Saturday, February 26, 2011

Happy 90th Birthday Papa!!!

Yesterday was my dad's 90th birthday which is certainly an incredible milestone.  I stopped by last night to see my folks as I do each Friday evening and wished my dad all the best on his special day.

I've posted about my dad before.  He suffered a pretty serious stroke about 8 years ago and he has struggled with day to day activities ever since.  But health wise he is doing well.  His dad (my grandpa) lived to be 94 so I pray that I have inherited some of those long life genes.

I really proud of my dad (and also my mom who has been an incredible care giver to my dad for so many years).  Tomorrow evening our family will gether to celebrate dad's big milestone.  I'm looking forward to being a part of it.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

History Repeats (Again!)

Cycling is a funny business. Not unlike many other pursuits, the bicycle world is always looking for the latest gizmos to help separate cyclists from their money. While the basic design of the modern road bike hasn't changed in well over 100 years, component innovations occur at an unbelievable pace.

O.Symetric - one of the more radical chain ring designs out there.

One of the cycling innovations I came across recently are the ovalized chain rings that have been out for awhile from Rotor-Q and O.Symetric. These companies claim that their new products reduce the pedaling "dead zone" while increasing power output and reduce knee pain.


When I saw these new products I was immediately reminded of the old Biopace chain ring system that was marketed by Shimano in the 1980's. At the time I seem to recall that the Biopace system didn't really stand the test of time and was eventually dismissed as more of a fad than a legitimate innovation.

Biopace - the one that started eliptical chain rings - far less radical than the O.Symetric Design

 
While the Biopace rings faded into the sunset, the companies selling these new wattage-boosting chain rings provide lots of data to support their claims for improved rider performance. Team Sky ran the O.Symetric chain rings last season and Bradley Wiggins seems to have been pleased with his results after using them.

The concept for these rings is pretty intriguing to me. If I happen to come across a bike with these rings that has some Keo pedals I might see if I can talk my way into a test ride.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Egypt - A New Beginning





Several weeks ago I posted that we had an opportunity to visit Egypt this past October. We spent two weeks in Egypt and our trip included the following highlights:

Cairo & The Pyramids
The Sphinx & the Egyptian Museum
Karnak Temple
Valley of the the Kings
A week-long cruise on the Nile River
Komombo Temple
Aswan
The City of Hurghada and snorkeling in the Red Sea
St. Catherines Monastery (location of the Burning Bush)
Hiking up Mt. Sinai for see the sunrise
The City of Alexandria & the Mediterranean Sea.



For both of us this was without a doubt the trip of a lifetime and the opportunity to experience the culture of this vibrant, ancient middle-eastern country was memorable and life changing. What we couldn't have possibly imagined at the time of our trip was that in a matter of a few short months Egypt would experience an historic uprising and peaceful revolution which hopefully promises a better quality of life for its people.



Egypt was peaceful and welcoming to us during our visit but there were signs that many people were not happy with their lot in life and that the desire for change was very strong. Many Egyptians we talked to acknowledged corruption in the government and the lack of opportunities for the shrinking middle class and the growing lower class. High unemployment and a low standard of living were evident nearly everywhere we visited in this country which contrasted sharply with its rich history and substantial natural resources.






These are uncertain, yet exciting times for Egypt and my thoughts and support are with the Egyptian people as they work toward creating a fair government which will offer the opportunity for a much better standard of living.

Friday, February 11, 2011

The LevyDrome

The temps were unbelievably cold yesterday and when I pulled into work the thermometer in my car read -8 degrees! Wow! Even if my thermometer was off a few degrees there is no denying the weather outside was beyond frigid.

Fortunately my evening plans included a group spin at the LevyDrome. Our hosts, Dave & Cathy, have graciously welcomed a group of us to their home a few times each week during this long, cold winter to ride our trainers while watching cycling videos. The group setting is s great motivator and the social contact with our cycling friends is a major bonus while logging some saddle time in preparation of Spring.

Last night we had a full house of 8 riders and we watched a great Sufferfest video that Ted brought along to share with the group. Under the watchful eyes of Maya, a black lab who keeps watch on us all to make sure no one is slacking, we had a nice, hard workout that included climbing some great mountain passes with a the pro peloton.

This weekend promises warmer weather with Sunday's temps expected to reach the mid 40's. This will feel like a heat wave compared to what we experienced earlier in the week. I'm thinking an outdoor ride will be a required activity.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The Ice Storm Cometh

For most of this week the weather folks had been forecasting freezing rain and potential power outages. It turns out that they knew what they were talking about. The rain and sleet began falling early yesterday afternoon and by around 6:00 or so there was a shiny layer of ice covering everything.

As darkness fell in my neighborhood I began hearing distant tree limbs snap under the weight of freezing ice and there were a couple of loud pops followed by bursts of green light as transformers failed, adding to the power outages in Central Ohio that currently effect over 50,000 homes.

Late last night I received a phone call and was told my office was under a Level 3 weather emergency so I did not have to make the precarious drive to work. Under normal conditions I drive an hour to my office and I can only imagine how long my commute would have been today. I'm sure it will still be a white knuckle drive tomorrow morning.

I heard someone on the local news say Ohio's groundhog did not see his shadow this morning so we will have an early Spring. I sure hope so.