Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Boo...
Did my first (well technically second) road race today. The weekly Shippensburg Tuesday night race. Only about a dozen people showed up. I was supposed to be doing some off-the-front-type intervals. I got popped off the group after my second go. Sucked. Hurt lots. It will be good later though...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Whirlwind
The last month or so that I haven't posted anything has been a whirlwind. So many things have happened, I probably don't even remember them all. Snow happened, in mass quantities, and like most other places in the mid-Atlantic region, shut down all mountain biking. It shut down road riding for a spell too, so my training ended before it began. Then, all the sudden, it as March. I attended two major professional conferences to present my research. One in Baltimore (Hello C^3 folks!)
and one in Harrisburg (the capitol building is beautiful, you should go if your haven't).
The conference in Baltimore was a hardcore geology meeting, something I had never been to before. It was nice not having to filter my usually jargon-filled vocabulary for a change. I got to meet some of the people whose papers have influenced my geology career, as well as the man whose paper is guiding my research. It was an amazing experience. The Harrisburg conference was the biannual Undergraduate Research at the Capitol presentation. I was by far the only geologist there. It was nice to have to really filter my usually jargon-filled vocabulary as well as to have to explain my fairly complicated research to the masses. We got introduced, as a group (see above) in the House of Representatives; I now know why government takes so long to do anything. I also spent a week in Philly with Ms. Geology at a teacher conference of hers and visiting old friends. Basically conferences are fun.
Biking life began soon after that. With no trails, road riding became the daily norm. There were a few team training camps and things like that. All the sudden it was now, and the first race of the season was upon us. You were all there. You know it was fun. I was riding Juni (the orange SS thing). My gearing was too low for racing but with a lot of spinning I made it through with lap times a few seconds faster than last year. It would have been nice to have gears, but it was not to be. Last weekend was my last Dickinson College Jazz/Symphonic Band concert, a kind of bittersweet experience. We sure went out with a bang. It was the most fun show I have played (musically) and the audience (or at the very least my best friend, girlfriend, parents, professional-musician-uncle, and professional-musician-uncle's girlfriend) enjoyed it immensely. Now I look to important things in the future:
-Job Search (need a job to pay for this dirty bike racing addiction)
-Thesis Defense (want to graduate with honors)
-Graduation (yes)
-Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic (so excited)
-Moving out and up (I can't wait)
Until then, some other racing, a bike with gears (although not the one I wanted), and trying to pass Calculus II. I'm looking forward to it.
and one in Harrisburg (the capitol building is beautiful, you should go if your haven't).
The conference in Baltimore was a hardcore geology meeting, something I had never been to before. It was nice not having to filter my usually jargon-filled vocabulary for a change. I got to meet some of the people whose papers have influenced my geology career, as well as the man whose paper is guiding my research. It was an amazing experience. The Harrisburg conference was the biannual Undergraduate Research at the Capitol presentation. I was by far the only geologist there. It was nice to have to really filter my usually jargon-filled vocabulary as well as to have to explain my fairly complicated research to the masses. We got introduced, as a group (see above) in the House of Representatives; I now know why government takes so long to do anything. I also spent a week in Philly with Ms. Geology at a teacher conference of hers and visiting old friends. Basically conferences are fun.
Biking life began soon after that. With no trails, road riding became the daily norm. There were a few team training camps and things like that. All the sudden it was now, and the first race of the season was upon us. You were all there. You know it was fun. I was riding Juni (the orange SS thing). My gearing was too low for racing but with a lot of spinning I made it through with lap times a few seconds faster than last year. It would have been nice to have gears, but it was not to be. Last weekend was my last Dickinson College Jazz/Symphonic Band concert, a kind of bittersweet experience. We sure went out with a bang. It was the most fun show I have played (musically) and the audience (or at the very least my best friend, girlfriend, parents, professional-musician-uncle, and professional-musician-uncle's girlfriend) enjoyed it immensely. Now I look to important things in the future:
-Job Search (need a job to pay for this dirty bike racing addiction)
-Thesis Defense (want to graduate with honors)
-Graduation (yes)
-Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic (so excited)
-Moving out and up (I can't wait)
Until then, some other racing, a bike with gears (although not the one I wanted), and trying to pass Calculus II. I'm looking forward to it.
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