Commuter Daddy

Fashion faux pas

2012-01-23T11:47:00.001-05:00

As the snow fell throughout the day on Saturday, thoughts of some in the house turned to housecleaning and re-organizing. Benjamin with his usual zest decided to go all out, dumping the entire contents of his bureau onto his bedroom floor so that he could refold, resort and restack his clothing.

Brandy and I were largely oblivious of the project, until we found the following on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Guess those shirts will be headed to the hand-me-down pile. Hopefully the recipient will like them better. The good news is they were lightly worn, if at all.

Kids really do say the darnedest things

2012-01-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

I already loved Michael Lewis' writing before I watched this video, but I love his delivery of his writing even more after watching it.

I also aspire to write a blog post like this some day. What a great, well written story. I promise you it is worth the full 11 minutes.

2011 Year in Review in Photos and Video

2012-01-04T22:09:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the fourth annual installment of the family photo album in review. Cuteness and general entertainment value are courtesy of Sam, Mason and Ben. Music mix comes from the mind of DJ Commuter Daddy, contributions from various artists, and a couple of voice clips from Mason. Easy mixing of our photos and videos enabled by Animoto:

It was a jam-packed year, which is likely something a family of 5 could say about every year, but we really did have an active year in 2011. Highlights included a surprise 40th birthday trip to San Juan; a new role in my day job; first trip to SXSW; completion of a long overdue bachelor's degree; coaching stints for basketball, soccer and baseball, the latter of which included an extended season with Mason's all-star team; a couple of band concerts and parades for Sam; Ben's first seasons of baseball, basketball and hockey, plus learning to ride a bike and losing his first two teeth in one day (not related to riding the bike); a guys' weekend for me at Pinehurst and a girls' weekend for Brandy in Kittery; excursions to see the Harlem Globetroters, Bourne Braves, Boston Red Sox, Providence Bruins and the Museum of Science, plus a couple of family golf outings; driveway was paved and basketball hoop was installed (twice); escaped most of the wrath of Tropical Storm Irene; and we hosted Thanksgiving dinner, while later attending Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve gatherings with friends.

Putting this slideshow together is another one of my favorite activities this time of year. It takes a while to pull it off, but I have equal amounts of geeky fun mixing the music and picking just the right amount of photos to fit the soundtrack. I hope you enjoy the results.

Previous editions:

Seen on the commute: Bumper sticker edition

2012-01-04T08:36:00.001-05:00

Seen on the back of a pickup: "I'll keep my guns, money and freedom, and you can keep 'THE CHANGE'!

Not sure why "the change" was in quotes, though....

2011 in Review: Commuter Music

2012-01-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

As the calendar annually renews I have a couple of favorite activities, and each will lead to blog posts this week. The first is perusing what music has been collected through the year, and exchanging lists of favorites with friends. It not only affords a chance to create a playlist for myself that recaps the year (and doubles as a good party shuffle when we entertain), but also a chance to add some new music, culled from friends' lists.

This tradition (2010's list is here; and more commuter music musings are abundant here), was started by my friend Geoff, and I have wholeheartedly embraced it. The double bonus is the exercise provides content for this blog. Bloggers love it when an email to friends can double as a blog post. For the benefit of those friends who received the email and also read this blog (bless you!), I added some new content at the end. Stay tuned!

So, on with the show. Here are my favorite (commuter) tunes of 2011:

About three dozen songs comprise my favorites for this year. I will start with my hands-down favorite album of the year: Mine Is Yours by Cold War Kids. I loved every song. Louder Than Ever, Out of the Wilderness, and Skip the Charades were in heaviest rotation. Cold Toes on the Cold Floor is seasonally appropriate and worth a listen.

I'll also add that I loved everything I heard by The Civil Wars, though I do keep coming back to Barton Hollow, Birds of a Feather and Oh, Henry as keepers.

The Best of the rest (in no particular order):

Lost in My Mind by The Head And The Heart
No Silver by Chris Bathgate
Fixin' to Die by G. Love
Crocodile Tears by little hurricane
Alone in This Together by Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs
Some Day Soon by Alexi Murdoch
Don't Gotta Work It Out by Fritz & The Tantrums
Dance Without You by Skylar Grey
Arms by Christina Perri
City of Refuge by Abigail Washburn
Daphne by Lia Ices
The Kind You Can't Afford by Madeleine Peyroux
Strawberry Amazing by Miguel
Sophia by Laura Marling
WHALE by Yellow Ostrich
Gray or Blue by Lee Coulter with Kate Vincent

Honorable Mention (songs from other years discovered in 2011):

Used to Did by J Roddy Walston and the Business
Revel in Contempt by Buke and Gass
Greenback Boogie by Ima Robot
Heart of Steel by Galactic
You Are Not Alone by Mavis Staples
Around the Bend by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour (thanks, Keith!)

As for the kids, Maroon 5, Pitbull and LMFAO seem to be among Ben's and Mason's favorites, while Sam mixes it up with Rob Thomas, The Black Eyed Peas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue and Lenny Kravitz.

Speaking of playlists, MapMyRide published my cycling mix earlier this year. Recent additions to that list include Moves Like Jager by Maroon 5, Dirt by WU LYF, Wonderland by Natalia Kills, Punching In A Dream by The Naked And Famous, and Die Trying by Art Of Dying.

If you have made it this far, I have wrapped up all of the above in a zipped 216MB bow. Help yourself to what you like, but please also support musicians with your wallet. Explore other offerings by these artists and let them lead you to musical discoveries. Please share your favorites in the comments, too.

Other 2011 paths to discovery:

Bill O Writes: The Best CDs of 2011
Bouv's Blog: The 2011 Holiday Mix
Famous Blue Blog: Best of Uncharted Waters Part I, Part II and Part III
GeekDad: The Nerdy Dozen: 12 Must-Hear Songs of 2011 (includes It Is Splendid! by Supercommuter)

Wii justice at high noon

2011-12-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

Christmas Day, 2008, when
the Wii first arrived

Overheard from the living room last night:

"Mason, stop punching me!"

"But Ben, I'm not punching you in real life."

That's when inspiration hit. The next time the boys get in an argument that can't be settled civilly, we're firing up the Wii for a virtual boxing match to settle their differences.

A commuter's identity is revealed

2011-11-15T17:05:00.002-05:00

Photo courtesy of kendura99

Overheard from the home office: "Mom, what's a commuter?"

My Commuter Daddy persona apparently is more of a secret in our house than I realized.

We boiled it down for Mason that a commuter is someone who has to drive regularly to work, such as we used to do when I was breezing daily to Providence and Brandy was grinding daily to Cambridge.

I asked Mason why he needed to know. He explained that for his homework he was supposed to choose a word from a Time for Kids magazine cover that he did not know, and write what he thought the word meant ("people who work on walls," he wrote). Next, he had to summarize how it was defined in the dictionary. As I suspected, he was using us as a proxy for a dictionary.

After I urged him to use an actual dictionary, I asked if he knew what the name of my blog was.

"Dow Jones Local Media Group?" he asked.

"No, that's my day job," I replied. "Commuter Daddy is my blog...."

"Oh, I thought your blog was Computer Daddy."

I think it might be time for a branding campaign in my own home.

Don't show this ad to the kids

2011-11-04T11:28:00.001-04:00

This is my favorite advertisement of those I've seen this week, but please don't tell the Commuterdaddy's geeky children about it. I don't need more sales pitches in my life, especially by Powerpoint. Nor do we need another dog.

Of course, I am now inspired to prepare my version of a "More Golf" presentation, not only for my family but also for my boss. I am certain I can have more impact than this guy. Hey, Patrick Mullen, you with me?

Blame it on Daddy Brain

2011-10-25T09:33:00.000-04:00

My wife, Brandy, and I are two adults of above-average intelligence. We're highly organized professionals, engaged community volunteers, and masterful multi-taskers. We're able to work from home -- sometimes simultaneously -- while refereeing sibling disputes, attending to boys' bottomless appetites and walking a dog with seemingly the smallest bladder on the face of the earth.

But there is rust beneath my finely polished Commuter Daddy armor. Lately, I have noticed numerous outbreaks of Daddy Brain.

Exhibit A: When Brandy was away a couple of weeks ago for a girls' outlet shopping weekend -- an annual rite -- all seemed to be going well. I was keeping up with laundry, boys were brushing their teeth when asked, and sports schedules were being successfully juggled. We had even managed an excursion to a Providence Bruins game. On the Saturday of that weekend, we all ate lunch together, and I mentally patted myself on the back for how nimbly I was dancing from one responsibility to the other. Jinx! Moments later I misplaced the chips. I could have sworn I put the Chip Clip on them, and placed them back in the cabinet where they belonged. I pulled everything out of that cabinet to prove myself right, but it was fruitless. I put everything back, assumed the kids had snuck a snack, and turned around to begin the Pita Chip Inquisition. This is what met my steely gaze:

I had used the magnetic Chip Clip to close the bag, as I had remembered, but absent-mindedly affixed that clip to the refrigerator instead of returning the ensemble to the cabinet.

This is not the first time Daddy Brain has peeled back the veneer of my notion that I have everything under control.

Exhibit B: We decided Friday to eat out and take advantage of a Limelight Deals (my day job) voucher I had purchased when the product launched in my home market. While Mason was at soccer practice and Brandy was allowing Benjamin to run off some steam at the playground, I snuck in a bike ride. I beat everyone home, printed out the voucher from my Limelight Deals account, placed it under my keys and wallet so I would not forget it, and rushed to the shower. I finished getting ready, hollered to the family to make sure they all were ready, and we all piled in the car. Luckily, before I pulled out of the driveway, I checked for my wallet by patting my back pocket. Yes, the wallet was there, and the keys were in the ignition. But something was missing... The voucher! I got out of the car, and took a step toward the door, only to realize I needed the key ring from the ignition to unlock the door to the house. Holy Double Daddy Brain, Batman!

Exhibit C: That wallet-check trick you saw in Exhibit B? That training derives from repeated bouts of Daddy Brain when I have departed for business trips and left my wallet on my desk or bedside stand. It's happened more times than I care to admit, including two employee lunch meetings in a row when one of my staff had to pick up the check. How do you spell lame? B-O-S-S F-O-R-G-O-T W-A-L-L-E-T.

Exhibit D: Two summers ago the family came with me on one of my regular trips to New York, a last hurrah for the kids' school vacation. Upon arriving at the hotel, we realized we had remembered clothes and sundries for everyone except for the guy whose business travel was catalyst for the excursion. The next morning, I started my day at the 24-hour Wal-Mart, just so I could wear something other than gym shorts to the office.

Apparently Daddy Brain is an unofficial condition that has received some research attention, and is ordinarily supposed to beneficial. According to an April 2009 article in Miller-McCune magazine, research has shown that parenthood imparts cognitive and physical benefits upon fathers as well as mothers.

Loving a woman and fathering her children changes a man’s body and brain in ways that make him more canny and resourceful, while improving his ability to handle stress.

Clearly I need to show Brandy and the kids more love.

Dance Friday: "It sure feels nice..."

2011-10-21T10:52:00.001-04:00

I post these video discoveries because I am jealous that I cannot dance while driving between New York and Cape Cod and my other car-based commutes. It sure would help me fend of the sleepies. The best I can do is tap my foot and use my dashboard as a drum pad.

As the dancer sings near the end, "It sure feels nice...."

Learning takes many forms

2011-10-20T08:51:00.000-04:00

Overheard beyond the breakfast table....

As the boys were killing time before school this morning, they decided to pick up where they left off with a movie the night before. While one son was readying the DVD player, the other used is iPod Touch to begin researching red pandas -- an add-on to a homework assignment that led to snow leopard research the night before.

DVD Player: Maybe you should wait and talk to (your teacher) to see how many of those you are supposed to do.

Researcher: I don't care. I just want to learn about animals.

Hope remains alive for this generation.

Dance Friday: Shake-tastic

2011-10-07T17:44:00.002-04:00

It's after 5 on the Friday before a long weekend, and we all at this very moment feel like this guy:

Elvis's hips have got nothing on him.

Commuter Apps

2011-09-30T08:44:00.000-04:00

I was just syncing my iPhone after completing a trip, when I spied this in my iTunes: On the Road Apps.

Good thing I reserve a portion of my Fridays for research and experimentation. I might be lost to this distraction for a while.

The iTunes list is broken up into Getting There (navigation apps), Places and Parking (location-based problem solving), Keep it Going (car maintenance and emergency assistance), Buy and Selling (car shopping), Enjoy the Ride (audio entertainment) and More for Gearheads (visual entertainment and other miscellaneous fun).

Of the 50 apps shown, I have two: Yelp and Pandora. And I have the audacity to call myself Commuter Daddy.... There are other iPhone apps, however, that I rely on during my travels that I would add to the list if I were curator:

CBS Sports Pro Football. If only I had remembered last Sunday to check this app while I was watching Mason's soccer game. I would have been able to substitute a healthy running back for a sick Peyton Hillis out of one of my lineups. Merely having the app is only half the productivity battle. I also have the ESPN Fantasy Football 2011 app to manage a team for a another league I am in.
Dropbox: Mobile access to my files no matter where I am or what device I am on? Yes, please!
Find my iPhone: I haven't needed this on on my commute, but it rescued my phone from a golf-course grave so I would have it for my next commute.
Flashlight: Came in handy when I had to change a flat last year. Also helps when taking the dog out for walks after dark.
Foursquare: I have often used its recommendations for dining options in strange lands. I also love reading tips, and leaving behind observations on power outlet locations at coffee shops and other commuter-friendly, need-to-know items.
Key Ring Rewards Cards: Thank you, Jamie Bohlin. This app has greatly lightened my keychain and wallet, freeing me from carrying so many loyalty cards.
LivingSocial. Mobile voucher redemption rocks. I have the Groupon app, too, among many other daily deal apps I am test driving as part of my day job. I love the Groupon Now! functionality in theory, but I have yet to cash in on one.
Sign It. Just used it for the first time yesterday to sign a contract during a stop on my New York-to-Massachusetts drive. Mobile productivity? Sock it to me!
Starbucks Card Mobile: Not only handy for paying, but also for finding the nearest caffeination station.
Whole Trader Foods. With this app you can quickly locate the nearest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. I found a heretofore undiscovered outpost of the latter yesterday using this app, and had some Rosemary Pecans and Cranberries to celebrate.
iMapMyRide. When I bring my bike on a trip, or rent one, this is helpful for mapping my route and logging a workout in previously unridden territory.
Untappd. This is not technically an app, but this mobile-ready Web site is among my most frequently used while on the road. Not only can I track my beer tastings, but I also can discover where others are sampling good beer near me. There is no better guide to good beer bars in unfamiliar territory than fellow aficionados.

There are many others on my iPhone deck, some of which are the kids' and others which have nothing to do with my commute. I may be adding others soon, though, thanks to this iTunes list. I'll report back. Meanwhile, share you commuter-friendly apps in the comments.

Dance Friday: Flash Mob Flashback

2011-09-23T08:47:00.001-04:00

Here's an oldie but goodie, filmed at Liverpool Street Station nearly five years ago. See if you can spot the guy in the middle of the foreground who first takes some pictures and later hops on one foot while using a free arm to propel himself through a dance that I have dubbed "One-Winged Bird."

Liverpool Street Station was the site of a more choreographed flash mob a few years later. Pictures available at Mail Online. I presume this is the right video (stay with it until the end... it improves as it gains momentum):

Dance Friday: J Train Jitterbug

2011-09-16T06:00:00.005-04:00

This guy is a one man flash mob.

Fair warning, the video is 4:30 long, but trust me when I assure you that it is worth a portion of your Friday to stay with it to the end. There are two stops during the video snapshot of his commute, and that's when our dancer really gets his freak on, especially after the doors close at 1:30 and 3:30, when he places his palm on the door and makes it his partner. Also, don't miss the hand jive at 4:05.

The sunglasses cinch it for me. He is too cool for school. I wish I was having this much fun on my commute.

Thank goodness someone not only filmed this video, but shared it on YouTube for all of us to love:

Just call me Dr. Feelgood

2011-09-05T17:47:00.001-04:00

Photo by Orange_Beard

Over the past year I have been building a cycling playlist as I trained for the Blazing Saddles Century, which I recently completed for the second time. So when Traci Mazurek over at MapMyFitness posted a "Get Out of Bed!" playlist and asked for additional contributions, I had more songs than she required.

I shared my 20 most played songs with the MapMyFitness audience, but my overall playlist is much deeper and should not be held back from you, dear readers. There is hardly a cool-down song on it. I usually listen to podcasts when I ride, but some days fast rhythms are needed to either get you over that hill or simply to help you leave all your agression out on the road. I'll occasionally listen to it while working, too, in lieu of a fourth cup of coffee. I have to draw the line somewhere.

To that end, here is the rest of the still-evolving cycling playlist:

Let's Get It Started by The Black Eyed Peas
Barcelona by Giulia y los Tellarini
Atman by Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Louder Than Ever by Cold War Kids
Hanuman by Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Lonely Train by Black Stone Cherry
Tiempo De Soleá by ojos de brujo
Viva La Vida by Coldplay
Raise Your Glass by P!nk
Make U Move by Danielia Cotton
Love Everybody by The Presidents of The United States of America
Big Ten Inch Record by Aerosmith
The Cave by Mumford & Sons
My Body by Young The Giant
Calé Barí by ojos de brujo
Animal by Neon Trees
Rock And Roll by Led Zeppelin
Mr. Hurricane by Beast
SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
Crazy In Love by Beyoncé
Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
Wake Up by Arcade Fire
Wake Up Call by Maroon 5
Conquest by The White Stripes
Slither by Velvet Revolver
Harder To Breathe by Maroon 5
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C+C Music Factory
Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham
The Distance by Cake
You Gotta Move by Aerosmith
Skimming by Mike Errico
Cumbersome by Seven Mary Three
But Anyway by Blues Traveler
Enter Sandman by Metallica
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyoncé
Woman by Wolfmother (Thanks, Ernesto, for this recommendation!)
This is My Life by Firewater
Swansong by Josh Woodward
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
Die Trying by Art of Dying
Love In An Elevator by Aerosmith
Que Belleza by Naga
Lovers In Japan by Coldplay
Tamacun by Rodrigo y Gabriela
Put Me Out by Expanding Man
Remedy by The Black Crowes
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong by Spin Doctors
Better Off This Way by A Day to Remember
St. Peter by Tumbledown
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys
You're Crazy by Guns N' Roses
Punching In A Dream by The Naked And Famous
Wonderland by Natalia Kills
Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers
Mr. Brownstone by Guns N' Roses
Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

Dance Friday: Limelight Shuffle

2011-09-02T10:27:00.002-04:00

See if you can spot the Commuter Daddy.
Hint: He's hunched over his phone,
posting another photo to Facebook.
Photo by Ioanna Raptis/
iraptis@seacoastonline.com

Earlier this week, I played a bit part in hosting a VIP party for customers of Limelight Deals, a new daily deal product we are launching around the country as part of my day job. My role was primarily social media chronicler, though I did also check in some customers at the door and talk to them about their experience with the product.

But that's not why we are here. That is merely an appetizer for the main course of this post.

What goes better with a pre-Labor Day weekend Friday than dancing, especially by an "anthropomorphic lime," which by the way would be an excellent band name.

So I present to you one in an occasional series of Dance Friday videos:

How can you not be in a good mood after watching that? Feel free to attempt the dance yourself, but make sure to stretch first. The camera point at the end is a sudden movement, and should only be attempted by those with warmed up muscles.

Happy Friday, all!

Shout out to MobileMe's Find my iPhone

2011-08-31T11:55:00.002-04:00

Midway through playing golf with middle son, Mason, late yesterday, a mild panic set in.

It wasn't the result of my 10-year-old outdistancing my drives on the previous two holes. I was proud of him, and not panicked by that (honest!). Instead, the anxiety resulted from walking back to my golf bag, looking into the neoprene pouch in which I had stowed my iPhone, and finding nothing inside.

We were at the 12th hole, so the possibilities were numerous. It could have landed in the fairway, cart path, rough, woods, you name it. We were one of the last few groups to have headed out, so it wasn't likely the golfers behind us were going to happen upon it and be able to ferry it up to us.

Mason was panicked too.

"Should we drive the cart back to look for it?"

"No, let's finish the round," I replied. "It could be anywhere."

I was pretty sour for the next couple of holes, though I did my best to hide that from Mason. Then a lightbulb ignited above my head. I remembered I had a secret weapon: MobileMe's Find My iPhone.

When we finished the round and got back to the car, I fired up my iPad. No wireless signal at the Paul Harney Golf Course clubhouse. Rather than cruise the neighborhood to poach someone else's signal, I decided to wait until we got home. Upon arrival, I fired up the app, and voila! We could see where my phone was, right by the first tee box where I had hooked the pouch to my bag in preparation for the round. It must have fallen out as soon as we left the cart path to go find our first shots.

I kept checking the app throughout the night. I zoomed in the map, and changed it to hybrid view, making it feel almost as if I was looking at my actual phone. The experience was like having a personal spy satellite at my beck and call.

The phone was not on the move, which was excellent news. I was tempted to drive right back to Falmouth to retrieve the phone, but figured I could be more effective in the daylight. I had left the phone on silent, so I couldn't have someone at the house call it -- or do so with a borrowed mobile phone -- while I hunted for it. I needed to get eyes on it.

I headed out first thing this morning, checked with the pro shop to see if the phone had been turned in. No such luck. I walked out to the first tee box, and started retracing our previous day's steps. Fortunately, the pro had called out to the grounds crew, and asked them to assist me. As I was explaining the virtues of the Find My iPhone app, one of the crew interrupted with a "Found it!" There it was, face down, with only the Apple logo to catch the light in the vicinity of where the app had told me it would be.

It was a little damp and dirty, but after wiping it off with my T-shirt, it fired right up with what little battery life it had left. I called home to report the good news, and spent the next 15 minutes having some quiet time with the device, catching up on missed text messages and emails. Absence had definitely made the heart grow fonder.

So I have high praise for the Find my iPhone app. I was rescued from making a trip to the Verizon Wireless store today, and saved myself more than few hours from having to sync and set up a new phone. Heck, it left me with some time to blog. Fancy that!

Getting stuff done

2011-08-09T10:37:00.002-04:00

Just another day at the home office:

Thanks to Julia for calling this video to my attention. Resemblance to some of my days at the home office is purely coincidental -- and for the official record, infrequent.

Yes, there has been a blogging drought over here at Commuter Daddy HQ. It's not for lack of commuting, though. The travel and work calendar is as full as it has ever been, but so is the school schedule as I finally wrap up my bachelor's degree some 22 years after starting on that path. Throw in this summer's Little League all-star coaching schedule, plus trying to stick to some semblance of a cycling schedule, and well, blogging (none since May) and golfing (once in 2011) have been duking it out for my attention amid a serious bandwidth shortage.

Things should ease up in a couple of weeks. Just in time for the fall soccer schedule to kick in....

In the interest of getting things done, however, I have briefly interrupted my involuntary blogging hiatus to implement Blogger's mobile-friendly rendering. So now you can get Commuter Daddy on the go. No separate URL is necessary. Make sense, right? You may soon wonder how you ever lived without it on your smart phone.

So long as I pick up the blogging pace.

Dear, boys, this one is for you

2011-05-17T22:19:00.003-04:00

I get asked why I blog. Why share photos of the boys? Why admit my parenting foibles? Why share some of the inner workings of our family?

Some of it comes from a love of writing. I do much less of it than I intended when I first embarked on my career path, but this blog allows me to keep at it -- albeit sporadically.

Blogging also allows me to be a practitioner of what I preach in my day job. I learn best by doing, so I learn about blogging and related practices by doing it. I create content via the blog and distribute it and share other items via social media. I immerse myself in both spaces so that I can speak from experience and authenticity when I address groups about how these practices can enhance business success.

But there's an equal measure of the personal touch here. The undercurrent throughout this interactive journey is that I am creating the modern equivalent of an old-fashioned slideshow. The blog is my projector. The posts are the slides.

Someday, the boys can look back at this blog, and the related collection of Flickr photographs and YouTube videos, and relive some memories. They might even share it with their kids.

That spirit is captured by this Google Chrome ad:

Couldn't have said it better myself.

p.s. Happy Birthdays, Benjamin (turned 6 in April) and Mason (turned 10 today)!

Sam shows off the cake he baked for Benjamin's birthday, while Mason tries to be patient in the middle of it all.

The bike is back in the commute

2011-05-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

Putnam County Trailway
Originally uploaded by spolay

During my regular trip to New York this week, I resumed stowing the bike in the trunk. The training is officially on for at least one century ride this summer. I have my eyes on a second century, depending on how the kids' summer calendar shakes out.

Temperatures were in the 70s in the Hudson Valley this week, and daylight lingered past 8 p.m. The weather was a far cry from what has been simultaneously experienced on Cape Cod. I actually got to sample a little bit of this thing called spring I keep hearing about. I think it was the first time this year in the Northeast that I was not wearing leggings or a jacket on my rides.

What made me happiest though, was that my two rides while on the road this week were on the first and last days of the trip. I usually don't ride on my travel days, instead reserving the cycling for the full day that I spend in town. However, rides after work on Monday and yesterday were refreshing, and felt a little like I was stealing time back from my schedule.

The ride yesterday was a double bonus. I tried out a new path -- or at least new to me: The Putnam County Trailway. The trail head was an hour into my commute back to the Cape from New York, and just slight detour from my regular driving route. It was a nice way to break up the drive home.

It also was gloriously green throughout, and the section of trail in Brewster, NY, was pristine. The only reason I turned around 10 miles into the ride was I was running out of time to make it back to my car in daylight.

The ride out from the trailhead was mostly uphill, which meant the ride back was a fantastic flying finish. I only had to slow down for a few intersections and blind corners.

We are not moving away from Cape Cod anytime soon, but an instant love affair with Brewster and Carmel, NY, was kindled yesterday. The Putnam County Trailway is sure to be a regular stop on my commute from now on.

It's a sprint, not a marathon

2011-05-02T08:29:00.000-04:00

Halfway into my cycling hills workout -- such as a hills workout can be on Cape Cod -- I look down at my Cateye. My average speed: 13.2 mph. I quickly look over my shoulder, to see if George Mutai or any other elite marathoners is gaining on me.

I don't know why it has taken me so long to realize how fast elite marathoners run. Mutai finished the Boston Marathon earlier this month in 2:03:02.That's an average speed of 12.78 miles per hour. I bow to that greatness. I am not worthy.

Truthfully, any runner has my respect. I've tried adding runs to my workouts any number of times over the years. I've never accomplished much more than a mile. Blame it in part on my asthma, though I am sure I could overcome that. I've just never felt the running magic.

In my youth, I preferred more competitive sports. Baseball was my original love. Tennis too. Later came weekly pickup football games, until my knee zigged while the rest of me zagged during a muddy contest in my early 30s. Goodbye, ACL. Hello, golf.

The one exception to my love of competition has been cycling. I much prefer it now as my primary mode of exercise. I have always loved long-distance rides, and recently spent a few days as a bike commuter while in Austin for SXSW. I rented a bike instead of a car on that trip, and loved the experience.

My regular 1-hour rides constitute a long moment of solitude, reflection, and peace -- save for the podcasts filling my ear when I ride solo. My most regular route along the Cape Cod Canal offers a chance for bird watching, catching ~~headwinds~~ sea breezes, and racing boats. Thankfully, the boats are supposed to maintain a 10 mph speed limit while in the canal, so I frequently am triumphant. I am not ashamed at being spotted the speed. Now that I have crossed into my 40s, I can use the ego boost.

I don't often ride with others. I have shied away from committing to regular rides because of my travel schedule, but after speaking recently to a member of the Cape Cod Cycling Club, I may work more social rides into my training repertoire. I completed my first century ride last year, and while the last 25 miles were a struggle I did enjoy the overall experience. This year my goal is to complete two such rides, so any extra training will help.

The cycling club member I spoke to said she is not competitive, and usually rides with a group averaging 16 mph -- a C-level rider, she somewhat bashfully admitted.

Guess I better pick up the pace a little.

Putting my weight to work

2011-04-21T09:36:00.000-04:00

A new baseball glove came home last night, an acquisition to replace Mason's tattered glove that he has had since T-ball.

Mason and Mom decided they would adhere to the old adage of placing it under a mattress, to break the glove in.

"Actually, we have to put it under dad," Mom declared. "He weighs the most."

Finally, I get to throw my weight around, guilt-free.

Stop & Shop is my new favorite gas station

2011-04-19T06:00:00.015-04:00

Thanks, Stop & Shop. In a single week, I saved more than $30 on two tanks of gas.

The first was thanks to my wife loaning me her Stop & Shop card last week. She had accumulated quite a number of points, given that she does most of our grocery shopping. Neither of the Stop & Shops in Sandwich have a gas station, however, so there had not been any opportunity for her to cash in on the savings those points create.

Enter Commuter Daddy. Armed with her card, I pulled up into the gas pavilion at the Super Stop & Shop in East Wareham. After scanning Brandy's Stop & Shop card and swiping my bank card, I could scarcely believe the price per gallon. I had managed to buy down the price of the premium gas required by my VW by a dollar per gallon.

Double take. Seriously, the premium price had become the regular price. Sixteen gallons later, I had saved $16.47.

I was giddy all the way to New York.

Later in the week, I was again in need of a pit stop. So while returning from Portsmouth, NH, I decided to pull into the Super Stop & Shop in Plymouth, MA. I did not have nearly the points on my store card that Brandy had, but I figured I was still going to save a nickel or a dime per gallon.

Try $1. Again. This time it was because all the station had was premium gas, and as a gesture of good will to its customers, the store had decided to offer the premium gas at the regular price.

Double big bucks. No whammies! Another $15 in savings later, I again was giddy for the rest of my ride.

The training wheels are off

2011-04-17T11:13:00.001-04:00

Benjamin has had a momentous couple of weeks surrounding his 6th birthday, and therefore so have Brandy and I.

The birthday would have been milestone enough, but there were several other red-letter days sprinkled around that. Benjamin lost his first two teeth, rode a bicycle without training wheels, graduated from a learn-to-skate class, hosted a pool party on the half-day of school before his birthday, and attended his first learn-to-play lacrosse clinic on the first day of April vacation.

Amid all of Benjamin's accomplishments over the last two weeks, life continued at its normal pace for the rest of the family. Mason scrambled between soccer and baseball practices. Sam attended band practices and his weekly volunteer stint at Sandwich Public Library. Brandy handled two parent-teacher conferences, reading to Benjamin's class and teaching art history to Mason's class while I traipsed about the Northeast on three short business trips. Taxes were prepared and filed, house and shed were cleaned, spring garden was planted and freelance and day-job projects were tackled.

This month is barely beyond the halfway point, and we're already out of breath.

When Benjamin declared he was ready to take off his training wheels last weekend, we headed to nearby tennis courts. We had tried to convince him he was ready last fall, and helped him ride around the back yard. That proved to be too difficult for maintaining balance once we let go, so the training wheels went back on the bike after a few attempts.

This time, after a lap around the tennis nets with one training wheel removed, he asserted that he was ready for a fully solo, training-wheel-free ride. He hardly needed me to run behind him to get him going, and other than one minor crash into the nets (end of first video below) and another glance off the fence, he looked as if he had been riding on two wheels for most of his life. You'll see in the third video below he even graduated to Mason's bike inside of a half hour.

Benjamin shedding his training wheels is a metaphor for Brandy and I as parents. Sam and Mason have been our training wheels. Juggling the schedules of two children up to this point has been fairly elementary. When double booked, we divide and conquer.

The past two weeks, though, have shown us the future. For example, Benjamin's T-Ball schedule just arrived in my Inbox last night. There are three games that directly compete with something on another child's calendar, and that is without knowing what Mason's regular season baseball schedule is yet. We also caught a glimpse this week of the fall soccer schedule. Mason and Benjamin will have games at the same time. Luckily, they will be at the same facility, but there will undoubtedly be other scheduling pressures once fall fully rises above the horizon.

We will remember this spring as the tipping point, when Brandy and I fully became two divided into three. Our balancing act just got infinitely trickier.