New Year 2026

My last post was Jan 27, 2025, so let's see what's happened since then. Nothing really big in my own circles. Doing more strength training to try to build the bones and muscles, because evidentally I'm not getting any younger. Nobody told me that would happen!
I had 3 years of long hair growth cut off - feels much better now!
I'm training to walk the local marathon this year. The last time I did a half-marathon it kind of hurt, even with all the training. I'm going for a low-impact accomplishment this time.
In 2025, we had one good snow in February, but the winter on a whole was pretty warm and unusual.
2026 was even more temperate than 2025.

I went camping, for the first time in a long time, at Baker lake

Made a few trips to Vancouver, BC and saw the some great symphony performances.

Had an interesting meal at a vegetarian place while I was there. Delivere by a robot!

Saw a DEVO concert and went up to Artist Point.

Went to Madrid

in 2026, Visited San Juan Island for the first time, getting caught up in the July 4th weekend crowd (the most walk-ons on a ferry I've ever seen!). In Friday Harbour, Went to the best whale museum I've seen yet! They also had to idle the ferry for orcas on the way back.

Made many walks around the pacific Northwest

Had a nice visit to Langley, WA and Bend, OR

New Year 2025

Hello Party people!
This winter has been a mild one for us in the Pacific Northwest. At least, milder than I was expecting. I thought that La Niña would give us more snow this year but we have not seen an inch on the ground here yet this season. At least it finally got down into the 20s F (<0 C).
Highlights this last year were a trip recently to a nice marsh park in Canada, the Butterfly Garden on Vancouver Island, Mazama WA, and a trip accross Switzerland including the Olympic (IOC) Headquarters / Museum and Zermatt.

New year 2023

I'm honestly amazed that Blogspot is still here. Good.

Got to visit a small airport in Sonoma, CA recently. Unfortunately, the cold rainy weather followed us there, and we missed some nice days back home.
In other news, I have not done an outdoor event since 2019, but this year I signed up for a half-marathon, so I've got some impetus to get back into it.
The spring up in the NorthWest US has apparantly been more delayed than usual, and recently we've busted right into summmer weather.

I've been collecting my favorite music as vinyl records last year and still going.

I've also got more skiing in this last year than ever before. Mostly the local mountain.

Is Covid over?

Looks like I stopped updating this little blog as Covid was getting rolling. A bunch of stuff happened of course, and a bunch of stuff didn't.
Highlights:
- New job
- Got better at playing piano
- Travelled more this year
- Put out quite a few synth tracks on Soundcloud

Lowlights:
- Father passed
- Stopped working on my piano as much this year
- Drastic decrease in fitness - It appears that group events motivate me, and those got cancelled or icked me out

Maybe I'll update this blog more often now that I've broken the seal.

Nothing Happening

Hi folks. Just an update. Nothing is happening. This can be a good thing.

I did start growing culinary mushrooms at home; Shiitake and Oyster:

Went to a State park the other day and saw this nicely innoculated stump:

And I believe I have completed building 11 puzzles since March.

I hope nothing interesting is happening for you too.

Toe Fin, Oh!

Wow, certainly a lot has happened since my last post. Not much has changed yet for my life though. I've been doing less Mountain Unicycling than past years, but I did lose 20 punds since Christmas, so there's that. I won't bore you with details, but a combination of intermittent fasting and limiting sugars and alcohol has helped. Tracking progress with fitness, weight, and goals helps a lot (for me) too.

My wife gave me a Bullet Journal guide last year, and I've been following it since January. We think it's improving my productivity.

We did get to go to Tofino, BC before the Covid locked us all down, but all future trip plans, of course, have been delayed. What a pleasant time we had in Tofino! The surfers were out and the sunsets were beyond our expectations. I had a great time despite my limp from an injured ankle from skiing in Colorado a few days before this trip

2020? Are we in The Future already?

Hey there Dreamers. This has been the longest time between posts. We've moved to a new home a little more remote but it's exactly what we've been wanting for a while. I have not been nearly as active outside as I would have liked, due to the logistics of the move.

We recently took a trip to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC. It looks like I'm old enough to have my teen years encased in glass:


Also, we stopped by a mushroom exhibit hosted by our local Mushroom society. A beautiful display:

STP 2018 - 200 miles in one day

This year I put extra training time into preparing to do the STP 2018 (Seattle to Portland) bicycle ride in one day and completed it on July 14, 2018. I've done this ride twice before, completing it with some friends a few years ago. I enjoy the route, but there are so many people participating in the event, and there are so many other routes and rides I want to do. I decided that this year I would attempt to complete the STP bike ride in one day, so I can check off that box and move onto other rides. I was inspired to make this the year to try after I was inspired by the book Full Cycle by Christopher Blunt.

Here are some observations: It's all about pain management. Most of the pain was in my feet and seat. Get saddle time in training. Carry spare tubes and a pump. Time your food and drink. Every 10 minutes drink something and every 20 minutes eat something. Get sleep and hydrate the week before the ride. As some random cyclists told my wife a couple months ago, if you can do it in 2 days then you can do it in 1.

On the ride, I tried to maintain my planned pace. I had trained up to a 17 mph average for the last few months leading up to the ride, and during the ride, the pace groups assisted me to 20 mph average, and I ended the ride with a 17.7 mph ave. Plenty of groups were passing and if I felt I could keep up, I would join them, otherwise, I would just stay in with a group and would take my turn up front. The riders really spread out after the halfway point in Centralia and Chehalis. I only spent about 45 minutes total at rest stops, only stopping for food and a rest twice (100mi and 140mi) and stopped for more liquid several times. I tried to keep my 3 bidons topped off but along the way, but I also grabbed a Gatorade from an unofficial rest stop and a 'frozen' themed bottle of flavored water sitting in a box on the side of the road somewhere. I found I had slowly leaking rear tire and tried to pump up the tire to see how far I could get, but ended up changing the tube in Evaline, WA.

The way I felt on the last 100 miles was very similar to the way I felt on the last 100 when I did this ride in 2 days. The long exposed straights on SR 30 in Oregon were somewhat brutal and I relished any long stretches of shade I could find. In the last 15 miles I saw plenty of folks resting in the shade, one person puking, and one rider sitting at a rest stop with his head in his hands. The cycle computer said 103F for the temperature at one point. I rode in with a couple of ounces of liquid left. I felt really good at the end and could have ridden more, as long as I had fuel. I followed my food and drink plan and still had enough food for probably another 50+ miles (which somewhat indicates that I didn't eat enough, carried too much, or didn't fine tune my requirements - but hey, better to have fuel available then bonk with nothing). I had left at 04:45 PDT and arrived at the finish in Holladay Park in Portland, OR long before dark at 18:40 PDT.

Most of the challenge is mental, and getting in the long distance training to be comfortable. The longest training rides I did this year was two 100 mi rides.

The toughest part of this whole experience was honestly all the cycling I had to do to feel comfortably prepared. This meant I couldn't do all the running, hiking, swimming, unicycling, and time with my wife and friends and family I would have liked.

Statistics:
On-board cycle computer:
10,118 Calories
209.9 mile distance
12 hr 06 minute Ride Time
17.7mph Average Speed
18.8 mph dropping to 18 mph at the end
35.9 mph Max speed
Left SEA 04:45 AM PDT Arrived Holladay park, Portland about 18:40 PDT
Total 13 hr 55 min including stops

SportLegs pills every 2 hours
2 Ibuprofen at the halfway lunch stop
Liquid every 10 min. Food every 20 min.

Polar Heart Rate monitor stats:
Ave HR: 140
Max HR: 171
Target HR: 141-160
Zone 1: 06:33:43
Zone 2: 05:53:57
Zone 3: 01:41:44
Total Time: 14:17:49
10,219 Calories
13% Fat Calories

May I?

Emerald City Bike Ride 2018

Hello faithful watchers. It's May and the temperatures in the Great Northwest have finally broken 70F. We're getting out a little more, and I've set some crazy fitness goals. Mainly I have set a goal of accomplishing the Seattle To Portland bike ride in one day and the 80-mile Passport to Pain on Vashon Island. I've been trying to come close to the training goals recommended by the Cascade website to make myself ready to ride 200 miles in one day at an average of 17.5 MPH but it's becoming evident how much of a time investment it is to total 100+ miles every week as part of training. I'm really finding out what my limits and tolerances are, how supportive my family and friends are, and if this goal is a bad idea or not. Also, trying to recover from a knee impact injury while training is an interesting hurdle.

Otherwise, we have a few trips planned, and a bathroom remodel which has taught us that we never want to go through remodel again, at least not while we are also living in the dwelling.

Other highlights since my last post include a 3 week trip to New Zealand (highly recommended) and getting in one ski trip before the season ended.

Forever didn’t seem to last as long these days as once it did

35 months of Pratchett and Rest In Peace

This month marks a bitter-sweet time for me and my relationship with one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett.
On the first day of working at the company I continue to work for, I needed to be in California. This was in March of 2015. I brought my old hardbacks of Sir Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic with me to read. My intent was to begin reading all 40+ of the Discworld novels in the order they were published. I had recently been to a book event to see Pratchett, one of my favorite authors, in Seattle for his US release of Snuff. I bought two copies, one of which came with a signature card from the author (I gave the signed copy to my brother, who had first introduced me to Pratchett's world).

While I was training in the daytime and reading in the evening, two things happened. I ran a fever all that week and felt awful all day, and Sir Terry Pratchett died at his home on the morning of 12 March 2015 from Alzheimer's. After Pratchett's death, his assistant, Rob Wilkins, wrote from the official Terry Pratchett Twitter account:

At last, Sir Terry, we must walk together.
Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End.

I continued reading one book at a time. Some books I already owned and had read and others I had read but did not own. I picked up used or new books at stores and I took this opportunity to get more familiar with my ebook reader. I skipped a few books that were not novels, but I did try to find all the short stories as well:
(referenced from http://discworld.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Discworld_Books)

The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
Mort (1987) (Death)
Sourcery (1988) (Rincewind)
Wyrd Sisters (1988) (Witches)
Pyramids (1989) (One-off)
Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
Faust Eric (1990) (Rincewind)
Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
Reaper Man (1991) (Death)
Witches Abroad (1991) (Witches)
Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
Lords and Ladies (1992) (Witches)
Troll Bridge (1992) (Short story)
Men at Arms (1993) (City Watch)
Theatre of Cruelty (1993) (Short story)
Soul Music (1994) (Death)
Interesting Times (1994) (Rincewind)
Maskerade (1995) (Witches)
Feet of Clay (1996) (City Watch)
Hogfather (1996) (Death)
Jingo (1997) (City Watch)
The Last Continent (1998) (Rincewind)
Carpe Jugulum (1998) (Witches)
The Sea and Little Fishes (1998) (Short story)
The Fifth Elephant (1999) (City Watch)
The Truth (2000) (One-off)
Thief of Time (2001) (Death)
The Last Hero (2001) (Rincewind, although this is debatable)
The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents (2001) (One-off)
Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
Death and What Comes Next (2002) (Short story)
The Wee Free Men (2003) (Tiffany Aching)
Monstrous Regiment (2003) (One-off)
A Hat Full of Sky (2004) (Tiffany Aching)
Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
Once More* With Footnotes (2004) (Compilation of short works)Skipped
Thud! (2005) (City Watch)
Where's my cow (2005) Skipped
Wintersmith (2006) (Tiffany Aching)
Making Money (2007) (Post Office)
Unseen Academicals (2009) (The Wizards, Rincewind)
I Shall Wear Midnight (2010) (Tiffany Aching)
Snuff (2011) (City Watch / Sam Vimes)
Raising Steam (2013) (Post office)
The Shepherd's Crown (2015) (Tiffany Aching)

This month I finished The Shepherd's Crown, a somewhat short book as this was Pratchett's last. A great story coupled with sadness at knowing this is the last story Pratchett will be able to tell.

Hot Hot Hot

Boy it's hot in SEAtown. BOO Rex Block! The BC, Washington, and Montana wildfires are also pushing a lot of smoke up in our 'hood.
Went on a few trips this year so far. NAUCC 2017 was here in nearby North Bend and I got to volunteer for a day before we rented an RV (for the first time) and took a trip up through BC and through Jasper, Banff, and Montana to visit a friend. Kamloops, BC was holding many evacuees and on the way back down I90 there was the most smoke on the road we had seen so far.

Winter reasons

Hola amigos. It's been a long time since I rapped at ya. Over 2 seasons!

A lot of rain this winter, and a 9 inch snow fall made things interesting.



I've been taking advantage of our proximity to snowy mountains this year and took some ski lessons.

In October I had my first (obvious) injury in mountain unicycling: Dislocated finger at the last 1/4 mile of a 10 mile ride.

North East and North Eh?

Had a few good trips over the last few months. Took a 5 day loop road trip along the Columbia river and into British Columbia through Nakusp and back along my new favorite route through the Cascades, SR 2. Heliskiing appears to be a popular thing to do in Nakusp. We got to cross the Columbia river on a cable ferry for the first time. It turned into a real Dam and Hot Spring tour. Pretty relaxing trip and I brought a muni along to try to hurt myself with.

Went to the Bend, OR area for a few days. A great place and I wish to spend more time there.

Rode the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) this month. There was a scramble the previous month to train up for this and I could have probably used a bit more training, but it was a good challenge.

I'm excited about an event coming up next month, the Seattle Muni Weekend. I plan to do all the days this weekend if I can. Last year I could only pop in for a few hours at the beginning.

Two Summers for 2016?

Hola, amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but things have been pretty busy and beautiful. We've had the warmest spring I've ever seen since moving to the North West area. Usually we are wearing jackets to watch July 4th fireworks, but I'm not sure that will happen this year. So much sun for April it's unbelievable. Growing tomatoes might actually be a feasible option this year.

We've been getting around a little bit; Mostly local trips. So far this year we have been to Anacortes (with a stop by Camano Island), Port Townsend, the Olympic Peninsula (staying at the Kalaloch Lodge), and took a slippery snowy hike through the Hoh rainforest.
I got to ride the big unicycle on the new 520 bridge before they opened it, and on the I5 express lanes (closed to traffic) during the inaugural Emerald City Bike Ride and I've been training up on the mountain unicycle more. I did the Chilly Hilly ride for the first time, with some friends. I think this was considered the wettest one yet. The side winds and rain were pretty brutal on the South West side of Bainbridge island. Later in the summer I'll get to do the RSVP ride from Seattle to Vancouver BC. We've done the STP 2 times so far and this year I wanted to change it up and go the other direction. Maybe one day, I'll have time to do the 7 day ride through Washington (RAW - Ride Around Washington).

Here's to another great year of living as well as we can and treating each other with respect and love.


An older home lifted up for what looks like a new foundation being poured. Saw this while walking around Anacortes, WA.