Just got back from a nice Sunday afternoon ride. It was pretty hot, and the wind direction made the first 10 miles a lot of work, but the next 20+ were beautiful. I took a few photos of what I am sure will appear to be amazingly boring roads, but they were great for riding. I loved the scenary, and the lack of cars is always nice. I also saw wild turkeys, deer, cows, horses, corn and soy bean fields, and many other great wonders of Kansas :)

In other, completely unrelated news, I played in an alumni baseball game on Monday. It was a blast, and probably the most fun I have had all summer. It felt a little funny being back on the field for the first time in about 5 years, but it went pretty well, and we killed the current team. It was also really nice getting to reconnect with a lot of the guys I played with in high school (I think we had about 30 guys on the Alumni team).

Huge thunderstorm moving in. Great timing; I got to stay dry on my ride, and have some soothing thunder and rain to listen to while going to bed.






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Last Week

Just got in from a 35 mile ride today. The weather was perfect for it, and I wanted to go about another 10 or 15, but I kind of ran out of time. I guess I should try getting out of bed before 1:30 on Sunday afternoons. I took an entirely different rout than I have before, and it was really amazing. I found myself in areas of the city that I didn't even know existed, and riding through a beautiful new park that was built to control water runoff, protect wetland environments, and educate the patrons (with signs every few hundred yards. It was amazing, and I learned a lot, but reading all the signs made my trip substantially longer). I saw a few wild turkeys, which was unique, as well as a deer that I just about hit as it crossed the path while I came around a turn. I am including some pictures of the dam that was built in this park. Its unbelievable and very random. Its a huge, beautiful piece of art, kind of in the middle of nowhere and not seen by many people. The other pictures are from other parts of my ride.


As for last week, it was spent on the road in Minnesota. I went with my dad to visit our biggest vendor. It was a lot of fun meeting the great people in their organization, and very cool to see their printing presses/bag folders/die cutters/etc. in action. After three days of meetings, we were able to swing by Fargo/Moorhead to visit my grandmother, and some close friends of the family. In all, it was a nice trip, minus the many hours spent driving.

Weekend Update

Had a great weekend, a nice break from work which was getting pretty hectic late Friday afternoon (the best time for things to go crazy). Friday night went to Dave and Busters for a friend's bday which was a good time, and to PandL afterward. Saturday found me at PandL again after about a 20 mile bike ride. Sunday was the best though. Explored a new bike trail that I had not ridden before and had another nice 30 mile ride.

I am really looking into doing a big tour sometime early this fall, and spoke at length this evening with one of my best friends, and fellow biker, Nehimiah about doing such a trip. Anyone have any good thoughts for destinations/routes for early Fall? I am thinking a fun one could be from Kansas City north through Iowa and Nebraska to the Badlands in SD, then from there west through Wyonimg and Montana to Yellowstone. After a few days there, we could head south through CO and finally east through KS back to KC. Thoughts?

iPod Armbands, SOLD!

Sold 6,000 iPod armbands yesterday. Sweet. I just want to know when I can get one.
Also went for a 20 mile ride yesterday. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to get out. Unfortunately my back is really starting to bother me. The first thing I have to stop and take a break for is to stretch my back out...

The Miracle of FedEx

Well, all three of my packages coming from across LA, Miami, and KC made it to PA for this morning's meeting. No word yet about whether or not the client likes any of the items, but I am excited for their feedback.

Also just got back from a short lunch time bike ride. It was only 5 miles, but huge hills the entire way.

Never a Dull Moment

Today was another exciting one in the office. I have been working on a project for a client who will potentially be purchasing 6,000 customized things from me. These things have been narrowed down to an iPod armband (the things you buy retail for $20, actually cost under $2 from China), a pretty nice sling backpack, and a nice nylon frisbee. The suppliers of the backpack got me a sample to send the client last week, however the other two suppliers dropped the ball (one claims that FedEx somehow left without the package...) last Friday. This meant trying to track everybody down to come up with a solution that would deliver the products to the client for their 10 A.M. meeting tomorrow morning. It looks like all has been coordinated such that the client will be receiving packages tomorrow in PA from Southern California, Kansas City, and Miami. Sounds like a logistical miracle...thank God for next day delivery.

Another similar recent near disaster occurred last week. I had sourced some custom book lights for a customer for a promotion they were executing on the 23rd of this month. These, water bottles, and customized backpacks were all meant to be in PA for the event. Unfortunately after going through the motions of getting set up with the supplier, placing the order, having it rushed, etc., I was informed that they someone apparently got an order in just in front of me and they were out of inventory. This left me scrambling to find another supplier of the same book light so that I could deliver to the client what I had promised. Seeing as this was the first project I had done, and as it was for our biggest client, I kind of did not want to go back and see if they could wait/settle for some other product. Luckily I was able to track down another supplier who could take care of me and saved the day.

It will be an exciting next few days to see which of these suppliers actually come through, and which make me look like a complete idiot. If all works out, it will truly be a miracle and a great accomplishment for me (figuring out how to source all of this stuff was a several week process that has culminated in this litmus test).

No bike ride today. Legs pretty tired from yesterday, but mostly I just ran out of day light.

Pictures

I forgot to mention that I am thinking about dabbling in photography of my rides. Next time I will take a real camera, in the meantime, here is a shot I took with my phone at the end of the ride, looking through some trees over the a valley I had ridden through. The camera sucks, but the view was amazing!