Now, here's a video on YouTube.com that you can't miss!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Almond Freikers Arrive in Комсомо́льск-на-Аму́ре, Russia
This newsletter covers week #9 from Oct 19th thru the 23rd. Almond continues to post strong results with an average of 110 green commutes a day for the week.
Stats for Week:
Almond Freikers Arrive in Владивосто́к:
From Magadan we traveled south along the coast of Pacific Ocean and Japan sea for 1300 miles to reach the city of Vladivostok.
Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосто́к) is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. With population of almost 600,000 people, it is the largest city on the East coast of Russia. Vladivostok is 9000 km, 10 time zones, 6 days by train on Trans-Siberian rail road or 10 hours by plane away from Moscow. The city sits at the head of Golden Horn bay in Japan sea not far from the border with China and North Korea. It's the sister city of San Francisco.
Natalie Arsky
I was born here and spent first 10 years of my life so let's see what my 30-plus old memories will bring... The weather in winter is very cold and windy. Huge high pressure system sits over Mongolia bringing very dry and cold easterly wind to the city. Snow is rare. Once winter starts, school soccer fields are turned into skating rinks and kids spent hours every day skating and playing hockey. In summer, wind comes from the sea bringing moisture and it rains almost every day. Fog is so thick, you cannot see your outstretched hand. There are ships from different countries in the huge port, bringing rare treats - mandarins, dates, pineapples. Small fishing boats bring fish. Fried fish, salted fish, small fish that you eat with the heads and flat fish with two eyes on one side. Fish and potatoes, this is what's for dinner. City is surrounded by pine forests. Kids bring pine cones with seeds to eat as snack to school. The Siberian tiger roams in the forests and is featured on the city's coats of arms.
Vladivostok Harbor
Almond Freikers Arrive in Комсомо́льск-на-Аму́ре:
After visiting Vladivostok, we are riding 600 miles north on the frozen roads and arrive at Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Russian: Комсомо́льск-на-Аму́ре) is a city located in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia on the left bank of Amur River. Population: 281,035. The town was largely built in 1930s using volunteer labour from the Communist youth organisation Komsomol, thus receiving the name Komsomolsk. It was built as an industrial center for ship building, metallurgy and timber enterprises. The city's most notable company is Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Russia's largest aircraft-manufacturing enterprise. It is among Khabarovsk Krai's most successful enterprises, and for years has been the largest taxpayer of the territory.[4] It has manufactured hundreds of civil aircraft and thousands of various-role military aircraft from the first recon aircraft to modern Su- series fighters and light amphibian airplanes.
The Top 10% Freikers!
These Freikers Have ridden at least 75% of the time!
Baskin-Robbins Awards For The Week!
These Freikers Have Not Yet Registered!
Freikomter Times:
Every Ride Counts!
Jon
Stats for Week:
- Almond remains the #3 school in the nation. Foothill is still #1 and Eldorado remains in the #2 spot. Almond is starting to close the gap a little bit bug still has 435 rides to make up before the take over the #1 seat! Temps in Boulder are reaching a daytime high in the mid-50F. There have been several days of rain and snow. Winter is quickly approaching!
- There are 282 Almond Freikers that are active this year of which 58 have not yet registered at www.freiker.org. Take 5 minutes right now and make sure your child is registered.... I'll wait :)
- Round trips logged this week = 551; Total round trips logged = 5,010 totaling 7,515 miles. That is an average of 112 walks/rides per day!
- We prevented 5.0 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere; saved 716 gallons of gasoline and burned a total of 375,750 kid calories.
Almond Freikers Arrive in Владивосто́к:
From Magadan we traveled south along the coast of Pacific Ocean and Japan sea for 1300 miles to reach the city of Vladivostok.
Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосто́к) is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. With population of almost 600,000 people, it is the largest city on the East coast of Russia. Vladivostok is 9000 km, 10 time zones, 6 days by train on Trans-Siberian rail road or 10 hours by plane away from Moscow. The city sits at the head of Golden Horn bay in Japan sea not far from the border with China and North Korea. It's the sister city of San Francisco.
Natalie ArskyI was born here and spent first 10 years of my life so let's see what my 30-plus old memories will bring... The weather in winter is very cold and windy. Huge high pressure system sits over Mongolia bringing very dry and cold easterly wind to the city. Snow is rare. Once winter starts, school soccer fields are turned into skating rinks and kids spent hours every day skating and playing hockey. In summer, wind comes from the sea bringing moisture and it rains almost every day. Fog is so thick, you cannot see your outstretched hand. There are ships from different countries in the huge port, bringing rare treats - mandarins, dates, pineapples. Small fishing boats bring fish. Fried fish, salted fish, small fish that you eat with the heads and flat fish with two eyes on one side. Fish and potatoes, this is what's for dinner. City is surrounded by pine forests. Kids bring pine cones with seeds to eat as snack to school. The Siberian tiger roams in the forests and is featured on the city's coats of arms.
Vladivostok HarborAlmond Freikers Arrive in Комсомо́льск-на-Аму́ре:
After visiting Vladivostok, we are riding 600 miles north on the frozen roads and arrive at Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Russian: Комсомо́льск-на-Аму́ре) is a city located in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia on the left bank of Amur River. Population: 281,035. The town was largely built in 1930s using volunteer labour from the Communist youth organisation Komsomol, thus receiving the name Komsomolsk. It was built as an industrial center for ship building, metallurgy and timber enterprises. The city's most notable company is Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Russia's largest aircraft-manufacturing enterprise. It is among Khabarovsk Krai's most successful enterprises, and for years has been the largest taxpayer of the territory.[4] It has manufactured hundreds of civil aircraft and thousands of various-role military aircraft from the first recon aircraft to modern Su- series fighters and light amphibian airplanes.
The Top 10% Freikers!
Freiker Tag ID Trips Aaron Brown 1248444 44 Dalezilla 1242628 44 Jack Chmyz 972443 44 Brandon 465461, 990409 43 Cole Fontana 1248477 43 Max Chou 995191 43 Nathan Mesel 1244039 43 Andrew Mu 997089, 1249740 42 Audrey Fisher 1238687 42 Austin Townsend 1243628 42 Joely Fontana 463041, 1240059 42 Sierra Townsend 1244049 42 Teddy Chmyz 1240376 42 Tom McCrea 972128 42 Trevor Labuda 1241781 42 Ian Conceicao 1233544, 978754 41 Lily Szalay 1245890 41 Luis Bautista 1245350 41
These Freikers Have ridden at least 75% of the time!
Freiker Tag ID 10/25/2009 Anthony Tong 974684 40 Drew Kim 994375 40 Eduardo Bautista 993855 40 Nathan MacLeod 975174 40 Nikolas Gibson 992699, 1248842 40 Pinky Brandeau 1240682 40 Sean Diamond 979130 40 Abigail Mesel 1244393 39 Ben Parker 975545 39 Bryan Graeser 1230860 39 Eric Warmoth 975978 39 Ethan Xie 460637 39 Evan Labuda 1243290 39 Will Diamond 973104 39 Alex Kolstad 464221 38 Chad Labuda 990053, 1247082 38 Julia Kolstad 1239027, 977343 38 Marcus MacLeod 977847 38 Mia Fagin 991627, 1244580 38 Nicholas Atler 1240081 38 Rachel Mesel 1237770, 1242109 38 Connor Verity 1236055 37 Daniel Casares 970958 37 David Cooper 999490 37 Jeremy Bonte 1237528, 1249479 37 Julia Casares 975625 37 Katia Gibson 1244431 37 Shawn Avidan 978683 37 Brandon Le 991811 36 Ian Hastings 991309 36 Jamie Baum 975327 36 Krishna Brunton 1233028 36 Matthew Carroll 1243372 36 Max Gavenman 992086 36 Natalie Huang 974351 36 Ryan Baum 975817 36 Sevasti Daneilas 973908 36 Thien-Nha Tiet 1238814, 990675 36 Elyse Folkman 1239325, 970222 35 Jacob Folkman 1235668, 979231 35 Kelsey Moran 1241384 35 Nathan Huang 975725 35 Tatiana Gibson 1248482 35 Theresa Landi 1240484 35 Angelique Mszanowki 991134 34 Han-Nha Tiet 1236650 34 Isabella Borkovic 974148 34 Sasha Graeser 1239119 33
Baskin-Robbins Awards For The Week!
Freiker Teacher Totals Aaron Brown Nguyen 44 Angelique Mszanowki Garcia 34 Ashwin Krishna T.Daggett 15 Ethan Apfelberg Hall 17 Gabriel May Martinez 15 Genna Landi Reilly 15 Karen Nagayama Bence 30 Kota Nagayama Liu 30 Lauren Limbach Nguyen 32 Megan Apfelberg Sanderson 17 Mel Tran Shelley 31 Nathan Ng Liu 32 Rory Maclean Shelley 31 Sara Friend Jordan 32 Sevasti Daneilas Wishnack 36 Stella Barretto Lamb 30 Stella Pietro Lamb 31 Thomas Walker Schubert 32 Tristan Mori-Sloan Chan 15
These Freikers Have Not Yet Registered!
Freiker 10/25/2009 347454 1 350871 15 353816 2 356380 1 358548 4 460124 4 460141 2 461104 5 461817 10 462347 3 463565 5 463633 1 463759 10 464299 5 464550 1 465093 11 465231 15 465238 1 465259 12 465741 12 466473 2 466978 12 467039 12 467182 4 468667 2 468904 4 468988 6 469968 6 961147 1 966505 6 967515 6 971219 2 972777 5 974001 8 976876 8 979071 7 979631 2 991940 2 992324 6 994228 11 994883 1 996690 2 997293 1 998509 25 999382 23 1230739 1 1232700 3 1233339 8 1233626 15 1237597 34 1237715 31 1238072 9 1239413 14 1246952 13 1248088 1 1249195 11 1249239 16
This is just a reminder that the Freikometer is a solar powered computer that gets 100% of it's power from the Sun. Because of this, the Freikometer has limited hours of operation. Make sure your students buzz in during one of the periods when the Freikometer is turned on:Helpful Hits at the Freikometer:If you miss buzzing in on the Freikometer during one of these periods, you can always enter your child's round trip manually at www.freiker.org.
- Start of Day: 8:00-8:30am
- PM Kinders: 11:45-12:00pm
- After School: 2:30-3:00pm
Here are some tips that will make it easier for your child to be counted correctly when they get to the Freikometer each day:Well, that's all for now folks. I'll update you again next week
- Have your Freiker RFID tag attached to the top of your helmet or the top handle on your backpack. This gets it closer to the Freikometer and easier to read the tag.
- Make sure your child's name is written on the Freiker RFID tag with a permanent sharpie. This way, if you loose the tag, Venny will know who to return it to.
- Make sure your child takes turns going through the Freikometer one at a time. If you get 4 kids under the Freikometer and it buzzes, nobody knows whose RFID tag just got read.
- If in doubt as to whether your Freiker tag was read, go back through the Freikometer. It will only count you once per day no matter how many times you make the buzzer go off. Have fun with this one...
- If, for any reason, you can't make it out to buzz in on the Freikometer one day, you can always enter your ride/walk manually at www.freiker.org.
- Work on your friends! If you have friends that are riding or walking to school several days a week and they are not Freikers, ask them to join. It's not just about the cool awards but showing the rest of the nation just how committed the students at Almond are to their health and the health of the planet.
Every Ride Counts!
Jon
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Almond Freikers Arrive in Магада́н, Russia !
Folks, We have something special for you in this issue of the Almond Freiker's newsletters. Natalie Arsky is going to give us a guided tour of her Russian homeland while we play catch-up for the last 3 weeks that our Freikers have been stranded in Anchorage, Alaska. Probably a freak snowstorm or something like that :) Anyway, over the next 3 weeks we will give you 2 destinations each week that will correspond to the destinations the Freikers would have arrived at if I had been a good tour guide... which, obviously, I'm not !!
So here goes, For the next couple of months we will get to see something truly special of the world we live in.
Stats for Week Oct 12th - 16th:
Ана́дырь, Chukchi: Кагыргын, Kagyrgyn) is a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. At 177°30′E, Anadyr is the easternmost town in Russia. Population: 11,038 (2002 Census).
It is the most northeasterly region of Russia and, since the sale of Alaska to the United States, has been the only part of Russia lying partially in the Western Hemisphere (east of the 180th meridian).
Chukotka is populated by Chukchi, an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula. They speak the Chukchi language. Many of them are reindeer herders. Chukchi who live in coastal areas hunt sea mammals, polar bears and carve walrus ivory.
The climate of Anadyr is subarctic. Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero temperatures, so that the soil remains permanently frozen. Permafrost and tundra cover most of the region.
Almond Freikers Arrive in Магада́н (Magadan), Russia:
Магада́н) is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast (since 1953), in the Russian Far East. Population: 114,873 (2008 est.); Ship building and fishing are the major industries. The town has a seaport (fully navigable from May to December) and a small international airport.
Magadan is very isolated. The nearest major city is Yakutsk, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) away via an unpaved road which is best used in the winter, especially since there is no bridge over the Lena River at Yakutsk.
Magadan was the focal point of the Long Way Round motorcycle journey made by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and their team. Although their ultimate destination was New York, they frequently noted how reaching the Russian city was the ultimate measure of success or failure for their adventure. Despite encountering swollen rivers, broken bridges and virtually impassable roads as they traveled through Siberia, they were ultimately able to ride the "Road of Bones" into Magadan, and flew from there to Anchorage, Alaska from where they continued to New York. Recalling his final day in Magadan before leaving for America, McGregor wrote:
Magadan Church in winter
This Week's Green Gear Award Winner!
And the Green Gear winner for this week was...... (drum roll).....
Congratulations, Teddy, for completing 5 consecutive Green Commutes the previous week!
Baskin-Robbins Winners For This Week!
This is a big week. Remember you get 1 free ice cream cone for every 15 rides or walks! Coupons will be passed out in class early next week.
The Top 10% Green Commuters!
Every Ride Counts!
Jon
So here goes, For the next couple of months we will get to see something truly special of the world we live in.
Stats for Week Oct 12th - 16th:
- Almond remains the #3 school in the nation.
Eldorado 2,418 Foothill 2,363 Almond 1,791 - There are 277 Almond Freikers that are active this year of which 63 have not yet registered at www.freiker.org. Take 5 minutes right now and make sure your child is registered.... I'll wait :)
- Round trips logged this week = 486 despite the pouring rain on Mon - Wed. Good job kids! Total round trips logged to date = 4,459 totaling 6,700 miles. That is an average of 97 walks/rides per day!
- We prevented 4.5 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere; saved 637 gallons of gasoline and burned a total of 334,575 kid calories.
Ана́дырь, Chukchi: Кагыргын, Kagyrgyn) is a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. At 177°30′E, Anadyr is the easternmost town in Russia. Population: 11,038 (2002 Census).
It is the most northeasterly region of Russia and, since the sale of Alaska to the United States, has been the only part of Russia lying partially in the Western Hemisphere (east of the 180th meridian).
Chukotka is populated by Chukchi, an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula. They speak the Chukchi language. Many of them are reindeer herders. Chukchi who live in coastal areas hunt sea mammals, polar bears and carve walrus ivory.The climate of Anadyr is subarctic. Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero temperatures, so that the soil remains permanently frozen. Permafrost and tundra cover most of the region.
Almond Freikers Arrive in Магада́н (Magadan), Russia:
Магада́н) is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast (since 1953), in the Russian Far East. Population: 114,873 (2008 est.); Ship building and fishing are the major industries. The town has a seaport (fully navigable from May to December) and a small international airport.
Magadan is very isolated. The nearest major city is Yakutsk, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) away via an unpaved road which is best used in the winter, especially since there is no bridge over the Lena River at Yakutsk.
Magadan was the focal point of the Long Way Round motorcycle journey made by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and their team. Although their ultimate destination was New York, they frequently noted how reaching the Russian city was the ultimate measure of success or failure for their adventure. Despite encountering swollen rivers, broken bridges and virtually impassable roads as they traveled through Siberia, they were ultimately able to ride the "Road of Bones" into Magadan, and flew from there to Anchorage, Alaska from where they continued to New York. Recalling his final day in Magadan before leaving for America, McGregor wrote:
"Magadan, Siberia. The place that had been in my thoughts and dreams for two years, like a mythical city forever beyond my reach. I wanted to capture it, somehow hold on to it and take a part of it with me when we began the long journey home."
Magadan Church in winter
This Week's Green Gear Award Winner!
And the Green Gear winner for this week was...... (drum roll).....
Teddy Chmyz
Congratulations, Teddy, for completing 5 consecutive Green Commutes the previous week!
Baskin-Robbins Winners For This Week!
This is a big week. Remember you get 1 free ice cream cone for every 15 rides or walks! Coupons will be passed out in class early next week.
| Abigail | 1244393 | |
| Alex | 464221 | |
| Alex | 1236366 | |
| Andrew | 997089, 1249740 | |
| Anthony | 974684 | |
| Audrey | 1238687 | |
| Austin | 1243628 | |
| Ben Parker | 975545 | |
| Brandon | 465461, 990409 | |
| Brandon L. | 991811 | |
| Bryan | 1230860 | |
| Caris | 965375, 996055 | |
| Chad | 990053, 1247082 | |
| Cole F. | 1248477 | |
| Connor | 1236055 | |
| Corinne | 970397 | |
| Dalezilla | 1242628 | |
| Daniel | 970958 | |
| David | 999490 | |
| Drew | 994375 | |
| Eduardo | 993855 | |
| Elyse | 1239325, 970222 | |
| Eric | 975978 | |
| Ethan | 460637 | |
| Evan | 1243290 | |
| Han-Nha | 1236650 | |
| Ian | 991309 | |
| Ian C. | 1233544, 978754 | |
| Isabella | 974148 | |
| Jack | 972443 | |
| Jacob | 1235668, 979231 | |
| Jamie | 975327 | |
| jeremy b. | 1237528, 1249479 | |
| Joely F. | 1240059 | |
| Julia | 975625 | |
| Julia | 1239027, 977343 | |
| Katia | 1244431 | |
| Kelsey | 1241384 | |
| Krishna | 1233028 | |
| Lily | 1245890 | |
| Luis | 1245350 | |
| Marcus | 977847 | |
| Matthew | 1243372 | |
| Max | 992086 | |
| Max | 995191 | |
| Mia | 991627, 1244580 | |
| Natalie | 974351 | |
| Nathan | 975174 | |
| Nathan | 975725 | |
| Nathan | 1244039 | |
| Nicholas A. | 1240081 | |
| Nikolas | 992699, 1248842 | |
| Pinky | 1240682 | |
| Rachel | 1237770, 1242109 | |
| Ryan | 975817 | |
| Sasha | 1239119 | |
| Sean D. | 979130 | |
| Shawn | 978683 | |
| Sierra | 1244049 | |
| Tanvi | 1232178 | |
| Tatiana G. | 1248482 | |
| Teddy | 1240376 | |
| Theresa | 1240484 | |
| Thien-Nha | 1238814, 990675 | |
| Tom | 972128 | |
| Trevor | 1241781 | |
| Tyler | 1243092 | |
| Will Diamond | 973104 |
The Top 10% Green Commuters!
Dalezilla 1242628 39 Jack 972443 39 Brandon 465461, 990409 38 Cole F. 1248477 38 Nathan 1244039 38 Teddy 1240376 38 Andrew 997089, 1249740 37 Audrey 1238687 37 Austin 1243628 37 Joely F. 463041, 1240059 37 Lily 1245890 37 Max 995191 37 Nathan 975174 37 Sierra 1244049 37 Tom 972128 37 Trevor 1241781 37 Abigail 1244393 36 Ben P. 975545 36 Ian Conceicao 1233544, 978754 36 Katia 1244431 36 Luis 1245350 36 Mia 991627, 1244580 36
These Freikers Have Walked/Ridden at least 75% of the time!
These Freikers Have Not Yet Registered!
Anthony 974684 35 Bryan 1230860 35 Drew 994375 35 Ethan 460637 35 Julia 975625 35 Marcus 977847 35 Nikolas 992699, 1248842 35 Pinky 1240682 35 Sean D. 979130 35 Chad 990053, 1247082 34 Daniel 970958 34 Eric 975978 34 Evan 1243290 34 Ian 991309 34 Max 992086 34 Rachel 1237770, 1242109 34 Will D. 973104 34 Alex 464221 33 Brandon L. 991811 33 Connor 1236055 33 Julia 1239027, 977343 33 Nathan 975725 33 Shawn 467794, 978683 33 David 999490 32 jeremy b. 1237528, 1249479 32 Kelsey 460650, 1241384 32 Natalie 974351 32 Nicholas A. 1240081 32 Ryan 975817 32 Thien-Nha 1238814, 990675 32 Alex 1236366 31 Eduardo 993855 31 Elyse 1239325, 970222 31 Jacob 1235668, 979231 31 Jamie 975327 31 Matthew 1243372 31 Corinne 970397 30 Han-Nha 1236650 30 Isabella 974148 30 Krishna 1233028 30 Sasha 1239119 30 Tatiana 1248482 30 Theresa 1240484 30
Freikomter Times:
347454 1 350871 13 353816 2 356380 1 358548 4 460124 4 460141 2 460373 3 461104 3 461817 6 462347 2 463565 4 463633 1 463759 5 464299 2 464550 1 465093 11 465231 13 465238 1 465259 7 465487 1 465741 7 466328 3 466630 3 466978 7 467039 7 467182 3 468667 2 468741 1 468904 4 468988 5 469968 5 961147 1 962704 1 966505 5 967515 4 971219 2 972777 5 974001 7 976876 8 979071 7 979631 2 991940 2 992324 6 994228 11 994883 1 996690 2 997293 1 998509 23 999382 21 1230739 1 1232700 3 1233339 7 1233626 13 1235902 3 1237597 29 1237715 27 1238072 9 1239413 12 1246952 13 1248088 1 1249195 11 1249239 13
This is just a reminder that the Freikometer is a solar powered computer that gets 100% of it's power from the Sun. Because of this, the Freikometer has limited hours of operation. Make sure your students buzz in during one of the periods when the Freikometer is turned on:Helpful Hits at the Freikometer:If you miss buzzing in on the Freikometer during one of these periods, you can always enter your child's round trip manually at www.freiker.org.
- Start of Day: 8:00-8:30am
- PM Kinders: 11:45-12:00pm
- After School: 2:30-3:00pm
Here are some tips that will make it easier for your child to be counted correctly when they get to the Freikometer each day:Well, that's all for now folks. I'll update you again next week
- Have your Freiker RFID tag attached to the top of your helmet or the top handle on your backpack. This gets it closer to the Freikometer and easier to read the tag.
- Make sure your child's name is written on the Freiker RFID tag with a permanent sharpie. This way, if you loose the tag, Venny will know who to return it to.
- Make sure your child takes turns going through the Freikometer one at a time. If you get 4 kids under the Freikometer and it buzzes, nobody knows whose RFID tag just got read.
- If in doubt as to whether your Freiker tag was read, go back through the Freikometer. It will only count you once per day no matter how many times you make the buzzer go off. Have fun with this one...
- If, for any reason, you can't make it out to buzz in on the Freikometer one day, you can always enter your ride/walk manually at www.freiker.org.
- Work on your friends! If you have friends that are riding or walking to school several days a week and they are not Freikers, ask them to join. It's not just about the cool awards but showing the rest of the nation just how committed the students at Almond are to their health and the health of the planet.
Every Ride Counts!
Jon
Mountain Bike Racing in Brazil
So this is what passes for Mountain Bike Racing in Brazil? Legendary mountain biker brothers Dan and Gee Atherton go for a ride through Dona Marta slum in Brazil. The course was designed and built for the unprecedented Red Bull Desafio no Morro race.
Every Ride Counts!
Every Ride Counts!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Morgan Hill Road Race
Well, the Cycling Buddies ran the 4th stage of the yearly classics and this proved to be quite an event. The best way to characterize the Morgan Hill Road Race was, stay out of the sun! This 70 mile road race starts in Morgan Hill, goes around Chesbro Reservoir, up Croy Canyon, past Uvas Reservoir into Gilroy, through Henry Coe State Park then back into Morgan Hill for the final climb of the day up Thomas Grade. What a butt kicker that was!
The starting temperature was warm but bearable at just over 80F. As the day wore on it became more noticeable that being in the shade of the trees in some of the canyons and back road was very nice and somewhat cool but the minute you were exposed to the sun on the open road it was like having a hot blow dryer on your face and upper body. The final climb on Thomas Grade was completely exposed all the way up as the noontime temp approached 100F. Now I know how people die of heat stroke... at one point I looked down at my cyclometer to check my vitals - my heart rate was at 192 bpm and I was starting to go cross eyed!
The story of my performance for the day was too fold - it does not pay to be the photographer since you are constantly chasing to catch back on and 'close, but no cigar'! I must have come in 4th, 5th or 6th on almost every KOM or sprint during the race but only ended up in the points once... 1 lousy point! But hey, I'm not complaining - it's all good when you are riding your bike :)
The post ride festivities were signature Fletch. The chinese chicken salad was to die for and the margs and beer were flowing as people tried to get some lactate inhibitors in their bloodstream. It is always fun to hang with the Cycling Buddies after a hard ride and shoot the shit. It's all about the days race... we chronicle everything that happened during the event from almost everyone's perspective. The podium positions for the day were 1st place: HammerSchlagen (this guy was in the money on every points segment for the day both sprinting and climbing). 2nd place went to Mark Jongsma who also walked away with the polka dot jersey for the most KOM victories. I'm not sure who got 3rd but it sure wasn't me!
View for most of the day... when I could stay close enough!
Stats:
Jon
The starting temperature was warm but bearable at just over 80F. As the day wore on it became more noticeable that being in the shade of the trees in some of the canyons and back road was very nice and somewhat cool but the minute you were exposed to the sun on the open road it was like having a hot blow dryer on your face and upper body. The final climb on Thomas Grade was completely exposed all the way up as the noontime temp approached 100F. Now I know how people die of heat stroke... at one point I looked down at my cyclometer to check my vitals - my heart rate was at 192 bpm and I was starting to go cross eyed!
The story of my performance for the day was too fold - it does not pay to be the photographer since you are constantly chasing to catch back on and 'close, but no cigar'! I must have come in 4th, 5th or 6th on almost every KOM or sprint during the race but only ended up in the points once... 1 lousy point! But hey, I'm not complaining - it's all good when you are riding your bike :)
The post ride festivities were signature Fletch. The chinese chicken salad was to die for and the margs and beer were flowing as people tried to get some lactate inhibitors in their bloodstream. It is always fun to hang with the Cycling Buddies after a hard ride and shoot the shit. It's all about the days race... we chronicle everything that happened during the event from almost everyone's perspective. The podium positions for the day were 1st place: HammerSchlagen (this guy was in the money on every points segment for the day both sprinting and climbing). 2nd place went to Mark Jongsma who also walked away with the polka dot jersey for the most KOM victories. I'm not sure who got 3rd but it sure wasn't me!
View for most of the day... when I could stay close enough!
Stats:
- Distance: 68.63 miles
- Total Ascent: 3,618 ft
- Total Time: 4:00:41
- Ave. Speed: 17.1 mph
- Max Speed: 43.7 mph
- Ave HR: 143 bpm
- Max HR: 192 bpm
- Calories: 4,733 cals
- Starting Temp: 80F
- Finishing Temp: 102F
- Garmin Connect Map
Jon
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