Eagle

One of the great things about living in the great northwest — seeing the occasional eagle.  Click through for a larger version.

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Seattle Weather and Riding

gloveLiner_orig.jpgI think that it’s about time to start riding the motorcycle regularly now.  The weather has gotten a bit warmer and I noted that it’s getting dark a bit later.  I’m definitely feeling good about that.

Because my hands get cold when I ride, I had heated grips installed when I got my new ride.  But I’ve discovered that Gerbing’s heated glove liners work much better. Installation was a breeze.  I may actually have to get some of their other heated gear. 

Of course, it’s also going to be time to get out on the bicycle after a long winter of indoor cycling.

Published Rodeo Photo

The Seattle Times published one of my photos in their “Pix From My Weekend” site.  This is the first time I’ve had one of my photos published in  the print media.  You can see the photo in its full glory at http://www.newentity.com/.  Below is a screen cap of the web page where the photo is shown.  I thought it was particularly cool that the editors actually comment on the photo itself:

Expert says: “Shooting from a high angle helps clean up the background of the photo. Cropping the photo into a vertical would help eliminate some of the excessive dead space around the horse and the rider. Dead space can be tricky; sometimes it helps you, other times it doesn’t. Nevertheless, this is still a great peak action moment.” — Carrie Niland, Seattle Times photo editor 

FWIW, cropping to vertical wouldn’t leave much of an image left, although cropping to an 8×10 improves the image a bit.  I submitted it in its original format.

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STP 2007 — Seattle to Portland on a Bicycle

Two friends of mine and I just finished the STP — a 200 mile, 2 day bicycle ride from Seattle to Portland.  Our riding time each day was about 6-1/2 hours, with about 2-1/2 hours of stops added on to that.  The terrain was mostly flat, although there were a few good climbs along with rolling hills (especially on the second day).  We left at 6:30 AM on the first day and at about 6:10 AM on the second day.  Following are some pictures from the trip …

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At the start line

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At Centralia College, where we spent Saturday night.

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At the finish line!