8/2: Completed the milestone Pan-Mass Challenge ride, having surpassed the Heavy Hitter level for the fourth time, and raised well over $50,000 in my nine rides to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. (trip photos)

8/1: Left Sturbridge on a bike at 5:30am, bound for Bourne in the 30th annual Pan-Mass Challenge charity ride. Day One began with a broken spoke, which slowed me down, but overall enjoyed another beautiful 120-mile day in the saddle!

7/30: Hoofed it out to Porter Square Books to listen to Willard Spiegelman, author of "Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness". I think part of his message was on-target, but he kind of danced around my own conclusions on the subject, and there's considerably more to be said on it.

7/26: Led a pleasant but oppressively humid 50-mile bike ride for Mark, Jay, and Paul. We rode from Beverly around Cape Ann, where I was born, and back. (writeup)

7/22: Joined my dharma friends at the Kendall Square Cinema for a viewing of the largely conflict-less movie "Unmistaken Child", which follows a Tibetan monk as he tracks down the child whorepresents his patron and teacher's next incarnation.

7/19: Reprised a 2003 ride and prepped for the upcoming PMC by joining buddies Jay and Paul to ride 114 very hilly miles from Concord to Mt. Wachusett and back on an absolutely gorgeous day for the CRW's annual Climb to the Clouds. (writeup)

7/18: Although it was a very painful topic for me, I finished reading Jill Bolte Taylor's "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" as a prelude to our first dharma book club meeting. Needless to say, it brought up some very strong emotions. (writeup)

7/17: Went to the Harvard Coop to hear Lone Frank speak about her "Mindfield: How Brain Science is Changing Our World". Some interesting insights, but she left unspoken the obvious psychological warfare and control implications of her view of humans as nothing more than "bags of neurons" that can be easily manipulated.

7/17: Attended a talk by Lauren Mackler, author of "Solemate: Master the Art of Aloneness and Transform Your Life". Some interesting bits, but seems to rely far too heavily on childhood familial history as a context for evaluating adult behavior. Sadly and predictably, the audience for a book about aloneness was entirely male.

7/12: Joined Jay, Kelly, and Tom for a lengthy trip out to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York state for their 50th anniversary airshow of vintage antique aircraft. The highlight of the day was a 10-minute ride in an 80 year old 1929 New Standard D-25 biplane. Check out the flight path and the photos.

7/11: Finished reading Michael Welland's "Sand: The Never-Ending Story". How do you manage to squeeze 325 pages out of such a mundane topic as sand? Start with about 120 pages of reasonably interesting base material, then write in generalities and repeat yourself a lot. Not a bad book, just a little dry... Hah!

7/5: Enjoyed a large group ride as Jeremy Katz took the Quad Cycles riders out on a no-drop ride through Littleton and Harvard, Mass. With my additional mileage out and back from the shop, that constituted my second century ride of the year.