Category Archives: cycling

mt. bachelor climb

Posted on by

Yes, today was the day that I chose to do my annual ride from Sunriver up to Mt. Bachelor.  It’s not that big a climb for people like Alberto Contador, but for people like me, it’s a long, hard slog.  I was expecting to show a lot of improvement this year in speed and general feelings of wellness, but Mother Nature had other plans: a headwind for the entire climbing portion of the ride.  Oh, well.  It was awesome coming down, however!

UPDATE: after crunching the numbers, it appears that I was 20 minutes faster on this route than last year, over half of which was on the uphill portion of the ride – not bad!!

sunriver music festival

Posted on by

The postings have been few and far between lately, what with me being in Sunriver, Oregon for the 33rd edition of the Sunriver Music Festival.  The festival got off to a running start with the opening night pops concert, featuring music from the 30′s and 40′s, which the audience greatly enjoyed.  Principal trumpeter Jeffrey Work was fresh off the plane from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony in Boulder, Colorado, and still had the energy to play a full slate of demanding charts as well as two solo turns impersonating the great Harry James. Continue reading →

riding to fight cancer

Posted on by

08/12 UPDATE: Thanks to my many generous friends and colleagues, I’ve met my $500 goal for this ride!  Thank you so much, everyone!  If you have not yet donated, please consider it, as it goes to two great causes: the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the Knight Cancer Institute.

Please pardon this random posting, but I’ve just signed up to do the Echelon Gran Fondo ride which will take place in and around the Columbia River Gorge on September 26, 2010.  It is a fundraiser for two very worthy causes: the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health Sciences University.  Oregon pro cyclist Chris Horner is the headliner for the ride this year, just off of his top-ten finish in this year’s Tour de France.

My goal is relatively modest in terms of fundraising: $500 $300.  If I raise at least $300, I’ll get a nice commemorative jersey, but that’s not the point of it for me.  I’m riding for my friends and colleagues who have struggled with this terrible disease in the past few years.  I’m riding in honor of those who are currently fighting or who are survivors: Becky, Jennifer, Joan, and Stephen.  I’m also riding to remember those whose battles have ended: Ken Baldwin, Martha Herby, and Bob McClung.  I hope that you’ll give in honor of your friends and/or loved ones in the hopes that we can help to eradicate this most insidious and diabolical set of diseases, cancer.

You can donate via my fundraising page, or click on the thermometer widget to the far right of this page.

the pleasures of working and not working

Posted on by

Sunday was one of those days in which I took off my Oregon Symphony hat and put on my freelance violist hat. I was on leave from the pops series, so I was not at the hall for the OSO’s pops matinee on Sunday, but I was at the hall for an evening performance of the annual MetroArts, Inc. Young Artists Debut! Concerto Competition winners (as always, ably led by Niel DePonte).  It’s always a joy to see and hear these amazing young musicians, so accomplished at such young ages.

But, it was strange for me to be on my bike ride in the afternoon swinging by the place I’d normally be getting ready to play a performance about that time, so I took a photo to commemorate the occasion.

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall as I rode by Sunday.