"World, meet Mylife"

Portland Century

2006-09-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Portland Century, August 27th:

I now know what "bonking" feels like. Happened around mile 50, after the Bull Run climb... which was super hard mentally, because just when it looks like you'll get a little break from climbing since you can't see the road anymore (as when it peaks), it would actually just turn out to be a switchback, and the climb continues... for miles...

I had a gel and that gave me a 10 minute burst. I did eventually finish, with the major help of Kris letting me draft behind him. We also finished in a touch over 6 hours (it woulda been 6, if the last 10 miles didn't take us through EVERY stop sign in NE Portland), so I guess we actually did pretty well.

Sad Story...

2006-08-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

I have now lived 10,550.9 days. The sad story is that I can't remember all those days! If you add up all my memories, I estimate that it'll make up 108 days. That's only 1.02% !!!

On the brighter side, it took 10,550.9 days to make a human like me. That's awfully quick for such a wonderful specimen!

Summit to Surf - my FIRST century!

2006-07-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I've decided to post some pictures and info about a huge event - my first century! 100 miles of grueling butt pains on my bike... but all for diabetes -> the Summit to Surf: over Mt. Hood into Timberline through the Mosier tunnels and into Hood River for some festivities.

Key notes:
1. I raised $340 for diabetes research (way to go Tony, Dad, Eileen and Evan, Eliza, and Angela and Bob! You guys are super!)

2. I made it to 6000'! You can see how close we were to the peak in the picture. But it was cold up there. Check out what I was wearing. I had to stop halfway down the Timberline descent and do some jumping jacks to warm up. I was afraid I was going to go into some hypothermic convulsions from going 40mph. I was also afraid my jaw would be sore the next day - I don't think it has ever shivered that hard. Plus, I bet I was scaring the riders going up the hill hearing me "grunting" as I cruised past them.

3. The descent from Bennet Pass [see diagram] was one of the most thrilling and scary, especially since it was the fastest and longest I've ever been in a pace line (five of us, 38mph, in line, less than a foot away from each other's wheel, cutting the wind). These guys were fast, but it's much easier to put in the effort to stay with the group than it is cutting the wind yourself.

4. Mosier tunnels were cool! Especially with the wind - it was a fight. For example, some of these descents you normally would go near 30mph, but because of the wind, I was struggling to keep it above 10mph. Plus, winding climbs and descents (picking out a line and cutting the apex - sooo much fun!) were gorgeous.

5. Met this dude at a rest stop, Chris, who was wearing the same jersey and shorts... "I didn't know we were on the same team!"

6. 6 hours and 58 minutes. 101.5 miles. 7 Clif Bars. Couldn't believe I could still walk.

Eddie's Summer Guide to Avoiding a Farmer's Tan

2006-05-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

Dear all,
As we all know, as the temperature rises and the sun keeps us warm, urges force us out into those rays where we enjoy activities such as hiking, biking, running, soccer, frisbee, tennis, and polo. Unfortunately for most of these activities, covering ourselves is considered common etiquette, resulting in embarrassing tan lines for people to gawk at when we're at the beach, walking around the house naked, in bed (if you're lucky), or on the way to the shower.

To help you rid of these embarrassing moments, I've written a list of practical activities you can do to prevent the "farmer's tan":

1. BECOME A REGULAR STREAKER.
This means taking off all your clothes (maybe except for appropriate shoes in rougher terrain) and running around downtown for at least 30 minutes so that your "bright sides" get enough sun.

Pros: Get great exercise. You also get to wear a mask if you don't want the locals to recognize you. If you do it consistently, you might even get famous by making the local news!

Cons: Requires long hours of training to build the endurance and speed necessary to avoid those "cops on bikes".

2. ALTERNATE YOUR OUTFITS FROM GOING WITH A T-SHIRT, TO A SLEEVELESS T-SHIRT, TO SLEEVES ONLY.

Pros: You get to wear a variety of outfits.

Cons: Women may have a hard time wearing only sleeves depending on local state laws. Men might get stoned (as in being belted with many stones by other people, not the drug kind) for wearing only sleeves because they lack proper fashion sense. Also, if not planned wisely, can result in an uneven tan, giving you the multi-colored couldn't decide on the right brown crayon look.

3. DO A LOT OF YARDWORK WHILE SHIRTLESS.

Pros: Get great exercise, get to be creative, and get to work with "the earth".

Cons: You may have to invest in a tall fence.

4. DO A LOT OF YARDWORK NAKED.

Pros: [same as above]
Cons: [same as above]

5. SPEND LOTS OF TIME AT A NUDE BEACH.

Pros: It's a nude beach, and it's (supposedly) legal.

Cons: It's a nude beach.

Peer pressure

2006-04-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

Due to outside forces and a whole lot of convincing, I have been pressured to update my blog... even though I think only a max of 4 people will ever see it...

I guess this time I would like to start with a little bit of philosophy: "The exceptions prove the rule."
This one made me think a little. And when I mean a little, I mean about 4 minutes... or more like 4 one-minute sessions spread throughout two days. This one takes two assumptions to be valid, and one is that nothing in the universe can be generalized. True, for the most part I think, since there are exceptions to almost everything... maybe even to this statement, meaning there are exceptional rules that have no exceptions. But then that can't true in the case of the original rule. What an impasse!

For this piece of philosophy, it's best illustrated with an example. Let's start with the statement: "Tom will always be fifteen minutes late to any meeting." Then, someone will have to reply: "What about that one time when he was on time?" Analyzing this exchange, the reply is counterproductive in disputing the original claim (with the previous understanding that nothing in the universe can be generalized) because by providing an exception, it is also validating that "almost always Tom is fifteen minutes late." So if above philosophy is believed, than the reply has just given proof to the rule!

Well, to finish up, I would like to end with one of my favorite quotes by Ghandi: "An eye for an eye makes the world blind."
So true. If the focus is on punishment, we become focused on the ends instead of the causes. People are not only products of the choices they make, but also of the society they were brought up in. This means that we, as a society, unavoidably affect all others in our everyday decisions. Instead, I believe that the focus should be on healing and prevention, which is the more responsible method. Today, inequality is the rule and not the exception. "An eye for an eye" is an escape from responsibility and understanding, both of which are in extreme shortage in today's world.

Spring Break...

2006-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

...means tons of drunken parties, pools full of male/female models and beer, TV cameras, road trips, half naked people running around on the beach in the sun, loud music, BBQ smokin' in the back yard with a raging dance party in the living room... but nooooo...

I'm at my parents' place for the week... in Chicago :) ... actually, in the 'burbs :(. Even worse, unless you have a car, there's no way to get around here, so when the moms and pops are off at work...
Biking in this town is suicide. The drivers here have never seen "bicycles", and so if you're out on the road in a "bicycle", the drivers start staring at you in wonder and demonstrate the psychological effect that you tend to go towards what you're looking at, then... BAM! Almost happened to me a few years back, not once, nor twice, but eight times... on ONE commute! Also, the speed limit in this area is 45mph, and that's just for the local neighborhood streets!
To make things worse, the parents have gotten rid of all the bicycles that were left in the garage (including my favorite brown 1970s Schwinn 3-speed!) except one - my sisters little Huffy from when she was 8. Imagine this: a 28 year-old male pedaling frantically on a pink/mint green/white girly Huffy bike that's decades too small, all the while trying to keep up on 45mph roads so that it won't hurt as much when (not if) he does get hit because EVERYONE is definitely staring...

Another thing I've noticed recently - because of the high speed limits here, my parents have developed a pretty heavy gas pedal foot. This was apparent to me after they stuffed me explosively full at a restaurant (read: made me scarf down all their leftovers cuz they still think I'm a bottomless vortex of a stomach), and as we were leaving the parking lot in the car, my dad put the pedal to the metal, 0-60 in maybe 7 sec. to get up to speed on the 45mph street, which consequently applied several G-forces on the food I was struggling to keep inside... My dad was funny: after he did that, he simply stated, "oooo, power."

Other events over spring break of course include a nice week spent with that special someone. In fact, we even went running together in Forest Park! Now to put things into context: I'm a runner; she hasn't been much into running in the past. And the fact that she even went (she has even gone biking with me!)... if you're feeling a little tinge of jealousy in the pit of your stomach, don't worry. I found someone really special.

Wait! Errr, never mind...

2006-03-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

What momenteous day! This morning I had an epiphany. But, I was so busy today that by this afternoon I had forgotten what it was.

On to more important things...

After a grueling 11 hours at work, my brain needed rest. What better than to do the short-attention-span-channel-flipping-on-the-TV activity! During my quest for visual and aural pleasure, I hit American Idol. Not really my idea of aural pleasure. I hit the button one more time, and it was Dani on America's Next Top Model (I'm glad all these shows start with what country they're from... who knows how disappointed I would be if I unbeknownstly watched 30 minutes of a Turkish show), and she was wailing off tons of racist comments, about affirmative action, "those black people", minorities and their made-up problems, how she hates gays and Muslims and all things liberal... one of the other girls (who happened to be a minority) started arguing with her... so exciting... until finally Dani ended with the statement: "you don't know me! I know me, and I know I am not racist, so you can't call me racist!" or something like that. Wow, somebody has critical thinking skills. She was from Texas...

After the fight, the show cut to another scene, and henceforth I lost interest. Back to American Idol... for five minutes. Power button. What a disappointment. I raided the fridge and had some ice cream. Ben&Jerry's Half Baked. One of my favorites. This led to a progressive happiness state.

I looked up 'epiphany' in the dictionary, because for some reason it didn't look right. The ONLY definition provided was: "January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi to Jesus at Bethlehem." Even at 10:42PM, I learned something new! What a great day! I had no idea this is what it meant. Did I pick up the right dictionary?

Day 10,408

2006-03-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it's approximately around the 10,408th day of my life... Sometimes, to get a sense of how big that number REALLY is, I'll count up to it. The only problem is that another day usually passes while I'm counting, upping the total, meaning I have to start all over...