certainly wasn't going to turn down that offer. What a great experience. I met him early in the morning, and was able to assist him with some of his pre-flight checks. Its pretty cool to see everything you're supposed to go through before you take off. Everything from checking flight surface

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-91860519869331112212008-05-26T13:07:00.003-06:002008-05-26T13:21:06.224-06:00

I've recently been following many different blogs of various photography gurus in hopes to become better at taking wonderful photos of all the various places I'm lucky enough to visit. Several of the blogs I read often from published professional photographers. One such blog is the photoblog 2.0, by Herold Davis. I've recently got a copy of his most recent book, and found it very useful...

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-84476614065177205752008-05-16T19:12:00.005-06:002008-05-16T19:49:26.827-06:00

So those of you who have known me for a while, have probably figured out that when I decide to do something, I usually don't start out to small, and work my way up. At least not too much. Well, this past Thursday was no different. Our office had a small, inter-department run / race. Some how I was cajoled into participating on a team with my fellow Information Security comrades. I figured, I

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-15148799717987759992008-05-06T14:13:00.006-06:002008-05-06T14:50:41.872-06:00

It's hard to believe that its been 5 years now since my son was born, in some ways. In other ways it seems like it should have been 10 years ago. Being a dad is probably the most difficult job I've ever had, and ever will have, but the fun times I have with my family seems to offset even the most difficult things. Happy 5th Birthday son.The day after I returned home to Denver from Antarctica,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-22354973641397404302008-04-26T20:15:00.003-06:002008-04-26T20:42:45.333-06:00

So one of the things I was thankful for during my north and southbound voyage over the drake was a transdermal patch that delivered medication into my bloodstream. This seems more effective than oral medication since you don't have to worry about "keeping it down." I had saved the wrapper from one of the little patches, as I wanted to lookup what this medication was all about when I arrived

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-22108447630503048852008-04-22T19:47:00.003-06:002008-04-22T20:38:41.411-06:00

Some kind person (Thanks Bill!) made an obvious point out to me about my previous review of the Kayland Vertigo High hiking boot. To be more specific, he was looking to find out more about how I felt the boot was supporting the foot. Especially for those who may be prone to rolling on ankle on loose or rocky terrain.Well, For those of you who don't follow my blog, and happen to stumble upon it,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-5172205771218655982008-04-22T19:33:00.003-06:002008-04-22T19:44:11.266-06:00

So I spent most of my day going through photos from my trip and playing around with Adobe Lightroom, and comparing it to Apple's Aperture. IMHO, there is now comparison, LightRoom kicked the pants off of Aperture. The reasons why are probably for another post, I will most likely never get to. I don't feel knowledgeable enough to talk about all the features or their differences. I just know I

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-68213645748280065322008-04-22T10:50:00.004-06:002008-04-22T11:32:16.231-06:00

So it's great to be home, and was a real joy to return to wonderful weather, in the 60's or better. Green Mountain is finally starting to show some green too. Its nice to finally experience some warming and greening. Most of my experience in Colorado to this point has only been during the winter. The only other time I was here was in July, when SunRayce97 finished in Colorado Springs. It was

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-82551936832296325362008-04-16T21:44:00.004-06:002008-04-22T11:31:52.660-06:00

So I've been growing a little blogging network it seems of people who read my blog, and I reciprocate and read theirs. Not out of obligation, but as a means of entertainment, and joy. Also some of those I read are kind of a nostalgic link to my youth, and are a way to remain in touch with those that were so pivotal in influencing the way I think today. Anyhow, one such blog "tagged" me to

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-89729401454041436212008-04-16T09:07:00.008-06:002008-04-22T11:31:27.878-06:00

This will probably be my last post from South America, and probably my last post for at least a little while, but not to long I hope. In just under 72 hours, I'll be landing in Denver, CO. It will be great to see the mountains rising over horizon near my house again, not to mention my family of course. Missing my family was (and still is) the hardest thing about this trip. I'd say coming in at

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-32894600518744421572008-04-12T15:50:00.004-06:002008-04-12T16:58:28.758-06:00

Yes, I'm still down here in Punta Arenas, Chile. I've been attempting to make the dull interesting, but the reality of it is, there just isn't much for someone who can only count to 29, ask for 2 beers, or for the check, or inquire as to the location of a bathroom in Spanish, to do. I'll admit that I'm doing a lot better in Spanish that I had thought I would. I understand much more than I can

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-8983073665515639762008-04-08T20:52:00.007-06:002008-04-09T08:13:34.647-06:00

So it certianly appears that the secret to finding the good food around here, is to eat when the good restaurants are actually open. Most restaurants don't open until around 1930 around here. I was quite hungry by the time we were ready to head out to eat. Its a good thing we had plans to goto a nice restaurant. Needless to say, I was finally satisfied with a meal down here. We ate at Puerto

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-15786266771873488462008-04-04T13:52:00.004-06:002008-04-06T21:18:56.109-06:00

I arrived back in Punta Arenas last Friday. I have to say, its nice to be back on land again. I didn't seem to have the "dock rock" like I had at Palmer Station. I figure its because the last day and a half was in calm water, though I have woken up from sleep feeling like I'm rocking, that is bizarre.Work is work, and is still consuming a good amount of my time here, which is good, since there

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-51599615234874917042008-04-01T16:34:00.003-06:002008-04-06T21:19:17.314-06:00

We are well underway on the boat again, headed back to Punta Arenas Chile. We've hit open waters as of last night. I had decided at the beginningof the trip that I would see if I could handle the waves without drugs on the way back. I was mad at myself for getting seasick on the way down, and figured that it was mostly my fault because I was staring at a computer screen for so long when the

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-29992089412442245742008-03-30T07:51:00.002-06:002008-03-30T07:58:31.631-06:00

I have just found a cool site that tracks various vessels out at sea. Should you wish to see where I am at, as I head back to Punta Arenas, Chile, you can go here. I'll also be working on the Nathaniel B. Palmer when it arrives at Punta Arenas as well, but only while it is in port. You can see the progress of its Journey here.I'll be traveling on the boat from March 31st, through early morning

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-89917631168555932222008-03-29T17:12:00.011-06:002008-04-09T08:14:45.102-06:00

Since the station staff get Sunday's off, we tried to get most of our work all wrapped up today, which, for the most part was accomplished. The weather was really nice this morning, so we managed to get out on a boat ride.Here's a little pictorial of my adventure. Note that comments listed are for the picture beneath the text, and you can always click on the picture for a larger view. I didn't

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-24098373528386723142008-03-28T19:46:00.003-06:002008-03-28T20:09:01.183-06:00

Today was spent working again. About the only thing unusual I did today was spend some time in the outdoor hot tub. I would imagine not to many people can say they've been in a hot tub at Antarctica, so I figured why not? It was cool to just hang out outdoors, near the water and hear the glacier calving in background. I'm still in awe about the noise it makes. It must be magnificent to be

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-18528637342187225892008-03-27T17:51:00.004-06:002008-04-06T21:19:53.331-06:00

Today was pretty much totally focused on my job tasking, which isn't all that exciting. As a result of working a long day, I can't say I was in all the great of a mood. So I decided that I would go for a walk in the "Backyard" after dinner before sunset. It's still quite overcast around here, and taking a picture of anything and making it look interesting and worthy of framing quite

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-12928134977657647982008-03-26T14:15:00.003-06:002008-03-26T21:25:00.262-06:00

Yay! We've finally arrived at Palmer Station at 0730 this morning. Most of the day so far has been filled with orientation meetings, tours, and job tasking (the reason I am here). Sadly... my body is telling me to get back on the boat, but for a fairly odd reason... Those of you who are familiar with the feeling you get after running / walking on a treadmill for a long period of time, and then

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-74825925256965410462008-03-25T10:55:00.002-06:002008-03-26T21:27:14.910-06:00

Not too much to report today... The scenery is pretty much all the same, lots of water around. About the only thing that varies is the visibility, due to haze, etc. There's always a few random birds flying around the boat, but that's not terribly exciting either..I didn't get much sleep last night. Pretty much all day Yesterday and into this morning we were having 15-20 foot swells, and 30+

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-36806238803882156632008-03-24T09:54:00.002-06:002008-03-26T21:28:38.482-06:00

The trip so far is more good than bad. Going through the straights of Magellan was fun. I've seen a bunch of Oil platforms and some cargo ships. Seen a bunch of birds, mostly Ptarmigans, Albatross, Terns, and the like.Yesterday, we reached the open waters, and the ride changed quite a bit. Unfortunately, this land lover couldn't keep his lunch down. The sea became "confused" and we were

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-74016927295306422042008-03-22T05:58:00.001-06:002008-03-26T21:23:53.732-06:00

Our boat is scheduled to leave doc in 3 hours, finally. It seems like I've been here for quite some time now, and I'm ready to get underway with the boat. Let's just hope I have the fortitude to keep my food down. From what I understand, the sailing is pretty smooth for the first 12 hours or so, as we travel through the straights of Magellan, then it gets rougher. Its pretty windy this

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-46257852937678155562008-03-20T18:32:00.004-06:002008-03-20T19:08:20.162-06:00

So I made it to Punta Arenas, Chili. Landed around 3:30 PM local time (12:30 PM, MDT) Overall, the flight was okay. How can traveling for 22+ hours by economy air actually be good? We were late landing in Santiago, Chili, so we were rushed through customs, and I didn't get to really pay attention to the surroundings our what's going on. About all I noticed was that the area was in a valley,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-18213868506767854912008-03-16T17:38:00.010-06:002008-03-17T11:27:45.042-06:00

So I have to laugh... Within minutes of posting my previous post, I noticed I had a hit for someone looking for a review on the boots I bought. I figured why hold out for anyone looking. I'll go take a picture of my boots and start my review.Note this is an initial review, and not totally exhaustive since I have only had them for a few weeks.First, I suppose I should explain a little about

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-58257242506010377202008-03-16T16:06:00.003-06:002008-03-16T16:46:59.509-06:00

Well, this is likely my last post before I head to the southern hemisphere, and ultimately, the southern most continent on the planet. Yes, you can say that I am excited. I'm quite nervous too. I've stocked up on some meclizine (I keep wanting to call this stuff mescaline, perhaps I 'm wishing it was, subconsciously) and crystallized ginger, in hopes to curb any unpleasant feelings that this

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-4856866818950014332008-02-24T16:43:00.002-07:002008-02-24T17:10:55.743-07:00

Its been about 2 weeks since my last post, and I feel I owe everyone some sort of update. Truth is, these last 2 weeks haven't been all that eventful, in terms of things to report. I suppose the most news worthy thing is that I have been "ticketed" for my Trip to Antarctica in March. I'll leave CONUS (Continental US, wouldn't be a gov't related job without acronyms!) March 19th and will arrive

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-46593899947121343392008-02-09T18:32:00.000-07:002008-02-09T18:44:41.860-07:00

One thing I'm liking about Jefferson County, Coloardo, is they certianly seem to have no shortage of open space parks and trails to hike around. Today's adventure took us to White Ranch Open Space Park. We stayed on the rawhide trail for a 4.25 mile hike, according to the GPS.At the beginning of the trail, on the west enterance, there is a bunch of old farm equipment on display, with

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-67784526764870477772008-02-02T09:46:00.000-07:002008-02-02T09:58:08.475-07:00

I've run across a website yesterday, that I am enjoying quite a bit. Some might say I have even grown slightly addicted to it. This website helps you out with your vocabulary skills. It presents you with a word, and then gives you 4 other words that are synonyms for it. Your goal is to choose the correct one. For every 3 that you get right, you move up a level, and it starts presenting you

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-90424899699206994682008-01-27T15:54:00.000-07:002008-01-27T16:52:12.337-07:00

Yesterday, My family and I went for a hike. Jess wanted to go somewhere where there were trees, and I wanted to find some place fun and new to hike... Through various searches, I stumbled across the Beaver Brook Trail. I had a hard time finding actual directions on how to get to a trail head for this thing. The description gave several generalizations as to popular access points, but that's

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-7538657363469035582008-01-25T19:14:00.000-07:002008-01-27T16:52:36.862-07:00

So my friend Doug and I where chatting the other day, and he mentioned that he was wanting to try out some HDR photography... Typical of myself, being clueless to most things related to photography, (at least I still feel that way) I asked Doug what the heck he was talking about. He explained it well for me, and gave me a good idea of what it is, and how cool it can be. I've run across an example

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-71493941560752859462008-01-19T17:07:00.000-07:002008-01-27T16:52:54.674-07:00

So I've been playing with my Camera a little, trying to get used to it, before I deploy to the ice. I've come across what seems to be a relatively new thing to do with all the pictures you take. It's called geoTagging. There are lots of other discussions out there on what to use, how to do it, etc. Just google it up. I found one GPS tracker that actually will sit in the hot shoe of your

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1810616478554495742008-01-11T15:56:00.000-07:002008-01-28T09:39:54.393-07:00

So the new camera has finally arrived. I bought a used Canon Digital Rebel XTi off ebay. It came with a battery grip, extra battery, and 2 lenses, 18-55mm and a 100-300mm. Its gonna be a while before I get good at using it I think. Here's the first few shots so far. I think Everest was getting annoyed at me shoving the camera in his face. I'm really sure he didn't enjoy having the flash go off

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-90901475328906757432008-01-06T19:00:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:12:41.283-07:00

Well, the holiday's are over, and its been quite a while since I've posted anything, so I figured I aught to at least put something in this here blog for y'all to read. I can't say I have much of interest to post though.Let's see... The weekend before Christmas I went skiing up at Loveland again, and had a blast. I'm getting comfortable with pretty much any groomed terrain. No fancy tricks or

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-87064191512644267072007-12-13T19:32:00.000-07:002008-01-28T09:39:43.807-07:00

So at some point in the last year, I had taken a brave hop into the world of RC Helicopters. I got a "cheap" (its all relative) little electric RC helicopter (eFlite HoneyBee CPpro). Not having much space at home to play with it, I brought it into work (at my old job). Portions of our building where unfinished and had high ceiling (over 15 feet) in areas, so it was good for flying there.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-8341946558398497612007-12-09T16:14:00.001-07:002008-01-27T17:21:01.496-07:00

So I figured that I would take some pictures from the open space park that is very close to where I live. The clouds where cooperating, as they often do around here. Interestingly enough though, the air wasn't.If you look close at the picture above (you might have to click on it to see it in detail), the city of Denver is actually in that picture. That big gray line going across the screen

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-29755446071038842462007-12-02T18:06:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:14:04.788-07:00

Hi folks, its been a productive week for us. Lots of boxes are being emptied (and then placed in the basement). Work is going well, and I'm really starting to feel welcome where I am at. My first week, and into the 2nd there were some events that really had me a bit concerned, but things are looking up. If you want to know details, catch me on IM sometime, and I'll share. Its not solid yet,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-25806356341248666402007-11-24T09:59:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:14:53.498-07:00

So we've been here for about a week now, and I have to say I'm kind of impressed with the wildlife I've seen or heard around here. Our first day here, we had a fox run around in our backyard. We also found what looks to be fox scat in the yard too. Talking to our neighbors we found out that this house been vacant for about 2 years, so I suspect the fox might have been hanging out here. The

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-2884226961051208652007-11-13T14:27:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:15:13.556-07:00

So the new job is going well. I'm getting up to speed with things, albeit slowly, and have been able to make contributions back to the team and be slightly productive, so thats good. On the flip side of things, We've found a house to rent for at least year. It will probably end up being more like 2 years though, as we try and save for a down payment for some other place, etc. It kind of

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-82450323325776359062007-11-06T20:12:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:15:28.549-07:00

Well, its the end of the first week since I've left the state of PA. I can't say it not been what I've expected. In fact, its been very much what I've expected so far. Not sure if thats totally good or not. I guess it's not bad though. We took 3 days to drive from PA to CO. The first day was okay. I put the wrong address in my GPS so I managed to get us into the wrong side of town in

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-11296424062117769132007-10-23T14:19:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:15:43.225-07:00

Well, I suppose its not all that bad. I'm gonna miss where I live now. It has a certain appeal that will always make it nice to come back to. I think if I ever do come back, it most definitely will not be the same. There's to much urban sprawl going on around here.So for any of you folks who might actually read this to find out what I've been up to, I've accepted a new job Headquartered in

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-17641547802054587652007-06-20T14:37:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:15:55.974-07:00

I believe I said I would post the official results from my race last sunday, so here they are.I also uploaded the data from my bike computer too. You can see that here.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-67909862077605541842007-06-18T06:42:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:16:08.183-07:00

Well, its one month and one race later. I raced yesterday, Sunday in the 2007 Cargas Criterium. I'd link to the site, detailing the race but there really isn't much to be seen there. It was held in Lancster, PA at the Greenfield Corporate Center. I was in the Cat 4/5 Race. I was initially VERY nervous about this race, being that it was my first major race of the year, really. I was also

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-34358762437856792562007-05-22T11:48:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:16:26.840-07:00

Sorry about such a long time since the last post. I have no excuses, and I won't try to make any up. I just haven't had the desire to post anything.So to go along with some previous posts. I had my first bike race of the year this past Sunday, May 20th. It was the South Mountain Mass Start Hill Climb, which was near Shippensburg, PA. You can see my results here. Not a great time. I was

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1156232589572481692006-08-22T01:32:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:16:45.134-07:00

Well, if any of you are wondering, yes, I've made it to the Netherlands safely, and have adjusted to the time zone change quicker than I have anticipated. The first day was hard, but I think forcing myself to stay awake in anticipation of a good nights sleep helped the most. I hope to post some pictures eventually of where I'm at (Amsterdam), but the weather has not made it very easy to go out

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1154463264695896912006-08-01T14:05:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:16:59.252-07:00

Well, MR was nice enough to share some of the pictures he took of me racing.... Enjoy.Nice game face huh? Don't worry, he's all bark, no bite :)And they're off.... In my usual style, I'm out in front in the beginning. Perhaps its a good thing. Avoid confusion, etc...And here I am in the lead group, in the beginning, holding my own, for now at least...And here I am finally, off the back, maybe

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1154294321091498812006-07-30T15:11:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:17:22.351-07:00

Well, I apologize for letting this thing go dormant for a while, as usual, no excuses, just figure no one would be interested in my day to day ritual I call life. Anyway, of note though, I participated in my first bike race (a criterium) yesterday. I can safely say..... I finished. Not a spectacular performance by any stretch, but I'm not disappointed.Several have requested an AAR of my race,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1149369436805879172006-06-03T14:47:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:17:37.925-07:00

So I've been thinking recently.... I wonder what percentage of conversations handled in text actually come across as the writer intends. Whether it be an IM, and E-mail, a hand written letter, or whatever. I had a conversation with a friend earlier this afternoon that totally left me feeling offended. I'm not sure if he meant to, or what, but it certainly got me thinking about his subject.I

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1148944786186775602006-05-29T16:52:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:17:56.637-07:00

MH, MR, and I took a nice bike ride this morning. I had driven a loop last Friday that turned out to be right around 57 miles. MH was supposed to be home by 11:30 AM so the loop was out of the question, especially since MR only picked me up when we were supposed to meet at the designated parking spot, taking 30 minutes out of our rideable time. Oh well. It was still a great ride, overall,

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1148254488837268132006-05-21T17:05:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:18:21.008-07:00

So yesterday, I went for another Saturday morning ride with the folks over at World Cup Ski & Cycle. There were a lot more people there than there was the week before. I imagine mostly because the weather was a lot nicer. I think there were about 16 total. The beginning of the ride was uneventful, and was riding at what seemed to me, to be a pretty easy pace, at least when you are in the

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1147634967997329722006-05-14T13:04:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:18:40.707-07:00

So I've always wondered how can people cruise along at such fast speeds on a bike. Well, I finally got a taste of that yesterday. I went out on a group ride that leaves from a local bike shop. There were 11 of us there. So we all were cruising along somewhere between 18-22 mph (Normally speeds that fast by myself take everything I've got). As long as I was surrounded by people, the ride was

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1147098962307758522006-05-08T08:17:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:19:23.157-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, its been a long time since I've posted here, and I apologize to those of you who stop by and see if I have posted anything recently. I don't have any excuses really, other than lack of creativity I suppose. I guess I figure my life is boring enough that its not worth posting about. Since my last post, I have ridding my bike several more miles. As of today, I have 637 miles

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1144069136632423032006-04-03T06:45:00.000-06:002008-01-27T17:19:42.828-07:00

The weather was great yesterday and just begging to be enjoyed, so MR and I decided to go for a nice LSD ride. He has a Triathlon coming up soon at Gifford Pinchot park, and wanted to go see what the bike leg is going to be like, so we rode down there, did about 1.5 loops, and rode back home. Totaling about 50 miles in just over 3 hours. We took our time. I was still recovering from last

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1143226139508518582006-03-24T11:33:00.000-07:002006-03-24T11:48:59.523-07:00

Not sure how many people actually read this, but I thought I would share some interesting pictures that my brother-in-law has taken while he is deployed in Iraq.I have to say, those Iraqis have some pretty sweet commuter bikes over there! Super knobby tires, with front and rear fenders, headlights, pannier mounts, and a horn. To top it all off, its sporting a trunk as well, fits smaller children

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1143148951440279482006-03-23T14:03:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:21:54.629-07:00

So today 3 of us went out on a bike ride we like to call the quadruple bypass. There's a nice ridge near here that has some steep roads on it, with a 4 way intersection right at the top. Its always rewarding to get to go down the hill you just struggled to go up, but I have to say, it was a little cold today. I also decided to try wearing my HR strap on my back this time too. I think it works

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1142628002883138252006-03-17T13:20:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:22:10.123-07:00

So after talking with Mark, and trying to come up with a nice little course we can time trial on, we came up with a nice short little 10 mile course, that is pretty much a subsection of our default lunch ride. It kind of is like a little proglogue ride that they have at the beginning of those big fancy European races. I managed to get an 18.4 mph average speed, as per my Garmin Edge 305, though

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1142279385617425092006-03-13T12:37:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:22:37.734-07:00

Well, the weather has been really nice lately, and I have taken 3 bike rides since I have last posted. The first was last Friday, where I took a quick lunch ride around what I thought would be a short course. Turned out it was longer than I expected, but that's okay. Details here.Second Ride was a nice long ride with Mark on Saturday, all in all, it was 38 miles for me. Lots of climbing.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1141911935977658312006-03-09T06:34:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:22:55.266-07:00

So yesterday, Mark and I took a mid afternoon bike ride. You can see his comments on the ride here. I figured we would just do a normal route and glide along and have some fun.... but nooooo, Mark decides he wants to go to the top of the "hill" on Miller's Gap road. A road I have yet to make it up without dismounting.... So I figured what the heck. Needless to say, I had blast. I made it all

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1141758455314865442006-03-07T11:50:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:23:50.171-07:00

Since everyone else can't suck it up and ride in this slightly chilled weather, I ended up going out by myself today. Details here. I'm trying to get a handle on what's going on with my heart rate. It seems really easy to push it way up into the 170's. So I figured I would try and keep it right around 165 today, except for hill climbs. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be I guess.

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1141608882328405792006-03-05T18:27:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:24:05.556-07:00

Finally was able to find someone to go riding with me on a weekend. It was really nice out, so I couldn't pass up the chance. I was afraid I was going to miss the opportunity, since Lower Allen had a fire that I was at, but we got out of there quick enough that I still had some time left. You can view my ride here. Overall the ride was really good. It wasn't as gusty as the last time I did

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1141149301786880652006-02-28T10:37:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:24:56.251-07:00

So just when you think the weather is going to start to turn for the better, and that spring will soon be on its way, it gets freezing cold. Then has the nerve to snow at night in such a manner that the cars running over the fresh powder snow causes a sheet of ice to form on the roads. Not only does this make my night miserable because of all the people who don't know how to drive carefully, it

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22779773.post-1140907339442600082006-02-25T15:35:00.000-07:002008-01-27T17:25:10.863-07:00

So I took a quick ride over to a local outfitter to pick up some maps of Shenandoah National Park for a group hike I'm planning to lead in June. I discovered how nice out it was and decided that I couldn't pass up the nice weather and had to go for a bike ride. Mark was out of town and I couldn't get a hold of Tex, so I was on my own. The first two miles were great, as usual though I think I

Gerrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11818860095778108328noreply@blogger.com0