A quick travel day, plus some new gadgets

December 2, 2011 by |Travel » United States|Comments (14)

The past week has been pretty crazy busy workwise, with the only saving grace being that training is on a ‘flexible’ schedule – which basically means I run, ride and swim when I want.  Take for example today.

Today started shortly before 6AM, with a flight down to Raleigh Durham from DC.  I was most impressed with my ability to navigate Washington Dulles airport in record time.  12 minutes from parking car to gate (D terminal no less!).  I’m reasonably certain that will never occur in my life again.

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Despite what you may see here, my travel life is far from just wide body international planes to exotic destinations.  Today for example, this small regional jet was my chariot:

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After the flight I drove for a while to the company I was visiting for the day.  The drive was nice and quiet, and would have made for some nice cycling roads.  In fact, I saw one triathlete out there, bundled up though for the 30*F weather!

After a few hours of work I headed back to the airport.  I’m fairly impressed with the Raleigh Durham airport.  It’s…well…really big, brand new, and nice and easy to get through.  It just opened up last year. Though, it is probably tremendously overbuilt for the capacity requirements of the airport.  But at least it’s pretty!

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But the important part is that they had a Five Guys burger place.  I have Five Guys about twice a year, and since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was now dinner time – I was starving!  Moderation is key.

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After spending three hours at the airport (my work ran late, thus causing me to miss earlier flight options) – I hopped another glamorous regional jet back to DC.

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By time I arrived home it was 9:54PM.  But I still wanted to get in a five mile run.  Not a terribly long run, just something to keep things in check.  Tonight I went with a loop-de-loop on my local street.  Like today’s travel day, it’s not always scenic runs past the White House and famous monuments.  Instead, I ran past a bunch of parking lots, the Patent and Trademark office (actually, I did get to peer inside and see the giant iPhone Steve Job memorial display).

I will point out though, that I finally had to adorn my cold weather running gear.  At a starting temperature of 34*F – it was time to add running tights, a hat and some cheap gloves.

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Oh…and check out that awesome hat!

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On the new gadget front, Mr. UPS he was busy this week!  And I suspect he’ll (actually, it’s a she) be even busier next week.  On Wednesday she dropped off the CycleOps PowerBeam Pro.

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Additionally, I got a new little watch to try out, the Soleus GPS 1.0 watch.  Though, I haven’t taken any pics of it yet.

Neither of this will likely get full reviews before the holidays, though ya never know.  Next week I’m aiming to get the Tacx review out, as well as a few other reviews that are backlogged and mostly written.

Thanks for reading all – and have a great weekend, and if you’re out there doing the Hot Chocolate Run out of National Harbor on Saturday – I’ll be running!  See ya out there!

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14 Comments

  1. Monica
    December 2, 2011 at 1:01 pm #1

    The RTP has tons of running trails around it! Maybe next time you can escape the airport and run around there. :) there’s a good sized triathlon (and moreso cycling) community out here.

    Reply
  2. Harrison_Z
    December 2, 2011 at 3:01 pm #2

    Sounds like a great day. How do you like the Cyclops Trainers?

    Reply
  3. Anonymous
    December 2, 2011 at 3:06 pm #3

    I am amazed you still had the energy for run. I would have been fast asleep after a day like that. Looking forward to that Bushido review.

    Reply
  4. Jeff
    December 2, 2011 at 3:32 pm #4

    Ray,

    Hello from Raleigh Durham. If you’re ever in the area and need a good place to run, go check out Umstead State Park. Its 5 min from RDU, and has probably 100 miles of trails. It’s a great spot(when you have 3 hours to burn).

    Cheers,
    Jeff

    Reply
  5. Barry
    December 2, 2011 at 4:03 pm #5

    Hey! What hat is “The Girl” wearing? Thinking it may be a cool gift for my wife…

    Love the blog by the way. Thanks

    Reply
  6. Tyler
    December 2, 2011 at 5:34 pm #6

    When are you going to get a Lemond Revolution & Power Pilot review up my friend? Anytime soon? Do you have the units yet?

    Reply
  7. Anonymous
    December 2, 2011 at 9:08 pm #7

    quick fact check..RDU has been around for a while. It’s Terminal 2 that just got completed in January ;-)

    Reply
  8. Ray Maker
    December 2, 2011 at 10:09 pm #8

    Sorry, yes, referring to Terminal 2.

    It’s actually interesting, I would have expected that Southwest and Airtran (soon one and the same) would have preferred to move into T2, since they appear to be the only ones in T1. Given the sheer quantity of empty gatespace, I’d be surprised if they couldn’t do it.

    T2 is really really nice, just big and expensive looking for an airport of it’s size.

    Random tidbit I didn’t realize until lookin at Wikipedia article was that AA once operated a hub there (many years ago). I knew it was still considered a focus city (with the random LHR flight), but that explains where that all started from.

    Reply
  9. Amber H
    December 3, 2011 at 12:35 am #9

    I was wondering if you were going to review the Soleus. Can’t wait to read it.

    Reply
  10. Danielle in Iowa in Seattle
    December 3, 2011 at 5:36 pm #10

    I have yet to eat at Five Guys. Seattle is the first place I have lived that has one. You know what Seattle also has? Rules that the number of calories must be placed next to the food items on the menu. I just couldn’t do it! I’ll have to plan to go after a long day of doing some kind of workout, so the guilt doesn’t overwhelm…

    Reply
  11. Brett Martin
    December 3, 2011 at 8:08 pm #11

    Ahh five guys. I use to go to the one in VA when I lived there. Now its a bit of a drive from where I am now to one so I haven’t had it in ages…I think its in order for a trip soon!

    Great read, I always like flying when it goes smooth. And its always nice to have new gadgets to come home to at the end of the day!

    Reply
  12. Anonymous
    December 4, 2011 at 3:54 pm #12

    I really need a new trainer and am investigating the PowerBeam Pro… Hope you have the chance to review it, or at least provide initial impressions soon (before the holidays)… Thanks in advance! Your reviews are the best!!

    Reply
  13. Anonymous
    December 4, 2011 at 7:43 pm #13

    can’t wait for the power beam review myself! I have been thinking about training w/ power for some time.

    Reply
  14. jonathan
    December 24, 2011 at 2:47 pm #14

    Hi Ray,

    I am interested in the Powerbeam, but have you heard anything more about their new VR software?

    I don’t want to buy one, only for them to release the new software a week later at $199. SO have been holding off purchasing until I hear more about the software.

    Cheers
    Jonathan

    Reply