Blog Moved

This blog has officially moved from a wordpress.com hosted blog to a self hosted blog. You can find me at steady.org.

There’s Power in Numbers

If there’s one thing that Penn State has, even in this time of crisis, it’s numbers. There are over 557,000 members of the Penn State Alumni Association. This doesn’t count for alumni who are not members of the Alumni Association.

There’s strength in numbers.

Yesterday, a group of concerned alumni turned their concern into a grassroots movement in support of a RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization. The goal set by these alumni was to raise $500,000 for RAINN, about $1 for each person in the Alumni Association.  Ninety-two percent (92%) of every dollar goes directly to programs to help victims and prevent sexual violence.

Penn Stater’s responded. In less than 24 hours, over $64,000 has been raised.

Donations don’t make up for the mistakes and atrocities committed members of the faculty and staff at Penn State, but they does show that we are not them.

We are Penn State.

We Are Penn State, and We Are Proud — A Message to the Pride

Brothers, sisters, friends and family; We Are Penn State.

We are not defined by the actions or inactions of a few members of the faculty and staff of the university, no matter how ugly the traditional media, the blogosphere, or other outlets may paint us in this time of crisis.

If you are like me, the news that’s come out of University Park over the past week has been disturbing, confusing, and frightening. The news horrifies us because it runs counter to everything we believe in about our school’s traditions and our heroes.

Lets not forget that our heroes can still be honored even if they’ve been dismissed by the Trustees. Whether you believe that Joe Paterno was rightfully or wrongfully dismissed, we all agree that he did more for the students and the university than any other person in the history of our institution. None of us can imagine Penn State without Joe and we will miss him.

I’ve been shocked to see some of the comments in the twittersphere which have called for everything from not sending kids to Penn State, to employers rejecting resumes with Penn State on them. I’m sure some people may in fact choose to take these actions. If so, this will be unfortunate.

Penn State is more than football. Penn State is more than Joe Paterno. And Penn State is damn sure more than the pedophile, Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State has produced some amazing people who have given touched our lives: Mark Parker (CEO of Nike), Rick Santorum (former US Senator), Steve McCurry (National Geographic Photographer) and Richard James (inventor of the Slinky) to name only a few.

Penn State helps mankind. Penn State students raise millions of dollars each year at THON to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund. THON is the largest student run philanthropy in the world!

Fellow Penn Staters, we have many reasons to be proud.  Please don’t give up. Please wear our colors and support our school in these trying times.

We Are Penn State.

You know what they say about best laid plans

Yeah, they often go awry.

I’d planned to get up this morning for the group ride with the peloton. I’ve got to say that when I woke at 6:00 and it was pitch fucking black outside and 39 F to boot, I could only roll over, turn off the alarm set for 6:30, and go back to sleep. It was a pretty simple decision I have to say. Sure, I’d have liked to make the group ride but I’ve been riding solo for months, so whats another day?

In truth, I do kind of wish I’d have gotten up for that ride because it would have been good to sync up with some faces that I’ve not seen in a long time. However, I had a great ride on my own this morning.

I left around 8:45 and while it was only 42 F, at least the sun was up. This was the fourth day in a row of riding and I could feel it in my legs as I started out. Today’s ride wasn’t going to break any land speed records, and it didn’t. I averaged 14 and change and my max speed was in the range of 19 mph. Still, it was a great ride.

There is something magical about riding in the fall. The low angle of the light, the leaves rattling under your tires, the colors on the trees and the crisp air make for a very enjoyable ride.  I rode for about 13 miles before heading home.  Thee little man and I were headed to Kinder Farm Park to meet up with my long time friend and her girls.  I felt like I could have easily gone for another 13 miles today despite the fact that my toes were starting to go numb, and if I’d made that group ride, I probably would have.

I’m still trying to work out how to keep my feet toasty warm.  Today, I wore a thin wool base layer sock, some thick wool socks, my shoes and neoprene covers lined with micro fleece.  If anyone has any recommendations on a change in gear, I’d appreciate hearing them.

November Riding

And, I’m back on my bike again. Third day in a row.  And it feels good.  Even if its getting cold.  In fact, I kind of like riding in the cooler weather better, though I could really go for a great way to keep my feet a bit warmer.  I’ll be putting on shoe covers tomorrow.  Sadly, at 50 F, I find myself wanting shoe covers and long fingered gloves.

Time to revisit rule 5.