Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The HIHO report keeps on going in All At Sea Magazine

Andy Morrell, HIHO race organizer, got my HIHO trip report published in "All At Sea" Magazine...a long standing and popular monthly publication that covers water sports, sailing, and lifestyles in the Caribbean. They edited from the original for space considerations and added some color regarding the top finishers...so it's a bit different and shorter than my original report on my web site and Windsurfing Magazine's web site, but I like it.

Check it out at http://www.allatsea.net/specificissueeditorial.php?featureid=1509

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Boulder, CO

My buddy Neil got married this past weekend in Boulder, CO. It was an awesome weekend that included hiking, mountain biking, and hanging out with close friends. Pearl Street was the center of the daily action with all the great restaurants, shops, bars, and pubs. Boulder seems to be the center of the universe when it comes to a healthy-outdoorsy-working out lifestyle. Population is around 103,000 people and they have over 44,000 acres of green open space. Tons of bikers...they were everywhere. And the microbrews were tasty too. It turns out it was the same weekend as the Univ of CO vs Florida State football game. There were a ton of Florida State fans in town. In addition to that, it was also "parents weekend" for the college kids, so it was an active weekend around town.

I hiked with Neil on Thursday afternoon. He took me up to some of the trails that go to the base of the Flatiron Mountains above Boulder and got incredible views of Boulder and the surrounding area. On Friday, Neil took five of us mountain biking on the Hall Ranch North Foothills Open Space Antelope trails near his house in Lyons, CO. There were some serious hills to climb but we were rewarded with a fun downhill blast on the way back. It was a bit unnerving to have a mountain lion warning sign posted at the trailhead. In fact, Neil came across a black bear and her cub just a couple of weeks beforehand on the same trails while running. He talked to the bear while slowly backing up, telling her they could both coexist together in harmony. The bear took off running in the opposite direction.

The wedding ceremony on Saturday was beautiful as it was held at a small ampitheater on top of Flagstaff Mountain Park overlooking Boulder. It was an incredible weekend in a great locale with our friends. If you're ever in Boulder, definitely do the following:

- hike to Flatiron Mountain (trailhead at Chautauqua Park) and/or go to Flagstaff Mountain Park for the views

- eat at Lucille's for breakfast

- if you're into microbrews, check out Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery on Pearl St. Also, try some Dale's Pale Ale (based in Lyon's CO at Oskar Blues).

- Pearl St between 9th & 15th has more restaurants and bars than you can get to...a great people watching place as well.

- Take Banjo Billy's bus tour of Boulder. You won't be disappointed. You can take a cooler on the bus with you.




View of Boulder from Flatirons

The Flatirons

Mountain Biking in Lyons

View of Longs Peak while mountain biking

WARNING!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Labor Day weekend

Here is how great this area is in NC....and we didn't even get to the mountains or coast....

Saturday -
- Windsurfed on Lake Norman - 10-15mph on 9.6 sail
- Went to the new US National Whitewater Center to go whitewater rafting with our friends and neighbors for an early evening session. This is a man-made river and is the training center for the US Olympic whitewater kayaking team. If you're ever in the Charlotte area, you have to go here and experience it for yourself: http://www.usnwc.org
Videos of the park and river course: http://www.usnwc.org/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=107

Sunday -
- Went paddleboarding on an old Starboard Start board with my 8 year old daughter on board with me. She would jump off and on the board and swim around, while I got in a great core workout around the lake.

Monday -
- 13 mile mountain bike ride at Lake Norman State Park trails.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Windsurfing Magazine HIHO report

http://windsurfingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=53053&typeID=101&categoryID=69

We made Windsurfing Magazine's "Leading Edge" section that points you to additional coverage on their web site. They included my HIHO report and story, along with a picture of Rob, Jim, and I.