Mt. Hamilton Classic

I did not have a chance to hike this weekend.  Sunday morning I showed up bright and early for the Mt. Hamilton Classic.  This annual bike race is put on by the San Jose Bicycle Club.  The elite of the biking community ride their bikes from San Jose to Livermore, over Mt. Hamilton.  It's a grueling ride, whichever direction you choose to take and a real challenge for communicators.

Our radio club typically takes the San Jose side of the Mountain while the Livermore club takes the east side of the mountain.  Multiple repeaters are used to ensure coverage all along the course. 

I spent the morning and early afternoon calling out start times and monitoring the net.  The time I would have otherwise spent hiking, was spent volunteering.  Next week?

First Holy Communion

First Holy Communion Cake

Haven't got much hiking done this week.  I've been finding and obtaining all the necessary items to bake my son a First Holy Communion cake.  This was more difficult than you might think.

 

Baked in the shape of a Bible, I wanted to make this cake special.  I found small plastic grapes and a sheaf of wheat stalks at Michael's that I could use.  Also, at Michael's I was able to find pre-formed roses and leaves, as well as a rectangular cake board.  I also managed to find a small plastic chalice on Amazon, which Duane then cut in half so that I could place it on the cake.

 

It was a beautiful day and the cake worked out wonderfully!

EmCommWest 2011

The most walking I did this weekend, was all over the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.  Well, I also stopped in Cabela's to pick up some items for my Half Dome hike in July.

EmcommWest is a weekend that is devoted entirely to emergency communications.  There is always a small vendor's area to peruse and I usually manage to find something to put in my emergency tool kit.

The highlights for me this year were a seminar in creating your "go kit"  with lots of examples and lists of what to include, as well as a gathering of lady hams.  A "go kit" is a bag of stuff that you have ready to grab and go when the emergency happens.  They can be big or they can be small.  They can be intended to last for a few hours or several days.

The gathering of lady amateur radio operators was one of the first meetings of its kind that I have been to in this largely male activity.  It was fun to meet everyone and I really enjoyed hearing the reasons why ladies become amateur radio operators.

Not much exercise this weekend, but I sure had a lot of fun.  I can hardly wait for Pacificon, which this year will be in my backyard in Santa Clara County.