April 26, 2010
Glacier snakes
Over the weekend I did my Mazamas BCEP snow session with the Glacier Snakes, another BCEP team that was kind enough to allow me in to their group for the weekend. We hiked up the south side of Hood from Timberline on Saturday but didn't get too far because of really bad weather. It was cold and the wind was blowing snow in our face pretty hard. It was good to practice some skills in this weather. We stayed up at the Mazamas lodge Saturday evening and on Sunday we had gorgeous weather for our snow skills session. We practiced lots of skills like walking in crampons and self-arrest. I'm a bit sore from throwing myself down the snow slopes. Tonight is our final class and exam for BCEP. I'm hoping to get out on some climbs this summer. It's been a great experience.
Posted by Dave at 11:12 AM |
April 18, 2010
In other app news
I've partnered with Vogue Knitting and my app Knit Buddy has become the Vogue Knitting app. Partnering with Vogue has enabled me to add some of their excellent content to the app such as a knitting glossary, how-to section and stitchionary, and promos like this one combined with their position in the knitting world should get the app in front of a lot more people.
Knit Buddy had a great run and it's a little sad to see it gone but I'm excited about the VK app! Knit Buddy was the first iPhone app I wrote and I was just getting my feet wet not thinking it would be that big. Who knew?
Posted by Dave at 10:09 PM |
Ronde
Saturday, along with some fellow Sisyphean Hill Riders, I tackled the Ronde again. With the unofficial ride "officially" cancelled I think some folks got confused and there were fewer than the 600 or so last year, but still a good couple hundred+ at the start. At least one new hill by Hoyt Arboretum was added to the "Tour of West Portland" (I think hill or climb should be in the name). I rode my mountain bike which was heavier but I enjoyed the granny gears, especially on Brynwood and College. 2/3rds of the way there was an excellent aid station with a keg of Widmer and PB&J and a super-cute dog Eddie up for adoption by the Pixie Project. We lingered there (paid for that later) and then headed on. Near the end the ride gets very close to the finish at Council Crest a few times before it sends you way back down the hill for another climb, on the second to last of these what had been a nice overcast sky all day opened up and down poured. On the climb back up the little road was now a little creek. Luckily bicycling uphill is a good antidote to hypothermia. When we reached the well-earned finish at Council Crest the sun was out again and after a brief rest we bombed down the hill for some beers! Thanks to Amy for organizing our group once again.
Posted by Dave at 09:52 PM |
April 15, 2010
Uni Sudoku for iPad
Uni Sudoku for iPad is the latest incarnation of my Sudoku game for your digital devices. The iPad suits Sudoku really well with its large, sharp and touchable screen. I developed the iPad version using Apple's simulator for the Mac since I didn't get an iPad until April 3rd along with everyone else. I've spent the last couple weeks improving the game based on actually using it on an iPad. It was recently featured as a "hot" title on the iPad side of Apple's iTunes App Store.Posted by Dave at 09:32 PM |
April 12, 2010
My first ultra
Yesterday I ran the Peterson Ridge Rumble 60K down in Sisters, OR. I've been training for this race since January and it's the longest I've run before. I did the 30K back in 2007 and was impressed by the race organization, laid-back vibe and fun group of participants.
The weather was ideal (for running), cool and cloudy but not raining. I ran in my Vibram Five Fingers, and the trail was in much better shape than the Wildwood has been all winter with the mud. I got continual comments and questions about the shoes which got a little old but they do look pretty strange. Overall I'm happy with how I ran but think I could have had a better race strategy. I was feeling great at the start and got off to too fast a start, it's tough to pace yourself over seven hours. I ended up running the first twenty miles in roughly ten minute miles and the last seventeen in roughly fourteen minute miles, here's the GPS track, my official time was 7:20 for the 37.2 miles. There were some great views of the central Cascade peaks, great race organization and a lot of interesting and supportive (and fast!) fellow runners. Lisa was a great support before and after the race and also ran twenty miles with Sam in the long 30K while I was out there.
Posted by Dave at 09:30 AM |
April 05, 2010
Horsethief Butte
Our Mazamas group got on some real rock yesterday out at Horsethief Butte. We had a chance to reinforce everything we did at Rocky Butte and we got lucky with no rain on a chancy day. I had a lot of fun!
Posted by Dave at 08:20 AM |