down the 'shore

So Amy and I made our annual trip down the 'shore (for non-Philadelphia people that means we went to the beach in New Jersey) today. We left at 9 this morning and drove down to Cape May, the southern most town in Jersey. Not a bad ride and the weather was perfect, 90 sunny and not to humid. Of course I forgot my camera so no pics, but the trip was a good one, take my word for it. I ate some seafood advertised as "fresh" but I am pretty sure it was frozen until right before it went in the fryer, but with a healthy serving of tartar sauce it was delicious.

However as is the case every year when we do this we realized that we are not 'shore people. While a trip or two is great fun (we still welcome invites to shore houses...) the thought of going down there every weekend in the summer is just a little much. Happy to be back in Philly tonight and enjoying the mostly empty city.

Welcome Back Football Saturdays

A #2 in the AP ranking out of the gate and an easy win today over Youngstown State ( I know a 16-0 lead early in the 2nd is not the end of the game - but come on only Michigan loses to a Div 1-A in the season opener). Now to plan my smoked meat schedule for the rest of the fall, delicious smoked meats and football, throw in a little beer and all is right with the world.


Also just to keep up with the trend and mention the bike in every post REI was great about adjusting all of the derailleur and brake cables to get the bike back to full functionality, and even scheduled a full tune up 2 weeks from now all gratis.

Road Side Repairs

On the way into work today my front derailleur jammed, and as luck would have it stuck on the big ring. For you non-bikers that makes it very had to pedal up hills. And I was still 4.5 miles from the office. So it was time to break out the alien tool and see what I could do to fix it, turns out the cable had just slipped and after a few trys I was able to get it to work, well mostly. I can shift between two of the front rings without chain rub. Looks like tomorrow I will be collecting the 100 mile tune up that REI gives you for free with a new bike purchase. I am sure that is easier than me playing with that cable for an hour to get it adjusted correctly so I can shift to all three rings and not have chain rub.

Biking certainly makes for more interesting commute than by car.

New toys for the bike

For those that do not know I have not been riding to work recently for two reasons, one being I have been traveling quite a bit for work and I had a bit of an accident two weeks ago on the way home. Turns out that taking a turn from pavement to gravel at 20-25mph on city slick tires is a bad idea, so while I did not have any serious injury I did have a pretty bad case of road rash on my arm, shoulder and leg. But that is all better now, so back on the bike.

So I rode into the office again today and had a couple new toys for the bike. Performance Bike was having a summer clearance sale on gear, so I was able to pick-up a pair of panniers so I can carry my clothes with me vs. having to bring them the day before (and forget my pants) as well I got a wireless computer so I can really see what my speed and distance is. Big surprise is that my trip is 15.5 miles each way not 13. So in a round trip day I am doing 31 miles, not to shabby.

Riding Back to Back Days

So I did not spill anything on my pants yesterday so I took on riding in again today. I do have to admit I was a little slower this morning. And I choose to believe it was not that my legs were tired but that I was taking in the scenery. Check out some of the pictures I took with the blackberry on the the way home last night and the way in this morning.

This is from the trail along the Wissahickon creek, in the afternoon the trail is much more crowded with other folks getting in a little exercise.
This is the Vally Green Inn, a nice nearly mid point stop on the ride. Due to the heat today I will be stopping at the water fountain there to fill up my water bottle.

And this one is from the way in this morning. I get to ride past the only covered bridge in Philadelphia county. Very scenic, how's it compare to your daily commute?

Getting Faster on the Bike

So ride number three this morning was faster than previous rides by about 8 minutes or so. And while that does not seem like a lot it is a 10% improvement over my initial trip which took an hour 20. And this time I remembered to bring my pants into the office the day before so I was all set once I arrived.

I will have to take some pictures with the blackberry on a trip to give a sense of the natural setting I ride through. Maybe on the way home tonight? Also as long as I do not spill anything on these pants today (a higher probability than you might think) I may try back to back days, by riding in tomorrow. I can pack a golf shirt that will not get to wrinkled.

Wind Turbine on the move

On a recent trip back from a meeting in Skillman, NJ the J&J office I used to work at, I was on the PA turnpike and saw an pretty unique over sized load. Now I have seen wind turbines in the desert in CA and there are even a couple you can see from the PA turnpike and yes they look big but seeing just one of the blades on it's side going down the highway was pretty impressive.

24 hour coast to coast

So I have a business meeting tomorrow outside Seattle at 9am. I will be on a flight tonight at 6pm, arrive at 9pm local Pacific time, grab a beer with Casey and Kate (they are good sports), crash and then go to the meeting. It is then off to the airport for a 1:30pm back to the East Coast, to arrive by 10p at home. Got to love those quick turn around meetings. I wish I had been able to work a longer stay, with all the sailing and BBQ'ing that Kate and Casey are up to that would have been a good time, oh-well.

Weekend Projects

After spending almost the entire weekend inside avoiding the heat and both of us doing work, Amy and I decided to get out of the house today. So a trip to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch and then on to Ikea was planned with our friend Sandra. After a delicious lunch that consisted of a pulled pork sandwich for Sanda and I and Amy's BBQ chicken we were off to Ikea.

We went into the store looking for a new cabinet for next to the wine fridge in the living room, and to check out new blinds for the bedroom. And despite our worst fears we did not end up with any extra stuff. Below is the results of our efforts. And all for just under $200 and an afternoon with a screwdriver. Got to love those Swedes.

Ride #2

So I did a second ride to work today, (Lew - I am working up to my bear hug from Al). And it was much better this time I would have to say that is probably due in large part to the great NEW bike Amy bought me for my early birthday present! Check it out below. It is a Novara Ponderosa, and I even got her to spring for a pair of slick tires. Much better than the old beater that cost me $100 fours years ago at a flea market.

Also on a really funny note, what do you think is the worst thing you can forget to pack when you bike to work, that would be pants. Yes that is right I forgot to pack work pants in the bag I brought so I am working all day in my Penn gym shorts. Sitting at my desk most of the day has not been to bad, now if I could only get up the courage to go to the cafeteria for some lunch, I am starving.

$50 Tank for my Mazda 3!

That's right folks I had my first fill up today that was +$50 for my Mazda 3, now that was quite a shock. And now that my memory of the bike ride last week has faded a bit I think a trip to REI for saddle bags for the bike maybe in order. This way I can do the ride with less pre-planning of bringing a change of clothes to work the day before.

And at this rate I am very excited we live in the city where we have the option of walking to most places. How does it feel suburbanites? Feeling a little trapped in your houses?

Green Commuting - I'm a fan!

I got it in my head that there were two changes I wanted to make in my life:

1) I wanted to get back to better shape, after my surgery I really took it as a huge excuse to not work out at all.
2) Commute more efficiently to save gas and $s, and in the short term I thought that meant working from home, which is a great option I am taking advantage of at least once every two weeks, technology is great.

However I realized this week there is a way I can accomplish both in one action, bike to work. So since this morning was going to be the last low humidity morning in Philly in the next 10 days, and maybe until September, and it is the last day before a holiday weekend, I thought there is no better time than the present. So I fixed the flat tire on the mountain bike last night, packed a back pack and struck out at 6:45 this morning.

My route was 15.8 miles (thank you Google Maps) I took the trail along the Kelly drive trail along the Schuylkill to Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon Creek, up Bells Mills Lane through Flourtown and into the office, all in only 75 minutes. After a quick shower in the gym here I was at my desk earlier than I have been in months. And having my bike parked next to my desk has a certain cool factor to it. So in short if you have a bike and a desire to be more active try bike commuting, I am a fan. Although I do still have to make it home this afternoon...maybe I will take time to enjoy the scenery (code for I will be going slow b/c my legs are on fire...)

Check out my approximate route here. (Google can not map the trail along the Wissahickon as cars are not permitted)

Is there something in the water?

Good work Casey. It seems that engagements are a bit contagious in the last couple of weeks, but congratulations are in order for Kate and Casey. Casey has finally pulled he trigger out in Seattle this weekend and did a great job of it from the looks of the tremendous pictures that Kate took. Best of luck to both of them as they begin planning, and it seems I will get to repay Casey the favor of planning my bachelor party by planning his. Now that should be fun.

Congrats Jenn & Chad

So like Kristin I am very excited about Jenn and Chad's recent announcement. And thank you to Jenn for the 7am call while eating my breakfast. I am very happy to have more family join the wedding planning craziness. I say you should tell everyone to back off and you and Chad should enjoy a couple of weeks of your engagement before even starting to think about planning.

Congrats Again!

Waterfront Homes

So Amy and I have decided that someday we should get a house on the water somewhere. And to inspire us there was a great show on HGTV today, very cleaverly called Amazing Waterfront Homes, and the Big Sur home below, has the added benefit of being very eco.

On another TV note, tonight is the first episode of the new season of ice road truckers. And they have switched the routes from diamond mines to natural gas feilds. Not nearly as exciting, expect that it is all ice, no land at all. I am excited to have some decent summer tv to watch.

Good Work Barack!

So last night seems to be the final chapter in the primary. Hopefully Hillary will have the grace to exit well and we can build the overwhelming momentum for real change in the country.

Huricane Free

Just wanted to let everyone know that Amy and I are doing fine, enjoying the warm, if not overcast weather in Mexico. We did get a good amount of rain yesterday but tropical depression Arthur did not materialize into much of anything, so that is the good news.

In other highlights from today I was able to wow Amy with my amazing sailing skills as I captained a mighty sunfish around the water of the Gulf. And despite threats of making a run for Cuba the only one to suffer was me with a little sunburn on my arms.

Looks like we should have no issues getting out tomorrow. Have fun a work!

Mexico!

So Amy and I are off to Cancun, Mexico tomorrow for our friends Noam and Meryl's wedding. We are staying at the Moon Palace resort so it is not quite "spring break Cancun. Check out the picture I found another vacationer had taken. Be jealous, very jealous...

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope that everyone had a great weekend, the weather here in Philly was excellent. And Amy and I got out and enjoyed it with lots of friends. One of the things we did that was really nice was a great dinner at the Waterworks Restaurant near the Art Museum. The weather was so perfect that we ate outside and watched the sun go down over the Schuylkill. That along with a BBQ today and Morimotos on Saturday, Amy and I had a great weekend in the city this weekend.

Below is a picture of the view after sunset from dinner on Sunday.

New Indiana Jones Flick

So we went out to the new Indiana Jones movie. I my opinion it was a great movie, even through there was quite a few over the top scenes and stunts, with my favorite being when Dr. Jones walked away from being blasted by an atomic bomb in a refrigerator what looked like a couple of miles, which was quite a feat indeed.

Anyway if you get a chance and were a fan of he first three, it is a fun and entertaining movie.