tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352031442011-07-28T09:29:19.975-04:00So I'm completely out of work for the first time since second grade, which is when I began selling greeting cards from my wagon. Brittany gently explains that "My dad is between professional opportunities." Very kind. Occasionally hurl your cyber cursor towards this blog for updates on my whereabouts. Until Beth and Dwight bring me back to reality and work, we're going to have some good, old-fashioned unemployment fun! Click the arrow beside "September," for last month's entries.Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-79212228176979141222007-11-01T16:06:00.000-04:002007-11-08T19:17:29.998-05:00

And here I find myself, home again in New Hampshire, enjoying the bayside beauty of Durham. I'll post some wrap-up thoughts and travel stats in a few days. Meanwhile, it's off to Gould Academy to see Britty and for Trustee meetings!After that, it's time to find a business/job or three. That could be tough, so I'll need a contingency plan. Right now, I think that contingency plan would be to pack

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-17777794292005846282007-10-31T15:02:00.000-04:002007-11-05T16:05:25.041-05:00

After Nashville, my assignment was to point my little self homeward. First, I treated myself to a night at the Seelbach Hotel, on Muhammed Ali Boulevard in Louisville, Kentucky. This was a regular stop during another business life that ended about 22 years ago! It was Louisville where I watched the Red Sox win -- yawn -- yet another World Series... wahoo! Then a night in Maryland where I enjoyed

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-38283153788146470032007-10-29T11:51:00.000-04:002007-11-18T17:29:07.090-05:00

Nashville is an absolute gas, a huge surprise, and has landed hard on my "I Shall Return" list! What a fun little city.Had I not just been in Mississippi I would have never thought that going to Nashville would feel like going north, but oooh boy, Tennessee is way north of Mississippi! I now understand the difference between the Deep South and what Tennessee people call the Mid South. OK, maybe I

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-63722953316002747732007-10-26T18:57:00.000-04:002007-10-30T11:30:29.279-04:00

I already like it here in Mississippi, and I'm still in Loozianna! Friendly people on the other end of the telephone, a warm, humid weather forecast, and good food bode well for good riding through the Deep South. Following a tip from the great bike shop in Austin, I stopped to eat in Saint Francisville, Loozianna. At the Cypress Grill I ordered up the seafood platter, which comes with fried

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-49754546499531790162007-10-22T11:57:00.000-04:002007-10-28T14:03:48.429-04:00

*** PLUS a Bonus installment (at the bottom of today's blog) on my second Illegal Mexican Immigrant Car Wash Experience!! *** If you're traveling from New Mexico to Mississippi -- and isn't that what we're doing boys and girls? -- it's hard to miss Texas. I'd been eagerly anticipating a couple days in Austin, partly to ride on the roads Lance Armstrong has trained on since he was a junior

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-51374211210193767372007-10-19T11:51:00.000-04:002007-10-26T18:57:18.264-04:00

Man, it's easy to fall in love with Taos, New Mexico!It's all the better when living the adobe life with Dave Hahn, in his hometown of Taos. Dave says he has lived in Taos since 1985, but with 9 trips to the summit of Everest (and the rest of the year booked at Mount Vinson, Antarctica, South Georgia Island, Denali, Rainier, etc.) he has probably spent more time traversing the Khumbu Icefall than

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-642268929828304512007-10-17T10:28:00.000-04:002007-10-25T11:50:52.174-04:00

Snowy weather while driving through Colorado from Utah kept me off my bike, and out of the higher passes, so I went straight to Boulder where I snagged Thomson out of his Billabong store,ate a fired-up dinner at my favorite sort-of-Mexican restaurant in Boulder (Tahoma), and picked up Beth and Brittany (where's Will?) at the Denver airport, which is nowhere near Denver, but it could be if they

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-72970250774399093082007-10-16T18:13:00.000-04:002007-10-23T22:32:19.697-04:00

There is a lot of parched, dry land out here. There's not much green, not much rain, rarely a spring or lake, and when it does rain it all runs into drainage creeks and goes somewhere far away except for that it evaporates before it gets far away and so nobody can use it anyway. Then all these states fight over who gets to use the water that did not evaporate. I think Nevada and Utah have the

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-39196957587183070422007-10-15T20:23:00.000-04:002007-10-23T22:33:30.131-04:00

OK, OK, so I'm a little behind on my blog-o-rama life.Here's what my next blog entries will be about...1. A cool day belting across the sunny, dry, high plains of Nevada and Utah2. A couple of beauty days, and one night, under those persistent stars, in Bryce Canyon National Park... good biking, gorgeous weather!3. Pack up your sports car, and follow my curvy, hilly route out of Bryce Canyon, en

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-15892464253750117202007-10-14T20:44:00.000-04:002007-10-16T00:14:14.900-04:00

I barreled out of California and into Nevada, discouraged to learn that I was only 3,200 miles from Massachusetts,but encouraged to learn that the way to Tom's Place was so clearly marked.Unfortunately, I don't know Tom. He must really rate though, huh? I wonder if I can get a "Jay's Place" sign installed on I-95 in Portsmouth.There are helpful people everywhere on the roads in Nevada.*****It’s 8

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-23995596875861942162007-10-11T20:23:00.000-04:002007-10-15T08:56:19.145-04:00

There was a wind in Lee Vining this morning (Yo East entrance) that was like the wind at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz: swirling, gusting, blowing hard and with force. It blew a jacket from the Porsche parked next to me at the El Mono, and sent it half way to Nevada. Yes, this is California, and there are Porsches even at $45 No Bug* hotels. In California, there are almost as many Porsches as

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-23444119200966534582007-10-10T19:12:00.000-04:002007-10-14T20:43:16.509-04:00

Again at the suggestion of the Klugs, I had a beauty of a short hike up to May Lake, on the quiet side of Yosemite, on the Tioga Pass road heading east out of the park. What a sight, what a day.After May Lake’s beauty, I slowly finished the driveto and through Tioga Pass. It’s a drive full of beautiful panoramas, and the views towards Clouds Rest ridge and peak (tomorrow’s hike), and to Half Dome

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-61233417730820808022007-10-09T23:44:00.000-04:002007-10-13T08:24:30.830-04:00

If it's Half Dome, it must be Yosemite National Park, California!Here’s Ken and Janet Klug welcoming me to Yosemite’s Land of Granite Glory.I met Ken and Janet in 2002, bouncing across the Antarctic Ocean en route to South Georgia Island, where Ken and I and a couple others skied across the island tracing the steps of Ernest Shackleton's tale of disaster and redemption. Ken and I have had

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-17049355813333117012007-10-06T23:04:00.000-04:002007-10-13T08:27:48.308-04:00

I told them I wanted to eat Mexican food until my stomach hurt.My family sees this disorder often. I order platters of food, XXX hot, and then I tip upside down the little bottles of hot sauce.I drink mezcal margaritas. My nose runs. My face sweats. The skin across my iron six-pack stretches and fissures from the internal pressure. My belt breaks. Inside, I scorch my esophagus and blister my

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-41672731765299159232007-10-05T12:18:00.000-04:002007-10-11T23:35:56.105-04:00

After Saying good-bye to Beth, I took my life in my hands and toured U Cal Berkeley and the surrounding neighborhoods. Scene of violent and bloody student protests, I knew not what to expect. Wearing no protective equipment other than a climbing helmet, I toured the town and the campus. Signs of governmentoppression were everywhere,and it quickly became clear the kids had a lot to violently

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-9812717880301062522007-10-05T00:16:00.000-04:002007-10-11T23:03:23.319-04:00

Good wine country means great food country, and we scored a sunset, no-reservation dinner on the terrace at Auberge du Soleil... wahoo! Luckily, none of the customers were from California, and it seems everyone that eve was a New Englander. I think most of the Californians go to Vermont to look at leaves at this time of year.Beth and I had a quick day of wine-country touring in Napa valley.It's

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-48632656446588870482007-10-04T02:05:00.000-04:002007-10-11T22:39:16.195-04:00

America's past and current cycling greats have all scorched down the flat valleysand raged up the massive grades of Napa and Sonoma counties, so it was only natural that I followed in their skinny tire tracks, right? OK, so I almost tipped over at 4 mph going up the 15% - 17% Oakville Grade, but at least I did it! Up and down Oakville Grade and Dry Creek Grade and Chalk Hill and on and on, this

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-80857189224503248872007-10-04T02:04:00.001-04:002007-10-09T13:32:20.665-04:00

Beth and I passed through the gates of Domaine Beaumontto enter their world of wonder,their land of enchantment.The spectacular panoramas and gustatory extravagance were surpassed only by the charms of their children (like a true teenage girl, the charming and pretty Nicola managed to evade the camera!),the engaging conversation,and the red-hot hospitality. From Tiburon to Sonoma,Marin County to

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-35279734926263582612007-10-02T02:18:00.000-04:002007-10-09T12:53:20.249-04:00

I explored the hip, weeknight coffee-bar scene in Portland, OR, mostly so that I could be adequately caffeinated to stay awake for Beth's late-evening arrival from New Hampshire. Oregon's Portland is much like Maine's, except the ocean is on the wrong side of the city, and they have a different kind of bad climate from Maine's kind. Nice people, cool town.It was great to catch up after a couple

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-80865861928469668372007-10-02T02:17:00.000-04:002007-10-12T12:48:40.735-04:00

Look at the "Links For You!" clickable links in the right margin, way at the top of this blog, and you'll see there's a new link for the pix at the CosleyHouston.com website from my August climbing with them. Then, go to their CosleyHouston site (also in the Links For You section), look at the pretty pictures, dream big, and book yourself a trip! Trust me, it's easy!

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-9143017607983882702007-10-02T00:19:00.000-04:002007-10-06T00:16:07.189-04:00

Boise, Idaho, looks a lot like a lot of other places, so I beat it out of there early in the AM. I started looking for a breakfast spot shortly after entering Oregon and the Pacific Time Zone. I was hungry, in the middle of nowhere in eastern Oregon, and there was not a town for miles. Anxiety clutched my throat when I realized I was approaching the North Pole,so I turned off the AC and asked

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-71781060880795391772007-10-01T02:16:00.000-04:002007-10-05T23:38:04.443-04:00

I passed nonstop through the hustle, beauty, and glitz of Ketchum and Sun Valley, and quickly found myself alone near dusk, driving up Galena Summit, the pass through the high Sawtooth mountains, heading west. There was snow on the ground, and it was crispy and beautiful.I descended the other side, turned onto a dirt road for four miles, drove through a brook,and set up my free bandit camp at the

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-44558657627941235042007-10-01T01:31:00.000-04:002007-10-04T01:35:57.996-04:00

Then I'm belting across the back roads of Idaho, en route to the Sawtooth Mountains. Past “Atomic City” and the “World’s First Experimental Breeder Reactor,” and what few businesses are in this tumbleweed high plain are all named after America’s burgeoning nuke industry from over a half century ago.I needed lunch, and the signs for “Pickle’s Place, Home of the Famous Atomic Burger” started miles

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-88928534344716867912007-10-01T01:30:00.002-04:002007-10-04T01:23:54.607-04:00

With bad weather keeping me off the rest of the Grand Teton peaks,I spent a night and two days in Yellowstone,dodging rain and slow flurries.Then up and over the Teton Pass (much easier in a car), put Wyoming in the rear-view mirror, and we’re into Victor, Idaho, for a quick ‘n’ fun stop to see Hank and Susan Emerson’s daughter Jen and her Man of the Mountains, Eric. Jen and Eric live on a patch

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-18421189267247558042007-10-01T01:30:00.001-04:002007-10-02T00:57:29.268-04:00

It was a cold and rainy Saturday in Yellowstone National Park when I learned about Nick Schield's death. Our Riley family is so sorry to lose Nick, so happy to have known him for these sixteen years, and so inspired forever by his relentless spirit. Mike and Jill's enduring love and devotion to Nick's health and happiness have taught a special and unforgettable lesson to so many of us. I'm so

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-35440127695429818012007-09-24T00:50:00.000-04:002007-10-01T01:29:45.712-04:00

OK, so I'm only about a week behind updating my blog. Much of the time my evenings have been out of i-range, and other times I was too tired or otherwise busy... so there! Beth and I have been in Napa Valley since Saturday the 29th, for a few days of stay-in-one-place r&r, and we're enjoying the hospitality of the Beaumonts, the slow pace, and the fine weather.But first, my little escapade on

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-8845780058959796972007-09-20T20:16:00.001-04:002007-09-23T15:39:03.375-04:00

Don't worry about me, I'm alright. Great tentsite on Jenny Lake, million-dollar view of Mount Teewinot (climbed it in July), steak on the campfire, bottle of beer, Fritos, barbeque sauce, and hot sauce!Grand Teton, Mount Owen, Mount TeewinotBRAVO for Josephine, and her supportive and encouraging friend Susan! Josephine and Susan were enjoying a fine walk around Leigh Lake, only seven weeks after

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-89859714550977528172007-09-20T20:14:00.000-04:002007-09-23T15:41:42.631-04:00

Hoback Canyon, and a double traverse of Teton Pass totalled over 6,500' of climbing in about 65 miles. My legs were feeling it coming up Teton Pass the second time on the return. Yowza, I'm not at home anymore... long, steep climbs, at altitude!First, Hoback Canyon...The careful reader will remember that I loved the drop through Hoback Canyon on my drive into Jackson, Wyoming, and I hoped to get

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-50726108624804301982007-09-20T19:15:00.000-04:002007-09-20T20:14:21.637-04:00

My dad was stationed in Wyoming for a while, but that was evidently quite a while after Fort Sanders closed. He was here in the Air Force during the Korean War, helping to protect us and the good Koreans from some other Koreans, all so that someday his grandchildren, and the grandchildren of good Koreans, could all be roommates together at boarding schools in New England. This worked very well,

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-71834151143959965692007-09-17T09:15:00.000-04:002007-09-19T23:02:30.104-04:00

Thoms and me at the top of Berthoud Pass, Colorado, 11,315', on the Continental Divide (for the first of several times this trip!). Kind of a landmark, eh? Water in front of me flows to the Colorado River and the Pacific Ocean, water behind me flows to the South Platte (stuuuudents.... do you remember the Great Platte Valley from my first day in Nebraska?). It was a big climb, about 2,850' of

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-66700845163510789772007-09-16T12:15:00.000-04:002007-09-17T09:14:23.817-04:00

Lightning kept me from the summit of the Wetterhorn in Grindelwald, Switzerland a couple weeks ago, and it kept me off the summit of Long's Peak (Rocky Mountain National Park) early on Saturday morning. A scheduling snafu caused my climbing guide to cancel his rendezvous with me, ruling out the more-exciting technical routes up Long's, so I decided to go alone on the normal hiking route (Keyhole

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-90327652311763153702007-09-15T20:12:00.000-04:002007-09-16T10:20:36.705-04:00

Ooooh, Boulder, Colorado... one of my favorite places! The best climate, life is outside, great food, interesting people, and the vibrancy, mayhem, and pace of a college town.I arrived on Thursday afternoon, in time for a bike ride part way up to Nederland on the Boulder Canyon road, while Thomson was at work. It's simple to ride up, up, uphill here, in three of the four compass directions!

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-46912863859559407392007-09-14T12:33:00.000-04:002007-09-14T19:35:45.582-04:00

I had a beautiful day crossing Nebraska on back roads, reenacting my own Pony Express. Nebraska back roads are as straight as an arrow, less flat than you'd think, and with a 65 mph speed limit. I started the day at about 2,000' above sea level, and very gradually worked my way to over 3,500'.Who's afraid of those dirt roads?!And how 'bout this for a vet's name in cattle country?! "Hahhh. I'm

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-14247154177246324032007-09-13T23:46:00.000-04:002007-09-14T12:29:44.676-04:00

On my way out of Greater Chicagoland (I used to hate it when they called it that... in fact, that might be why we moved) I swung past Thomson's birth hospital. Yes, our skier/surfer son's secret embarrassment is his Illinois birthplace. Sort of like that "New York" scourge disclosed on my own passport.Then I made my first return visit in 23 years to the deli across from the hospital for an onion

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-45050505527722126432007-09-12T23:46:00.000-04:002007-09-13T20:58:15.409-04:00

On Monday, I cruised through Chicago,past the scene of my MBA brilliance at Northwestern,including our lovely, nearly-lakeside apartment.It was here that the monastic life of an overworked grad student (you doubt me?) let me fall into the deepest abyss of gelatinous sloth of my entire fitness life, ending in my once-in-a-lifetime pursuit of the previously elusive 200-pound goal. A strict diet of

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-23845703490521961082007-09-12T23:11:00.000-04:002007-09-12T23:42:22.426-04:00

650 miles without a stop! Not for a toll, not for my bladder, not for diesel, not for Massachusetts, New York, or Pennsylvania. In fact, I carried out a successful BANZAI sneak attack on PA, slipping through that little sliver of (Lake) Erie PA at midnight, past the "Quaker Steak 'n' Lube" (I kid you not), and into Ohio, past Cleveland. Spent the night in Elyria, Ohio, resisting the temptation to

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-45506215060756270192007-09-10T18:17:00.000-04:002007-09-12T23:31:38.637-04:00

Man oh man! I finally worked through the pre-departure melancholy and hit the Eisenhower Intersate System on Sunday afternoon, all pumped up about finally driving across the country, even if it is about 30 years later than it's s'posed to be. Thoughts of wide-open prairies, Rocky mountains, and the Pacific Ocean were dashed by the "Lowell, 2 Miles" sign on I-495 in Massachusetts. I guess this

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35203144.post-72893993727613563242007-09-07T19:23:00.000-04:002007-09-09T08:35:14.116-04:00

OK, if I can't go to work tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, just what the heck am I gonna do, and what's my excuse for not making it special?!Within hours of confirming the dates of my new-found freedom, and with my priorities intact, I reached out to three resources that would be critical to me in the early moments of my New Life Phase:1. Beth.2. My lawyer.3. Mark Houston and

Jay Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826771597393949124noreply@blogger.com4