The World according to a Smartass

Ready for December 1

2009-11-25T14:18:00.002-05:00

With our Advent Calendar Wreath up in our hallway we are ready for December 1. Good thing is that we'll be busy with Thanksgiving the next few days and won't be tempted to eat the chocolates early.

Late Fall in the West End

2009-11-22T16:01:00.004-05:00

It is late Fall and I took a few images what the house and the neighborhood looks like with most of the leaves now off the trees.

The leaves are also mostly out the front yard too and the landscaping still looks good

The back of the house with the patio umbrella and the seat cushions tucked safely away.

The clock in Grace Court Park just up the street.

The landscaping still look quite nice in the park too.

Yes, we are in the West End of Winston-Salem

It is all about Red

2009-11-17T11:08:00.003-05:00

Yesterday my highly anticipated SRAM Red group arrived and somehow it felt just like Christmas. Each individual item slowly unwrapped from the packaging and then caressed for a while. But unlike Christmas you know before that it is exactly what you want. I already have been very, very happy with SRAM Red on my TT bike and have been looking forward to the same smooth performance on my road bike. Plus that will allow me to easily swap the Quarq powermeter (still to come) between the 2 bikes.

Dead right poem

2009-11-09T23:42:00.002-05:00

Read the poem below in a Charles Pelkey story about road rage.

Here lies the body of George O'Day.
He died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right as he rode along,
But he is just as dead as if he were wrong.

Images from Abu Dhabi

2009-11-05T22:20:00.022-05:00

I just came back from a trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where I checked out the new Abu Dhabi Triathlon with its unique distance 3km swim, 200km bike and 20km run. Prize money for the event is $230,000 for the Pros and $20,000 for the amateurs ($1,000 for each age group winner.) Wow.

Below are a few images from the trip:

The Check-In counter at Etihad Airlines

I was very comfortable on the flight

Reading Trizophrenia by Jef Mallett on the trip

We stayed in the Shangri La hotel

The view over the pool

The Grand Mosque is just across the river

Returning from a run along the river

One night this car was parked in front of our hotel

We got to visit the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Beautiful from every angle indeed

As most of us wore shorts we were given a Kandura to wear

Stunning colors and artwork everywhere

Lots of Italian marble was used in the creation of the mosque

Our tour guide took us also to Heritage Village

James from 220 Triathlon in the UK makes a friend

The view from Heritage Village to modern Abu Dhabi and all its construction

The very luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel is quite a landmark

The swim course behind the Emirates Palace Hotel

Part of the race will be on this 5 Lane highway which will be shut down for the triathlon

Here is the run turnaround of the event

Amazing local food offerings

We also visited the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital

A variety of feathers are available to repair broken wings

Putting this patient from Pakistan to sleep

A broken wing feather had caused imbalance

This Falcon is almost good to go

About 5 minutes after the operation the patient is good to go

With an Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital resident on my arm

The trip to Abu Dhabi was fantastic, but now it is time to go home

Abu Dhabi soon

2009-10-29T18:23:00.003-05:00

Next week I am heading to Abu Dhabi for a few days to check out a new race venue. I am super exited as I have never been to that part of the world before. Lots of things to see for sure. Plus my passport will enjoy the exotic stamp.

Poor little fellow

2009-10-26T22:02:00.002-05:00

One day when Amy and I walked back to our Condo in Kona we noticed this little fellow who seemed to have had some unfortunate encounters. :-(

Impressive speech

2009-10-22T14:37:00.000-05:00

No need for an intro here, this man says it all.

Impressive display

2009-10-20T09:53:00.002-05:00

The former Bayer AG headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany was transformed with 5.6 million LED lights into a huge display of colors. Wow

Some Ironman Hawaii 2009 impressions

2009-10-18T13:26:00.010-05:00

Defending champion Craig Alexander contemplates the task ahead as the sun is coming up.

Amy volunteered at the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships in the swim-bike transition.

... as Navy seals parachuted in just before the start.

The Pro men and women awaiting the start signal.

The age group athletes are slowly easing into the water.

Many of the Pro men are lined up like a string of pearls as they come over the horizon. My buddy Luke McKenzie is in the front here.

Andreas Raelert and Craig Alexander just passed Faris Al-Sultan in pursuit of the leaders Chris Lieto and Chris McCormack.

We grabbed dinner at Huggo's on the Rocks to stay strong until midnight.

The view from the restaurant was spectacular

Just like the year before, Amy and I waited for the last person to cross the finish line.

2009 winners Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander greet and embrace the last finisher just a few seconds before midnight.

Images from Maui 2009

2009-10-03T00:16:00.012-05:00

After an endless trip on Thursday we arrived safely and with all of our bags in Maui late last night. We pretty much passed out when we got into our room and woke up relatively early. 5am Maui time / 11am Eastern Standard Time.

The stunning view in front of our hotel in Wailea

Amy loves the beach

The view from the main hotel pool is just spectacular

A scenic and windy view on our way to our run

At the start of the Waihe'e Ridge Trail run today (Thank you Lauren for that tip)

Up and up and up and up

Not exactly the end of the trail, but the turnaround point to go back down

A quick pic before heading downhill and trying not to squint with all that sunscreen in my eyes

And down the hill we go, yeah

Although mostly downhill, there were a few tiny uphill sections

Mama's Fish House was a highly recommended restaurant choice and we had lunch there after the run

The view from our table is hard to beat

The food looked and tasted fantastic

Milk, it does...

2009-09-29T22:33:00.003-05:00

Milk is said to do a body good, but in Germany it appears that milk does a few fields good. Well, we are looking at farmers protesting low milk prices.

Well, well

2009-09-28T09:48:00.001-05:00

This might have been the longest break I have taken from this blog. Maybe I have too many things going on. :-)

Julie Bower

2009-09-17T22:27:00.002-05:00

Police woman Julie Bower of Broward County, Dog the Bounty Hunter wants his haircut back. :-)

Beautiful spot

2009-09-16T09:40:00.003-05:00

This Coca Cola spot won an Emmy for outstanding commercial and deservedly so.

The September 2010 target

2009-09-15T16:18:00.003-05:00

On Monday I registered for the 2010 Ironman Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. Race date is September 12, 2010. Below is the list of folks who qualified this year for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Well, they qualified in this year's race for the 2011 race in Hawaii. But that gives me a rough idea how fast I will have to be next year in Madison if I want to race in Kona in 2012. :-)

Happy Birthday Mama

2009-09-10T12:38:00.002-05:00

Ich wuensche dir alles liebe zum Geburtstag.

A nice visit...

2009-09-07T12:07:00.010-05:00

Paul and Anita came to visit us this weekend and they arrived Friday evening. Pete was very excited to see them, and they were equally happy to see Pete. After showing them around in the new home we went out for dinner to the Village Tavern in Reynolda Village. We ate outside and the temperatures were perfect indeed. We chatted forever and got home pretty late.

Saturday morning we headed out for a bike ride and did about 45 miles

Are you taking a picture of me?

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride

Cruising along Baltimore Road towards Flint Hill Road

Amy, Paul and Anita in our driveway after the ride

I was wearing an older kit from the Wangener Rad Union

Late lunch at Ollie's bakery and Paul and Anita had tomato soup and focaccia bread

Amy and I had salmon and cream cheese on delicious rolls

I love strawberry tarts with custard. Yum

Paul could not wait digging into that chocolate cake

Everybody looks a bit confused after a light afternoon nap

After dinner at Mozelle's Saturday night we walked back to our house

Sunday morning we did a trail run at Salem Lake and after getting cleaned up we had brunch at 1st Street Draught House. Another place that is in relative easy walking distance from our house. Food was very good and the place itself is quite nice. Anita and Paul both said that this would be their favorite hang out if they lived as close to that place. But commuting there from Chattanooga would be quite a stretch.

Pretty impressive drawing skills

2009-09-06T20:03:00.002-05:00

Senator Al Franken showing that he can draw a map of the USA from memory at the Minnesota State Fair.

Jordan Rapp wins Ironman Canada

2009-09-03T14:38:00.002-05:00

Wow, my buddy Jordan Rapp won the Ironman Canada last weekend. Overall that is.
Congrats Jordan, that was an amazing win.

Ants, ants and more ants

2009-08-26T22:01:00.004-05:00

If you served coffee to a guest in the designer coffee cup below you better be ready that it gets dropped on the table or the floor. After all, who wants "ants" in their coffee?

Ramblin' Rose Tri 2

2009-08-24T22:23:00.014-05:00

We have been in Winston-Salem for a bit more than a year now and Amy decided to race the Ramblin'Rose Triathlon again. When she did it last year we had barely been here, and this time Amy actually had planned it a bit longer in prep for a Half Ironman in September. The goal was to be faster than last year and hopefully go sub 1 hour. Amy had an awesome race and finished in 59:07 and 51st out of almost 500 starters. (last year she finished in 1:04:22) Below are a few pics from the race.

Amy sets up her little transition area quite focused

Amy with neighbor Caroline before the race

The transition area with Winston-Salem in the background

The pre race meeting was busy and enthusiastic

The pool looks quite serene

Caroline and Amy in line ready for the swim

Amy about to start her swim

This race has a long run from the pool to the bike transition

Amy and Caroline in transition

A quick transition allowed Amy to get out fast

Heading out for the run after a fast bike ride

Almost home, sub 1 hour and more than 5 minutes faster than last year

The results area was quite popular

The ART piece that stayed at home

2009-08-16T18:26:00.004-05:00

I made this mixed media art piece for the recent ARTpARTy but somehow felt that I liked it too much to give it up. I created a second piece and kept the one below. What you see are real flower elements on a black painted canvas with a really thick coat of lacquer on top.

A yard update

2009-08-13T12:02:00.005-05:00

The front yard of our home on Clover Street was quite nice when we bought the home earlier this year. It really needed a bit of love though and some expert grooming and now it looks fantastic. Mostly bushes were trimmed back, a small rotten tree removed and some smaller bushes redistributed. Plus lots new mulch added.

This is what the front of the house looked like in April of 09

Nice cufflinks

2009-08-12T22:27:00.002-05:00

Made from old payphones, these cufflinks are quite nice.