This evening around 6:30pm there was a rare annular eclipse of the Sun which was visible in Northern California. According to Professor Marcy at UC Berkeley an annular eclipse is “when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are lined up, but the Moon is farther than average from Earth, so it looks a bit too small to fully cover the Sun. Thus, if you are at one of the right places, the Sun will form a ring, or annulus, around the Moon. It’s a special, fun form of a partial solar eclipse.” ...
This is a small excerpt from a larger piece I have been working on for the last couple of months. Tentatively titled Avery’s Sojourn this excerpt is just a little blurb from the beginning. It is still a major work in progress but a couple of people have been asking for previews but everything is still under heavy construction and there is a lot of work to do still but here is a tiny glimpse into Avery’s life. Enjoy. ...
I just got back from a brief but wonderful visit with one of my oldest and best friends who now resides in Napa, California. Yes, that does mean I have an awesome excuse to visit the beautiful wine country just a short car ride away from Berkeley. She attends the Culinary Institute of America in Napa training to be a chef and baker! Yes, she is that cool. She showed me the place where she gets to learn how to cook and make pastries at the CIA and I was a little jealous. It is so different from the life I am living at college here at UC Berkeley that it was refreshing and new. ...
Yesterday at UC Berkeley was a celebration of the India holiday called Holi. At Uc Berkeley and many other places this festival is considered a celebration of the coming of spring. ANd who is it celebrated you might ask? By a bunch of people gathered together in one place to throw handfuls of color at each other. This is the before photo where we are all nice and clean. It didn’t last long at all. ...
I went with my little brother to watch his team mates do a race in Salinas. They are the ones in the bright green helmets and amazingly colorful jerseys sporting blue, pink, and green. The Ritte team did an amazing and entertaining job. They seemed to have a lot of fun. I am proud to say that his entire team dominated the field and took first and third place in the race. It was really fun watching these passionate young men do what they do best, cycling. ...
Gabe has raced CCCX enough now that he’s really starting to like the race. Last weekend he managed a very respectable fourth place, and today he was perfectly positioned going into the finish and pulled out second place! It was a strong sprint, and enough to beat everyone except a very strong VOS rider. I think the new kit helped a bit.
Gabe has waited patiently for his Castelli team kit for so long its almost driven him crazy. He’s kept hoping it would show up for the next race, and that day has finally arrived. Here’s the proud junior sporting his new bold colors for Ritte Elite U23 Development. Looking good Gabe!
It’s so nice to have a great, local road race right in our area, and I think Gabe is starting to really enjoy the course. He kept his position pretty well coming into the finish, though the winner had quite a burst of speed to finish cleanly in front of everyone. Gabe pushed hard all the way to the end to take fourth place. Gabe also raced in a small juniors field and took first, but he’s definitely proud of his fourth and is looking good with his medal. ...
After a few flats in a row plus changing tires and tubes, it’s time to use a spare wheel for today’s Dinuba criterium. Gabe’s racing with his teammates Bryan and Sam, and right from the start Sam and another guy take off in a breakaway. Sam looks really strong the whole time and takes it strongly at the line for an awesome win. Nice job boys! Gabe decides to skip the Juniors race, while Sam and Bryan head right back out for more racing. Jack and Reese put in lots of attacks the whole time, but the boys do an awesome job countering every single move. The legs unfortunately aren’t able to pull off another win, but a great effort for a 5th and 6th. ...
Gabe and a few of his teammates are here for one of Gabe’s favorite races, Pine Flat road race. It’s great having Stu here with the team, including Matt, Alex, Bryan, and Sam. This is also a must do race for Gabe’s friend Ryan. Hey Stu, stop hiding behind that bike! Alex heads off in the Pro/1/2 field, Matt in the 3s, Gabe and the rest in the 4s. Cool to see the Ritte team here too. ...