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July 31, 2005
$2255 and 2000 miles later, I'm ready!
My big ride is nearly here, and I'm definitely ready. Yes, I'm certain now. I was a little worried a few weeks ago that I hadn't been riding enough on vacation, but now I'm sure. I rode two 60 mile rides this weekend and a total of 325 miles in the last two weeks. And I feel pretty good. No sore calf (which plagued me for much of the summer). No stiff joints. I'm actually less tired today after the second long ride than I was last night after the first.
I've also surpassed my minimum fundraising amount at $2255. I'm still short of my goal of $2500, but there's still plenty of time to donate. So, please do if you haven't yet! Thanks a bunch to everyone who has! I also realized that I may come close to riding as many miles this year as dollars raised for the PMC -- I've ridden 1985 miles since January, and I've got 151 miles in the big ride next weekend, for a total of 2136 miles!
Wish me luck! I'm so ready to relax after this is done. 
Posted by Geoff at 10:17 PM | Comments (2)
July 15, 2005
Dude, where's my car? (And my bike?)
After a wonderful two weeks on vacation I returned my rental car and took the red-eye from Oakland to Boston on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning. I arrived at 7am, planning to just down a few cups of coffee and go to work. Alas, it was not to be. I arrived at the street where I had left my car, and it was no longer there. Uh-oh. I checked other streets where I regularly park just in case I was mis-remembering. Nada.
OK, maybe it was towed for some reason, i.e., construction or a moving truck permit. So, I went home and made about 7 different calls (Boston parking clerk, Boston tow line, police tow line, State Police, etc.), and no one knew anything. Hmm, that's not good. I finally ended up trekking over to the police station (on foot) to report it stolen. Nice welcome back home.
By now, I was near delirium from lack of sleep and jet lag, so I decided not to try to get to work. (It's a 30-minute drive anyway, and no public transit.) I had started to wonder where my bicycle was, because it wasn't in my apartment or at work (someone in the office confirmed that). But I was too tired to think to hard about it.
So, I collapsed in bed for about an hour or so, before being awakened by a phone call from the Boston Police, informing me that my car had been found in Mattapan (seems all the stolen cars end up there eventually, hmmm...). Wow, that was fast. I went to look at it, and it appeared to be in pretty good shape, other than the ignition having been ripped out and its contents strewn all over. (Plus some new McDonald's wrappings, etc.)
I popped the trunk, and no bike. By this time I was pretty sure I had left it in trunk, so I was beginning to feel the sting of having to buy a new ride three weeks before my big ride in the PMC. Sad. But alas, all was not lost. This afternoon as I was getting ready to leave work it hit me: I left my bike at the shop for repairs before my vacation! Doh, I'm an idiot. I had almost reported it stolen to the police, too(!) And I had been telling friends, family, and everyone at work that it was gone. How embarrassing! Oh, well. At least that had a happy ending. They did steal my bike tire pump, though. Bastards.
So, I have to wait for the insurance appraisal and repairs, but I'll get my car back. $500 deductible plus a 7-day rental car for $211, but it could have been worse. More later...
Posted by Geoff at 6:00 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2005
bring the noise
Sunday night until pretty late, the Z man and I whipped out the electric guitars and jammed long and loud. We rocked to such 80s jems as "Living after Midnight" and "Welcome to the Jungle". We even wrote a new rock ballad. It was awesome. Z and I rock. :)
Victims included the Z's neighbors and Kristy, who we called and woke up on a work night to serenade with Judas Priest. Shockingly, she was happy to hear from us. The woman's a saint, Z! And a metal chick at heart. Heheh.
It was great to hang out and jam again, Z. We must rock again soon!
Posted by Geoff at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
July 8, 2005
living after midnight
Friday night, my buddy, Eric Z (or just "Z") and I got together for dinner at a great Thai restaurant in his neighborhood, followed by beers and some live music at Slim's in SOMA (South Of MArket). It was a pretty good show, and a great venue with a good beer selection.
Next, we headed for Annie's Cocktail Lounge, which is a block from Z's place, where we met Annie (yes, there is an Annie, and she is very cool) and had a few more beers and closed the place down.
By the time we got back to Z's place, I was in no shape to drive back to Belmont, so Z offered his air bed and the living room floor. We jammed a little bit on the acoustic guitar before hitting the sack. Fun night. Thanks, Z!
Posted by Geoff at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
A better, fresher burger... and they did it first
After a day running a few errands with Grant and doing a bit of shopping at Fry's Electronics (the largest electronics store I've ever been in, btw), I had my first In-N-Out burger. In-N-Out, for those of you not in the know, is a California institution since 1948. In Grant's words, "it's probably the McDonald's used to be." They still have the same simple menu they've always had: Burger, Cheeseburger, and Double-Double, plus fries, shakes and soda. That's it. No chicken nuggets, no salads. If you don't like burgers, don't come here. The best part everything is always made fresh. Grant couldn't believe I'd never been to In-N-Out. I always thought it would be like McDonald's or Burger King -- your standard fast food joint -- cheap, but greasy and not particularly good. Boy was I wrong. In-N-Out is noticeably fresher and it doesn't give you that "greasy lump" feeling for the next hour like I feel when I eat at McDonald's. I'm sold. Thanks to Grant for showing me the light.
Posted by Geoff at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
July 7, 2005
First blood
This morning we got up again and tried to get in a ride before noon. Unfortunately, I had been having trouble with the shifters on my rental the day before. I discovered it was worse than I thought: the chain was threaded incorrectly and the derailleurs needed major adjustments. Not being experts at this sort of thing, Grant and I took about an hour to get it running smoothly -- pretty annoying, but hey, I only paid $25 for the rental. (The going rate in the bay area is about $45 or more).
We got in another beautiful ride through the Belmont hills, but not without incident. I drew my first blood on a spill down a steep decline. Fortunately, I landed in some soft grass, but I think I hit my knee on the handlebar or headset when I flipped over. It was a nasty scrape, but it didn't hurt too much. I think I also had a mild allergic reaction to whatever scratched my left forearm (only minor scratches, but turned bright red).
I finished the ride, but it wasn't as fun going down this time. We went a different route this time and it was hard work twisting back and forth down the steep part of the descent. Still enjoyable, but yesterday we rode much faster through the dense foliage on either side and overhead, because it was less steep and much less difficult.
Posted by Geoff at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)
Eat dirt (and stones and brush)
After a great week in Minneapolis visiting family and friends, I arrived in San Francisco Tuesday at 11:45pm to begin the second leg of my vacation. My friends, Grant and Mel, graciously offered a place to stay in their apartment in Belmont, CA, about 20 min from the airport. I started my first morning here by sleeping late, then practiced a little yoga. Grant showed one of his latest toys, the Line-6 Guitar Port, a cool guitar amp modeler with an Internet interface.
This afternoon, after a false start (he needed a new tire tube), Grant showed me one of the cooler things about his neighborhood -- the great mountain biking trails practically in his backyard. For the first time, I tried real off-road riding on a rented bike, and I had a blast! A few falls, skids and many minor scratches later, we finished my first 6 mile loop in about an hour and a half. I think we'll do it again tomorrow. Perhaps with a camera this time -- the views are breath-taking.
More later. It's getting pretty late tonight.
Posted by Geoff at 12:52 AM | Comments (1)
July 2, 2005
Currently In Minneapolis...
I haven't given an update in a while. I'm currently on vacation in Minneapolis through the Fourth of July weekend. Then I'll be flying to San Francisco for a week to visit my friends Grant, Melissa, and Eric.
I've had a great time so far. My flight in was an hour late due to weather, but so was my connecting flight, so I made it. Fortunately, Avis was still open so I could pick up my rental car. They had a special deal on a Sebring convertible when I got there -- totally worth the extra money!
I also rented a bicycle for two days and went on three rides this week -- a total of 65 miles. The hot weather broke this week, and it's been beautiful -- in the lower to mid 70s! It's the first road bike I've ridden since I was a kid. Boy, they've come a long way. It was so fun, it clinched my decision to buy one for myself this year!
I went strawberry picking with my mom and my sister, Cristina, on Thursday. On Friday, I spent the day with my dad. We cooked together and went for a drive in the convertible. We also went to Cristina's house for dinner. She cooked Kung Pao chicken and egg rolls for us -- delicious! She also baked a strawberry rhubarb pie with the freshly picked strawberries from Thursday. Yum!
More to come on Fourth of July barbecues. I'll put photos up soon as well...
Posted by Geoff at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)