Long Time Coming

Finally - we're on NETFLIX!!!
Now we need some positive reviews like ORTA.

Kinda cool to be able to order your own movie.

Chop Hop

from this past Saturday. Taken by Linda Hall - mother (I think) to Farrah Hall ( www.farrahhall.com )

Fall Windsurfing kicks ASS.
Fun when people send you photos. More from Dave Caz and the DCCX coming soon...

DCCX

Did my first cross race this past weekend. Don't have a ton of time to write up a proper post-race report but will later in the week. It was a great time - and a stunning Fall day. I did ok, but could have done better. Think I was 17th or so out of 90 starters. I was in the lead group for the first couple laps but I blew up. Oh well, it was the first race I'd done since the SM100. Can't say enough good things about this race - the venue rocked. The people were fun (must have been the mountain biking contingency) and the free beer was tasty. I thought it was even more cool to have the Belgium Embassy as one of the sponsors. Next year this one is on the calendar for sure.

Ok, I have a minute to type. SO - where do I begin? Woke up early and had a good dose of race-day java. Drove to GFKmate Mark Wilcox's pad to carpool. He and his kick-ass girlfriend Elaine brought their dog and Dave Caz along. Caz is recovering from a knee injury and said he couldn't race. I doubt he would have raced anyway as he's only done a couple races all year despite being quite fit (this is a weak attempt at pier pressure). Caz resolved to shoot photos - which I hope to get from him soon as some of his shots were quite nice. We got the venue - the Armed Forces Retirement Compound which is basically a nice old folks home set on a golf course in the middle of DC. The grounds were amazing - beautiful trees and rolling hills. Perfect venue for a bike race. Many golfer-vets gave me the stink-eye as I rode the golf cart trials to warm up but one old dude said he was stoked to have us there (in so many words). He was talking my ear off but I had to keep warming up. Mark raced first with the Men's 4 group and he held his own for a couple laps. Then he looked a bit blown up and the big guy in the cow costume started to close in. I did my best to invigorate Mark to not let the cow catch him and he finished just ahead of said beefy rider.

Then I lined up 5 rows back in the Men's 3-4 veterans group. There were 90 starters and I figured I was staged in about 40th position. I fought to the front once we started but I could barely hang on. I was up to 8th place after 2 guys in front of me crashed out but I couldn't hold it. They came roaring back to catch me and dragged up a few other riders with them. I did my best to hang but found myself shelled and riding solo. I thought we were doing 5 laps as announced before the start so I was saving a bit in the tank for the final effort only to find lap 4 was it. I was bummed to not have surged but I doubt I would have moved up much more than a spot or two. 17th would be it for me. uuuugh. Oh well - I still had a blast.

Then began a frantic ride down to Virginia - an experience almost as painful as the race. I wanted to see GFKmate Emily finish the Marine Corp Marathon but it wasn't to be. I did catch up with friend and current 'boss' here at Nat Geo Carrie Regan as she finished just over 4:20:something. She seemed fine but had a hard time at the end with cramps. I recognized a few other finishers, waved to many and headed home to get some work done. All in all a great Fall day.

This is me sucking wind - poached from one of the blogs below.

Some dressed up in costume:

Some other people have put up some great descriptions and photos here:
http://www.gamjams.net/
The Unholy Rouleur
and of course, Joel Gwadz keeping it real_sexy.

Another funny read - Poor Dumb Bastard
More to come...

Think Fast

a photo commentary by Joel Gwadz...

Dream Big

This week I've been working at National Geographic's downtown headquarters. It's kind of a trial thing but I'm realizing I would love to work there full time. The people are nice, eclectic and there's something about being in those hallowed halls of professionalism in journalism that gets me fired up just to be there. It's a long-time dream of mine so I'm doing my best to kick ass and be the guy they want to bring back. I've been really self-conscious tho since I still often feel like I haven't been traditionally trained and fear someone will accuse me of not knowing what the (#@*$ I'm doing. Being self taught is stressful. They have an amazing display of whale photography at the museum - I highly recommend you check it out.

Being downtown is cool too - for the most part. I drove in Monday thinking it was best not to show up sweaty from riding my bike in. I tried to pay close attention to the signs and moved my rig every 2 hours. Too bad I forgot the most important sign and left her there past 4pm.

Yea - $100 for a parking ticket!!!!!!
Needless to say I'm biking from now on. Rain or shine. I also had a chance to catch up a bit with Joel yesterday. There's something I dig about people who are really passionate. This guy eats, sleeps and breathes bikes. We walked up tohttp://www.waba.org/ so he could get some brochures to hand out at a school meeting he was going to - trying to make bike commuting in the city safer for kids. Joel kicks ass.

Fall Mountain Biking

kicks ass.
Chris Brown backlit

Patapsco 2 days in a row.
This is Shawn MaHaulin living fast.

Fast company

Balance.

Not only to even out the politics but to show how badass Adam Craig's balance is...

Get Facts Then Vote

Yesssss, another political post. But before you close that window - check this one out. Fair list of facts from each candidate's resume. Just a different perspective...

Subject: What if things were switched? - Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin

Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin, what if things were switched around?.....think about it.
Would the country's collective point of view be different?
Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter? What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards? What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married? What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter? What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes? What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem? What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution? What if the Obamas had adopted a white child? You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

Personally - I highly doubt it.

Educational Background:
Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cu m Laude
Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything & there is no doubt that experiece can get you to high places, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

Celebrating Life

The week in Rochester went by in a blur of emotion, tasks and color. I was brilliant at keeping myself completely busy so I wouldn't think too much about the circumstances.

I visited the usual haunts, made even more spectacular by the changing leaves and bluebird sky. The color was so much more pronounced than here in DC - it was stunning. I spent a lot of time at Mendon Ponds...

I got a ride in with GFKmate and 24 Solo character Nick Alexander. He's been rocking the triathlon scene having qualified for the World Championships of Half Iron's - and this was only his first serious season. It was great to visit with Nick and his gal from Denver.

Hard to see but I've been doing these jumps off the base of trees lately - going for the tail-tap

Got some fishing in, again at Mendon Ponds.

Dave had better luck than I

The memorial service for my Grandma was very nice and went smooth. Shortly after the service ended I rolled out of town and down to Dave's cottage in New Jersey for some needed decompression. As luck would have it our effort was rewarded with beautiful small waves.

The only way to travel

I didn't have even 24 hours at the beach before I had to come back to DC but it was enough. Big thanks to Dave for again supporting me and being the consummate friend. He's as much of a brother as I've ever had. It was hard to leave but I had to get home and prep for my first National Geographic film shoot (I leave in a couple hours for 'Bama). So I packed up the surf board and fishing poles, took a last walk down to the water and snapped some photos.

This time was set to 2 Peter Gabriel tunes, Sky Blue and I Grieve. My life's soundtrack will be extensive. I watched the sun set, said a prayer for Grandma Berry and kept rolling, celebrating her life through mine.

***

The Business of Death

Spent most of yesterday helping my Dad and Uncle get through the paperwork, pick out urns and write the obit. I think I was helpful but I was strangely self-conscious. The guy at the funeral home was nice but a bit of a character. I couldn't help but sit there and wonder who chooses to go into the business of death? I'm sure he's doing well, he said 7 people had died that day alone as he apologized for getting up to answer the phone repeatedly. He will only get more busy. And make more money. Business model seems perfect and clearly he's doing well - he's a portly character who's chin slides into his chest. Fingers like sausages adorned with large rings. Almost like a Disney character. And I wondered. Who would want to do that day in, day out. Charge grieving people exorbitant amounts for marble vases or wood boxes. Deliver caskets, drive hearses and carry around "cremains"... ? I know the need exists and I was very thankful for someone having the 'to-do' list making it easy to get all aspects squared away but it just makes me wonder. How does one really love a job like that? Makes me say, "Huh."

On a brighter note I took a detour on the way back to Dave's where I usually crash when in town. I drove up along Lake Ontario and took in the brilliant colors of changing foliage set against a brilliant blue sky. The wind was blowing and I had all my sailing gear in the truck so I visited a place where I learned to windsurf about 20 years ago. Hadn't been there in about 10. I pulled up to the North end of Long Pond and noticed 2 cars with boards on them whereas back in the day there would have been 50 at least. Luckily for me one of the guys continuing the stoke was Doug Willard, the guy who married a girl I had dated years back. Doug is one of these guys you can't help but like - and trust me, I didn't want to like him back when he picked up the ball I dropped. But before long he became one of the people I look forward to seeing when home and now he windsurfs more than myself even with a 4 year old kid. Gotta respect that.

I was surprised that the first thing Doug asked about was my Gram - turns out he reads this blog. Funny how most of the time I don't think anyone reads this but then someone e-mails out of the blue or mentions it and it makes me smile. I do hope not TOO many people are pissed over my political views but alas, I digress...

I got a really nice shot of Doug coming in for a ripping jibe with the sun behind him turning the spray into a million shiny mirrors but I don't have the USB cable for my camera so the shot will have to wait to make it up here. The wind died almost as soon as I stepped onto the water but it was good fora couple gust-runs. Classic Long Pond.


And Doug jibing


Today I'm working on designing the program for the memorial service. Mostly just designing a type treatment and choosing photos to use. It's almost heart breaking to do - I have moments where I'm pissed - I don't want her gone. I already miss her. Dammit. While I was brought up Episcopalian and did the whole church thing, I find I pray more when I'm out doing my thing. On the bike, on the ocean, in the rapids. Most I can do is keep her in mind. Bring her out there with me on the water. Talk to her still. And she will live on. Which in essence is all any of us can hope for in this life.

In The Presence of Greatness

After picking up Mary and Adam at the White House (they having just invited the President to join us) I brought the national champs back to Arlington and picked up subs at the Italian Store. We drove around the corner to my house where GFKmate Dave Caz was waiting. We ate on the back deck while discussing ride options and soon GFKmate Emmac showed up. A quick change into gear and we rolled off to Difficult Run near Great Falls.
Adam's single speed world champ tat

Myself, Adam, Emmac, MaryMac, Caz and the Falls

Amazing day to play hooky. It was, as always a pleasure to spend time with Mary and Adam.

Today I'm packing to head home for a funeral.

Mornings

I'm not much of a morning person. But today I had no choice. It started with a phone call from my Dad who was in the hospital with his dying Mother. He sounded ok, even a bit aloof as he told me her situation. My Grandma has fooled us before having pulled through a brain tumor, hip replacements and a variety of other hospital visits but after multiple recent heart attacks it looks like this might be her last battle. She's my last grandparent alive and has always been my closest. She's more like a good buddy than a grandparent. We've often traded stories of life experiences both good and bad (she'd even tell me about her days smoking and drinking, chasing Ray around Jermyn, PA). Pop told me that Grandma was up most of the night talking with my cousin Jenny and felt the end was near so early this morning she asked for her boys to come to the hospital quick. That's when my Dad started to crack. He walked the phone into the room and I got to talk with my Gram for what I fear will be the last time. She was scared. I was scared. I tried to tell her I'll be home tomorrow and I'll see her then. The cell dropped as I told her I loved her. I don't know that she heard me. I'm heading up tomorrow and hope to see her but know it's not likely. One thing is for sure, this is gonna be a hard week. I gotta get home tomorrow.
Elinor and Ray Berry


Then the phone rang again - I was surprised to hear Jeremiah Bishop greeting me. He's fired up about cross racing and told me to get down to Harrisonburg for the big multi-race throwdown with Charlottesville. Perhaps next week. Nice to take my mind off things for a few minutes and it's always good to talk to JB. He's good people. He was always really fun to hang with back when I was shooting ORTA, even when times on the road weren't so much fun.


All this before 8am. So I came out to the office, fired up some Alaskan coffee and the 'puter now here I sit typing. David Gray on the speakers and sun on my back. As each year passes and I get older I fear the days of losing other close family members and friends. I've had far too much death in my life this year and that will be clearly reflected in my work as I finally begin a new short film dedicated to a friend lost in a waterfall. I've spent the last few years thinking about it and the last few days writing it. Soon the process will start - finding sponsors, investors, actors and locations. Then come Spring I'll begin shooting. Hope to have it done by July of next year. Great Falls. It's time.

But before anything I've got a date with Mary McConneloug and Adam Craig who are in town to meet the Pres with all the other Olympic athletes. They have a few hours to kill so when Mary rang me asking what they could do I hatched a plan to hit Great Falls for some biking (not enough time to take them to proper haunts). Hope it takes my mind of things for a bit.

Nothing to See Here Folks...

just keep watching your TV shows, keep working to pay off your massive house and credit debt, stay as uninformed as possible:
One in 4 facing extinction?
Or you could turn off the TV. Unplug. Step away from the computer.
THIS is reality.

The truth is the world is going to have to 'ball-up' and switch to different energy sooner or later, why not do it sooner and keep pristine places like ANWAR without a web of roads and oil pipes? Why not keep a few species from going extinct? Why perpetuate this bullshit of wars and pollution and global warming when we don't have to? Oh, cuz it'll cost too much to switch? What a goddamn load of shit - we spend money when we have to bail out crooked CEO's or to keep our war machine buzzing HOWEVER when it comes to keeping our kids educated and our health care healthy or even our PENSION PLANS safe we pinch pennies. Our priorities are wacked.

$4 billion a month is being spent on a war we will never control or win, ahem, "Viet-Iraq?" - there's people out there that hate the US 10fold since we started this war. ANd what about Afghanistan, home to many of the more aggro threats? Oh, silly me, they don't have oil...So all that war money could be spent on putting americans to work building (here in the US) new cars that go 75 miles to the gallon - that right there will save more oil than ANWAR would EVER EVER EVER produce.

Talk about cost, how do you put a price on a species of animal that is facing extinction?

In the end, wasting time & money in Iraq, and the $700 BILLION lost to this financial crisis that was put on our doorstep by the current administrations lack of forsight and regulation - could have put our country on the right track and shown us as leaders in doing what's morally right and prudent. But instead there's a bunch of rich white men who will die with room service in a plush house. They won't put food on our table. We need animals to thrive so that we can thrive - the honey bee's that pollenate our food supplies, the deer, the fish. Without the health of the planet we can have all the money in the world and still die off.

"Oh but it costs too much. Let's Drill here, Drill now."

Aren't we better, smarter, more resourceful than that?
Or do we just want to be the next ROME? Have a happy Monday : )

There's a Lot of Truth

said in jest...

SNL kicking it like only SNL can

Watch it. It's worth the few minutes. I love the comment on teen marriage & gays. Not to mention picking up on the fact that all of America - either side - was taking a drink every time she said "Maverick." Brilliant.

And while I know this is YET ANOTHER political post - HEY - it's the last 6 weeks of one of the most politically charged times in my lifetime. I'm all for absorbing it, talking about it, discussing it and with some people who are up for the task - debating it!

Off the soap box. Here's some photos from a great ride I went on today with team mate Emmac...

Gotta love the sass...

Friday Rant

Having watched the VP debate (amidst the boo's & his's of fellow friends half drunk on Punkin Beer and Cupcakes) I have to admit - Mrs. Palin stood her ground, didn't screw up, had tremendous delivery regardless of what nonsense it was and she's still got that "easy on the eyes" thing working for her. Biden's teeth were blinding. He didn't crush her as I had hoped.

"Drill baby, Drill"
-Palin

She forgot to mention that it will be roughly 10 years before one drop of that oil gets to the "six-pack Joe"
She forgot to mention that this country's gas guzzlers would plow through the entire Alaska oil reserve in about 11 days.

So - 11 days of energy independence at the cost of what? Ruining one of the last great wild places on earth while continuing the cause of Global Warming? Gosh that's so brilliant. Do we only value oil? Have we learned nothing? Blows my mind. Go to Alaska and see what she's offering to be drilled. Put in fences and roads and the caribou won't be able to migrate. But we and our oil addiction are SO much more important than entire species of animals...

So dangerous, the arrogance of man.
And Again - A Foolish Consistency is the HobGoblin of LITTLE MINDS.

Stick that drill up your ass Palin and push MORE EFFICIENT CARS AND ALT ENERGY.
(oh snap - Exxon wouldn't like that would they?) So no matter how good she was coached and delivered, I still don't like her.
Interesting side note - McPain was quoted as saying, "McCain has said, "As far as ANWR is concerned, I don’t want to drill in the Grand Canyon, and I don't want to drill in the Everglades. This is one of the most pristine and beautiful parts of the world."[35]
see wikipidea article
Other interesting FACTS for any Amurican's who disagree (those who clearly don't step foot out of their BigHouse-ToCar-ToJob-ToBigHouse routine and therefor don't give a damn about anything outside that routine):
Energy and Oil Supply

Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not end America's dependence on Persian Gulf or other oil imports. At peak production in 2026, oil from the Arctic Refuge would only still account for just 8/10 of one percent of world production per year, and only 3 percent of U.S. oil consumption. Even then, gas prices would only be affected by one penny.

According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA) in a report released in March, 2004:

"It is expected that the price of ANWR coastal plain production might reduce world oil prices by as much as 30 to 50 cents per barrel... Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the OPEC could countermand any potential price impact of ANWR coastal plain production by reducing its exports by an equal amount."

The United States has only 3% of the world's oil reserves, yet consumes 25% of the world's oil production. There is simply no way to drill our way to "energy independence". Since the energy crisis of the 1970's when 70 percent of imported oil came from OPEC countries, we have diversified our oil sources. Today, more crude oil is imported from Canada and Mexico than from the Persian Gulf.

The EIA estimates that almost 60% of energy burned in the United States is wasted. By becoming more fuel efficient, the U.S. could eliminate the need to import oil from unstable regions of the world. A sound, comprehensive energy policy for the U.S. would invest heavily in renewable energy and energy efficiency technology to produce safe, clean energy and good, high-paying jobs.

Ok, that's the end of my Friday Rant.

Too Political?

Ok, so I understand that there's someone who might be reading my blog who's a McBush, sorry, McSame, my bad, a McCain supporter. And I don't want to put anyone off even tho this is my place to rant & state my opinion. For the record, I'm open to anyone who wants to leave a comment or share their thoughts on the political landscape that sits before the American people. In fact I'd welcome anyone who could find similar pithy videos showing Obama totally contradicting himself like the McFly video I just posted a link to. Yes - bring it. Prove me wrong. I welcome your challenge.

However, even IF you can make a valid argument why McPain is a good choice to run our country (keep in mind he did say in the last debate that he could see cutting all government spending with the exception of military spending, ahem, our country is on the verge of disaster but we still spend how many BILLION PER MONTH in Irwrong, or I mean, Iraq...), you really will have a bit of work to do to convince me that Mrs. Palin is qualified in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM to be in the second highest office in the country. I dare say there is nothing, from what I've seen and heard, that could convince me that she's anything more than a puppet with a sweet jawline and hot-librarian look. But again - bring it if you can.

: )

Editing Aside

This goes beyond Mike-Moore-Trickery.
If you watch this and you're not enraged you clearly aren't paying attention...
FLIP FLOP
Are the Amurican people dumb enough to buy into this guy and his floozy sidekick?
God help us.

Rockstar

Craig Gordon was hit by a car last year and had to sit out and heal.
Craig Gordon is back and kicking ass.


Gordo's a nice guy and I hope to visit him someday soon in Australia.
"I took it out of the dog because of the calf"
Congrats Craig!!!

Sydney, Australia 22nd September 2008

ROCKSTAR RACINGS CRAIG GORDON smashes the field to win the Coffs Mountain Marathon.
ROCKSTAR RACING is proud to announce that Craig Gordon has won his first race back after a 12 months break from the racing scene.
At 7.45am Sunday morning the elite riders started cautiously on a wet and slow course due to heavy overnight rain. For the first 20km a breakaway group containing Craig and other elite riders Jason English ( BMC), Nick Both and Tim Bennett (Merida Flight Centre) rode at a steady pace waiting to see who would make the first move.

At the 23km mark the breakaway four riders hit the first major climb and Craig decided to stretch his legs and see what the others had to offer. With no response Craig turned up the heat and accelerated away. At the 50km mark Craig had a convincing lead of six and a half minutes. As humid conditions began to take their toll on his competitors Craig cruised through the 72km feed station with his lead growing to an impressive 12 mins. By now any thoughts of an upset for the defending champion were unlikely.
After 4 hrs 37 minutes Craig crossed the finish line an impressive 17 minutes ahead of second place Jason English and Tim Bennett a further 1 minute and 30 seconds behind. The win gave Craig back to back titles and once again showed why he is a deserving world champion.

“I really want to thank the sponsors of the ROCKSTAR RACING team, we couldn’t have done it without you today. To the guys at SCOTT and Shimano, the bike was awesome in the heavy conditions and it did not miss a beat. Cheers to the boys at Kenda and Endura and to CBD, thanks for pimpin my ride! See you at the SCOTT 24hr”

What makes this win all the more impressive is that Craig was unable to ride for eight months due to an altercation with a car back in October 2007. A long rehabilitation meant Craig had to be content with long ergo sessions in order to get his fitness back.
The hard work has clearly paid off and ROCKSTAR RACING is excited to have Craig back racing with the team. With the prestigious SCOTT 24hr event coming in October the competition is guaranteed to be exciting.