Introduction time
The Golden Gate Bridge -- August 2002
one of numerous photographs from this adventure of mine!
Introduction:
I guess I will first start by making introductions -- Hi, I'm Mark.
Recent career:
Currently I'm residing in Bellevue, WA due to the acquisition and relocation of an incredible Internet dot.com startup company that I was apart of while living in Phoenix, AZ back in 2000. After two years of integration battles at Infospace, Inc (NASDAQ INSP), watching the tech stocks crash, seeing good friends leave because of frustration or via layoffs, and recently being the poster child of the Merrill-Lynch/Henry Blodgett debacle on Wall Street -- it was time to pack my bags and get the heck out of town as it were...
Bicycles:
I love bicycles and riding them! What more can I say? Between the wind-in-the-hair feeling, the burn of a good workout, the stress relief from a frustrating day, the comradely of fellow cyclists -- everything is great -- except for the inevitable fixing of flat tires on the side of the road or riding in the rain!
What do I ride:
My trusty old Klein Rascal mountain bike -- over 10K miles on it with numerous dents and bangs -- but it still rides good and is primarily my rain bike and go to the store bike. My love of the this old Klein Rascal made me do a deal for a 2nd Klein mountain bike (pre-Trek acquisition) -- a sweet Attitude with an incredible multi-fade paint job and almost 8K on it already. It’s an incredible blast offroad and makes me a much better rider than I truly am. It is also fun on the street – especially when you mount “slick” road-style tires on it. (It WILL be my mount for the Great Pacific Coast Escape!). And yes, I do have the sweet titanium road bike for the road -- but unfortunately it is staying home for a later time and place. Loaded touring on it wouldn't be all that much fun. (Plus it would be too tempting for someone to steal)
Why the “Great Pacific Coast Escape”:
I have wanted to do this ride for years! Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA via the Pacific Coast -- but with planned "detours" off the tradition route on the way. (yes, detours to make the ride a bit more interesting!) My youngest brother had grabbed the Kirkendall book (the bible for doing this ride) off my shelf many years and took an attempt after a lot of careful preparation and planning. Unfortunately he had to abandon the attempt in Eugene, OR due to a severe Achilles tendon injury. (But I still have his notes from the trip and hopefully I will learn from them!) So I guess it's partly desire to do the trip and part unfinished business in making this trip happen. Also at this time in my life (after doing the workaholic thing for awhile), I'm very much cognizant that this is the first chance I have had in years to go on an "extended" vacation -- and I'm going to take full advantage of the situation while I can. Live life while you can – and enjoy it while you can! =)
Mark
