tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40104345090963094472024-02-19T18:34:46.519-08:00InspiredAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-14800907162717220402009-02-19T13:14:00.000-08:002009-02-19T13:15:22.835-08:00MOVED!The blog has moved to its new home at <a href="http://www.adamedgerton.com/blog">www.adamedgerton.com/blog</a>!Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-84111443248910612192009-02-18T15:30:00.000-08:002009-02-19T09:06:30.775-08:00Tour of California Stage 2: Awards Etc.Here's the scene after the race.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOaG1titk76HQiYQ2QdFhMy1hvJAR54K4NSuOQM1vDSdILPU2sMdpWhIuJgexUptAmdy7K1VaxahAjQG-N4nGlJNqXvaf9L4644pMXyZ0TCDqB9Y6DYaubsYG16ekF_lVN8dbagm79WCxA/s1600-h/IMG_2734.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOaG1titk76HQiYQ2QdFhMy1hvJAR54K4NSuOQM1vDSdILPU2sMdpWhIuJgexUptAmdy7K1VaxahAjQG-N4nGlJNqXvaf9L4644pMXyZ0TCDqB9Y6DYaubsYG16ekF_lVN8dbagm79WCxA/s400/IMG_2734.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304285030178898642" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A small part of the crowd watching the awards at the finish line.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">I managed to squeeze my way up pretty close on the right side of the stage.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZvB8FXEol0GTTKJxM5qYzUsiDDNzZqqjMeyUhobgWZw5jsIkHaGGwGgKc30eMmSNH_pquiqA1EcxyZncwmKXR_3pTrl5xe2vXCZNDC0fCeB32VkjvnWr6a4Rb4EWu71i4UZYcZSrFwSO/s1600-h/IMG_2763.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZvB8FXEol0GTTKJxM5qYzUsiDDNzZqqjMeyUhobgWZw5jsIkHaGGwGgKc30eMmSNH_pquiqA1EcxyZncwmKXR_3pTrl5xe2vXCZNDC0fCeB32VkjvnWr6a4Rb4EWu71i4UZYcZSrFwSO/s400/IMG_2763.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284938831746002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cycling TV personality Bob Roll looking perturbed about something.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LISFULTK6KjHcbymoZMxQQUI7bgxIeT_pmrVfKMozEl0k8kOi18J_pAsPLJ2UvbVQpYVsfG_V0092nPLubLuJGY1ZiqmgI4fHZ0-EAWau5JPpFBuS_JDTf_QgcZjDywLKqYx5RusVIjv/s1600-h/IMG_2769.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LISFULTK6KjHcbymoZMxQQUI7bgxIeT_pmrVfKMozEl0k8kOi18J_pAsPLJ2UvbVQpYVsfG_V0092nPLubLuJGY1ZiqmgI4fHZ0-EAWau5JPpFBuS_JDTf_QgcZjDywLKqYx5RusVIjv/s400/IMG_2769.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284937572888962" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Close to far, Francisco Mancebo (KOM leader, sprint leader), Robert Gesink (best young rider), Levi Leipheimer (overall tour leader), and Ben Jacques-Maynes (most courageous rider).</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RO_zZDGt2FBjRNxkLEVFyJQCSh6ELupf20Bm48TlsICx6wBdp1dy64bA5ljNb59lsY_G4FvSzFPx6L8oxPjXkpAcDVo-pF0_ejD1PrkN9UTaePPb8DlAX4XBAg9k8o51ExPFerQMUCzG/s1600-h/IMG_2780.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RO_zZDGt2FBjRNxkLEVFyJQCSh6ELupf20Bm48TlsICx6wBdp1dy64bA5ljNb59lsY_G4FvSzFPx6L8oxPjXkpAcDVo-pF0_ejD1PrkN9UTaePPb8DlAX4XBAg9k8o51ExPFerQMUCzG/s400/IMG_2780.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284933486845666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jacques-Maynes giving an interview.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2bmOXj2PPlTFz4l1LgSjZgedkNf-ZXwTXP0sf9vsXjsLF7HXRFTKCzoiwIYHpk9dx9JQBkWgoO2QVbUjWPAK1SYtx_nkjBCKez19b62inahdKIiy_N7Zw80RfY0tVLbhm41ymqCNJ11m/s1600-h/IMG_2787.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2bmOXj2PPlTFz4l1LgSjZgedkNf-ZXwTXP0sf9vsXjsLF7HXRFTKCzoiwIYHpk9dx9JQBkWgoO2QVbUjWPAK1SYtx_nkjBCKez19b62inahdKIiy_N7Zw80RfY0tVLbhm41ymqCNJ11m/s400/IMG_2787.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284933192675202" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Levi wondering where his wallet has gotten to, or something.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7jlP5YnG5cswX-1wVESBsRp-3X379jHISVJRV_FY2sH8zMdKWk8IZhhGHpi-cBI31Pg0AkH_Tl33rBx4Q5gTasXpDTFKTjg2_YOuWZIkLqr75ZNFOGG4AYjKZojAKnAhC_Hzp8uc1P23/s1600-h/IMG_2792.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7jlP5YnG5cswX-1wVESBsRp-3X379jHISVJRV_FY2sH8zMdKWk8IZhhGHpi-cBI31Pg0AkH_Tl33rBx4Q5gTasXpDTFKTjg2_YOuWZIkLqr75ZNFOGG4AYjKZojAKnAhC_Hzp8uc1P23/s400/IMG_2792.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284929075971074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Levi: "Do I really have to go up on stage again for the fourth time today? Well at least I get kissed by you for winning."</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52zeynvCOyEK7vE4ebLr4ClNTwsv1yw8NPg5duc7O8rvkMsb4Jx5Bs5C7WJQ9SfegwYb7IStTopXBR16jKkafEAoqC2oBAlgfGSvzLcoo3iGTfu0M3aXlbXhO29-FDUbm7wdxce-FnFve/s1600-h/IMG_2801.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52zeynvCOyEK7vE4ebLr4ClNTwsv1yw8NPg5duc7O8rvkMsb4Jx5Bs5C7WJQ9SfegwYb7IStTopXBR16jKkafEAoqC2oBAlgfGSvzLcoo3iGTfu0M3aXlbXhO29-FDUbm7wdxce-FnFve/s400/IMG_2801.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284699991525874" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1st (Thomas Peterson), 2nd (Levi Leipheimer), and 3rd place (Michael Rogers) for the day's stage.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGQu_Rrs-EaeVg_z7-iw0LHqTSxu7klQrIewof8QZdBT9kMOO-Hig0whcWmmG5d59omAUx6DAGJhCxCkOgibZpg80sy9keJ1pATnFqFGf3vYM4y7cyroOKAEYISICp0nBoJ1RJotkDhpG/s1600-h/IMG_2821.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGQu_Rrs-EaeVg_z7-iw0LHqTSxu7klQrIewof8QZdBT9kMOO-Hig0whcWmmG5d59omAUx6DAGJhCxCkOgibZpg80sy9keJ1pATnFqFGf3vYM4y7cyroOKAEYISICp0nBoJ1RJotkDhpG/s400/IMG_2821.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284696269052258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Stage winner/babyface Thomas Peterson.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginjGksUnKVP0CTBABuxZy803vpLZu13f_T_xsnbDbhp7lbjGKFKxAjVQQT1oGXuB7cyOmDK9lt40gjErcU789CEQftloawfM0c1IdIsPB7_K1OCVkvTTYoYYooa5Paa1CmoNSS0wCliLs/s1600-h/IMG_2826.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginjGksUnKVP0CTBABuxZy803vpLZu13f_T_xsnbDbhp7lbjGKFKxAjVQQT1oGXuB7cyOmDK9lt40gjErcU789CEQftloawfM0c1IdIsPB7_K1OCVkvTTYoYYooa5Paa1CmoNSS0wCliLs/s400/IMG_2826.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284687783262898" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Peterson getting interviewed on Versus.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5m_W1Z5LgaKWBUmsenSMmeEvyZQfFItC5hXFWQeh5pso2SnifO40mj09WDnvLoXFi7TPJgiYISuJ8tiENZEXd4RezGSAe1Oh0JJC-T5u5z7krZw10S_o4Zcd9GRQtfadnYgJcj2T2rml4/s1600-h/IMG_2836.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5m_W1Z5LgaKWBUmsenSMmeEvyZQfFItC5hXFWQeh5pso2SnifO40mj09WDnvLoXFi7TPJgiYISuJ8tiENZEXd4RezGSAe1Oh0JJC-T5u5z7krZw10S_o4Zcd9GRQtfadnYgJcj2T2rml4/s400/IMG_2836.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284684798349074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lance Armstrong's race bike surrounded by other Astana team bikes.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnn9aVz3vkIRUPUH296lp74LAh2I-86fpIME91CnLprRitqMG6-GCrLNCEO15clT0SUGk_lylYzVEFoqeCFag_eoT8ikmK4OznVJhyU4Qs057g99Iqxuk4WGHSEDjDZw6vgvhUIwvVCta1/s1600-h/IMG_2844.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnn9aVz3vkIRUPUH296lp74LAh2I-86fpIME91CnLprRitqMG6-GCrLNCEO15clT0SUGk_lylYzVEFoqeCFag_eoT8ikmK4OznVJhyU4Qs057g99Iqxuk4WGHSEDjDZw6vgvhUIwvVCta1/s400/IMG_2844.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304284679014789202" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Peterson eating pasta after the press conference.</span>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-81234478579086887272009-02-18T14:01:00.000-08:002009-02-18T14:36:33.443-08:00Tour of California Stage 2: The FinishAfter hitting some slow-moving traffic on highway 17 into Santa Cruz for what looked to be a minor landslide (yeah, it had been raining that much), I made it to the finish with a bit of time to spare. Here's some pictures from the finish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK71j7LxhwfijFBUqwukbOUbn3AkpsBumqHAYJZryntKfDwMygOKb6QN5og9gfXLhGva9ZQ8qN8KWUhpjtrP8mMkwwXa4raRTzkblKMKyeqpovkiDPP5uhxVswhUGEH8_q_k_nn4kjAeL/s1600-h/IMG_2551.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK71j7LxhwfijFBUqwukbOUbn3AkpsBumqHAYJZryntKfDwMygOKb6QN5og9gfXLhGva9ZQ8qN8KWUhpjtrP8mMkwwXa4raRTzkblKMKyeqpovkiDPP5uhxVswhUGEH8_q_k_nn4kjAeL/s400/IMG_2551.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262295198167410" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What's everybody looking at?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzo94OoRWMP8vvej0CFsOaL_sIgbA9TfC8ZX-eUqbMui-XklPxIFfEySNcdQ_WrmRc2ljqviOli_ZsQN0xvfoLONAs9eIVtcs05gTpZ3E9XnHGv-ZCMNbL_o5o9A3LYPchYL5RCFcZ7ru/s1600-h/IMG_2552.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzo94OoRWMP8vvej0CFsOaL_sIgbA9TfC8ZX-eUqbMui-XklPxIFfEySNcdQ_WrmRc2ljqviOli_ZsQN0xvfoLONAs9eIVtcs05gTpZ3E9XnHGv-ZCMNbL_o5o9A3LYPchYL5RCFcZ7ru/s400/IMG_2552.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262298190166674" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh, we're watching the race on the bigscreen.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj136MV9_NZAqCwhmcrgSN7wmmRbvqqlZ9gf0JtFeEPZZKyKGRaqS3lIW8LwGU-su2l7JTAZNfts4s6nKwWOgNiSgnypyoc05-Cphjx2AFL6wiu8f2qmmIgSZBkw59UNdDmgL0M8lgXn9oF/s1600-h/IMG_2565.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj136MV9_NZAqCwhmcrgSN7wmmRbvqqlZ9gf0JtFeEPZZKyKGRaqS3lIW8LwGU-su2l7JTAZNfts4s6nKwWOgNiSgnypyoc05-Cphjx2AFL6wiu8f2qmmIgSZBkw59UNdDmgL0M8lgXn9oF/s400/IMG_2565.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262292988466258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I found a spot right on the railing about 250 meters from the finish line. Then we had an instantaneous downpour.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcy2nmovnvEU_eaOLCksYklSAFEsMomQ-CJrYopEt-yR8dlj95CcbUZ0hsZlXben5Bmi4zPJOjYuJpImbsMZ2SgA5_JLEigRFQj96y39-i20cpz4DBd5RsDcarucfh2YLZllPaFqMSehy/s1600-h/IMG_2589.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcy2nmovnvEU_eaOLCksYklSAFEsMomQ-CJrYopEt-yR8dlj95CcbUZ0hsZlXben5Bmi4zPJOjYuJpImbsMZ2SgA5_JLEigRFQj96y39-i20cpz4DBd5RsDcarucfh2YLZllPaFqMSehy/s400/IMG_2589.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262096827974434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Perfect spot to watch the finishers come in.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfvVICEiN0fhGnAjbqcJgG8efrGVVye2y5FpUpaCyG1ttBXeUbTnxQGyRXWlne5SgusWnY7zRikNouEEJPG9FKmijthyXBjoB9-ml-39JkEO51nzsuHLW7nPuT3GiUFz2GZTS8eHqjSlU/s1600-h/IMG_2596.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfvVICEiN0fhGnAjbqcJgG8efrGVVye2y5FpUpaCyG1ttBXeUbTnxQGyRXWlne5SgusWnY7zRikNouEEJPG9FKmijthyXBjoB9-ml-39JkEO51nzsuHLW7nPuT3GiUFz2GZTS8eHqjSlU/s400/IMG_2596.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262088631344930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh sweet, we instantly moved 50 meters closer to the finish! The signs were set up wrong.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5ha2CZ0J5GWwSGwFM4J2RWai-VwaD5mUP66pGOudRcJdZn4ZfPwWMs-wOMAPdgDNUsIHCMLW7IWQvYZhAJdVesfIknVow0EqCcVqqlsf0HKX681x6N9dGHVRH3XZNO5pAqDIbribRxS6/s1600-h/IMG_2600.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5ha2CZ0J5GWwSGwFM4J2RWai-VwaD5mUP66pGOudRcJdZn4ZfPwWMs-wOMAPdgDNUsIHCMLW7IWQvYZhAJdVesfIknVow0EqCcVqqlsf0HKX681x6N9dGHVRH3XZNO5pAqDIbribRxS6/s400/IMG_2600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262083480643874" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">They should be here any minute. I've got a lot of people's attention because I'm following Twitter updates and can announce Levi rode away and caught the break and should be coming in first.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrs_PC05IGfG6VOYq4DCANJbOFNL-NrSOAfthBD1c2cFOFcFjF7VG4POwpOd392YZ6v9wjuyIWrYLsd_zWNf2JEl0m2FPvya_DcLnNtH0KrHmoDShgbL6VjT0V_dV4o2Gvw1zkNl3RnAA/s1600-h/IMG_2637.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrs_PC05IGfG6VOYq4DCANJbOFNL-NrSOAfthBD1c2cFOFcFjF7VG4POwpOd392YZ6v9wjuyIWrYLsd_zWNf2JEl0m2FPvya_DcLnNtH0KrHmoDShgbL6VjT0V_dV4o2Gvw1zkNl3RnAA/s400/IMG_2637.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262080866060098" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And sure enough, Levi coming through first, with Thomas Peterson on his wheel.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_MfUWCq_nI8wFmqI13KELm7C3UKJZK2YMBfg56em-JQRloMBoHZ0Nb_FDebnDuVDprilEZ_zzUodNpYqWX7s9kkBgNFIiC3G32jo4FsC_Luc36XR8qWEC2iJ4P2Uh4Cf4EfM_tURETON/s1600-h/IMG_2641.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_MfUWCq_nI8wFmqI13KELm7C3UKJZK2YMBfg56em-JQRloMBoHZ0Nb_FDebnDuVDprilEZ_zzUodNpYqWX7s9kkBgNFIiC3G32jo4FsC_Luc36XR8qWEC2iJ4P2Uh4Cf4EfM_tURETON/s400/IMG_2641.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304262075504898562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Levi knew Peterson was going to take the win on this one by coming around at the last minute, but he wasn't concerned with the stage win - he just wanted to be in the overall leader's jersey at the end of the day.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllSryO6iN8lxA57MHdKGDtTIjosWb62jt_ZmNkbJMoQ4XK537F8wpEFJWMlmrLtNejFE2891w-vdtF3kbX26Ya320xA04ApvLclmVO0uK5OdRsF16wJG-7XLEUtkP6pGHkw-CvvLEfney/s1600-h/IMG_2643.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllSryO6iN8lxA57MHdKGDtTIjosWb62jt_ZmNkbJMoQ4XK537F8wpEFJWMlmrLtNejFE2891w-vdtF3kbX26Ya320xA04ApvLclmVO0uK5OdRsF16wJG-7XLEUtkP6pGHkw-CvvLEfney/s400/IMG_2643.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304269067085640002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Best shot of Levi (Leipheimer, that is) on the day.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U2Rll89O2nTb-YtOTnQWcYTIs6QJOUvU33K7VMkqI2i2f8vSpLyqnQz_N5NxISMw8fRKOUCh_THdvo2fmAzkz-kZz-_jpqEW39-ap3Ke2p3SKX1ZPYiSQWHLcHhax5TC0kTCkNqG19FJ/s1600-h/IMG_2644.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U2Rll89O2nTb-YtOTnQWcYTIs6QJOUvU33K7VMkqI2i2f8vSpLyqnQz_N5NxISMw8fRKOUCh_THdvo2fmAzkz-kZz-_jpqEW39-ap3Ke2p3SKX1ZPYiSQWHLcHhax5TC0kTCkNqG19FJ/s400/IMG_2644.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261620112123794" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Headed for the line.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZsQjOYt0qOedof_EWn7wW0sQUAWb6Gp_yqq5NUlnsnV2506n5DMgDyeQljGDQm7uI562QB3QwzAA_xKtG7pVo6G_jqAs7dMDcv89yBNmYh6WEx1W6S5cNiYCqLHGwhGEv6NqHaMqADbU/s1600-h/IMG_2649.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZsQjOYt0qOedof_EWn7wW0sQUAWb6Gp_yqq5NUlnsnV2506n5DMgDyeQljGDQm7uI562QB3QwzAA_xKtG7pVo6G_jqAs7dMDcv89yBNmYh6WEx1W6S5cNiYCqLHGwhGEv6NqHaMqADbU/s400/IMG_2649.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261617996783234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Barely 20 seconds later, the first chase group comes in.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UhKf1h1j3gN4HVXPvw4ZKYMobckosu270S570wlZlm071MNlSIKtXu3EXjCyTYKHH2sDapz4xgqt0gx0YT0mhdk5ecylRmicZDmrtRP7IecVneLQminFQsiINNS77wL2XIzPDvrkbH0U/s1600-h/IMG_2652.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UhKf1h1j3gN4HVXPvw4ZKYMobckosu270S570wlZlm071MNlSIKtXu3EXjCyTYKHH2sDapz4xgqt0gx0YT0mhdk5ecylRmicZDmrtRP7IecVneLQminFQsiINNS77wL2XIzPDvrkbH0U/s400/IMG_2652.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304269077457708402" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This group is led by David Zabrieski.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYdH83mxn7f-J2GjcGRGBk5CZJSEQ2s2DsRTAO4a73oX89l0Y_jM3OVDvtTgYhE5Wl-cs05Q2stxdPhZVfOXnD52W1MZLJcuhUs49GI8OMppbQ1ys_RqtHdLPopbb2wrN0547vDkEtAMU/s1600-h/IMG_2654.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYdH83mxn7f-J2GjcGRGBk5CZJSEQ2s2DsRTAO4a73oX89l0Y_jM3OVDvtTgYhE5Wl-cs05Q2stxdPhZVfOXnD52W1MZLJcuhUs49GI8OMppbQ1ys_RqtHdLPopbb2wrN0547vDkEtAMU/s400/IMG_2654.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261615130401954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lance Armstrong, another Astana rider, and Kim Kirchen a little further back.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal4Cedw4mS9Aw-v7kOiwSDVIa8LXcuP_0tcynBaIBv0Bxzt7Yo9vJNVu8CGsJYG9O7lCBZ8TSPj6ELbiaIW8R9q4Aea7fspDTQPZg_2llsSvpzrRQzIHMSW0mGbBRpBoqr5xHBs4T3xcs/s1600-h/IMG_2655.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgal4Cedw4mS9Aw-v7kOiwSDVIa8LXcuP_0tcynBaIBv0Bxzt7Yo9vJNVu8CGsJYG9O7lCBZ8TSPj6ELbiaIW8R9q4Aea7fspDTQPZg_2llsSvpzrRQzIHMSW0mGbBRpBoqr5xHBs4T3xcs/s400/IMG_2655.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261370551214002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Robert Gesink from Rabobank right in the middle of this one.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6h95ce5OKUFRPJ_8N_7WYfeaz50ONkbIT2c9NVkBu7hy-CjShFgdO_NGcMabgXSavVVFnqpwOB0VQNtxxzinJrcNdAX3K_MyH7uJzDwr59GELqwBtN60ZYQv3ok-TCv-O0lZtIzatS-D/s1600-h/IMG_2657.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6h95ce5OKUFRPJ_8N_7WYfeaz50ONkbIT2c9NVkBu7hy-CjShFgdO_NGcMabgXSavVVFnqpwOB0VQNtxxzinJrcNdAX3K_MyH7uJzDwr59GELqwBtN60ZYQv3ok-TCv-O0lZtIzatS-D/s400/IMG_2657.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261368088106898" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Frank Schleck, Grisha Niermann, Astana rider on what must be a backup bike (no race #), and Ivan Basso.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxf8kOJg_ayLyqtQhCfVBFUU1ZY-P5Dc_nwr-AN9E3TBj-AM9HGC0VV5Aui1cN9y04uGJh-QGmvnBKCoqpIJMoArOqZMMP-5PUey6fw1-ThMAoeAurA515UxVm-Xj1LvWCoV8_mgVVjs8/s1600-h/IMG_2680.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxf8kOJg_ayLyqtQhCfVBFUU1ZY-P5Dc_nwr-AN9E3TBj-AM9HGC0VV5Aui1cN9y04uGJh-QGmvnBKCoqpIJMoArOqZMMP-5PUey6fw1-ThMAoeAurA515UxVm-Xj1LvWCoV8_mgVVjs8/s400/IMG_2680.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261367966553714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Second chase group comes in.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-9IquHZI6NvsjI2QYJp1p6n6AnX_af0kWcHlNS6ETRZXoK-4OGUm2wls2F-OVNdI3TFT8gHCx3cJYd-1wRkUCTtmogbGDp7g0YbIq9KG7o_YbaknTddhyZcWG4DPZKTAA5gflqx_74IE/s1600-h/IMG_2688.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-9IquHZI6NvsjI2QYJp1p6n6AnX_af0kWcHlNS6ETRZXoK-4OGUm2wls2F-OVNdI3TFT8gHCx3cJYd-1wRkUCTtmogbGDp7g0YbIq9KG7o_YbaknTddhyZcWG4DPZKTAA5gflqx_74IE/s400/IMG_2688.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261365005598258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Floyd Landis (far) and Gustav Larsson.</span><br /><br />The remaining riders came in scattered groups, with the remnants of the peleton 17 minuted behind the leaders. Definitely a brutal day on the bike.<br /><br />Still to come, the awards ceremony and some other odds and ends:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrzE1yj0iJIhj4T6QsXK278ABdo0RBsyhwGVeV3zNvng7y45fUXuvdMWCROE-ZmZ-686sYZjDi6uNc2DWEPS3ZYwNRhtVzUdWTP43vfGzIzZDUCjKM3wy69UbCZp_99RAhFfqNITMHuK/s1600-h/IMG_2728.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrzE1yj0iJIhj4T6QsXK278ABdo0RBsyhwGVeV3zNvng7y45fUXuvdMWCROE-ZmZ-686sYZjDi6uNc2DWEPS3ZYwNRhtVzUdWTP43vfGzIzZDUCjKM3wy69UbCZp_99RAhFfqNITMHuK/s400/IMG_2728.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304261361591607346" border="0" /></a>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-57553943715326144532009-02-17T21:01:00.001-08:002009-02-17T21:41:11.292-08:00Tour of California Stage 2: The MorningHere's some shots from the morning on Tunitas Creek Road, the day's first big climb. The pictures are in chronological order, so if you're not particularly familiar with pro bike racing, this will give you an idea of just how much race support there is. It almost seems there is a car/truck/motorcycle for just about every rider in the race.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Dm7Nru587u2xteKvZEcDnNtCJ21zUNX_WXNuLg1YEDXt4JSrRYMMGWFoMtQRrcfB0DkUy7Refmb3pEMEwWq2v4bG-ept36sAotervsNHPgXo7G5SnBVNdhpTOUCCpzuacPWApOc1u1z/s1600-h/IMG_2306.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Dm7Nru587u2xteKvZEcDnNtCJ21zUNX_WXNuLg1YEDXt4JSrRYMMGWFoMtQRrcfB0DkUy7Refmb3pEMEwWq2v4bG-ept36sAotervsNHPgXo7G5SnBVNdhpTOUCCpzuacPWApOc1u1z/s400/IMG_2306.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999772114979010" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The KOM (King of the Mountains) point at the top of the climb - points are awarded to the first riders up the climb on each major climb, the overall points leader is the King of the Mountains. Where is everybody?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kVKirQHGcHSExxsskm1JsbFcgmB5YAzxtl1kXa9vmD1Eox2sRec8GQ5DcAqZ3NiVYGfypirDLMyH3zFFwxKIbMJZjyWMHzUcJQqauqK_xq8HKEZI_sdd4Sl1p9x4cT8a-bs0Ud9TY00J/s1600-h/IMG_2320.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kVKirQHGcHSExxsskm1JsbFcgmB5YAzxtl1kXa9vmD1Eox2sRec8GQ5DcAqZ3NiVYGfypirDLMyH3zFFwxKIbMJZjyWMHzUcJQqauqK_xq8HKEZI_sdd4Sl1p9x4cT8a-bs0Ud9TY00J/s400/IMG_2320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999760307213778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Did I mention it was raining rather hard?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j7RkkCEZsRAp6gip_MSbgwC4tDiGY_vD7KvCd-uJDvwaFJ6WkblHCaPYdK6pTWC1KW70u2oH90YaYAsAKK9SsX5RmWzp8qN1g38CJunQFDYxY_OSf8oNXDuoEbkw0JmSg2d__X_AkYja/s1600-h/IMG_2322.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j7RkkCEZsRAp6gip_MSbgwC4tDiGY_vD7KvCd-uJDvwaFJ6WkblHCaPYdK6pTWC1KW70u2oH90YaYAsAKK9SsX5RmWzp8qN1g38CJunQFDYxY_OSf8oNXDuoEbkw0JmSg2d__X_AkYja/s400/IMG_2322.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999761278868098" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A good hour before the race comes through, the support vehicles and team cars start going by. here's a Jelly Belly team car.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNdY-XWrpNR0hZPP2JLlc9ZUboHJPeiKHPSdX53Dit0OFKwAwfNypsCzGau75zXmYMfIstBTU350uvKvkwpsE0-pGYFmZ6ZzHmDzrzXAcs2KzZRFZ-GRRgMghyphenhyphengoBQ-Q0WkrMrdQ0Otdw/s1600-h/IMG_2342.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNdY-XWrpNR0hZPP2JLlc9ZUboHJPeiKHPSdX53Dit0OFKwAwfNypsCzGau75zXmYMfIstBTU350uvKvkwpsE0-pGYFmZ6ZzHmDzrzXAcs2KzZRFZ-GRRgMghyphenhyphengoBQ-Q0WkrMrdQ0Otdw/s400/IMG_2342.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999624142676082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is about as crowded as I thought the climb would be. You'll soon see how mistaken I was.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_K7k5i3o5qjsECsxXN-9ZzUMR5301YPqmwH6kUtd8amgAYqYAZRZn1Yyvi51y2jD_ks7VUZGl0DozxH37PCUaWJttbcp8CKZr2jmIELVo02wiQQNDIVLnKdeBW6Hp91brL4u8gNAgVJSy/s1600-h/IMG_2347.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_K7k5i3o5qjsECsxXN-9ZzUMR5301YPqmwH6kUtd8amgAYqYAZRZn1Yyvi51y2jD_ks7VUZGl0DozxH37PCUaWJttbcp8CKZr2jmIELVo02wiQQNDIVLnKdeBW6Hp91brL4u8gNAgVJSy/s400/IMG_2347.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999620422040738" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Motorcycles showing up... race must be close.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIef9dA5BZG9YvdijZ9DWuRy0LoTxx6OBA_ydzzdtwVDdu3RGuzJ47ceH-c1ZVv4PFGs-FQJd2HnUXyCHjvIp0W4Et-rQnyJ-MX6s867EQsn_LXZRFOhhs2ZcQUKVpiCNrR2-wN0DhbkVv/s1600-h/IMG_2349.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIef9dA5BZG9YvdijZ9DWuRy0LoTxx6OBA_ydzzdtwVDdu3RGuzJ47ceH-c1ZVv4PFGs-FQJd2HnUXyCHjvIp0W4Et-rQnyJ-MX6s867EQsn_LXZRFOhhs2ZcQUKVpiCNrR2-wN0DhbkVv/s400/IMG_2349.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999618498557570" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hmmm... we've got a bit of a crowd.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-SomZo_yjrJABuGUxz9xsqDi4Yh3ooi0InKCJAiM0Bj5PQa6pMXdd24Xsroj5MI9Pnb1ljdSy-BrcN58A3jg943XDYPUyqP9PG5ur6vtn4f1wyKOVoIFb2Lh5G7XTapLxXBVzww2Jn1I/s1600-h/IMG_2377.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-SomZo_yjrJABuGUxz9xsqDi4Yh3ooi0InKCJAiM0Bj5PQa6pMXdd24Xsroj5MI9Pnb1ljdSy-BrcN58A3jg943XDYPUyqP9PG5ur6vtn4f1wyKOVoIFb2Lh5G7XTapLxXBVzww2Jn1I/s400/IMG_2377.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999615045261186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Car with speakers blasting the race announcer... now the race has to be really close.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvupSwfKSI2rs0X5H-9dZyjtJ4WaNpZFK2NR50tVa_lAAqJun-B77sqZD5aYOJF7Qd_hBv8oIPjQT1iJXozczWRQvgOo3BB5nibLunSB7-iYORtNbnVf-tHlRYGu4ryjYFw950809sWR8i/s1600-h/IMG_2384.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvupSwfKSI2rs0X5H-9dZyjtJ4WaNpZFK2NR50tVa_lAAqJun-B77sqZD5aYOJF7Qd_hBv8oIPjQT1iJXozczWRQvgOo3BB5nibLunSB7-iYORtNbnVf-tHlRYGu4ryjYFw950809sWR8i/s400/IMG_2384.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999611062819618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Police cars trying to keep everyone back to give riders some room. One of them came over his loudspeaker and said something to the effect of "Watch out, I don't drive very well!" to the amusment of all.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH787YhBj4doOdJLitdurPSxPiTjg73h-RJ_pJXEfDr53PjOK7ohiTHxALTPYIFchkZ1GuKYcek_sc7qCmcB-TAx_rq3LICwSm0ag0XoR1RnpnL1xwNUYmduIGwEHt7LkmSqUf_QjpwvUu/s1600-h/IMG_2386.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH787YhBj4doOdJLitdurPSxPiTjg73h-RJ_pJXEfDr53PjOK7ohiTHxALTPYIFchkZ1GuKYcek_sc7qCmcB-TAx_rq3LICwSm0ag0XoR1RnpnL1xwNUYmduIGwEHt7LkmSqUf_QjpwvUu/s400/IMG_2386.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999401342358034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">TV Motorcycle.. they've got to be coming around the bend!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IgrkavRl_AAL7shqDf-psY1OmEz6B-zIqmulhyphenhyphenUDKkXWfx5S-d8S3nLNTgCq9YDLq9QVZo2wVq2b0kbWkIvIduKC1-qtvqCDFJ3T_8J9LjcJBw6_ED8gAwpmAkeGf84uFAZG6mj_En6c/s1600-h/IMG_2390.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IgrkavRl_AAL7shqDf-psY1OmEz6B-zIqmulhyphenhyphenUDKkXWfx5S-d8S3nLNTgCq9YDLq9QVZo2wVq2b0kbWkIvIduKC1-qtvqCDFJ3T_8J9LjcJBw6_ED8gAwpmAkeGf84uFAZG6mj_En6c/s400/IMG_2390.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999398238482194" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sure enough, there they are. This was a 10 man break several minutes ahead at this</span> point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeS739nd7IS2y73wSbQ0YcwGFUX9efjeg_lp2gyIKNhQ24haPRX6TWD60vtaVnkbEYS2cw_FfneT13eFg8dBD7Da3A0bhNJWTcBTvj7KuvE_CMxIss2WYC86IQJm5OJuuyBfPNj48T3xy/s1600-h/IMG_2392.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeS739nd7IS2y73wSbQ0YcwGFUX9efjeg_lp2gyIKNhQ24haPRX6TWD60vtaVnkbEYS2cw_FfneT13eFg8dBD7Da3A0bhNJWTcBTvj7KuvE_CMxIss2WYC86IQJm5OJuuyBfPNj48T3xy/s400/IMG_2392.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999394751442658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">An interesting flash hit off someone else's camera.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zt15wFAEHDPZQYj6zeZUBczGsW8vVtmYEjVpeyTWtrtdCJKBwv-wjX-dXabp3ZiV8O_NdwRVTOBhfZ9mAqGbtScQPcojmWrPIzU8tW2jJTVGEc6_cdK1ktE4aRBO3zLjcyRF46ZuW3La/s1600-h/IMG_2394.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zt15wFAEHDPZQYj6zeZUBczGsW8vVtmYEjVpeyTWtrtdCJKBwv-wjX-dXabp3ZiV8O_NdwRVTOBhfZ9mAqGbtScQPcojmWrPIzU8tW2jJTVGEc6_cdK1ktE4aRBO3zLjcyRF46ZuW3La/s400/IMG_2394.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999393302791938" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Stephen Cozza leading the break.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4WacOaGK6w_VNVrdtnzY-vB1Z-GzroSO-IJoUBIBJJW-4hRuEVGdLAwS1eGxD6vzBkNTBkgZwec2CrUzyeeJOJh2V6VelNYd3QX2MjRDmdQeM8e72JzYL_EUkwUjKjvkIrYzSlMxcu5c/s1600-h/IMG_2397.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4WacOaGK6w_VNVrdtnzY-vB1Z-GzroSO-IJoUBIBJJW-4hRuEVGdLAwS1eGxD6vzBkNTBkgZwec2CrUzyeeJOJh2V6VelNYd3QX2MjRDmdQeM8e72JzYL_EUkwUjKjvkIrYzSlMxcu5c/s400/IMG_2397.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999392090401538" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Grisha Niermann (right) and Thomas Peterson (the day's eventual stage winner) in the break.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnoN0RKwFRgeQpv1iSTc3GiBppw9MFNB7oHRPN7A-KieiZZG0apPvAwBuRS6kVY9-VLaI1bWS1yy4Zk_BpvHiZVpL6toHxGhpht4ojbDtJzk_igaIHsnR7QQ7b1sgnHhmBUR8_q5e8qN5/s1600-h/IMG_2407.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnoN0RKwFRgeQpv1iSTc3GiBppw9MFNB7oHRPN7A-KieiZZG0apPvAwBuRS6kVY9-VLaI1bWS1yy4Zk_BpvHiZVpL6toHxGhpht4ojbDtJzk_igaIHsnR7QQ7b1sgnHhmBUR8_q5e8qN5/s400/IMG_2407.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999151361956690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then come the break's support cars. Here's Garmin Slipstream.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8bycDn8EqKf_w62PedprrKsF7VhzScVhmQ1q4DhsM30UOJkHq1Z1q_3I0vZqWZbZz1-rw1tZVALeZN4qEuGSt0vLuUauntPeb8LzPgullaHcChOXs4yg8v1jlmGpObnXJk42x-mcFi7v/s1600-h/IMG_2412.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8bycDn8EqKf_w62PedprrKsF7VhzScVhmQ1q4DhsM30UOJkHq1Z1q_3I0vZqWZbZz1-rw1tZVALeZN4qEuGSt0vLuUauntPeb8LzPgullaHcChOXs4yg8v1jlmGpObnXJk42x-mcFi7v/s400/IMG_2412.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999149158045058" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Team OUCH (yeah, plenty of jokes to be made there) team car.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRZbk_X2SJBfhRy_GCs9V3dAtoYvS6BIfYA46soXO1zCkIyyDb3x56MlMrFcjIb1O_JHrRFxiXqhGHbbqZKL0b3Q4WXkMZ_aHoL-xPdOP0xMAoel6DBBYHjobQZ8BoEB5krnLO0RlRBz3/s1600-h/IMG_2420.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRZbk_X2SJBfhRy_GCs9V3dAtoYvS6BIfYA46soXO1zCkIyyDb3x56MlMrFcjIb1O_JHrRFxiXqhGHbbqZKL0b3Q4WXkMZ_aHoL-xPdOP0xMAoel6DBBYHjobQZ8BoEB5krnLO0RlRBz3/s400/IMG_2420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999146369846738" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And of course, one of the famous Mavic neutral support cars.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeNZmJKViE7KWEaE6V-p8Wsm6Qdk2ZaNbx2pa_Okubg42TM2mVa_nXxo-UIwFpZWM7NJoo7MgUNqLlluRSDOFBWV4Kc8KRaP40RACZ4ROVIClhFBXjvrLzprACa47cKhDNggyKG8ARnJ_/s1600-h/IMG_2436.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeNZmJKViE7KWEaE6V-p8Wsm6Qdk2ZaNbx2pa_Okubg42TM2mVa_nXxo-UIwFpZWM7NJoo7MgUNqLlluRSDOFBWV4Kc8KRaP40RACZ4ROVIClhFBXjvrLzprACa47cKhDNggyKG8ARnJ_/s400/IMG_2436.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999148815174786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Several minutes later, here comes the peleton.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiTKfGMOIvCYcy9BWpH_Vg3v_Ty8szwvR9DBrYEKEDXUvqLWJmeRBnS1vk4zwm9l-ic8joHXaqvQdy-P0-teLgYGPznzTnzEJNcyX9JTKupXRrRCEFYr_2L4ExJvNzRM-ceOZbGI14L0M/s1600-h/IMG_2441.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiTKfGMOIvCYcy9BWpH_Vg3v_Ty8szwvR9DBrYEKEDXUvqLWJmeRBnS1vk4zwm9l-ic8joHXaqvQdy-P0-teLgYGPznzTnzEJNcyX9JTKupXRrRCEFYr_2L4ExJvNzRM-ceOZbGI14L0M/s400/IMG_2441.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303999145507181250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The peleton led by Tyler Hamilton and other members of Rock Racing.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxvCFhYguec9wjqXruHOfGO5npaE7fDlKvxwU5FsSNIZs1S2lwM-wPtRuE_cBfoTMoX0prDIfBHRM49K2k6K2ELRkBH-xke-UwAMF2GTEwfNf0s_UT_UumXQf87OOK60k-yCnCtC8WnZj/s1600-h/IMG_2444.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxvCFhYguec9wjqXruHOfGO5npaE7fDlKvxwU5FsSNIZs1S2lwM-wPtRuE_cBfoTMoX0prDIfBHRM49K2k6K2ELRkBH-xke-UwAMF2GTEwfNf0s_UT_UumXQf87OOK60k-yCnCtC8WnZj/s400/IMG_2444.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998856581766882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The majority of the 130 odd racers were in this group.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7l9sSq5W-nhq5dMMfWWtLfymntC8jHH1XVIsNF3XRuO_zfbIT78Y5WwiSpm_45xogfnL9tJFUI9wcG8OEDnm2KQ9pETDaiuUdVyJFZRukYsxHMwoy6z4KO2GCEYF-6RgB9TEA99d3W7Y1/s1600-h/IMG_2446.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7l9sSq5W-nhq5dMMfWWtLfymntC8jHH1XVIsNF3XRuO_zfbIT78Y5WwiSpm_45xogfnL9tJFUI9wcG8OEDnm2KQ9pETDaiuUdVyJFZRukYsxHMwoy6z4KO2GCEYF-6RgB9TEA99d3W7Y1/s400/IMG_2446.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998853121280866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Including none other than Mellow Johnny on the wheel of one Levi Leipheimer.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmKWcfcxzeFjxX11kH2eh7G2jJMVapV4JXlea2Z-aUoTqPlVt2s7CzxBjcySR_UALcOvy-b4Hztd8AtB3kdrDPYebNrl3wGvpc2ckuxTfCnlYjuqlKHoYre3Wrjuxu2dQp3UOevInFizA/s1600-h/IMG_2451.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmKWcfcxzeFjxX11kH2eh7G2jJMVapV4JXlea2Z-aUoTqPlVt2s7CzxBjcySR_UALcOvy-b4Hztd8AtB3kdrDPYebNrl3wGvpc2ckuxTfCnlYjuqlKHoYre3Wrjuxu2dQp3UOevInFizA/s400/IMG_2451.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998851713767538" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The pictures almost make it seem like they just keep coming, but the entire large group passed in well under 30 seconds. Probably closer to 15.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieTIlIsC1KoHL5bVdn4mhZNpQzGXn09WFDrrr4fY_OxlsiKvYOB4bhwuMKoixszj9AXxZXzmwqPLAwmNQ4c4fBId3EYTtDvgKiWUmBCzJEsoKj99g5MXmzVvgFHjSVX97MtzauzVnSy3Z/s1600-h/IMG_2460.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieTIlIsC1KoHL5bVdn4mhZNpQzGXn09WFDrrr4fY_OxlsiKvYOB4bhwuMKoixszj9AXxZXzmwqPLAwmNQ4c4fBId3EYTtDvgKiWUmBCzJEsoKj99g5MXmzVvgFHjSVX97MtzauzVnSy3Z/s400/IMG_2460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998851511332706" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then began the groups chasing to get back with the group. Riders may have crashed, had flats, gone back to team cars, be lousy hill climbers, etc. so teams will drop back to help their riders get back in contact with the peleton. Here's crazy strong sprinter Mark Cavendish getting hauled up the hill by teammates.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEntjvAXmLir3G2_aVre63SaNqCuywlyTVz6zXvkvucpJnLpVjAsl_Hu0fASDNzmeUQRHWPavYTmvHeyCQY18dI-kXzRStck7JrX3iehTlFBxIiT43ohnK5sMIE1MJPfb0G6MTT9DB6ZWY/s1600-h/IMG_2465.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEntjvAXmLir3G2_aVre63SaNqCuywlyTVz6zXvkvucpJnLpVjAsl_Hu0fASDNzmeUQRHWPavYTmvHeyCQY18dI-kXzRStck7JrX3iehTlFBxIiT43ohnK5sMIE1MJPfb0G6MTT9DB6ZWY/s400/IMG_2465.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998848379674690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then comes the race director. If you're behind the race director, you just might be in trouble.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDtTFIIJj2c-SFwcKX_r3BRIBM7r9q13l7G9EWltTWxh7blivEfbt9JJXJg6GiimHyiQuZb30998YTBLW9n6IugF4eX-RIAwaBvNHnG3cVHZKNoEyeuflz2ZhXL7KCBWV9zsnrw2iOr6n/s1600-h/IMG_2469.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDtTFIIJj2c-SFwcKX_r3BRIBM7r9q13l7G9EWltTWxh7blivEfbt9JJXJg6GiimHyiQuZb30998YTBLW9n6IugF4eX-RIAwaBvNHnG3cVHZKNoEyeuflz2ZhXL7KCBWV9zsnrw2iOr6n/s400/IMG_2469.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998594864191954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Followed by more team cars - such as Team Columbia's.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM7bDAG0HGmWdnuXMWu2YFsln90iZhVRRa2T4G5Mp1bWDIHobLgaPrkKC4_lSAdrUUkWM0P4AK51sqwZ4h1bKAMy49Mbxti-aAe88_AS40bC6zYzn5iYkLOFDbmK8Pxd_mmRI21yCVrNU/s1600-h/IMG_2476.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM7bDAG0HGmWdnuXMWu2YFsln90iZhVRRa2T4G5Mp1bWDIHobLgaPrkKC4_lSAdrUUkWM0P4AK51sqwZ4h1bKAMy49Mbxti-aAe88_AS40bC6zYzn5iYkLOFDbmK8Pxd_mmRI21yCVrNU/s400/IMG_2476.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998590882446322" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cervelo Test Team</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmmU5v5fPeK64IKlC4jnlRUvI_aFYnUMldMYDV14n2eiwwzAzkRVbN15YbVcNKCuVkksIuVU24C2n6mp8dO_sdk9JY0wcqO4tMDD_i4Zyzp2-V_FybWeqEGIKNCuTE9YirJLNOcfi5VvW/s1600-h/IMG_2486.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmmU5v5fPeK64IKlC4jnlRUvI_aFYnUMldMYDV14n2eiwwzAzkRVbN15YbVcNKCuVkksIuVU24C2n6mp8dO_sdk9JY0wcqO4tMDD_i4Zyzp2-V_FybWeqEGIKNCuTE9YirJLNOcfi5VvW/s400/IMG_2486.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998588406791442" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And Rock Racing.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJDHC91hBQRFyvbPtsBNpTsHP_NRgBwqwT8wT-zZQEF4ydNr47QBznlh-Jichgjoonms7aNdQ16eF_sRZFFqJzy3vThKM2SX7LWPB5jsa74vp7CFYWAjhEN5ZZ11-qPBbtHXgVS2G7qaC/s1600-h/IMG_2487.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJDHC91hBQRFyvbPtsBNpTsHP_NRgBwqwT8wT-zZQEF4ydNr47QBznlh-Jichgjoonms7aNdQ16eF_sRZFFqJzy3vThKM2SX7LWPB5jsa74vp7CFYWAjhEN5ZZ11-qPBbtHXgVS2G7qaC/s400/IMG_2487.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998588303242690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then come the stragglers.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf02j5pV3-pKQGF3BBKzD3ZgwmqcW5X-AULewOhYwcf5JuxIXuxFxo9EzSzgNhN9gZUPoL8CBMB507Fvn84FHoonplJxj-ac9zCzyX9QnYj3SaRVxanU12Xhhwvn6g4gRkxTi1S9Dp9LRN/s1600-h/IMG_2494.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf02j5pV3-pKQGF3BBKzD3ZgwmqcW5X-AULewOhYwcf5JuxIXuxFxo9EzSzgNhN9gZUPoL8CBMB507Fvn84FHoonplJxj-ac9zCzyX9QnYj3SaRVxanU12Xhhwvn6g4gRkxTi1S9Dp9LRN/s400/IMG_2494.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998584189685026" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Brett Lancaster has a bike I'm envious of, but I'm not envious of his position riding in cold, wet, windy conditions trying to catch the main field.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8yHc-x72HdEaMlMRNNGuTKmVkV0Z7rJvh-BsWvxO_GzkeLVqOqndl4K0Wp3x-ukw6c5LbASFVq-PA54rn6tJGHB9_bCklOhhUntiiVn7tnGd-Rm4pfqD0Q7XzchTDrQadXhjxxBFKVGx/s1600-h/IMG_2501.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8yHc-x72HdEaMlMRNNGuTKmVkV0Z7rJvh-BsWvxO_GzkeLVqOqndl4K0Wp3x-ukw6c5LbASFVq-PA54rn6tJGHB9_bCklOhhUntiiVn7tnGd-Rm4pfqD0Q7XzchTDrQadXhjxxBFKVGx/s400/IMG_2501.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998279542143042" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then I headed back up the hill in a hurry to get back to the car, but not so much of a hurry that I couldn't stop to get a picture of just how many people lined the course.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQeWK1vs6NQozmCNI2PKQU_fH_de7sVGPwFJwjPCY32OgADZowkcgdrTal4zNLCgTsBv56LSpofL-7zrdtygoLka_ifj4Aoq9E3oOk1cdrLCH5gk5RopVyplb6AibBJmLZK_G3EneIeQ2/s1600-h/IMG_2507.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQeWK1vs6NQozmCNI2PKQU_fH_de7sVGPwFJwjPCY32OgADZowkcgdrTal4zNLCgTsBv56LSpofL-7zrdtygoLka_ifj4Aoq9E3oOk1cdrLCH5gk5RopVyplb6AibBJmLZK_G3EneIeQ2/s400/IMG_2507.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998281094786482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh wait, more stragglers! The course and conditions resulted in a lot of riders slipping off the back of the race.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIxEYblPLXJtAo6J-t94AcHV62rHPTlfA0cY37YvWV-xyyJmqvrG_bQiGjFKL7HZcKurg6LD8hSKF7ywTNHniemuII4u91_kASJ57XiXV5jypbM4K6becVtYLXyN2Mw-Kftgbgf2lnKJ4/s1600-h/IMG_2531.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIxEYblPLXJtAo6J-t94AcHV62rHPTlfA0cY37YvWV-xyyJmqvrG_bQiGjFKL7HZcKurg6LD8hSKF7ywTNHniemuII4u91_kASJ57XiXV5jypbM4K6becVtYLXyN2Mw-Kftgbgf2lnKJ4/s400/IMG_2531.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998274613508114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And the last rider up the hill, followed by probably another twenty vehicles, including a "sweeper" van that was denoted with handbrooms attached to the front.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaKKzIjEHh5eQmxmikXAQrNarlTKifgDSC0mu2mrihkoGBYVq0JfQHS2Ss04Wezl_tmPt-2wfHfn5l7hxDWjQD2TU52P00iTfqUhAb0JICKULgEwU4N56gnrnRTYQXuVNWZafFc6L_YE/s1600-h/IMG_2536.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaKKzIjEHh5eQmxmikXAQrNarlTKifgDSC0mu2mrihkoGBYVq0JfQHS2Ss04Wezl_tmPt-2wfHfn5l7hxDWjQD2TU52P00iTfqUhAb0JICKULgEwU4N56gnrnRTYQXuVNWZafFc6L_YE/s400/IMG_2536.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998270888142578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Everyone waiting around wondering if anything else is coming up the hill. Didn't you see the sweeper van?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0irrCP4rClinFeT80d31ICsoz7YLFUCQiuseNy0EYlpq5W_A_zcvIQ3a3dLRqd8j6TqFQRQUU8qOko5HAP1Pc_iwLlYjhLs679tae-y_wffD82jPN_EKKANlgLN2WP-kt1kee6A3VdY/s1600-h/IMG_2546.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0irrCP4rClinFeT80d31ICsoz7YLFUCQiuseNy0EYlpq5W_A_zcvIQ3a3dLRqd8j6TqFQRQUU8qOko5HAP1Pc_iwLlYjhLs679tae-y_wffD82jPN_EKKANlgLN2WP-kt1kee6A3VdY/s400/IMG_2546.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303998273615770370" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The footrace back through the mass of cars began my journey to Santa Cruz.<br /><br /></span>And in case you missed it, Mellow Johnny is Lance Armstrong's nickname. Better take another look, huh?<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-62328827922406291202009-02-16T21:16:00.000-08:002009-02-16T22:31:36.636-08:00Race ReportWhen I planned out my day around the race today, I knew there were plenty of question marks and uncertainty as far as potential roadblocks to being where I wanted to be when I needed to be there. As far as the technical details went, today was perfect. I arrived on the climb at Tunitas Creek Rd. early enough to stake out a good spot. The climb was packed with hundreds if not thousands of people by the time the race came through - and it was probably one of the most remote sections of the course. It was pouring hard and I spent the morning soaked, but it was well worth the wait. It was extremely exhilerating to be on a packed climb with people going crazy cheering on these racers with everyone involved soaking wet. Definitely the atmosphere I was hoping for.<br /><br />After the race came through I immediately headed south and got to Santa Cruz about an hour ahead of the racers. I was lucky enough to get a spot right on the railing at the 200 meter mark before the finish line, right when the sprint wind-up generally happens. Even more random was running into Karl (from the UO team) who ended up only feet away from me before we noticed each other.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZQZPbQjKneKT49dNNJqQIZFI_TsR2-8u_U9SahULWZPb8JxbFR35P2xDUw8cwhMna_3_YmdJUCbwSvnBKd-rszDxNP757ke-DrgNn1Nhm255CmJOHv_k-wiBYKFt7Pe4VnIJE_fYuPw/s1600-h/IMG_2618.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZQZPbQjKneKT49dNNJqQIZFI_TsR2-8u_U9SahULWZPb8JxbFR35P2xDUw8cwhMna_3_YmdJUCbwSvnBKd-rszDxNP757ke-DrgNn1Nhm255CmJOHv_k-wiBYKFt7Pe4VnIJE_fYuPw/s400/IMG_2618.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303632747821466706" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The racers came flying through - Levi Leipheimer did his superman thing and broke away from the pack, caught the disintegrating breakaway, and then dropped them too. Except for Thomas Peterson, the stage winner, that is. So now Levi is the overall tour leader.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0r5XdOxBjeqqvC-dd4u_T5yaLzIsRuOYlnfcowDFdPnAkXLBUWab1uEvou_1V4pYS8BqtdxsU9sj8A9EW4t3sAqrGvF0rxBaB0U6TpGOAPoBY__IN6fbIDJJx7XNqpzdDvIVJEP_e4g/s1600-h/IMG_2783.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0r5XdOxBjeqqvC-dd4u_T5yaLzIsRuOYlnfcowDFdPnAkXLBUWab1uEvou_1V4pYS8BqtdxsU9sj8A9EW4t3sAqrGvF0rxBaB0U6TpGOAPoBY__IN6fbIDJJx7XNqpzdDvIVJEP_e4g/s400/IMG_2783.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303632743263790386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I took 550ish photos today, so that's just a little teaser of what's to come. I'll probably have one or more posts in the near future of nothing but pictures, but no time to sort and adjust tonight.<br /><br />The photo report is mixed. Of those 550 photos, probably about 100 are of the actual racers racing, as was to be expected with the short amount of time I had to see them go by. The beer cup lens hood/plastic bag cover surpassed all expectations and drew a ton of attention and compliments, including a lot of really impressed photographers who had real hoods on their cameras. The lighting on the climb was much too dark for my liking, but I mostly made it work. In the finish area, I had a nasty shadow/sunlight combo, but I got decent shots there as well.<br /><br />The one problem was that I was almost too close - with racers coming less than 10 feet away at high speed, even with my best efforts panning at 1/200th of a second on the climb and 1/400th of a second at the finish, my camera's autofocus became its weakness. I doubt I could have done better manually, but often it just couldn't quite keep up with how fast I was taking pictures. That said, I did get a number of really nice, clear shots and a number more where the speed of the racers makes for a good photo, in spite of the fact that they're not quite crisply focused.<br /><br />I'm going to have to do some race number lookups to determine which soggy racers I got pictures of (they all kind of look the same with rain gear on) but yes, I did get pictures of Lance. I won't spoil everything, but if you're a cycling fan I've got a couple more goodies coming too. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Overall, the day was extremely exciting and everything I was hoping it would be.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-38622485875160510832009-02-15T19:36:00.001-08:002009-02-15T19:41:54.494-08:00ImprovisingWith this horrendous weather we're having in California, I realized that my simple "stick the camera in a plastic bag" solution wasn't going to address the problem of rain getting on the lens and mucking up the photos of the race tomorrow. I figured a hood might be my best bet, but after checking out the only camera shop I could find that was open on a Sunday, I was out of luck. They had a hood for my lens, but it was $40 and was an off-brand accessory. I set about trying to think up what sort of improvised hood I could come up with, when Joey's friend Andrew stumbled upon the answer: red drinking cups usually synonymous with alcohol consumption!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyi7FlIcB3RiPKkWrGU7Amg_AAaCsg5qgkHMK9fFalaL2ZYFlXOMaSClDqazdQoZFJ8Ezuu71Sjsyiri-LgFH3_zprWJQ1evvu-6h6NUGjBAo0eayvyhKnsqdprnZY0rmQNmj0teE0QuM/s1600-h/photo(2).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyi7FlIcB3RiPKkWrGU7Amg_AAaCsg5qgkHMK9fFalaL2ZYFlXOMaSClDqazdQoZFJ8Ezuu71Sjsyiri-LgFH3_zprWJQ1evvu-6h6NUGjBAo0eayvyhKnsqdprnZY0rmQNmj0teE0QuM/s400/photo(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303234101952153074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IK1qgl9ZUyNyxn0oztH2lmva1nbaFt8EkgoMwZ3vhJuLo47ne2x3zNMJEqyheXTV0NC-Z4TO4dnjNe524tuU-QbmYHrofTXxgDJ_G0xwMSAd8a1OTVIxFUKnzpnao8Ey3EKckq7Kuao/s1600-h/photo(3).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IK1qgl9ZUyNyxn0oztH2lmva1nbaFt8EkgoMwZ3vhJuLo47ne2x3zNMJEqyheXTV0NC-Z4TO4dnjNe524tuU-QbmYHrofTXxgDJ_G0xwMSAd8a1OTVIxFUKnzpnao8Ey3EKckq7Kuao/s400/photo(3).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303234098245412338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhQV_H5O3ESyaEdJ54IacQ9wZlBoTDpx45_p15NE5wFyRwCOo0yflazZ8n3P0SbraLmRSJfFXi4bufAjezUV_yO6X9KNZkSuPpG39bQqFsfmkukgxJK1OtEYAJzPbBHMupf2MvaGJ7VA/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhQV_H5O3ESyaEdJ54IacQ9wZlBoTDpx45_p15NE5wFyRwCOo0yflazZ8n3P0SbraLmRSJfFXi4bufAjezUV_yO6X9KNZkSuPpG39bQqFsfmkukgxJK1OtEYAJzPbBHMupf2MvaGJ7VA/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303234098745924754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Rather than using a bag for the camera, I rigged up the hoods for both lenses and decided to attach and tape a bag to each lens to make sure there will be no leakage between the hood and the bag. Now I just need to run to the store and get another bag for the second lens. That way I'll have both lenses as options tomorrow.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-89327776997257111282009-02-15T16:08:00.000-08:002009-02-15T17:59:56.633-08:00The last few days in pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmc1TYuY5HoxY0V4WHg8Tm67dI2UA6JbY2aepc4uFQZveU9k3sSupHgdUQ7HhUAXVXlPR8HNR9c1VJvKI08qnSbfl9P3AvHbSnitk9kM6lViQ8tzmjQN54d1kGCVsepGuN-CrYLtZYVIA/s1600-h/photo(3).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmc1TYuY5HoxY0V4WHg8Tm67dI2UA6JbY2aepc4uFQZveU9k3sSupHgdUQ7HhUAXVXlPR8HNR9c1VJvKI08qnSbfl9P3AvHbSnitk9kM6lViQ8tzmjQN54d1kGCVsepGuN-CrYLtZYVIA/s400/photo(3).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183686792002386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Friday night: Cooking dinner</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9xfkZAb9JyNRvmgEO9cjcnCVzxbGejOueYo68qQyTveXQLM0IVFQNHlPtEDduB4kR1WnmjlOUvDvtjrcHQGClI_tED79XkFD6V09DZOzI2GCoOP2xRvkbfC1WxNQgpnhxmMc6bHHZFo/s1600-h/photo(2).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9xfkZAb9JyNRvmgEO9cjcnCVzxbGejOueYo68qQyTveXQLM0IVFQNHlPtEDduB4kR1WnmjlOUvDvtjrcHQGClI_tED79XkFD6V09DZOzI2GCoOP2xRvkbfC1WxNQgpnhxmMc6bHHZFo/s400/photo(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183688505453426" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Saturday afternoon: The new camper has arrived.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnriRiH5Y0HUcl54-BZDu4jTsXELvRGBQ0Ju7Khp9qce8wzc7LOkRyz4e2W-AsDLS9tneV91_9NaTuXNXjblwF7ZlxPhL9d-h3s1p2mu0MkTWGgEP1xr4TIUO6xP1X7BRgZX5tVjRiis/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnriRiH5Y0HUcl54-BZDu4jTsXELvRGBQ0Ju7Khp9qce8wzc7LOkRyz4e2W-AsDLS9tneV91_9NaTuXNXjblwF7ZlxPhL9d-h3s1p2mu0MkTWGgEP1xr4TIUO6xP1X7BRgZX5tVjRiis/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183512981865170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday morning: flew on the Oregon themed plane.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqtj6Y766nxp32mmanNy52aPDELJJklR7IyXHbD5rESqI3wX_5oP8UVH48iqRVRYee4WvQEFQxZpx2vRJsOUQArq8VsxQ_qOd0O1Uscc3ccDLJohxgKJ1gPPHWRVO4O3476TFARqF1JM/s1600-h/photo(4).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqtj6Y766nxp32mmanNy52aPDELJJklR7IyXHbD5rESqI3wX_5oP8UVH48iqRVRYee4WvQEFQxZpx2vRJsOUQArq8VsxQ_qOd0O1Uscc3ccDLJohxgKJ1gPPHWRVO4O3476TFARqF1JM/s400/photo(4).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183508113331554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday mid-day: Arrival in San Francisco<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgkbpwd3o-E0m1c9LHpv4It4JEk28kRTBDzvdDbJG0MyTMWlBAu3VKxqESd7gEMaVQxWYuo1keOLNmj9r8Gi2Jv-bImrvGG0rV3nSLnp7WKlH0o-3WPu_xu0d-3hye8mUMlQufL8ofws/s1600-h/photo(5).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgkbpwd3o-E0m1c9LHpv4It4JEk28kRTBDzvdDbJG0MyTMWlBAu3VKxqESd7gEMaVQxWYuo1keOLNmj9r8Gi2Jv-bImrvGG0rV3nSLnp7WKlH0o-3WPu_xu0d-3hye8mUMlQufL8ofws/s400/photo(5).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183506682464882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday afternoon: Mac party<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeleJ8u-D0vwRulrzTfSAvbvUsIBSHqzJEnLaKyLmTcwQDgataiYZDhkSTT1mJwJXriUUkUDom_IaWr0hXpC6hdxqXd2afiMhvftsm4qT6MHsfLmYyLmHJ2quDw7xfSzATWjEfm_QrE8/s1600-h/photo(6).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeleJ8u-D0vwRulrzTfSAvbvUsIBSHqzJEnLaKyLmTcwQDgataiYZDhkSTT1mJwJXriUUkUDom_IaWr0hXpC6hdxqXd2afiMhvftsm4qT6MHsfLmYyLmHJ2quDw7xfSzATWjEfm_QrE8/s400/photo(6).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183502537016146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday afternoon: raining cats and dogs</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LlyHXgVkrs3_KT_tWmRY3YJm03_654BdwLR8SHgs_Y9s36_B0E2exGIYpxDJ_kw0UtSeVbNb5bHJIt-UVPDsglgATs25An-JsARIQlHfH-LJ1PTop8UQ9oYURc2-Aif6jPDPAhLRLto/s1600-h/photo(7).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LlyHXgVkrs3_KT_tWmRY3YJm03_654BdwLR8SHgs_Y9s36_B0E2exGIYpxDJ_kw0UtSeVbNb5bHJIt-UVPDsglgATs25An-JsARIQlHfH-LJ1PTop8UQ9oYURc2-Aif6jPDPAhLRLto/s400/photo(7).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303183501229138226" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday afternoon: still raining</span>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-44834846324456179432009-02-12T20:40:00.000-08:002009-02-12T20:50:58.656-08:00Cutting Branches, Snapping ShotsOne of my regular assignments from my aunt and uncle has been pruning trees on their property. At this point, after 8-10 trees, I'd consider myself a near-expert. So yesterday and today I decided to tackle the big tree. Here's the pile I ended up with:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGssNmjb1YKf3iJ5zV-N2i0hO3Fidzk94b2PaMYswJuawYvq1hHhR54bvOP4NCpaDjOPj224YLZR1w6DPZdAJYzk2pm8MjzD7SG5aQC66EHZvOBI6FCrCuaaAyNmO1IYGBbunNREh3adc/s1600-h/photo(2).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGssNmjb1YKf3iJ5zV-N2i0hO3Fidzk94b2PaMYswJuawYvq1hHhR54bvOP4NCpaDjOPj224YLZR1w6DPZdAJYzk2pm8MjzD7SG5aQC66EHZvOBI6FCrCuaaAyNmO1IYGBbunNREh3adc/s400/photo(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302137666793698610" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And the highest branches aren't even cut yet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AYSUh49b5dtGC5-XxDpGW2MepRnN_6K0ucpWI_ZEwOlVCfIy1xZE0LX8UPfGTaNTFJ5cRG8igYWPUoMs5BCNBTkCV_jNWqPSFJ4rjaNFQ79nJIDUe3-4luMfAfubjCJtaVTrww5wjyw/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AYSUh49b5dtGC5-XxDpGW2MepRnN_6K0ucpWI_ZEwOlVCfIy1xZE0LX8UPfGTaNTFJ5cRG8igYWPUoMs5BCNBTkCV_jNWqPSFJ4rjaNFQ79nJIDUe3-4luMfAfubjCJtaVTrww5wjyw/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302137667402383922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Today's weather was similar to what's forecasted for the Bay Area next Monday, so I spent some time adjusting camera settings and taking some test shots panning on cars going by. I'm sure I weirded out a few passing motorists by taking pictures of them. Don't worry motorists, I didn't actually want your photo. <br /><br />It looks like at ISO 400-800 I can get away with 1/125th of a second for objects moving under 20MPH and 1/200-320th for approximately 30MPH. It creates a nice minor action blur while maintaining clarity. As far as zoom, the 70-300mm lens is only useful if I'm at least 30-40 feet away. Any less than that and the 18-55 is my only viable choice. Wondering what on earth I'm talking about? The Tour of California next week, of course!Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-337031423509149332009-02-10T14:36:00.000-08:002009-02-10T15:38:58.850-08:00Big weekend plansIt started as an idea planted in my head a mere four days ago (thanks Mike!) - the <a href="http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/">Tour of California</a> is coming up, you're unemployed and free to travel, and California isn't that far away...<br /><br />That in combination with hearing of recruiters at the finish line of <a href="http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Route/stages/stage2.html">stage 2</a> got me at least considering the possibility of finding my way down there.<br /><br />Talking with Joey the other day really solidified the idea, and I decided I wanted to go.<br /><br />I set about looking for transportation options, but after no rideshare options appeared and train/greyhound options took the better part of a day each way for absurd prices upwards of $200, I was about ready to write it off. Until I checked airline prices, that is. <a href="http://www.kayak.com/">Kayak.com</a> is a great resource, just so you know. Round-trip flight to Oakland for $170 with an hour and a half travel time. Now we're talking.<br /><br />That price sounded just about right, and it sounded even better after I calculated my tax refund (read: not being claimed by anyone else as a dependent makes a HUGE difference when you don't make much money). I booked the flight leaving early on the 15th and returning late on the 17th and will be crashing on Joey's very familiar couch.<br /><br />So then I set about viewing options... and the best I came up with was hopping the BART to the Daly City stop and walking a couple miles to the beachfront highway the race goes by.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QWoV_HQEsmiu8glAuAAO1rKFJur24DRAMFJf1x1Ul9d7HTqXdNbG7RMlVizFcimL4opFyhkSeOdJ_vCXtd7zI88JfiECHIoazC2s4t-x_46KWUN84VzP-tvExmfFigwzZ_UFg9wp5dE/s1600-h/Picture+1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 390px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QWoV_HQEsmiu8glAuAAO1rKFJur24DRAMFJf1x1Ul9d7HTqXdNbG7RMlVizFcimL4opFyhkSeOdJ_vCXtd7zI88JfiECHIoazC2s4t-x_46KWUN84VzP-tvExmfFigwzZ_UFg9wp5dE/s400/Picture+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301314060084008818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's a decent viewing spot with a slight grade that would be considered a hill if it weren't for the fact that we're talking about professional cyclists. 3% won't be enough to slow them down. I decided I really wouldn't be doing myself justice.<br /><br />I started looking into car rental options, but quickly became frustrated as renting a car while until age 25 is far too expensive. Then I found another option: rent-a-wreck. Not a nice rental car by any means, but cheap, and only a $5/day under 25 charge. As long as it can manage to drive 150 miles or so, we're good.<br /><br />So now I'm in the process of planning my viewpoints during the race. I think I'm going to try to make two different stops - one at approximately mile 52 at the top of the biggest climb of the day, and then head to the finish line in Santa Cruz. Now I just need to double-check road closures and where to find parking.<br /><br />And of course, I'm bringing my camera. I need to get some practice getting clear shots of fast-moving objects in the next week. And as much as I'd like to be able to shoot in RAW, I think I'm going to have to go back to Jpeg for the race due to the massive number of pictures I'll be taking within only a minute or two. The buffer just can't handle more than 6-7 RAW+Jpeg shots in a 15 second period. I'll likely be taking upwards of 100 in a two-minute period. I'll just need to make sure I've got the camera set perfectly before the race gets there. Let's hope there's a break off the front up the hill.<br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/view_route?r=329985958411">link to the full course profile</a><br /><br />Exciting times. More to come!Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-88615200636339549782009-02-08T21:37:00.000-08:002009-02-08T22:31:12.712-08:00ReimaginedSo if you checked out the blog between Friday and now, you will have hopefully seen my new website. As is the case with everything in the times of modern technology, that website was already far too obsolete as of oh... this morning. Here's what it looked like:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiyTzfFpsM72Vv7M5q2dPUcACIh5SdwCkbgYDQPWc43fnKtukMzvSbpWSddhow5daHzFzCpW-73GT-E2CYw7J_RutIY_8NfUuqeW25hHfB1yzDDz14mZmjOLihBnU9-mU6ssOvOGHx4c/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiyTzfFpsM72Vv7M5q2dPUcACIh5SdwCkbgYDQPWc43fnKtukMzvSbpWSddhow5daHzFzCpW-73GT-E2CYw7J_RutIY_8NfUuqeW25hHfB1yzDDz14mZmjOLihBnU9-mU6ssOvOGHx4c/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300668083770780882" border="0" /></a><br />And this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveUo9tkb4wbIbvSTbkuHCW98w9deCprM2I74m-eLV7i93gtnZsZrUPZQZ4GjAxZ0DYYrJw4vRyQ3vvPt4SfrkcbjJtcC73RcJKe8t7p1YXs7ayZh3dw986NxwtRXV3oKKbSZw81og0IM/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveUo9tkb4wbIbvSTbkuHCW98w9deCprM2I74m-eLV7i93gtnZsZrUPZQZ4GjAxZ0DYYrJw4vRyQ3vvPt4SfrkcbjJtcC73RcJKe8t7p1YXs7ayZh3dw986NxwtRXV3oKKbSZw81og0IM/s400/Picture+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300668082196720674" border="0" /></a><br />And this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuhUEJDnCpUNNdLAOBK6i5pEdjIhMme9q2BbsrI2yu0Im_B8Oy5J9QmZfdo3uYmieFBDXNrZXkJPWJn2xq2V4St4SqAMqWry8zE9bNWmsaZV1WUPkrmq0yRuqPKreIHaBNoDhyphenhyphenHtBrfM/s1600-h/Picture+4.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuhUEJDnCpUNNdLAOBK6i5pEdjIhMme9q2BbsrI2yu0Im_B8Oy5J9QmZfdo3uYmieFBDXNrZXkJPWJn2xq2V4St4SqAMqWry8zE9bNWmsaZV1WUPkrmq0yRuqPKreIHaBNoDhyphenhyphenHtBrfM/s400/Picture+4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300668079116494626" border="0" /></a><br />Not bad, right? Right - for a fourth grader with a mouth full of cookie dough ice cream!<br /><br />So I spent a good number of hours this afternoon whipping something new up, and I'm pretty pleased with what I whupped. I'd take it a bit further if I had access to flash and some other fancy web programs, but as it it'll do.<br /><br />So once again, check out <a href="http://www.adamedgerton.com/">www.adamedgerton.com</a> (that's right, my own domain!) to see it.<br /><br />If for some reason you see the old page, you probably need to clear out your cache. That or type in www.adamedgerton.com/index.html.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-73534259630603758032009-02-06T23:30:00.000-08:002009-02-06T23:32:11.990-08:00Techificationally Speaking Part 2Hey look, <a href="http://www.adamedgerton.com">my very own webpage</a>!<br /><br />Or at least the start of one. It's got a little ways to go.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-30314544539888621832009-02-05T21:27:00.001-08:002009-02-05T21:47:19.495-08:00Techificationally speaking...Today was one of those days that was really productive, but with not much to show for it. I spent all day building an greater online job-hunting presence, which included:<br /><br />-Creating a business card and profile at <a href="http://businesscard2.com/">BusinessCard2</a><br /><br />-Creating an online CV at <a href="http://www.visualcv.com/">VisualCV</a> and submitting it to various companies through the site<br /><br />-Creating a profile on <a href="http://jobfox.com/">JobFox</a><br /><br />-Reading strategies on personal branding and online social resume formats<br /><br />This, in addition to the normal job hunting routine which includes:<br /><br />-Checking <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/">Linkedin</a> job listings<br />-Checking Craigslist jobs for a bunch of different metro areas<br />-Doing a bunch of different job term searches on <a href="http://www.indeed.com/">indeed.com</a><br />-Checking the sites of 15-20 local companies that I'd like to work for in search of new job listings<br />-Looking at several different outdoor industry job sites<br />-Searching through my ever-increasing list of nationwide companies I'd like to work at for new job listings<br />-ideally finding maybe one (2-3 if I'm lucky) jobs to apply for<br /><br />Throw in catching up on the news, social media websites, and online ad/marketing publications and my day is pretty much full.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-58761968303981855712009-02-01T21:21:00.000-08:002009-02-01T21:28:18.546-08:00Two thingsBoth ads.<br /><br />First, my vote for most entertaining ad of the Super Bowl. Not necessarily the most memorable, or the funniest, but an amazing job of creating personality for two anonymous subjects. The fun party atmosphere and total aloofness of the commercial had me laughing and and wanting to go joyriding with them on the moon. Too bad their ride got jacked. Check it out.<br /><br /><a href="http://short.to/qhz">Bridgestone Joyride</a><br /><br />The other is unrelated, but is a great ad from Heineken that I saw the other day.<br /><br /><a href="http://short.to/nvn">Walk-in closet</a><br /><br />And wasn't the game today great? It's too bad the last 20 seconds ended up somewhat anticlimactic.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-11118569920080069362009-01-31T16:56:00.000-08:002009-01-31T17:00:07.275-08:0080 MilerYou know it's a good ride when...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uWCzcePNGS0fRhORXpOSwiK1vx1tLs_nXlQFhoqaFkOkK-eW63cRGlWGIp17j4HrTYpbqWSqHxqdkbhG9QOoCllSeD_0N3pycwZl1yIiNZ4iXqpXyfiZQi3-dh6yAfHWODhtEPpt1IY/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uWCzcePNGS0fRhORXpOSwiK1vx1tLs_nXlQFhoqaFkOkK-eW63cRGlWGIp17j4HrTYpbqWSqHxqdkbhG9QOoCllSeD_0N3pycwZl1yIiNZ4iXqpXyfiZQi3-dh6yAfHWODhtEPpt1IY/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297626678821850002" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I did about 80 miles today on Team Oregon's Saturday ride. We went out and rode once around the Banana Belt course, which included some hard efforts. I can't believe how good my legs feel considering I've only been back on my bike for a week. That and my endurance is much higher than I expected it to be. There's already some jump in my legs, so now I just need to do some interval work to get ready for the accelerations common in races and some more long rides to expand my base a bit.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-89446368052325999022009-01-29T20:44:00.000-08:002009-01-29T21:00:56.573-08:00Keeping BusyIt's been an enjoyable past two days. Yesterday Cousin Jessie and I headed downtown where we proceeded to do nothing and everything all at the same time. We walked through Chinatown and into the Pearl District. We perused Powell's Books for a while, and ended up at a shop called Cargo in the Pearl that sells all sorts of rare imported antiques and other various imports. Things such as chairs made from tires.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVJ76MR_6kO52Lz5jUn215t7dnNXnvo5DC5cGni0tTt4Lq5-ujPVo8T6cKHiC1QaWWKkTJ-JgD3YK7gu4edXLhfm_oe-RsB2OLqhveV01_yciKkI5o9K8cjausXO0Efa2VKFSAD_Ne1A/s1600-h/photo(7).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVJ76MR_6kO52Lz5jUn215t7dnNXnvo5DC5cGni0tTt4Lq5-ujPVo8T6cKHiC1QaWWKkTJ-JgD3YK7gu4edXLhfm_oe-RsB2OLqhveV01_yciKkI5o9K8cjausXO0Efa2VKFSAD_Ne1A/s400/photo(7).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943461144233746" border="0" /></a><br />And brightly painted stools.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdU-r4OtMNlm63xzcd2GbjiGA53Sn1EhIMYIXAQuaVdM3QOAlwW0ZOJSzjkkX5W7dZsXVuoDi82pmPcyGvcbwLhqAVte2nyIRux3U4tBPVQlscD_5Eruz0QcUlB7OzhxUIETokuZgRWdo/s1600-h/photo(8).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdU-r4OtMNlm63xzcd2GbjiGA53Sn1EhIMYIXAQuaVdM3QOAlwW0ZOJSzjkkX5W7dZsXVuoDi82pmPcyGvcbwLhqAVte2nyIRux3U4tBPVQlscD_5Eruz0QcUlB7OzhxUIETokuZgRWdo/s400/photo(8).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943456855645650" border="0" /></a><br />We toured the financial district for a while and decided to cross the river to the Lloyd Center area of town. I wished I had my camera (the nice one) with as the lighting on Portland made for the most interesting views of downtown I've ever seen. It was a mix of dark storm clouds, blue sky, rainbows, etc.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpzR0nBTRuBLiNIMEmeDKOy14c8KKyQKZxZSDa6hh0A7pBtitciQX4focXTL-5zoYzlHj_hfKmPpeABY4gByDhNPZReqJz6XwKONUyu85yIE6KARU_rb3cq-IgRgXcUSFbUtRQUpBO_k/s1600-h/photo(6).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpzR0nBTRuBLiNIMEmeDKOy14c8KKyQKZxZSDa6hh0A7pBtitciQX4focXTL-5zoYzlHj_hfKmPpeABY4gByDhNPZReqJz6XwKONUyu85yIE6KARU_rb3cq-IgRgXcUSFbUtRQUpBO_k/s400/photo(6).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943260305962786" border="0" /></a><br />Downtown Portland was covered in sunlight through a tiny hole in the clouds, while dark clouds loomed in most every direction.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPUz_F8CTmvsR1vHxm11BBg_OdwFq5xZqQ3C85QClX84ed7l1OmUeKqGPDJg8jW0gbwzYS0bPyYUEWg4JiCygsJJm6RYitz_EQSSDaKPpSkiVtleYdp8PT_gVZ4wTfINFXm_MOABDa1Q/s1600-h/photo(5).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPUz_F8CTmvsR1vHxm11BBg_OdwFq5xZqQ3C85QClX84ed7l1OmUeKqGPDJg8jW0gbwzYS0bPyYUEWg4JiCygsJJm6RYitz_EQSSDaKPpSkiVtleYdp8PT_gVZ4wTfINFXm_MOABDa1Q/s400/photo(5).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943259799874338" border="0" /></a><br />Last night I headed to a meeting for the local cycling team I'm joining. I've paid dues to get all the team discounts and such, and I'll buy a kit as soon as I'm sure I'll be around to race. For now, it'll be a good group to ride with. The goal is to be race-ready in a little over a month. Check out the team - <a href="http://www.teamoregon.org">teamoregon.org</a>.<br /><br />At the meeting I randomly ran into Kennett whom I hadn't seen in a while (from UO). I'm not sure why I didn't think about the fact that he'd be there, since I knew he was on the team and in the Portland area. It was good to catch up a bit.<br /><br />Today after some morning job hunting, I headed over to the Mucha household to play some Boggle with Joey's mom. I'm infamous around there for being the only person to have ever beaten her at Boggle. No wins today, but I did manage to tie twice. Then I was introduced to Quiddler, which is somewhat like a combination of Rummy and Scrabble.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65MJrvfuyuD4BYxXD4GCcZkWxiy5UvW46YupBUPB9TxfVZGSfOlLv0XvdGA6Pd-cGRvtYMeMMt5CZsHX_mbXICP2vAY_BG-EpPZRxcLLx8Dippkj0JntafDGZZFoshVRPo9w5byFUOs8/s1600-h/photo(4).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65MJrvfuyuD4BYxXD4GCcZkWxiy5UvW46YupBUPB9TxfVZGSfOlLv0XvdGA6Pd-cGRvtYMeMMt5CZsHX_mbXICP2vAY_BG-EpPZRxcLLx8Dippkj0JntafDGZZFoshVRPo9w5byFUOs8/s400/photo(4).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943260053514290" border="0" /></a><br />This afternoon I headed out for a ride to take advantage of the sunshine. I headed up Skyline, which I knew was a good sized climb, but I had no idea what exactly to expect. For those familiar with Eugene's riding, I'd compare it to a mix of Fox Hollow and MacBeth - on steroids. It's not constantly up, but it just keeps going further and further up as you go, resulting in some amazing views, and snow still on the sides of the road.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt9CGE4WEfSSxwG9B6mNKsQwv9PtSTmGqGTYdubx7p1hfqMOOS57kUevJ1l_Rr-6j8A2DYgkR2YZw0iBEReXmmHzNIsIQX5z2uuvA7tcWVKZ0pfvx5XUmj0oByQBX5iyarpOmnzLbOQM/s1600-h/photo(2).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt9CGE4WEfSSxwG9B6mNKsQwv9PtSTmGqGTYdubx7p1hfqMOOS57kUevJ1l_Rr-6j8A2DYgkR2YZw0iBEReXmmHzNIsIQX5z2uuvA7tcWVKZ0pfvx5XUmj0oByQBX5iyarpOmnzLbOQM/s400/photo(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943261497055890" border="0" /></a><br />You get high enough up on the ridge that you can see into Washington all the way to Mt. Saint Helens and beyond. Looking back at one point, you can see down towards downtown Portland some 15-20 miles away with Mt. Hood directly behind it. The clouds were sitting low today, so it was a little odd to be above them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKyXupTGl2pxsQDYFgB2-oHcIKED45JOp86CRsBr35ZKyFsM6ozbaqeRU8kOEbp6R_KnTwXuDl04YoeHLP1iWhsO4QM8AxxCcIgrkOWGwskhO4xwPMkvADhgVafm0IOgVctZvsyKPbHI/s1600-h/photo(3).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKyXupTGl2pxsQDYFgB2-oHcIKED45JOp86CRsBr35ZKyFsM6ozbaqeRU8kOEbp6R_KnTwXuDl04YoeHLP1iWhsO4QM8AxxCcIgrkOWGwskhO4xwPMkvADhgVafm0IOgVctZvsyKPbHI/s400/photo(3).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296943253183931186" border="0" /></a><br />Tonight I'll catch up on last night's episode of Lost, and then...Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-40037802295420876592009-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:002009-01-27T20:27:09.220-08:00Me, minus the personalityThis was my remedy for my mood earlier. I created a list of all my skills, experience, and knowledge (that I could think of in an evening) of various degrees and semi-organized it. What I ended up with is a list of things that I would generally consider myself more knowledgeable/experienced in than your average person. The actual level of each may range from simply proficient to expert, but all of them are things that contribute to who I am and could be talking points in an interview. The list could be subcategorized many times more than it is, but that would make it much longer than it already is. It lacks all personal attributes, characteristics, morals, and everything else that creates my personality. Instead, it's just a list of everything I've picked up along the 23 year journey of my life so far that still seems at least somewhat relevant today. For example, I was a really good shot with a Super Soaker way back when, but what good is that today? If you read through it in detail, you'll probably get a chuckle or two, and probably even learn some things about me you didn't know. Without further ado,<br /><br />Actually wait - another comment: it's interesting how interconnected technology and the internet are to my life. Now, without further ado,<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Skills, Knowledge, Experience:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Online experienced with</span><br />Twitter<br />Facebook<br />Linkedin<br />Google Analytics<br />Gmail<br />Hotmail<br />Yahoo<br />Digg<br />Blogger<br />Wordpress<br />Flikr<br />Youtube<br />Hulu<br />eBay<br />Amazon<br />Craigslist<br />Html, xml, css literate<br />keywords, tagging<br />Firefox<br />Google Chrome<br />Safari<br />Internet Explorer<br />Flash<br />Geocaching<br />General social networking<br />General web 2.0<br />Email list maintenance<br />Website maintenance<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Software experienced with</span><br />Microsoft Word<br />Microsoft Excel<br />Microsoft Access<br />Microsoft PowerPoint<br />Microsoft OneNote<br />Microsoft Visio<br />Adobe Photoshop<br />Adobe Illustrator<br />Adobe Bridge<br />Adobe InDesign<br />Adobe Acrobat<br />Gimp<br />SPSS<br />RAW Image editing<br />HDR image creation<br />Windows XP<br />Windows Vista<br />Mac OS X<br />Basic Unix<br />P2P Protocols<br />iTunes<br />iMovie<br />CD/DVD burning<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Technology knowledge</span><br />Computer sourcing and building<br />General troubleshooting<br />Computer hardware<br />Device compatibility<br />RAID<br />Networking<br />Wireless networking<br />iPhone<br />Blackberry<br />File extensions<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sports experience</span><br />Cycling – competitive road, recreational MTB<br />Runner – race experience<br />Golf – 6 years approx handicap between 10 and 15<br />Fencing – competitive<br />Tennis – recreational<br />XC skiing – recreational<br />Downhill skiing – recreational<br />Soccer – recreational<br />Ultimate Frisbee – recreational<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Creative outlets</span><br />Photography<br />Digital SLR<br />Photo Manipulation<br />Writing<br />Copywriting<br />Resume Design<br />Blogging<br />Photoblogging<br />Trumpet<br />Graphic design<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Marketing knowledge/experience</span><br />Direct consumer interaction<br />Grassroots marketing initiatives<br />Brand/logo design<br />Brand image/recall/response<br />Brand continuity<br />Event marketing<br />Advertising and promotions<br />Retail marketing<br />Consumer behavior and psychology<br />databases<br />PR and paid news<br />Sports marketing and sponsorship<br />Marketing life cycle<br />5 Ps<br />Agency-client relationships<br />SEO & SEM<br />Marketing metrics<br />Viral marketing<br />Guerilla marketing<br />Permission marketing<br />Direct/email marketing<br />Employee brands<br />Marketing plan creation<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">General Business knowledge</span><br />Six sigma manufacturing<br />Annuities and Perpetuities<br />Time value of money<br />Break-even analysis<br />Business calculus<br />Management styles<br />Business organizations (matrix, etc)<br />Annual reports<br />Market analysis<br />HR/OSHA/Labor practices<br />Management versus leadership<br />Product life cycle<br />Basic accounting – credits, debits, depreciation, AR/AP<br />Union labor<br />Budgeting<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Operations highly knowledgeable of</span><br />Golf Courses<br />Hotels<br />Bike shops<br />Bike manufacturers<br />Cycling teams<br />Shoe/sports apparel manufacturers<br />Media organizations<br />Web startups<br />Marketing and advertising agencies<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Games good at</span><br />Poker<br />Hearts<br />Spades<br />Sudoku<br />Boggle<br />FPS<br />3PS<br />RPG<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Misc. Education</span><br />Geography<br />US politics/government<br />Classic literature<br />World/US history<br />Basic Calculus<br />Algebra/Trig/Geometry<br />Physics<br />Basic German<br />Economics<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Publications/Online regularly read</span><br />Businessweek<br />Wall Street Journal<br />Economist<br />New York Times<br />Ad Age<br />Google News<br />Wired<br />Huffington Post<br />Seth Godin<br />Tech Crunch<br />Technorati<br />Gizmodo<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Manual Skills</span><br />Luggage Handling<br />Caddying<br />Oversized vehicle handing<br />Cooking<br />Bike building<br />Basic woodworking<br />Landscaping<br />Hauling heavy objects<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Other knowledge and proficiencies</span><br />Travel logistics<br />Navigation<br />GPS<br />Knowledge of many US cities<br />DOT regulations<br />Animal attack survival<br />Alaska<br />Typing 50-70WPM<br />Reading 60-100PPH dependent on reading material<br />Thesis writing<br />Bibliographies<br />Can read music<br />Heart rate/threshold training<br />Calvin and Hobbes<br />Dog care and training<br />Job hunting<br />Green technologies<br />Laundry<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Networks connected to</span><br />UO Cycling team<br />OBRA<br />Team Oregon<br />Event Marketing/marathon<br />Business School<br />American Marketing Assn<br />Honors Business College<br />FamilyAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-21457791499820851622009-01-27T16:37:00.000-08:002009-01-27T16:56:42.502-08:00Moods Like the WeatherToday hasn't been a particularly good day. I woke up to a bit of a change when I noticed fresh snow outside, and I felt somewhat excited to go drop off a resume and cover letter for a company that I can hopefully make some connections at (They have their own internal cycling team, how sweet is that?). I froze in the frigid weather on the way there and back, but hopefully it will amount to something in the future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEs8FlIEfm7LcWRWVWTJTrdMBEajRUcBNSeilMoZPXjJBM7xYzbydk_w7i2Ztmh9wmv0nL6im1zzec_8A3-WaHRwBuY3B6rsEWqOH-N3Utus1txP_cQRrg6o-6bflQAEkFyWcuKJiu8Y/s1600-h/IMG_2147.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEs8FlIEfm7LcWRWVWTJTrdMBEajRUcBNSeilMoZPXjJBM7xYzbydk_w7i2Ztmh9wmv0nL6im1zzec_8A3-WaHRwBuY3B6rsEWqOH-N3Utus1txP_cQRrg6o-6bflQAEkFyWcuKJiu8Y/s400/IMG_2147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296137916211210642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I came back and spent much of the rest of the morning and afternoon submitting my resume to several other job sites I hadn't yet, submitted an application for a couple of retail positions, and then checked the news. December unemployment info is out, and it's bad. Highest unemployment numbers the country has seen in decades. 9.0% in Oregon last month before the Intel cuts. I'd guess it'll be 10% or higher for January.<br /><br />For the first time since I started job hunting, I got really down over how lame being unemployed is. I'm not even that concerned about job pay or benefits as long as it's enough to get by on. Right now, I want something constructive to do that ideally uses my college degree that I still have a ways to go on paying off. I'd take an unpaid position at a company for several months to prove I'm a valuable asset if it meant good experience and would lead to an actual job.<br /><br />I'm staying busy enough, but right now my constant state of flux doesn't allow me to feel at all settled. I don't know whether to build a new social network here since I don't know if I'll be around long. I just paid dues for a local cycling team, but I'm not sure if I'll actually be around to race with them. Then again, if I remain unemployed this could be my best training and racing year ever. I dunno.<br /><br />The cold, wet, dreary Oregon winter day outside fit the mood pretty well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vls1OihzyIKpKnOls6qqwjKchrpfYCOdAunY9kpcl1OfUDcv_aDNVS2fDM9qJEtICGP-4vjLUcyM9cFCukVJ2wZhiahWTiVR0y-iY1SLsn44hgn0fom3Db93xNerpD30J81c_6s-3j8/s1600-h/photo(2).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vls1OihzyIKpKnOls6qqwjKchrpfYCOdAunY9kpcl1OfUDcv_aDNVS2fDM9qJEtICGP-4vjLUcyM9cFCukVJ2wZhiahWTiVR0y-iY1SLsn44hgn0fom3Db93xNerpD30J81c_6s-3j8/s400/photo(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296137913538089426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Oh well. I suppose bad days are a necessary evil. They stand out in stark contrast to my normal very positive self and if anything motivate me to do something to fix whatever is wrong. I just need to figure out what else I can be doing.<br /><br />Tomorrow I pick myself up and dust myself off and keep going.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-37683020268105410382009-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:002009-01-26T16:46:35.266-08:00Ode to Boxer BriefsThey have a confused identity<br />Part restricting and part free.<br />Often covered by pants,<br />Ideally free of ants,<br />Boxer briefs are just right for me.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-2155235992829387542009-01-26T16:23:00.001-08:002009-01-26T16:30:34.080-08:00Your resume is so sharp, it cut me.Seriously, look at that thing, it's beautiful:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7TJkZPfSgrs8WhdbCATpJ5jvHQJ0SvrgMDnKcgeOAvuK7qjkUHYCOy-R0Fcs0jc-osMTStrfvUZf-jlLcp4Rh6IZD8Xg-xi4QMxewzjHI2PGkODX9T9bpawlwRVLRIcBgYuI46FNLaE/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7TJkZPfSgrs8WhdbCATpJ5jvHQJ0SvrgMDnKcgeOAvuK7qjkUHYCOy-R0Fcs0jc-osMTStrfvUZf-jlLcp4Rh6IZD8Xg-xi4QMxewzjHI2PGkODX9T9bpawlwRVLRIcBgYuI46FNLaE/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295762759150805970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The perfect balance of white space and text. Just enough color to catch the eye. Bold in all the right places. Enough action-oriented bullet points to take down a one ton grizzly. No fat - all meat. Revised and edited so many times any spelling and grammatical errors fled in terror. Power words. A constant state of flux - never the same on any two days or for any two jobs. It probably even glows in the dark!<br /><br />If I were someone in HR, I would hire me based on that resume alone.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-72595187087562812902009-01-25T19:59:00.000-08:002009-01-25T20:19:34.998-08:00So Close!Last Wednesday while taking Harry (the dog) for a run, something odd and out of place caught my attention as we ran past the backyard of a house in the neighborhood. I backtracked a few steps only to see an owl staring straight back at me in a tree perhaps 15-20 feet away. I froze for a few seconds trying to process exactly what I was seeing, before cautiously walking back out of sight and immediately bolting the two minutes back towards the house and my camera. It was one of those I NEED this photo type of moments. I raced back hoping it hadn't moved from its perch. It seemed relatively content just sitting there, so other than the squirrel that didn't like its tree being taken over and was being vocal about it, I figured there was a decent chance it wouldn't move.<br /><br />I got back, and this was the scene.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO4NOpXQklLc7E-d95qERSG3jXcQXZri7TkC-XbM4UlbQSk-KvYmEGK7owKTJxhEM_NG3-WWyz34jzzjf3feRYemPJ3lB8rgobsCcCoYaScgRyG8QCNEZs3D2JZqYP1hHAI-GWHaKL0s/s1600-h/IMG_2133(1).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO4NOpXQklLc7E-d95qERSG3jXcQXZri7TkC-XbM4UlbQSk-KvYmEGK7owKTJxhEM_NG3-WWyz34jzzjf3feRYemPJ3lB8rgobsCcCoYaScgRyG8QCNEZs3D2JZqYP1hHAI-GWHaKL0s/s400/IMG_2133(1).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295449479803238610" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The red circle is approximately where the owl was perched, and the blue squared is how much of the frame it would have filled with my 300mm lens.<br /><br />I thought it may not have gone too far, so I searched around and actually found it in the same tree, just much higher up and behind plenty of branches in relative darkness. This made focusing and getting a decent exposure a pain.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3_cr5Bz4BWRdctmGFNP8Hr0cCOL5kfVV4lJwT8Z8veoDW3JV2YEkgd1-6_htxyNP4gexeII4EyIfqxBypT-NkMAmNZvtUYUPlNSIbI5o_KZnYT9GH2chMDq6rUginK6P8q696CM26-8/s1600-h/IMG_2134.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3_cr5Bz4BWRdctmGFNP8Hr0cCOL5kfVV4lJwT8Z8veoDW3JV2YEkgd1-6_htxyNP4gexeII4EyIfqxBypT-NkMAmNZvtUYUPlNSIbI5o_KZnYT9GH2chMDq6rUginK6P8q696CM26-8/s400/IMG_2134.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295449476089503442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I did manage to find one clear angle at it (other than the dense foliage in the way).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-VxuAS9fqtSj2yFmCZEiEtVE7zMLwVKumIFQP4P8ZVPNny0yaBgjjugNM1Sd4Ctc2lKQloQ6Y0SzdQIuToEOus6HHRNhoTUkiKrTaLOjNSYEHTj2N8_-NzQBk41bpBqeRcaes8kaLbc/s1600-h/IMG_2139.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-VxuAS9fqtSj2yFmCZEiEtVE7zMLwVKumIFQP4P8ZVPNny0yaBgjjugNM1Sd4Ctc2lKQloQ6Y0SzdQIuToEOus6HHRNhoTUkiKrTaLOjNSYEHTj2N8_-NzQBk41bpBqeRcaes8kaLbc/s400/IMG_2139.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295449475006409090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So as best I can figure out, it's a barred owl. Which mostly makes sense. Searching online, it's the only one that looks similar, but it's primarily a more eastern owl that has only recently started expanding its range into Oregon and Washington. Do you concur, parents?<br /><br />It was very close to being a dream photo opportunity, but I just missed it. I run by there fairly often, so I'm going to have to keep my eyes open.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-17700609381317672792009-01-24T22:42:00.000-08:002009-01-24T22:43:46.299-08:00You choose.What should I blog about?<br /><br />Give me a subject, and I will write it.<br /><br />Oh, and my trip to Eugene followed by two days of riding my bike back to Portland was fun.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-51035570234280962682009-01-19T23:56:00.000-08:002009-01-20T00:19:32.145-08:00A little too much hype?This is going to sound a little odd, but as Obama prepares to be sworn in as president some eight hours from now, I worry that the country is making too big a deal out of the inauguration. While the event is certainly historic and exciting, the media frenzy and commercialization surrounding the event seems a bit much.<br /><br />When I attended Clinton's 2nd inauguration, it was a big deal in my life. That entire trip to DC/New York/Philadelphia as a 5th grader is still very fresh in my memory. The inauguration, however, is not one of the most memorable moments. Granted, 5th graders aren't usually terribly excited by speeches and can think of things more fun to do than standing around for hours in cold weather - but I'm glad I was there and would certainly appreciate it more were it today.<br /><br />This time around, everyone seems to feel the needs to get in on the day. Every major TV station is not only covering the event live, but most have hours and hours of "pregame" where they'll undoubtedly repeat the same thing over ten times trying to fill airtime. It's a little early in the morning to be playing drinking games, but I'm sure you'd be well on your way if you simply drank every time you heard the word "historic" uttered. Yes this event will be historic. I hope Obama gives a moving speach tomorrow that will be remembered among the great presidential speeches. The problem is that history usually runs its own course on its own time, and in this case everyone is forcing this to be a part of history. It's still what it's always been - a swearing in, some formalities, and a parade, followed by DC letting its hair down for a night of partying. Don't spoil the moment by making too big a deal of it.<br /><br />I'm extremely happy for the countless African Americans who have waited for this day their entire lives. I'm happy for every Obama supporter who finally gets to see an extremely long election process come to fruition. I'm happy for our new president. I could do without 14,000 hours of TV coverage for an hour long event. I laugh at the 2800 different Obama t-shirts and 288 bottles of Obama wine (even though it's from Oregon). I shake my head in disbelief at the Obamarella and Obama bedside lights.<br /><br />Who knows, maybe the massive amount of money being spent in relation to the inauguration will accidently give the economy the kick in the pants it desperately needs.<br /><br />As for me, I'll be wearing my Obama underwear and "Yes we can" slippers first thing tomorrow morning while I eat my Obama-shaped pancakes watching picture-in-picture-in-picture MSNBC/CNN/ABC coverage on all new inauguration news that has broken in the last 6 hours prior to the event. Then I might actually go back to being sane while I watch the actual event.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-46313535680890882372009-01-17T16:43:00.000-08:002009-01-17T16:44:52.021-08:00ShoozLikely the last free pair of Crocs I'll ever receive:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe060sKLgWK_e93MZ4w_cdNUc1cpr6XyUFmJs-h6-CNXbCjAgzvYP87xqyYiSR_jn8NHDzR-89HPKvRx20CE7WecpHnK2cCBt5DbrRluNqqF2gdh5DZCRPr9Ows7NINsKBRVBPdiVDR5I/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe060sKLgWK_e93MZ4w_cdNUc1cpr6XyUFmJs-h6-CNXbCjAgzvYP87xqyYiSR_jn8NHDzR-89HPKvRx20CE7WecpHnK2cCBt5DbrRluNqqF2gdh5DZCRPr9Ows7NINsKBRVBPdiVDR5I/s400/photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292428244362702178" border="0" /></a>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-17636842722308046122009-01-15T21:15:00.000-08:002009-01-15T21:27:52.412-08:00A photo walkI think the photos I took on a walk today are some of the best I've ever taken. I spent much of my time focused on macro photography, with some other odds and ends thrown in.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmq7GuKEYi6lr_JjHqHLEINbgiPROglkcR_N5VqOk34AYSxngY7TLbw9OwUEQIXedZzZ1AroHBgUerDgiSV5vOQGru9Kr5bTXrS0h1SEmbq-jg-hd7kzrUU-bwM1MX99RgKXoAxkjlYI/s1600-h/IMG_1911.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmq7GuKEYi6lr_JjHqHLEINbgiPROglkcR_N5VqOk34AYSxngY7TLbw9OwUEQIXedZzZ1AroHBgUerDgiSV5vOQGru9Kr5bTXrS0h1SEmbq-jg-hd7kzrUU-bwM1MX99RgKXoAxkjlYI/s400/IMG_1911.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291757135810504434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJS-ZqPYpHKvvNhOUMoNUdp6B4AWekSMDwRhwNLP8VkTcG-9y8IQIxARiOVwbUrfEwQPnBcwhzKhTGbz_aTSUlF5YYgSXdiTwAbsW7PixJRuo7Uss0loC8TBh7nTTjk9X9PagNvItU0jE/s1600-h/IMG_1967(1).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJS-ZqPYpHKvvNhOUMoNUdp6B4AWekSMDwRhwNLP8VkTcG-9y8IQIxARiOVwbUrfEwQPnBcwhzKhTGbz_aTSUlF5YYgSXdiTwAbsW7PixJRuo7Uss0loC8TBh7nTTjk9X9PagNvItU0jE/s400/IMG_1967(1).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291758987034940770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjies0Xd1nwy0GZipdLFpyRdeZmY3_lRpYhNIeqpQsCVUUYUxdL-N4Gq5cK5ZzsigtYgiUT_F61OhmbvOXHJswrTFwYFdJBfp2jGJoyN0BAr1MtThOvp5uEQPGPAm3BVDs2VJAFJuDocFQ/s1600-h/IMG_1976.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjies0Xd1nwy0GZipdLFpyRdeZmY3_lRpYhNIeqpQsCVUUYUxdL-N4Gq5cK5ZzsigtYgiUT_F61OhmbvOXHJswrTFwYFdJBfp2jGJoyN0BAr1MtThOvp5uEQPGPAm3BVDs2VJAFJuDocFQ/s400/IMG_1976.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291757128519695602" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLu7nB8xf4twJnOb5XmT2RhfKuvdAuVubaNt1-I_JrZKxXQyXTYMBZEiNZzKWENLH0xaOoKP-PZwsTU-M5gcVk04ziUJUnQn8l466wARbYzEOt3KjLl5ec4FdrHxBC3R4Fzex52BkIf10/s1600-h/IMG_2003.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLu7nB8xf4twJnOb5XmT2RhfKuvdAuVubaNt1-I_JrZKxXQyXTYMBZEiNZzKWENLH0xaOoKP-PZwsTU-M5gcVk04ziUJUnQn8l466wARbYzEOt3KjLl5ec4FdrHxBC3R4Fzex52BkIf10/s400/IMG_2003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756829687037490" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF61GF-2wL9UbLJK-3d6m9dW6vRkwGHSGBFtHAD0W_OJOQWrZW7KhH_ZwdF6qiI7ry5jo8fKE9Zen5p33xHLXlCnkX2j_qmhvhOKIbdeJN0GK9YLu_Qd-PeSjC33qgkNSP4SHkP5eSk3w/s1600-h/IMG_2027(1).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF61GF-2wL9UbLJK-3d6m9dW6vRkwGHSGBFtHAD0W_OJOQWrZW7KhH_ZwdF6qiI7ry5jo8fKE9Zen5p33xHLXlCnkX2j_qmhvhOKIbdeJN0GK9YLu_Qd-PeSjC33qgkNSP4SHkP5eSk3w/s400/IMG_2027(1).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756823259560466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZ7Lo6KKsPzWW2H97hSF5RfCXTV7yOscOFFBbK-T1W9uy3mo_cByI7zNMRrfoU_xAdwMqdEfpfj5OWKyeNk0f23Uka6vjXUqJkKHC6371m1TY0uqtSqgLAJGkKK57lFnZDT6TyKQGkbY/s1600-h/IMG_2042(1).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZ7Lo6KKsPzWW2H97hSF5RfCXTV7yOscOFFBbK-T1W9uy3mo_cByI7zNMRrfoU_xAdwMqdEfpfj5OWKyeNk0f23Uka6vjXUqJkKHC6371m1TY0uqtSqgLAJGkKK57lFnZDT6TyKQGkbY/s400/IMG_2042(1).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756820848577714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_-tYE3wZr1saG48yF24HuwsSNRb3OsQ4w4_UN3Jqs9qBJEAkiyGOqZtDqGk-E-irk5rZn1SJLG27_3r6o-MYGkZTD2tA9tjYG1fx9uIwWbqJltPoxaRD0mvNbtQfF-UljkClGXNVRSI/s1600-h/IMG_2055.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_-tYE3wZr1saG48yF24HuwsSNRb3OsQ4w4_UN3Jqs9qBJEAkiyGOqZtDqGk-E-irk5rZn1SJLG27_3r6o-MYGkZTD2tA9tjYG1fx9uIwWbqJltPoxaRD0mvNbtQfF-UljkClGXNVRSI/s400/IMG_2055.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756814142554546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75MpV_2qlwfIhQCIGs0CoNJ0XNRp_hohhWXcpEMXJr9M_Ydh2xcaWwsGtvYJh6JX3cF3vgw0guQSE1rO6X3quvc4_oeNAH2y0dsI7XaY8G-tpi2c0rXnSTUra9qohptP_gatQPfEq5og/s1600-h/IMG_2070.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75MpV_2qlwfIhQCIGs0CoNJ0XNRp_hohhWXcpEMXJr9M_Ydh2xcaWwsGtvYJh6JX3cF3vgw0guQSE1rO6X3quvc4_oeNAH2y0dsI7XaY8G-tpi2c0rXnSTUra9qohptP_gatQPfEq5og/s400/IMG_2070.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756815088932034" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />And Some HDR:<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yjfatZ2uDS5ti-xkv9JscwzgLwL5GwuO-wDYY1R_3J1dxz6H6B8OfFAOXlxYCbmpc6gthyphenhyphenORtNVDWttD8KcpWZhYEtg7zkhYz081yZyPQ4GqnAOoDWsKI4bp5XlxR1aE4kefPT-hcp0/s1600-h/Hydra2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yjfatZ2uDS5ti-xkv9JscwzgLwL5GwuO-wDYY1R_3J1dxz6H6B8OfFAOXlxYCbmpc6gthyphenhyphenORtNVDWttD8KcpWZhYEtg7zkhYz081yZyPQ4GqnAOoDWsKI4bp5XlxR1aE4kefPT-hcp0/s400/Hydra2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756449898188514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2qboO9RHh9jMul20mYqeoUA_ZVO4xzQZlF0J0-rWAuTqibaQjCnpeKOr-UUm0m59SbJ-rFQhzYeNUHWthrmRtT92uoy3-brz799bDgZiHH_8kYZrVM4jNHVYYsu8vTxi74Ma-pqD90s/s1600-h/Hydra3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2qboO9RHh9jMul20mYqeoUA_ZVO4xzQZlF0J0-rWAuTqibaQjCnpeKOr-UUm0m59SbJ-rFQhzYeNUHWthrmRtT92uoy3-brz799bDgZiHH_8kYZrVM4jNHVYYsu8vTxi74Ma-pqD90s/s400/Hydra3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756449793212034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YsJjw3VLKGF8YvmRyTTeJkv3CGPnhQK7lo7KtKyyy5E43wVTWLBVDvryj-bNcDUU_0f6dLVhv9k3DVQeJpCmMuYXU_xKPLlWTN5WQSWfIREUK47DPsGqDa1jUIDCH2nEcNAcVRQEG5U/s1600-h/Hydra4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YsJjw3VLKGF8YvmRyTTeJkv3CGPnhQK7lo7KtKyyy5E43wVTWLBVDvryj-bNcDUU_0f6dLVhv9k3DVQeJpCmMuYXU_xKPLlWTN5WQSWfIREUK47DPsGqDa1jUIDCH2nEcNAcVRQEG5U/s400/Hydra4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756446313439234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVy6YX_MnWl14uHMRxjs57MGkl6sUR1iWrAg21gCQ6L1WWgkpL38ljebE_ZTTosT0VUo8nGH5BSFIZT0iEqQuAZ-YMxza-kw1U2KkQcXqisdEeskY89qOTT4TMzBs3P-XCEboHJ2eXXI/s1600-h/Hydra5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVy6YX_MnWl14uHMRxjs57MGkl6sUR1iWrAg21gCQ6L1WWgkpL38ljebE_ZTTosT0VUo8nGH5BSFIZT0iEqQuAZ-YMxza-kw1U2KkQcXqisdEeskY89qOTT4TMzBs3P-XCEboHJ2eXXI/s400/Hydra5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291756444350917042" border="0" /></a>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010434509096309447.post-57978898705756440442009-01-15T12:28:00.000-08:002009-01-15T12:43:07.204-08:00Key WordsIn the last month, here are the top keywords (ordered high to low by number of hits, ranging from 18 to 1) that have landed people on this blog from Google:<br /><br />"adjectives starting with m"<br />"adjectives beginning with m"<br />(Apparently I'm not the only one that can't think of very many)<br />"vibrating belt and Dallas"<br />(Uh...)<br />"interesting adjectives"<br />"migratory marketer"<br />(Ok, I'll give them that one)<br />"rick davis, portland, or"<br />(Undoubtedly a combination of several different posts having absolutely nothing to do with one another)<br />"rock racing"<br />(I may have mentioned them once, which apparently is enough)<br />"Vibrating Belt"<br />(Really? This was a couple months ago. And they're a joke!)<br />"Adam Edgerton blog"<br />(Hurray! Even if it is only one hit!)<br />"adjective running child"<br />(Once again, a mashing up of several different posts)<br />"Merry Marketer"<br />(At least this person spent a whole four minutes on the site rather than immediately bouncing)<br />"Portland Oregon Sneakerhead"<br />(Seems fairly apt)<br />"Road trips from Phoenix to Flagstaff"<br />(I wouldn't call myself an expert, but it is a trip I've taken)<br />"food movie"<br />(Well, I do like food. And movies, for that matter)<br /><br />It would appear that my random post subjects that fail to fall under any one theme have unsurprisingly made it really difficult for Google to catalog my blog. Using the tags section on each post for locations also probably doesn't help. Nor does my blog's current state of name-in-flux syndrome. Not that I'm really that concerned with drawing in people who are actually looking for my blog. It's linked from every major online social network I'm connected to. Plus I kind of like drawing in people who are searching for something completely menial that my blog has nothing to do with.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08627843302886296735noreply@blogger.com1