Listen Up, People.

Now that I'm 6 months old, things are going to change around here...

6 month stats: 19 lbs 13 ozs (p80), 27.25" (p75), 47cm head circ. (p95).

People's Republic of Park City

Socialism appears to be alive and well in Park City, where the people expect the city to clean up after their comrade-doggies. 

Fido needs to poop? Bring him to the people's park. The only thing missing is some Gulag time for the owners where the only meat served is reputed to be lucky if consumed at new years.

Peace out.

Ice Breaker

Winter in the 801 can be challenging to those who wish to ride year round. While a mountain bike is good choice for slick roads, there are few things as annoying as riding a single speed mountain bike on the road when it's geared for the mountains. To get ready for hard core winter riding, I re-geared my bike, going with a 44 up front and a 19 on the back.

After gearing is taken care of, tires are important. I've running a single studded tire up front works pretty well in the Wasatch. The Nokian I run has some deep grooves for clearing snow, with some studs that provide a decent bite on ice.

At this point, I think the bike is ready to roll.

Book Cataloging the Mac Way

My wife has long desired to have a catalog of all the books we've accumulated over the years. There have been a few attempts to create one, such as writing titles and authors on paper, then entering the information into spreadsheets, i.e. bear skins and stone knifes.

Recently, she showed me something called Library Thing, which improves the situation somewhat in that you can peruse amazon and indicate which items are in your personal collection. Better for sure, but still labor intensive.

Fortunately, a better solution exists for Mac users - Delicious Library

To catalog books, simple use the iSight camera built into the MacBook to scan your books barcode, and it's entered into your catalog. With goodies such as export to the iPhone or iWeb, it combines ease of use with accessibility.

Time to Put Up the Lights

Family man... with your Christmas lights already up. You're such a man when you're putting up your Christmas lights. First on the block. Family man.

Out With a Wimper

My cross season ended in disappointment -- I was forced to miss the last race of the series, double points and all, due to illness. I've raced the week before with a cold that had me running on half a lung, and ended up coming down with an intestinal virus that kept me out of work three days and left me in too sad a shape to contemplate starting the race.

As a result, I ended up slipping a place in the overall standings, with Lew Rollins moving into 4th place by a mere 5 points.

Now, before you weep for me, keep the following in mind:

1. On those occasions where I have finished ahead of Lew, it was not by substantial margins. My dreams are haunted by the sound of his free wheel...
2. On those occasions where he's beat me, it's been by a pretty substantial margin.
3. Lew likes to warm up prior to the Master's 45+ by killing it in the 55+ race where he demonstrates his national championship form by passing 50 or 60 guys in the C field who had a one minute head start.
4. Lew's an retired marine, who would have came out and raced missing a limb, and certainly would not let a little liquid $%#* stop him.

So, if you believe in a just world, then it's hard to argue with the way things turned out. Here's wishing Lew a repeat victory at National's again this year!

The Element of Luck

Saturday's ride at the state championship left me pondering the element of luck in 'cross racing. I had a decent start and was in the second group after the first lap, feeling good. On the second or third lap, though, I flatted and ended up having to soft pedal a very long stretch, losing at six or seven places prior to even reaching the pit and changing wheels. While obviously not in the running for a good result, I charged hard out of the pit thinking with some hard riding I could at least avoid finishing DFL.

While bemoaning my luck at the end of the race, truth be told I've been extremely lucky in avoiding mechanicals while racing. I can count on one hand how many times I've flatted in races over the last 5 or 6 cross seasons, which is very fortunate (that or I run my tires at too high a pressure).

While luck can play into results, though, there are bigger factors. The first is riding smart. I should have realized my tire was going flat when instead of railing turns as in warm up and the first few laps, I was blowing my lines, and that perception my brakes were dragging should have told me I had tire problems. By the time I had figured out my tire was going flat, I had passed the pit and had a long slow ride ahead before my next chance to change wheels.

After leaving the pit, I was riding too aggressively, and somehow ended up stacking it pretty good going over a log. I'm not sure if I was on the bike or on foot, but somehow I went down hard giving myself a little whiplash in the process (I think it was a mild version of the "scorpion". Anyway, I was lying on the ground and someone was yelling "you're ok," so I jumped up and kept riding. Savvier riding could have prevented all of this.

Ultimately, though, the biggest influencing factor in a good finish in a cross race is being a strong rider. The top four guys on the day are all incredibly strong riders who race a lot and have paid their dues several times over. The fact the strongest, hardest working riders end up doing well in the sport is one part of it's appeal.

So really I have no complaints - I learned a couple things, rode as hard as I could, and kept fighting to the end. Considering the big picture, having the resources, health, and opportunity to race makes me very lucky indeed.

101 Uses

With apologies to Sager for ripping off a great idea and not doing it nearly as well...

I've acquired a pair of highly coveted Church of the Big Ring socks, and in addition to the extra 20 watts they'll add to my ride (if that's per leg hello podium), they have numerous other uses as well.

Like nurturing babies...

Throwing down...

Staying hydrated...

Rallying through the hood...

Getting ready for Fox's cash handout during the race (but not with real money)...

Surfing the web...

What's He Thinking?

The boy spends a lot of time...

... staring at the ceiling.

What do suppose he's thinking about?

Innovator's Hall of Fame

I'd like to take this opportunity to salute the person who invented Foie Gras. Not content to eat the liver of a naturally lean goose or duck, this person was inspired enough to force feed the animal to produce the right culinary qualities, i.e. fatty liver. Now that's thinking outside the box.

My one experience eating said delight was on the flight out of a third world country. Air France puts on quite the spread in business class, and it was a meal I savored to say the least.

Bon Appetit!

On a Roll

I've been on a roll the last week. First, I survived the first round of layoffs at the company. A lot of good folks lost their jobs (roughly 3% of the employees). Unfortunately another round of layoffs is slated for Q1 2009.

Next, I did a solid job in my MSE Portfolio presentation 1. There are 3 presentations associated with the portfolio at certain points in the software development life cycle. Getting through number 1 is a significant milestone, as now I've established some momentum and have a shot at finishing. The MSE Portfolio is the only thing standing between me and my degree.

Finally, to cap off the week, a very solid ride in the local cross series - 2nd place in the 45+ open race. The race was intense - rode with the leaders at the start, saw #1 and #2 get a gap when someone blocked the rest of the field with a crash. I went back and forth with #3 for a long time, and eventually we reeled in #2. Just as we caught him I had a lapper get stuck between me and #2 and #3 on the single track - the lapper ended up not being able to ride a section and I was force to dismount and run. As luck would have it the other guys were stuck behind someone, so I ran behind them for a while until I could remount. Winded from the run, they opened a gap, but after #3 crashed hard I got on the wheel of #2 and got my wind. I sat on his wheel for half of the last lap - he made a hard move with a half lap to go, and I chased steady but not hard as I knew I would catch him on the sharp turn in front of the run up. I caught him, passed him on foot, remounted and was in front going into the single track. I road smooth on the technical sections, punched it hard in the open, and opened a 15 second gap by the finish.

Cross Season 2008

So far it's been a great cyclocross season -- I'm riding with an awesome team, and the season has included some new race venues, and some creative new takes on some older venues.

Last weekend was a double header, with the first race of the weekend at Rocky Mountain Raceway. I was loathe to come out and do it, as the old course had a ton of pavement, which for me usually means getting spanked by the roadies.

This year, however, was completely different. The first thing I noticed pulling in to the parking lot were the rocks.

They were large, layered deep, and there were a lot of them...

Riding through the gravel was an exercise suitable for a Zen monk, as you had to let go of any expectations of what the bike would do, relax, and turn the pedals over. Luckly, the reward of suffering the rocks was going through the moto course, complete with bermed turns, whoop-dee-dos, and an over-under section. 

While initially terrifying at speed in traffic, it turned out to be one of the funnest race courses we've done. I ended up taking 5th place in the race.

The next day was at Wheeler farm, which typically features longs laps, broken up with some hairpin turns, single track sections, some short steep climbs, and the closest thing we have to a run up in Utah. I usually have a decent ride at wheeler, and given I often have a strong day the second day in a double weekend, I was hoping for a good ride. I was not disappointed, getting third place in the race, which is my first podium finish ever in the series -- I'd retire at this point if it wasn't so damn fun win or lose.

The team I am riding with (RMCC/Cyclesmith) currently leads the series team points. I've had several top 5 finishes this year, but the team has been riding so strong that it's a stretch to be one of the top 7 guys contributing points to the cause. All in all a good problem to have.

View from the Golden Gallery

Here are some pictures taken from the Golden Gallery atop Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, taken on a clear day, which made the 537 steps to the gallery worth while.

First of all, there's a construction boom going on in London. In this picture can you spot the building the locals call the Gherkin?

Some more of the cityscape.

Here's a view looking towards the South Bank showing the Millennium Bridge, with the massive Tate Modern in the background.

More views...

Happily the railing looked sturdy.

More images...

It Begins Tomorrow

The Utah Cyclocross Series starts tomorrow. So far all indications are for favorable weather with a 90% chance of rain!

Traitor's Gate

P9210070, originally uploaded by doug.smith.flickr.

Here's the door you use to enter your home when returning from a week's visit to London after leaving your spouse home alone with 3 small children.

London Calling

View Larger Map

Coast to Coast

Travel is down this year... everyone's trying to keep expenses down. After spending a few days on the west coast earlier this summer, I was fortunate enough to visit the east coast, attending the Gartner BPM conference in the Washington DC area.

The conference was held at the Gaylord National. Having stayed at Gaylord properties in Dallas and now in the DC area, I am amazed at the scale of the properties.

Here's a few photos of the inside of the property from the balcony of my room.

Some shots from the outside, and of the surrounding area...

Notice the Resemblance?

Notice the resemblance between this...

P9050044, originally uploaded by doug.smith.flickr.

And this?

Smile, Mister!

P8160085, originally uploaded by doug.smith.flickr.

Commute #116

P8250001, originally uploaded by doug.smith.flickr.

Nice panoramic view from the top of dry creek. No, this never gets old.

Public Service Announcement

From BikeSnobNYC

Downhill

downhill
Originally uploaded by doug.smith.flickr

My friend Rick got a new helmet camera the other day - here's a few minutes of footage set to music. I had hoped to do more with the clips, but found the updated version of iMovie has had the user interface badly damaged -- it's obvious the development team has no idea how mac software should look and feel.

The Long Ride

With cyclocross season coming up fast, it's time to put in some base miles. One staple of the base period is the Sunday morning ride - while most are still snug in their beds I'm on the road at first light.

Even though it's early, there's still traffic to contend with.

Yes - it's pie plate hating geese, looking for unwary cyclists who run pie plates on their back wheels. Fortunately, I am not guilty of this transgression and was unharmed.

After getting through traffic, I was on my way to Salt Air.

The ride, along a frontage road, offers a nice long stretch to spin, with of scenery.

With the early start, it was just me and my shadow out for the ride.

After some spinning, I reached Salt Air. Now, when I was in India, I got a lot of crap from the locals about not going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Well, feast your eyes on this - no need to see some old hotel or whatever when I've got this in my backyard!

I must have become disoriented, because on the way home somehow I ended up south of the border.