Current Events
Pacific Bike Ride || September 30-October 8, 2012 || San Francisco to San Diego, CA || To celebrate Chip's completed deployment, Jim, Chip and I set off down the coast of California for a 610-mile ride. From the seat of a bike, one can really appreciate the dramatic hills between Monterrey and San Simeon (where we had our top speeds) and the rolling coastal flats around Santa Barbara. We headed inland a few times (the biggest trip was the detour around Vandenburg) over some good climbs in pretty severe heat (the whole state was subject to a heat wave the week of our ride). Even the sections around LA & San Diego were good riding, though I wouldn't want to ride Highway 1 into Santa Monica and through Long Beach again any time soon. Trip website || Pictures || Course Map || Course Directions (in case anyone wants to do the ride--I'd recommend it!)
Hood to Coast || August 24-26, 2012 || Mt. Hood to Seaside, OR || Having missed the Ragnar race while in Australia, I was glad to be back in action with the Google1 team. I can't say the results were very spectacular (I was coming off of a back injury) but I enjoyed re-tracing the Habitat Bike Ride route on leg 2 (and the 4:45 pace that dropping 2,000 vertical feet in 6 miles allowed me to hold). The team finished 6th overall and posted the fastest time (by 17 minutes) we've ever run for H2C, which is saying something considering that this year's race was 2 miles longer than past years. Results || My pictures || Leg 1 || Leg 2 || Leg 3 || Team blog
JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge Finals || May 22-28 || Chicago, IL || The Corporate Challenge World Finals returned to the United States (see our South African trip from 2010 here) after globe-trotting for two years. Better yet, it gave me a reason to return to the US for a week and visit Maggie in Chicago for Memorial Day. While my internal clock was askew during my stay, it didn't affect my running--16:15 for 5K to finish in 18:21. Other highlights from the week include a day of fun and sun with beach volleyball and sailing on Lake Michigan. Results || Maggie's Pictures || My Pictures
Working abroad in Australia || April - June, 2012 || Sydney, NSW ||
This was a truly amazing experience. I was working with the YouTube ad operations team in Sydney building for them a database and applications on top of it. But between the work, there was ample time for exploring & traveling with the fellow Americans down under. If any region can give California a run for it's money as the complete package, it's NSW. We visited the beaches (Manly and Bondi), the parks (Centennial & Royal National), the Sydney Opera, the hotels (read: bars--the Baxter Inn won in my book, with the Admiral Lord Nelson and Redoak placing and showing) and some amazing running trails (the Blue Mountains Hanging Wall trail is among the top five runs I've ever done).
A huge thank-you to the Sydney Google office for your warm hospitality. Let me know when any of you will be in San Francisco and I'd love to return the favor. There were a few locales where we just couldn't take enough pictures:
Hunter Valley: (May 4) Australia's Napa Valley (my pictures)
Melbourne weekend: (May 11-14) A memorable birthday. My pictures are from the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, an amazing stadium complex (and host site for our only Aussie-rules football experience, pitting the 2012-AFL-champion Sydney Swans vs. the Richmond Tigers) and the Great Ocean Road (the rock formations in my shots are called the Twelve Apostles) and if you squint, you can see Antarctica (my pictures)
Whitsundays weekend: (June 6-13) The Whitsunday islands are just south of the Great Barrier Reef. We had a few days in Airlie Beach, with some biking and fishing. Then we went aboard the Summertime with 11 other aspiring sailors for some snorkeling, hiking (that's Whitehaven Beach in these pictures) and kayaking (my pictures)
New Zealand Grand Tour: (June 29-July 8) The last hurrah down under! Maggie came to visit for a week-long trek around the north end of the south island. Highlights include awesome hiking in Kaikoura, climbing the Franz Josef Glacier and hiking the Queen Charlotte Track. Our itinerary is here and Maggie's pictures are here.
Olympic Trials || January 13-16, 2012 || Houston, TX || The road to London 2012 went through Houston, TX. A few of the Google1 crew made it to town to cheer on Crosby Freeman and Brooke Wells. Amazing races by every competitor out there, and I like to think that the cheering section had a little something to do with that. A huge thanks to Kerry and her parents for their hospitality. My Pictures || Race Coverage || Race Summary || Race Results
Family Ski Trip || January 5-8, 2012 || Alta, UT || For the first time in years, all six of us got some skiing in. The snow was not quite what it's been in the past, so we took a day to hike up Catherine's. The climb produced some great views and let us rest up for the 8 inches of snow that fell that night. My Pictures
The view on the way up Catherine's peak looking down the valley.
Our attempt at a panoramic self-portrait using the Galaxy Nexus.