I am a mechanical engineer born in 1953 with a lifetime interest in outdoor activities and fitness. My lovely wife of 46 years, Karen, and I live in Morgan Hill, Ca, a bit south of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have gone through and rehabbed from three major surgeries: two hip replacements, and a … Continue reading Welcome
Walking and Biking
I started out yesterday with about 30 min warmup briskly walking with hand weights. Then I rode, mostly standing for a couple of hours (at the "longevity inducing" aerobic pace I discussed recently), and finished with some fast intervals then strength training for my legs. This was a challenging but enjoyable combination. The weather or … Continue reading Walking and Biking
Enjoying “Superpolarized” Training
In my last post, I talked about the idea of doing lots of aerobic-paced training and a smaller volume of high-intensity training, which I think of as "superpolarized". I tried it out today which was scheduled to be a harder day. It was enjoyable, first a long pleasant cruise, then finishing up with some strength … Continue reading Enjoying “Superpolarized” Training
The “Longevity Decathlon”
How would you train if your objective were not to excel in a sporting event, but to remain vibrantly healthy to the end of a long life? I have mulled this over for some time, and talked about it on this blog in the past. I got the title for this post from Rich Roll's … Continue reading The “Longevity Decathlon”
Two Canoe Adventures Across Canada
I've recently read about two separate canoe adventures across Canada. The first was chronicled in the book Canoe for Change: A Journey Across Canada by Glenn Green and Carol VandenEngel, a married couple who do their trip both to celebrate retirement and to raise money for the charity Loving Spoonful (which provides healthy food for … Continue reading Two Canoe Adventures Across Canada
Back to Bike-Hiking
Yesterday was my first combined bike/hike in a while. I rode my Vado (electric-assist bike) to Harvey Bear bike then hiked uphill and rode back down. I tried some side trails I've never been on before which offered pretty smooth off-road surfaces (the Vado is a hybrid, not a mountain bike, with fairly fat tires … Continue reading Back to Bike-Hiking
Taco Tuesday Ride
Today was "Taco Tuesday Ride" with my group. Our leader was going to cancel because she was away but I offered to pinch-hit as leader so I wouldn't miss my tacos. It was a great ride of 35 miles. It was just getting too hot as we finished lunch because there was no breeze, but … Continue reading Taco Tuesday Ride
Scouting Out Some Challenges
I've decided I need some local challenges to motivate me. One I have done in the past is climbing the Thomas Grade on my bike. This is only 1.5 km, but at an average grade of 9% with a max of 12.5%. I used to be able to do it in about 10 minutes years … Continue reading Scouting Out Some Challenges
East Side Adventure
After recovering with a day off followed by an easy day, yesterday I went on a longer group ride. It started 11 miles away in Gilroy so I just rode my e-bike to the start. We headed up into the hills East of Gilroy by what was for me a new route. After some serious … Continue reading East Side Adventure
A Day Off
I've been overdoing it a bit with my training and my body let me know it last night in an unusual way- sore ankles. So I took today off and will follow it with an easy day tomorrow. I just did a short stroll around the neighborhood to get my "nature fix". El Toro From … Continue reading A Day Off
Compassionate Assertiveness
http://www.Amazon.com/books Many people who strive to be kind have trouble with assertiveness. Eknath Easwaran talks about it in his book Passage Meditation: we can be calm and try to understand the needs and point of view of others, but as he puts it, that does not mean "being a doormat". This can be a delicate … Continue reading Compassionate Assertiveness