When work interferes with riding

Don't you hate it when work interferes with riding? Maybe a fortunate few don't have this problem, but from time to time, it is unavoidable. As a custom integrated circuit designer, design deadlines are viscious. We call these tapeouts. The tapeout date with a foundry is fixed. If you miss it, your project could be set back months. Missing the tapeout is not an option. If you are running behind as the date nears, your punishment is very long days and weekends. Industry surveys regularly list IC design as one of the highest burn-out rate jobs. Tapeouts are always stressful. I have one of my worst tapeout dates ever on Monday, July 7. What kind of sadistic planning picks the day after a holiday weekend for this? Factor in that we are working a proposal at the same time, well, it is just stress squared. Barely having enough time to ride is behind sparse blog posts lately.

Enough ranting. I recently put up a complete Arizona trip report here. The narrative was lifted from April's blog posts, but numerous additional photos were added with detailed captions.

A few things were touched up on the small hill climbs page. Great Blue Hill is now represented the way folks ride it, not starting on Brush Hill Rd across 138. I had to make an exception to my rule that any climb worth showing be at least 500ft net gain. But this one at around 420ft is so popular, it must be included. I also added Mt Tom to the chart and descriptions. I had opportunity to ride this after the Jiminy Peak road race this spring. It's a real spanker.

Hope to race Okemo hillclimb and Moody Park MTB this weekend. Between work, forecasted bad weather, and feeling like I'm coming down with a cold, I'll be lucky to get in even one race.