On Memorial Day I rode the valley. The ride took 4 hours, and covered 60 miles total. I had to cut it a bit short since I needed to get back to pick up my brother at the airport.

There’s a self portrait at site G – Intel. As I was taking a picture of the front of the building, I realized that the windows were really reflective.

It’s amazing to me that in one morning I could hit so many famous companies. I also passed by a number of others, but I knew my time was short so I didn’t take pictures. Some of them were: Canon, Hitachi, Toshiba, Memorex, Polycom, Citrix, Fortinet, Nortel Networks, WebEx (funny, I passed by an old WebEx building that is abandoned now that they’ve moved into a huge building…and their WebEx sign was covered in spider webs.)

Make sure you click on site Q – Google, and see their company bike racks. They were all around the building. Google has taken over much of that area of Mountain View, so I bet the bikes are in demand during the week.

For me, it can be frustrating to see people pass me up. But I need to remember that I’m only racing one guy – the depressed one, that overweight guy that has a heart problem, and is so stressed by his work that he takes it out on himself and those around him. That guy is me – and I’m working real hard to beat him. I don’t ever want THAT guy to catch me. (from an EnduranceNation post of mine a couple months back)

At the risk of ending up in copyright court, I’m going to steal a chunk of C Different’s February newsletter…’cause I think it’s the coolest thing I’ve read in a long while:

22 financial grants were mailed out this month to respective blind athletes throughout the country. Each of the grant recepients had to meet certain qualifications in order to receive their grant. But most importantly, they each had to display the C Different credo, “Inspire, Educate, Change.”

We are proud to support some wonderful blind athletes throughout their 2008 journey. Here are a few examples of athletes whom we are supporting.

Justin Grant and Kyle Coon plan to use their grant to purchase climbing equipment to assist them on their journey to climb Mt. McKinley.

Mycell Armington plans to use her grant to help her train and be ready to complete her first triathlon with C Different.

Nancy Stevens plans to use her grant to put on a 3 day Tri It Camp in Glenwood Springs, Colorado in order to teach blind women how to become triathletes, while simultaneously teaching sighted women how to become guides.

Adrian Brocaplans to use his grant money to defend his title at the Boston Marathon as overall champion of all blind runners.

Thomas Wolfe is a world champion blind snowboarder who plans to use his grant money to educate blind athletes through his winter sports programs.

When I first learned about C Different, I really only knew about their work with triathletes. But now I know that they do so much more. Their credo is “Inspire, Educate, Change”. I can say, I’m the one being inspired, educated, and changed!

Mike

Last week I finished Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Now it’s time for a new challenge – and the Western States 100 Endurance Run fits the bill. Please follow along the trail!