The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
Congrats on the wedding @Norm and @Dominique .
James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
Juggernaut
Master of the Metaphor
Yay!
Wowza! Congrats you two crazy kids!
Thanks! We rode past officer @Carson tonight and he yelled, "Congrats guys!" Lots of good things to come, plans to be made. No idea on any details otherwise. As you well know, stay tuned.
We did a road ride tonight, just us. It was a gorgeous evening and we had a nice ride for the most part. Route 78 was jammed up so the side road traffic was worse than normal. Regardless, it was a great night to be out. In all I did 37 miles and change, since I rode from home and met D at work. Then we went home and had salad for dinner. This week is a sort of resetting of sorts. Today was oatmeal, salad, and salad. Plus ice cream for dessert. Live to live.
I actually got 3 new resources today - 2 contractors plus 1 guy who is internal from the org that bought us out. I think the next 2 weeks will be painful but I am optimistic that at the end of next week I will have these guys working like a creaky, non-oiled machine that's low on gas. But it's a running machine, regardless. That's my crawl-before-walk plan. While I am cautiously optimistic I am also slightly more pessimistic about "things" after today. I found out that 1 guy has been tasked with doing something we are presenting to management on our roadmap (literally as of this morning) and another guy is running defects & enhancements out of an Excel spreadsheet. Kind of surprised to see that process, or rather, total & complete lack of process.
Sean coming over to podcast tomorrow. We've also got coffee to drink. It's been a little hectic these past few weeks but we'll get a guest on again soon.
Looks like rain tomorrow. I may be indoors again, unfortunately. Whatever.
@stb222 - your favorite 3 places in Philly? FTR the Friday’s was South Jersey. The city was mobbed on Saturday.
I think we’ve decided to trek out to Harrisonburg this coming weekend. The past few years has been Raystown but we're looking for something a little different, and Harrisonburg has been on the periphery for a few years. It's juuuuuust close enough to make the jump on Friday night. Then we can get 2 full days out there and drive back Monday morning and not burn the whole day. The town itself should have plenty in terms of food and things to do, if we so choose. So it should be a good mix of riding, eating, and enjoying the weekend. If anyone has been out there before, let us know.
We did a road ride tonight, just us. It was a gorgeous evening and we had a nice ride for the most part. Route 78 was jammed up so the side road traffic was worse than normal. Regardless, it was a great night to be out. In all I did 37 miles and change, since I rode from home and met D at work. Then we went home and had salad for dinner. This week is a sort of resetting of sorts. Today was oatmeal, salad, and salad. Plus ice cream for dessert. Live to live.
I actually got 3 new resources today - 2 contractors plus 1 guy who is internal from the org that bought us out. I think the next 2 weeks will be painful but I am optimistic that at the end of next week I will have these guys working like a creaky, non-oiled machine that's low on gas. But it's a running machine, regardless. That's my crawl-before-walk plan. While I am cautiously optimistic I am also slightly more pessimistic about "things" after today. I found out that 1 guy has been tasked with doing something we are presenting to management on our roadmap (literally as of this morning) and another guy is running defects & enhancements out of an Excel spreadsheet. Kind of surprised to see that process, or rather, total & complete lack of process.
Sean coming over to podcast tomorrow. We've also got coffee to drink. It's been a little hectic these past few weeks but we'll get a guest on again soon.
Looks like rain tomorrow. I may be indoors again, unfortunately. Whatever.
@stb222 - your favorite 3 places in Philly? FTR the Friday’s was South Jersey. The city was mobbed on Saturday.
I think we’ve decided to trek out to Harrisonburg this coming weekend. The past few years has been Raystown but we're looking for something a little different, and Harrisonburg has been on the periphery for a few years. It's juuuuuust close enough to make the jump on Friday night. Then we can get 2 full days out there and drive back Monday morning and not burn the whole day. The town itself should have plenty in terms of food and things to do, if we so choose. So it should be a good mix of riding, eating, and enjoying the weekend. If anyone has been out there before, let us know.
Congrats guys!
Now you can enjoy the marriage penalty on your taxes! A gift that keeps on giving!
Now you can enjoy the marriage penalty on your taxes! A gift that keeps on giving!
I am far from a culinary expert of Philly but, with kids::
Basically any of the Steven Starr restaurants, you can't go wrong.
The Continental--the OG one on 2nd Street or Mid-Town
Pod
El Vez
Other Notables: Farmicia and Cuba Libra
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Add Standard Tap in Northern Liberties to the list. Can't go wrong with a stop in Reading Terminal Market. If coming over the bridge to South Jersey, Collingswood has a nice downtown selection of restaurants.
And congratulations!
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
If you're in Harrisonburg you're 30 minutes from Stokesville where Shenandoah starts. The Stokesville 60/40k loop was pretty awesome and I think you guys could handle navigating it on your own.
https://www.strava.com/activities/510356573
The climb to the radio tower is pretty tame and a good way to get warmed up. The Festival trail was like Raystown rollers x2. Tillman West was rock free and flowy. You can take the road all the way back to Stokesville from here and have an awesome day (25 miles), or grind some gravel and do Lookout Mountain DH (total 36 miles). I would call a standard gravel/double track climb that was pretty draining at race pace but had some cool views. I will say it was an awesome descent but it was pretty techy. Nothing death defying but no descents are that long back in NJ. Plenty of spots to take a break though. Heres a good video from what I recall:
I wouldn't want D to hate me by saying it would easy though and curse me the whole time, but I think you can handle it!
https://www.strava.com/activities/510356573
The climb to the radio tower is pretty tame and a good way to get warmed up. The Festival trail was like Raystown rollers x2. Tillman West was rock free and flowy. You can take the road all the way back to Stokesville from here and have an awesome day (25 miles), or grind some gravel and do Lookout Mountain DH (total 36 miles). I would call a standard gravel/double track climb that was pretty draining at race pace but had some cool views. I will say it was an awesome descent but it was pretty techy. Nothing death defying but no descents are that long back in NJ. Plenty of spots to take a break though. Heres a good video from what I recall:
I wouldn't want D to hate me by saying it would easy though and curse me the whole time, but I think you can handle it!
BCurry
Well-Known Member
We just spent a few days in the Harrisonburg area last week. We stayed at the Massanutten Resort and it was really good, family oriented facility. I only scratched the surface of the trail network there,(western slope), but from what I saw it’s great. Shenandoah bike coalition does group rides there weekly.
Driving there is 6 hours door to door for me, but couldn’t be easier; 76 to 81. I would have liked to get to Charlottesville, to see Monticello, which is an hour away, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Driving there is 6 hours door to door for me, but couldn’t be easier; 76 to 81. I would have liked to get to Charlottesville, to see Monticello, which is an hour away, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Attachments
I miss refunds.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
This is happening this weekend at stokesville.
https://www.bikereg.com/virginia-trail-festival
https://www.bikereg.com/virginia-trail-festival
I got on the scale today for the first time in a few weeks. In general I avoid it when I travel, because travel = fluctuations and I hate those wild ups & downs. So I prefer to wait until I've been home for a few days. And on those days when I feel pretty. This morning I felt pretty so I got on the scale. And it was negative-5 from earlier in the month. That puts me one big steps closer to seeing that number 1 as the first number. And it puts me right where I want to be (actually ahead) for the fall.
Ok that's 1. Yesterday I had to take a break because I was working until 11:00. This week and next week are going to be hard, I know this. But after that it should really, for real, get better.
Today we had a Company All Hands meeting which is a monthly thing. I brewed up a large French press and settled in for the long haul. This will probably be the last one I go to. Wasn't really very useful.
Speaking of brewing pots of French press, @seanrunnette came over yesterday and we recorded #29. No guest, same as last time. But tonight I landed our biggest guest to date. TBD when I can line that up but I am hoping next week we will have someone joining us. Sean keeps throwing out these names, and I keep hoping I'll show up to his house and Matt Damon will be there. Or at least Johnny Damon. Or Tattoo from The Love Boat. HERVE!
We also came to the conclusion that Rothrock isn't going to happen. It's funny how this all goes down. Last week, 3 of us are going to Rothrock. Today, D is going to NICA, Sean's sister is coming to town, we are all doing a Stewart pre-ride the day before instead. And as of today I may be off to Chicago the night of the 10th (D will try to join). So you know, things just change rapidly around here. On that note, remember how I talked about French Creek? You take what you can get, because you never know what you can get the next time.
Random: I found a new radio station in Austin that 2 of the Uber drivers had on while I was there. It's a shade like 102.7 up north. But the morning is a little too much Morning Zoo-ish for me. And they play some mainstream stuff that I can take or leave. But they do have some decent stuff in there and I have been enjoying listening to it. I have to say this is one aspect of travel I really love. The station is 101x out of Austin. I really do enjoy the various regional info you get when you listen to the different stations.
@stb222 & @JDurk - thanks for the Philly tips. I have added them to my Travel Map. Have I ever talked here about the travel map?
Still working out Harrisonburg. Got in touch with Gordon who I'll bounce some ideas off. @pearl - will check that out as an option. His first response was that it may thunderstorm this weekend so bring gravel bikes just in case. And we'll check out the trail festival. We will also eat some good food. And I'll find legit coffee. But if nothing else, we'll get away for 3 solid days of time with some good people. Looking forward to it.
So I have been on Zwift the last 2 days because of rain, then time. I will say that I still love this tool, and I won't stop the membership at all through the summer just because it affords me so much more ability to get rides in. Having said that, the days of 3 hour indoor rides are on pause. I did a bit over 1:40 yesterday and, while I can still do this, it's harder to want to be on the bike this time of year. But like I said, still incredibly useful.
Started using Zac's iPad to watch Eureka (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_(U.S._TV_series)). After 3 episodes, I totally dig it. So yeah I'm Zwfting & TV'ing. This won't fly when I want to do hard efforts but right now the indoors are for bridging the gap between the outdoor rides. So TV works just dandy.
Today I wore the green jersey on a sprint in London. I don't know what it says that I won a 17 second sprint by almost 2 seconds. But I'll take it.
Ok that's 1. Yesterday I had to take a break because I was working until 11:00. This week and next week are going to be hard, I know this. But after that it should really, for real, get better.
Today we had a Company All Hands meeting which is a monthly thing. I brewed up a large French press and settled in for the long haul. This will probably be the last one I go to. Wasn't really very useful.
Speaking of brewing pots of French press, @seanrunnette came over yesterday and we recorded #29. No guest, same as last time. But tonight I landed our biggest guest to date. TBD when I can line that up but I am hoping next week we will have someone joining us. Sean keeps throwing out these names, and I keep hoping I'll show up to his house and Matt Damon will be there. Or at least Johnny Damon. Or Tattoo from The Love Boat. HERVE!
We also came to the conclusion that Rothrock isn't going to happen. It's funny how this all goes down. Last week, 3 of us are going to Rothrock. Today, D is going to NICA, Sean's sister is coming to town, we are all doing a Stewart pre-ride the day before instead. And as of today I may be off to Chicago the night of the 10th (D will try to join). So you know, things just change rapidly around here. On that note, remember how I talked about French Creek? You take what you can get, because you never know what you can get the next time.
Random: I found a new radio station in Austin that 2 of the Uber drivers had on while I was there. It's a shade like 102.7 up north. But the morning is a little too much Morning Zoo-ish for me. And they play some mainstream stuff that I can take or leave. But they do have some decent stuff in there and I have been enjoying listening to it. I have to say this is one aspect of travel I really love. The station is 101x out of Austin. I really do enjoy the various regional info you get when you listen to the different stations.
@stb222 & @JDurk - thanks for the Philly tips. I have added them to my Travel Map. Have I ever talked here about the travel map?
Still working out Harrisonburg. Got in touch with Gordon who I'll bounce some ideas off. @pearl - will check that out as an option. His first response was that it may thunderstorm this weekend so bring gravel bikes just in case. And we'll check out the trail festival. We will also eat some good food. And I'll find legit coffee. But if nothing else, we'll get away for 3 solid days of time with some good people. Looking forward to it.
So I have been on Zwift the last 2 days because of rain, then time. I will say that I still love this tool, and I won't stop the membership at all through the summer just because it affords me so much more ability to get rides in. Having said that, the days of 3 hour indoor rides are on pause. I did a bit over 1:40 yesterday and, while I can still do this, it's harder to want to be on the bike this time of year. But like I said, still incredibly useful.
Started using Zac's iPad to watch Eureka (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_(U.S._TV_series)). After 3 episodes, I totally dig it. So yeah I'm Zwfting & TV'ing. This won't fly when I want to do hard efforts but right now the indoors are for bridging the gap between the outdoor rides. So TV works just dandy.
Today I wore the green jersey on a sprint in London. I don't know what it says that I won a 17 second sprint by almost 2 seconds. But I'll take it.
I have been starting my day with chocolate oatmeal lately. It's not actually as bad as you think. My usual oatmeal is oats, banana, and PB. After reading a NYTimes article in the Food section about it, I have started adding cocoa powder and less than half of the PB. So it gives it a richer flavor, and cuts the calories by probably 25%. It's something different and I like the change of pace. It does pack a little less staying power with less PB. But it's a pretty solid start to my day and I can pretend I am eating (blender) chocolate cake for breakfast. The article said it needs some sweetener to bring out the chocolate. While I agree it could be more cake-like, I don't add any sugar other than what the banana gives it.
We've gone with the Trust Gordon route on our trip this weekend. We're going to ride with him Saturday and see what the rest of the day brings. We may be battling T-storms all weekend, but life is a card game. You're dealt the hand and you play it. I am sure that it'll be a good time one way or another. I asked about the festival and he was positive but guarded, and said that maybe the best stuff would be had by following a local around. Being a local, he's a good guide on that front.
Taking a half day tomorrow to run to the shop and get some stuff done around the house. I also need to work something up for dinner as we'll all be eating here before we set sail. I took the MTB out with the kids today and it's making creaky noises again. I told my boss I was taking a half day and he told me to take the whole day. I can't take a full day but I will just hold serve on the day, which probably means I'll only have to be on 4 calls. I'll take it. Hopefully it's nice out.
Also made the random decision to try and get tickets to the National Museum of African American History & Culture in DC. The tickets are hard to come by and they release them at 9am on the first Wednesday of every month. I set a reminder for that day and will try to pick up 4-6 tickets then. I'm going to randomly pick a date and hope it works out. Sean and Mrs. Sean are on board with random hope. If there are 2 other people who want to go, shout out and maybe I'll try to grab the extra 2.
Road bike today. It was truly splendid out. Didn't have much of an aim other than to ride between the ending of one call at 12 and the start of another at 1:30. On the 1:30 call I got dressed and ready for the 2:00 call, then bolted immediately at 2:30 to get the kids. A lot of busy days right now. Just got done working up a SOW for the other part of the Seattle org we are working with. We had a scoping call on Friday and the Director there specifically asked to have me involved on that project. Their budget does not start until October, so that workshop will be a little bit later.
Also found out today that I am probably going back to St. Louis in June. Trying to get D to go to one of these trips that lands me in the CST so often. I have been to that timezone 6 times in the last year. Soon that'll be 8.
Took the 2 older ones to Duke Farms today for a casual bike ride after school. I swapped out working this afternoon for the evening and it was a good decision. The day was really nice so it was a second chance to spend time outside. The kids liked it and it got them out of the house too. I had never really been around the park so it was nice to check out what was there. I recommend it and I imagine we'll be back. Julia specifically asked to go, so I'm hopeful she asks again.
Decent day in all. I am looking forward to the 3+ days off.
Steph and I went to Duke Farms last year for the first time...never really knew about it until this forum a few years ago. Place is really cool, we wound up hanging for good part of a day and did a walking butterfly tour through some fields that started near the "ruins" the pic of the kids riding into above...
Will be back again, with bikes next time to cover more ground.
Will be back again, with bikes next time to cover more ground.
Good stuff - I have a pic of my kid in there with a "bust"
the foundation of the second home with the below grade entrance is fantastic - the learning center does a nice job.
i've done some exploring of their fields, farm roads, and old train lines on the fat bike. property is amazing, with surprises
hidden in the overgrowth.