Oh... to be a triathlete

Here's a first for me... running in bibshorts and a longsleeve jersey at noon in Hawaii.  No, I didn't have a mechanical problem on my bike.  I was actually pretending to be a triathlete.  Today was my first day coaching a triathlon training group.  I'm officially a bike coach, but I "get" to participate in the entire workout.  Today's 38 mile ride, which I expected to take ~2.5 hours, lasted 4 hours (due to mechanical issues and overall slowness).  I anticipated that I'd be home by 10am, so I didn't put on full sunscreen.  Nevermind... my options were to burn or to sweat.  I sweated... by the way, what is the past tense of "to sweat"?

Other news includes the rediscovery of Superpretzels.  The last time I had a Superpretzel was definitely in the 20th century.  I slightly improved the Superpretzel by buttering it before applying the salt.  Much better than the suggested "sprinkle" of water.

Last week, I reinvented my Traveler's Check.  Now its a 2 (manually switched) speed with comfortable, upright positioning.  I feel very European when I ride this bike.  Sideburnz and I tested it out in Portland last weekend- winnah!

Upcoming funness?  Uh... a time trial tomorrow?  I'm registered and plan to compete in the TT tomorrow, but I'm questioning its funness.  Lately, I've been really into suffering while working out, so maybe I'll really enjoy myself!

Now that its after 2, and I obviously will not get to work before my dinner engagement, I should nap.

All in a day's work

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping Captain Richard pilot is boat home from the dry dock.  Over the past 4 days, The Salty Dog received a new coat of bottom paint and had other mechanical issues resolved.  

Look at that nice, shiny bottom paint!

 

The Captain and his boat.

The dry dock was a strange place. In the harbor, I admired several sunken boats.

We motored past several squatter homes that are completely off the grid.  I guess every so often, the city bulldozes the buildings, and then ignores the area, so the buildings reappear.

It was one of the best boating days I've experienced.  The vog was pretty well gone, so the shoreline was really clear.

Top: The usual view of Diamond Head, Bottom: Front view of Diamond Head

We didn't catch any fish, but we spotted some whales.

Top: Whale spouting.  Bottom: Whale backs- two of 'em-just below the horizon line, a little left of center, trust me.

It was a great way to end my Thursday!

Things accomplished in the past 4 days

1. purchased and installed a new stereo in the Jeep.
2. looked for whales, didn't find any
3. ate pot roast
4. changed oil in the Jeep
5. rode mountain bikes
6. observed local fauna- albatrosses, seals, whales (finally found 'em)
7. found 2 geocaches
8. explored a creepy tunnel
9. went to the beach
10. had a breakfast picnic
11. went snorkeling
12. watched people walk in flippers on the beach
13. went to Hank's Haute Dogs
14. bought Harry Potter 2 at Jelly's
15. enjoyed Kaka'ako waterfront park
16. glued decking on Richard's boat
17. grilled pizza

Its good to be home.

Friday Nite Relays!

While your other friends are going out to dinner, heading to the bar, or watching movies, your real friends are riding bikes on Friday night!

Trails at St. Louis.  Be there!

Friday, December 18- 7:00pm meet at Dole St trail exit to ride bikes up the hill or if you'd rather drive, 7:30 meet under powerlines by dirt jumps (on trail).  FYI, the parking lot closes at 6:45, so don't park your car in the lot.  Front light and helmet are mandatory, rear light is recommended.

Race Entry Fee: None, its just for fun.

Race Format:  Teams of 2 will race a short course, tagging off every lap.  Each team must complete 10 laps.  Laps times are estimated at ~ 2 minutes and include some climbing.  The winning team gets a small prize.  Cross country bikes recommended, DH or CX bikes would be ok.  If you don't have a teammate, come race anyway.  Single riders will be paired at the race start.

Race Timing: None, its just for fun.  We'll try to keep track of the race leaders, as best we can.

Race Bonus: To keep track of laps (since I want to race), each rider must pick up a playing card at a designated point of the course.  The team that assembles the best poker hand (best 5 out of 10 cards) will win a small prize.

Race After Party:  Bring some cash and join us at Yogurtland after the event.

**WEATHER ALERT- We have rain forecasted for Thurs and Fri.  If its actually raining, and the trails are wet at 3pm on Friday, the Friday Nite Relays will be rescheduled for January.  Check here for cancellation information.  No update will be posted if the races are ON.

Questions? stew zero two five seven at gmail dot com.

Honolulu Fish Auction

Sideburnz and I woke up at 4:45am today. It was FAF Monday. FAF stands for Fish Auction Fun. It was fun, indeed. The Honolulu Fish Auction is well documented on the linked website, so I won't retell its history.

We watch the fish get weighed and tagged, and then they were loaded on to pallets with ice (see above and below) for display. The display aspect of this auction is very unique- I think the only other display auction for tuna is in Japan. Then, a bunch of prospective buyers from restaurants and fish markets browse the selection. The auctioneer moves through the fish one by one, selling the fish to the highest bidder. All of the prices are per pound. We saw fish ranging from 10 cents to 6 dollars per pound. We learned about long-line fishing and how to judge a high quality tuna from a low quality tuna. Today's catch was 58,000 pounds- big eye tuna, yellow fin tuna, skipjack tuna (aku), moonfish (opah), red snapper (onaga), shark, striped marlin- Yowzers!

Above is a photo showing the sections of fish that are judged for quality- a slice from the tail lengthwise, crosswise, and a core sample.

Here's Sideburnz listening intently to the Assistant Manager of the fish auction.


And the kids.Here's an Opah and one of the kids (can you guess which is which?)


Sideburnz, Dr J, Dr T, Dr S, and some shark. Opah at the very bottom.

The early wakeup time was rough, really rough. I've since recovered and think the fish auction was fantastic. Maybe we'll have fish for dinner tonight.

New developments

Sideburnz and I finally went to Rainbow Books and Records.  We have discussed this for at least 6 months.  Finally the urge for a new record overcame us, and we made the trip.  (FYI: we ride our bikes past this store nearly once a week, so it wasn't really a trip).  It was definitely an experience.  Sideburnz put it best, its just disorganized enough to be fun.  Their books and records are sort of sorted by genera, but not quite.  There's definitely no order within genera.  I came home with the record find of the year: Leo Kottke, Ice Water 1974.  It features Pamela Brown.  Our pal Captain Richard once told us that he dated a girl named Pamela Brown and then Leo Kottke wrote a song about her.  I didn't think anything of that tall tale until Sideburnz said, "Hey this album has Pamela Brown on it," and then he reminded me of Captain Richard's story.  Maybe its really true!

Other good finds- Weezer CD featuring Buddy Holly, OkGo CD, To Kill a Mockingbird (reading material for me), and God Bless You Mr Rosewater aka Pearls before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut (Sideburnz book).  Good times.  I'm already anticipating our next trip.  There were a few other records that peaked my interest.

On another note, we are heading to Maui on Nov 26 for a bike trip.  The Sideburnz shop organized the trip.  For once, all I have to do is show up.  We'll see how frustrated I get.... I just became the proud owner of a Travelers Check- perfect timing.

Not much else is new except for recovering from my first half marathon.  Running down hill for the last mile of a 13.1 mile race makes me say ouch.  

I just asked Sideburnz if he wanted to comment... his comment, "I don't think so."

Over and out.

I guess its too hard to eat a real vegetable

This is why I love my job, its always exciting. While preparing a talk for the Molecular Biology and Bioengineering (MBBE) Graduate Seminar, I stumbled across this exciting product. I haven't seen it on the shelf, but its all over the web. I'll have to check Safeway tonight when I go buy dinner.