I love to follow new types of street art and graffiti. Here are a couple of interesting ones...
Check out Aakash Nihalani or watch a cool video of FatBlodded Following Aakash Nihalani.
Also check out INVADER - Binary Code Street Art.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tour de Corona 2008
For the first time in the Tour de Corona's 6 year history, all of the riders completed the whole ride. Way to go!
We had a great ride this year. Nothing too strenuous, no serious injuries like last year, and no death march like the year before.
This year we started off at my house, as usual, took a 6 mile road ride to Skyline, stopping at Steve's house on the way. We went up Skyline, traversed the Main Divide, and descended Eagle Road. Here is the ride profile on Geoladders.
The ride stared (and ended) with 11 of us:
Dave (me)
Joe
Bob
John (quickly recovering from breaking his leg on last year's tour)
Adrian
Patrick
Steve
Skippy
Brian
Frank
Dalton
People started showing up at about 11:30am with the goal of taking off around noon. We didn't get out until about 12:20, which was a good hint at the leisurely pace that was in front of us.
I started out by giving everyone an option on the road portion... a quick, steep climb or a long, easy climb. Everyone voted for "quick and steep" to get it over with, accept for Joe. Sorry Joe... and up we went.
We get to Steve's house and he's lounging in the garage, shoes off, working on his laptop. So we cracked open a few of his beers while he finished up.
Going up Skyline and the Main Divide was very uneventful, except for the heat, which was in the upper 80's until we reached the Main Divide. It seriously felt like it was July. John, Brian and Adrian were always in the front, I was a usually a couple minutes behind by myself, and everyone else was scattered behind me. After a while, Brian and I noticed that John would effortlessly suck you into his conversation, and before you know it your lungs are on fire. Luckily, I noticed it pretty early and dropped back.
We thought for sure that Dalton wasn't going to make it because he kept walking his bike. With his full-faced helmet and skater shoes, he definitely didn't know what to expect on this ride. But, he held his own and finished with only a few problems.
Going down Eagle was a blast. Eagle is a closed fire road, so it's somewhat over grown with a single track blazing down it. You get up to some pretty high speeds (I clocked 28mph at one point), with little jumps mixed in, and a pretty sketchy cliff on one side. It was a lot of fun to say the least.
Dalton crashed twice on Eagle. Once just flipping into the brush, another bending his big chain ring on a boulder. Steve and Adrian helped him remove the chain ring so that he could at least get home.
Then we took the road back to my house. And that's it! Like I said, pretty uneventful... but I have to say that I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.
The party back at my house was great as well. A bunch of other riders and neighbors showed up for the burgers, dogs, beer and UFC 90. It was great to hang out and catch up with everyone. Other than the disappointing Silva vs Cote fight (Cote blew out his knee in the 3rd), this turned out to be the best Tour de Corona so far. It's going to be tough to beat this one.
Stats...
Distance: 24.12 miles
Lowest Point: 889' (my house)
Highest Point: 3804'
Total Elevation Gain: 6155'
Ride Time: 3 hours, 22 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Flat Tires: 0!
Crashes: 2 (by the same person)
Mechanicals: Bent chain ring
Can't wait to do it next year! Here are some Google Earth photos of the ride...
Overview of the ride.
Overview of the ride, facing South-West.
Overview of the ride, facing South-East.
Overview of the ride, facing West.
We had a great ride this year. Nothing too strenuous, no serious injuries like last year, and no death march like the year before.
This year we started off at my house, as usual, took a 6 mile road ride to Skyline, stopping at Steve's house on the way. We went up Skyline, traversed the Main Divide, and descended Eagle Road. Here is the ride profile on Geoladders.
The ride stared (and ended) with 11 of us:
Dave (me)
Joe
Bob
John (quickly recovering from breaking his leg on last year's tour)
Adrian
Patrick
Steve
Skippy
Brian
Frank
Dalton
People started showing up at about 11:30am with the goal of taking off around noon. We didn't get out until about 12:20, which was a good hint at the leisurely pace that was in front of us.
I started out by giving everyone an option on the road portion... a quick, steep climb or a long, easy climb. Everyone voted for "quick and steep" to get it over with, accept for Joe. Sorry Joe... and up we went.
We get to Steve's house and he's lounging in the garage, shoes off, working on his laptop. So we cracked open a few of his beers while he finished up.
Going up Skyline and the Main Divide was very uneventful, except for the heat, which was in the upper 80's until we reached the Main Divide. It seriously felt like it was July. John, Brian and Adrian were always in the front, I was a usually a couple minutes behind by myself, and everyone else was scattered behind me. After a while, Brian and I noticed that John would effortlessly suck you into his conversation, and before you know it your lungs are on fire. Luckily, I noticed it pretty early and dropped back.
We thought for sure that Dalton wasn't going to make it because he kept walking his bike. With his full-faced helmet and skater shoes, he definitely didn't know what to expect on this ride. But, he held his own and finished with only a few problems.
Going down Eagle was a blast. Eagle is a closed fire road, so it's somewhat over grown with a single track blazing down it. You get up to some pretty high speeds (I clocked 28mph at one point), with little jumps mixed in, and a pretty sketchy cliff on one side. It was a lot of fun to say the least.
Dalton crashed twice on Eagle. Once just flipping into the brush, another bending his big chain ring on a boulder. Steve and Adrian helped him remove the chain ring so that he could at least get home.
Then we took the road back to my house. And that's it! Like I said, pretty uneventful... but I have to say that I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.
The party back at my house was great as well. A bunch of other riders and neighbors showed up for the burgers, dogs, beer and UFC 90. It was great to hang out and catch up with everyone. Other than the disappointing Silva vs Cote fight (Cote blew out his knee in the 3rd), this turned out to be the best Tour de Corona so far. It's going to be tough to beat this one.
Stats...
Distance: 24.12 miles
Lowest Point: 889' (my house)
Highest Point: 3804'
Total Elevation Gain: 6155'
Ride Time: 3 hours, 22 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Flat Tires: 0!
Crashes: 2 (by the same person)
Mechanicals: Bent chain ring
Can't wait to do it next year! Here are some Google Earth photos of the ride...
Overview of the ride.
Overview of the ride, facing South-West.
Overview of the ride, facing South-East.
Overview of the ride, facing West.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
X ARM
My brother-in-law invited me to this "new sport", explaining it something like "arm wrestling, with their hands strapped together and their belts hooked to the arm wrestling table, but they get to punch and kick each other!" So of course, I'm like, "I'm in!"
Here are a few photos... photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
We show up to the American Sports University in San Bernardino and take a seat in this small, closed off area of the gym. There's an arm wrestling table up on stage with a big "X ARM" logo behind it. Camera crews from RipeTV.com were setting up, so expect the whole thing to be on their website, and possibly TV, anytime soon.
The first fight consisted of Ivan Gatoloai giving Rick Cheek a hammer fist to the top of his head, cutting it open, knocking him out, and leaving him dangling from the table. My jaw dropped.
James Cordney (Gladiator Challenge champion for 205 class) gave everyone a great show the day before by kicking his opponent in the head 3 times to knock him out. Today he broke his hand on Andy Flennay's face, to knock him out in 4 seconds with 9 punches, claiming the "fasted knockout in X ARM's history".
Luckily, I caught it all on my cell phone...
[Video temporarily removed until it airs on TV]
Even though the sport is literally 2 days old, it was put together very well and was definitely fun to watch. But watching Cheek dangling from the table hook gave me a creepy feeling. I think some kind of quick-release would help. And oh yeah... Ring card girls... they definitely need ring card girls!
Here are a few photos... photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
We show up to the American Sports University in San Bernardino and take a seat in this small, closed off area of the gym. There's an arm wrestling table up on stage with a big "X ARM" logo behind it. Camera crews from RipeTV.com were setting up, so expect the whole thing to be on their website, and possibly TV, anytime soon.
The first fight consisted of Ivan Gatoloai giving Rick Cheek a hammer fist to the top of his head, cutting it open, knocking him out, and leaving him dangling from the table. My jaw dropped.
James Cordney (Gladiator Challenge champion for 205 class) gave everyone a great show the day before by kicking his opponent in the head 3 times to knock him out. Today he broke his hand on Andy Flennay's face, to knock him out in 4 seconds with 9 punches, claiming the "fasted knockout in X ARM's history".
Luckily, I caught it all on my cell phone...
[Video temporarily removed until it airs on TV]
Even though the sport is literally 2 days old, it was put together very well and was definitely fun to watch. But watching Cheek dangling from the table hook gave me a creepy feeling. I think some kind of quick-release would help. And oh yeah... Ring card girls... they definitely need ring card girls!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Moab & Gooseberry, Utah Trip 2008
Big "thanks" to Steve, Brian and Bob for a great week of hard mountain bike riding. Special thanks to Jesse for showing us the local spots.
Day 1 Gooseberry
7.93 miles, 1h 59m
Bumps and bruises - I bumped my left shoulder on a tree pretty hard, which left a scratch. I also caught my right knee on a sharp twig, so it was bleeding a little.
The ride was fun, of course, but I was so friggen full from a huge lunch and dinner that the whole ride was completely uncomfortable.
Day 2 Gooseberry
14.1 miles, 4h 41m
Bumps and bruises - banged my inner right ankle on my pedal, left a scratch. My palms are starting to form calluses.
We woke up super early, before the sun was up. Over a 6 hour period, I got about 2 hours of sleep. I ate a light breakfast so I wasn't as full as yesterday... And I felt great, felt strong and had an incredible ride. By around the 4th hour, it was getting hot, we were starting to get sloppy and it got a little dangerous, so we called it a day. When we did this ride last year, I had a slight cold and it was still my favorite ride of the year. So today's ride has to be considered my favorite ride of all time... let's see how it goes in Moab.
Day 3 Slick Rock
9.9 miles, 3h 27m
Bumps and bruises - none, but extremely sore legs from very steep climbs.
We did the loop the "hard" way, thinking it would be more technical (i.e. fun), but it was _really_ hard, especially the climbs. So much so that it sucked all the fun out. We might try it again the "easy" way later in the week. I can't leave Moab with sour taste in my mouth about Slick Rock.
After dinner, we drove out to see "the arches" in Arches National Park. The sun was just setting, so we didn't get to see everything. But it was still cool.
Day 4 The Electric Toilet Ride (UPS & MPS)
7 miles, 1h 30m
Bumps and bruises - ran into a tree that took a gouge out of my helmet and right middle knuckle.
We met up with a friend of a friend, Jesse, the owner/operator of Coyote Shuttle, just to say "hi" and ask about some trails. We wanted to ride Amasa Back, but Jesse offered to take us up to his cabin and ride a secret loop instead AND ride Amasa Back with us on Thursday. So we said "what the heck." His cabin was amazing... the first thing anyone would notice is the 13 ft wide windmill, whistling in the 40 mph wind. Turns out he made it out of mostly recycled parts (this is his 9th prototype in about 10 months). The rear triangle used to be a Yield sign and the front dome was his dog's bowl. That, along with a set of solar panels, gives him way more than enough energy to run the house. Very impressive, indeed, but the most impressive thing was the electric toilet! Yes, electric... no water. You basically put a large coffee filter in the bowl and it incinerates your stuff. We hung out at the cabin for about an hour while a storm blew over. Oh yeah, the ride... We quickly climbed what seemed to be a few hundred feet, met up with a couple who were about to be "nighted", and rode down UPS and MPS, which were really fun along the rim with a 3000 foot drop.
Day 5 The Whole Enchilada (Burro Pass -> Hazzard -> Kokopelli's -> UPS -> MPS -> LPS -> Porcupine Rim)
29.9 miles, 6h 45m
Bumps and bruises - none
Only two steep climbs (at high elevation) and the rest very technical downhill. We were dropped off at 10,600 feet and climbed to 11,400 feet. We started our descend basically through a forest of Aspen trees and crossing the creek 4-5 times. At the top of Hazzard, we took a curvaceous single track through a bunch of cows while hitting a few of the jumps that were set up. Hazzard felt like a roller coaster video game. Kokopelli's was mainly a jeep trail which went through the remains of a forest fire that occurred the week before. UPS (Upper Porcupine Singletrack) through LPS (Lower...) was my absolute favorite. Over boulders, through trees, with small patches of sand. Porculpine rim was harsh. We were already tired but faced with a series of 3-5 foot dropoffs and sharp rocks to maneuver through. Good times.
The only mechanical was Steve's pinch flat. Bob had a minor fall towards the end. Other than that, it was definitely my favorite ride of all time.
Day 6 Amasa Back
12.5 miles, 4h 50m
Bumps and bruises - none
What a great ride, not because of the incredible terrain, or beautiful scenery... it was because Jesse took us to a few secret spots that aren't on the typical trail maps. Plus, each section had it's own name, such as the Bowling Alley, the Mccoy, the REAL Mccoy, The Moon, and The Fat Lady (which kicked all of our asses and left Jesse with a goose egg on his ankle). Getting to the PotHole was cool because of a totally off-camber slope. I'm talking around 45 degrees, but with slick rock under your tires, it really wasn't that hard. Then, the Top of the World was truly amazing. I'd hate to say it, but this was definitely my favorite ride of the week, hands down.
Day 7 Thunder Mountain
14.8 miles, 2h 59m
Bumps and bruises - bumped left thigh during a tight switchback.
We parked at the Visitor's Center and started verrrry sloooowly up the bike path. After the dirt road and the beginning of the single track, I was wondering why everyone said it was such a great trail. We were tired from the previous six days of riding and we weren't really expecting all of this climbing. Then... oh man... we ended up smack dab in the middle of Red Canyon. Just absolutely amazing scenery AND a really fun downhill roller coaster ride. Mental note: do this ride _first_ next time!
After the ride, we scooted over the Bryce Canyon National Park, then drove through Zion National Park. Truly amazing stuff to see at both parks.
Totals (for me): 97 miles, 26 hours, over 15000 calories.
Bike parts (for all): 4 flats, 1 wheel, and a set of rear derailleur cogs.
My photos at Flickr | Brian's photos at Flickr
Video (high bandwidth required)...
Day 1 Gooseberry
7.93 miles, 1h 59m
Bumps and bruises - I bumped my left shoulder on a tree pretty hard, which left a scratch. I also caught my right knee on a sharp twig, so it was bleeding a little.
The ride was fun, of course, but I was so friggen full from a huge lunch and dinner that the whole ride was completely uncomfortable.
Day 2 Gooseberry
14.1 miles, 4h 41m
Bumps and bruises - banged my inner right ankle on my pedal, left a scratch. My palms are starting to form calluses.
We woke up super early, before the sun was up. Over a 6 hour period, I got about 2 hours of sleep. I ate a light breakfast so I wasn't as full as yesterday... And I felt great, felt strong and had an incredible ride. By around the 4th hour, it was getting hot, we were starting to get sloppy and it got a little dangerous, so we called it a day. When we did this ride last year, I had a slight cold and it was still my favorite ride of the year. So today's ride has to be considered my favorite ride of all time... let's see how it goes in Moab.
Day 3 Slick Rock
9.9 miles, 3h 27m
Bumps and bruises - none, but extremely sore legs from very steep climbs.
We did the loop the "hard" way, thinking it would be more technical (i.e. fun), but it was _really_ hard, especially the climbs. So much so that it sucked all the fun out. We might try it again the "easy" way later in the week. I can't leave Moab with sour taste in my mouth about Slick Rock.
After dinner, we drove out to see "the arches" in Arches National Park. The sun was just setting, so we didn't get to see everything. But it was still cool.
Day 4 The Electric Toilet Ride (UPS & MPS)
7 miles, 1h 30m
Bumps and bruises - ran into a tree that took a gouge out of my helmet and right middle knuckle.
We met up with a friend of a friend, Jesse, the owner/operator of Coyote Shuttle, just to say "hi" and ask about some trails. We wanted to ride Amasa Back, but Jesse offered to take us up to his cabin and ride a secret loop instead AND ride Amasa Back with us on Thursday. So we said "what the heck." His cabin was amazing... the first thing anyone would notice is the 13 ft wide windmill, whistling in the 40 mph wind. Turns out he made it out of mostly recycled parts (this is his 9th prototype in about 10 months). The rear triangle used to be a Yield sign and the front dome was his dog's bowl. That, along with a set of solar panels, gives him way more than enough energy to run the house. Very impressive, indeed, but the most impressive thing was the electric toilet! Yes, electric... no water. You basically put a large coffee filter in the bowl and it incinerates your stuff. We hung out at the cabin for about an hour while a storm blew over. Oh yeah, the ride... We quickly climbed what seemed to be a few hundred feet, met up with a couple who were about to be "nighted", and rode down UPS and MPS, which were really fun along the rim with a 3000 foot drop.
Day 5 The Whole Enchilada (Burro Pass -> Hazzard -> Kokopelli's -> UPS -> MPS -> LPS -> Porcupine Rim)
29.9 miles, 6h 45m
Bumps and bruises - none
Only two steep climbs (at high elevation) and the rest very technical downhill. We were dropped off at 10,600 feet and climbed to 11,400 feet. We started our descend basically through a forest of Aspen trees and crossing the creek 4-5 times. At the top of Hazzard, we took a curvaceous single track through a bunch of cows while hitting a few of the jumps that were set up. Hazzard felt like a roller coaster video game. Kokopelli's was mainly a jeep trail which went through the remains of a forest fire that occurred the week before. UPS (Upper Porcupine Singletrack) through LPS (Lower...) was my absolute favorite. Over boulders, through trees, with small patches of sand. Porculpine rim was harsh. We were already tired but faced with a series of 3-5 foot dropoffs and sharp rocks to maneuver through. Good times.
The only mechanical was Steve's pinch flat. Bob had a minor fall towards the end. Other than that, it was definitely my favorite ride of all time.
Day 6 Amasa Back
12.5 miles, 4h 50m
Bumps and bruises - none
What a great ride, not because of the incredible terrain, or beautiful scenery... it was because Jesse took us to a few secret spots that aren't on the typical trail maps. Plus, each section had it's own name, such as the Bowling Alley, the Mccoy, the REAL Mccoy, The Moon, and The Fat Lady (which kicked all of our asses and left Jesse with a goose egg on his ankle). Getting to the PotHole was cool because of a totally off-camber slope. I'm talking around 45 degrees, but with slick rock under your tires, it really wasn't that hard. Then, the Top of the World was truly amazing. I'd hate to say it, but this was definitely my favorite ride of the week, hands down.
Day 7 Thunder Mountain
14.8 miles, 2h 59m
Bumps and bruises - bumped left thigh during a tight switchback.
We parked at the Visitor's Center and started verrrry sloooowly up the bike path. After the dirt road and the beginning of the single track, I was wondering why everyone said it was such a great trail. We were tired from the previous six days of riding and we weren't really expecting all of this climbing. Then... oh man... we ended up smack dab in the middle of Red Canyon. Just absolutely amazing scenery AND a really fun downhill roller coaster ride. Mental note: do this ride _first_ next time!
After the ride, we scooted over the Bryce Canyon National Park, then drove through Zion National Park. Truly amazing stuff to see at both parks.
Totals (for me): 97 miles, 26 hours, over 15000 calories.
Bike parts (for all): 4 flats, 1 wheel, and a set of rear derailleur cogs.
My photos at Flickr | Brian's photos at Flickr
Video (high bandwidth required)...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Mammoth / Yosemite Trip 2008
This was my first two-week vacation ever, and it turned out to be the best vacation ever. The only downside was the heat in Yosemite, otherwise we had a great time and will probably do something similar next year. Here's how it went...
Day 1 - Traveled from Home to Mammoth, CA - Set up campsite, hung out with family.
Day 2 - Mammoth - Full day of downhill mountain biking at Mammoth Mountain ski resort. Had a blast on my new DH bike. Swam with the kids at the condo pool.
Day 3 - Mammoth - Kayaked Twin Lakes, turned out to be too windy.
Day 4 - Mammoth - Kayaked Twin Lakes again. It was perfect today! Paddled out to the waterfalls.
Day 5 - Mammoth - Another full day of DH riding at Mammoth Mountain. Rode some closed trails that were supposed to open this weekend. Annual fish fry at night.
Day 6 - Mammoth - Kayak'd Twin Lakes with Mitchell's family... too windy.
Day 7 - Mammoth to Lee Vining (Mono Lake) - Hung out at campsite, played games with the kids.
Day 8 - Lee Vining - Found out that Mono Lake was too salty and full of flies, so we visited the Bodie ghost town and drove to June Lake to kayak.
Day 9 - Lee Vining to Yosemite - Drove the Tioga Pass, while stopping at Tenaya Lake to kayak, and many other places to appreciate the scenery. It was about 110 degrees at our campsite in Midpines, so we swam at the pool and decided for the rest of the week to only be there at night when it was cool.
Day 10 - Yosemite - Found Briceburg point, a very cool spot on the Merced River with an 8-foot and 14-foot bolder jump. You have to drive over a suspension bridge to get there, which was pretty sketchy in my truck. Jumping off the rocks with Ryann was a blast.
Day 11 - Yosemite - Drove into the valley, walked up to the bottom of Bridelvail and Lower Yosemite Falls (climbed the rocks with Ryann and Ethan). Checked out some camp sites for next year and swam in the Merced River at a local spot.
Day 12 - Yosemite - Today we did the parental thing and dragged the kids along to the typical tourist hot spots, including Tuolumne Grove (with the giant Sequoia trees) and Glacier Point.
Day 13 - Yosemite - Spent the day at Briceburg again and had an absolute blast! Ethan jumped off the 8-foot rock twice. We also saw two snakes and a duck running on top of the water very quickly up stream.
Day 14 - Yosemite to Home - Drove home, up and down many steep hills, later to find out that my lovely wife didn't properly flush the toilet before we dumped, so we lugged about 100 pounds of our sewage back home with us. Fun stuff.
Day 1 - Traveled from Home to Mammoth, CA - Set up campsite, hung out with family.
Day 2 - Mammoth - Full day of downhill mountain biking at Mammoth Mountain ski resort. Had a blast on my new DH bike. Swam with the kids at the condo pool.
Day 3 - Mammoth - Kayaked Twin Lakes, turned out to be too windy.
Day 4 - Mammoth - Kayaked Twin Lakes again. It was perfect today! Paddled out to the waterfalls.
Day 5 - Mammoth - Another full day of DH riding at Mammoth Mountain. Rode some closed trails that were supposed to open this weekend. Annual fish fry at night.
Day 6 - Mammoth - Kayak'd Twin Lakes with Mitchell's family... too windy.
Day 7 - Mammoth to Lee Vining (Mono Lake) - Hung out at campsite, played games with the kids.
Day 8 - Lee Vining - Found out that Mono Lake was too salty and full of flies, so we visited the Bodie ghost town and drove to June Lake to kayak.
Day 9 - Lee Vining to Yosemite - Drove the Tioga Pass, while stopping at Tenaya Lake to kayak, and many other places to appreciate the scenery. It was about 110 degrees at our campsite in Midpines, so we swam at the pool and decided for the rest of the week to only be there at night when it was cool.
Day 10 - Yosemite - Found Briceburg point, a very cool spot on the Merced River with an 8-foot and 14-foot bolder jump. You have to drive over a suspension bridge to get there, which was pretty sketchy in my truck. Jumping off the rocks with Ryann was a blast.
Day 11 - Yosemite - Drove into the valley, walked up to the bottom of Bridelvail and Lower Yosemite Falls (climbed the rocks with Ryann and Ethan). Checked out some camp sites for next year and swam in the Merced River at a local spot.
Day 12 - Yosemite - Today we did the parental thing and dragged the kids along to the typical tourist hot spots, including Tuolumne Grove (with the giant Sequoia trees) and Glacier Point.
Day 13 - Yosemite - Spent the day at Briceburg again and had an absolute blast! Ethan jumped off the 8-foot rock twice. We also saw two snakes and a duck running on top of the water very quickly up stream.
Day 14 - Yosemite to Home - Drove home, up and down many steep hills, later to find out that my lovely wife didn't properly flush the toilet before we dumped, so we lugged about 100 pounds of our sewage back home with us. Fun stuff.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Quote of the Day...
"You mean, you can't rewind the radio? Well, that's dumb!"
-- Ethan, age 5 (clearly of the TiVo generation)
-- Ethan, age 5 (clearly of the TiVo generation)
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