Paragary's

After opening with a pinch of public criticism a few months ago, Stocktonians are asking in chorus, “Have you been to Paragary’s?”. Well, after tons of pressure, Dawn and I finally dined at Paragary’s Bar and Grill in the Hotel Stockton. Ok, to be honest, there was no pressure, but we’ve been wanting to visit downtown Stockton’s newest restaurant.

We walked in right before 8 o’clock last night and were seated immediately by a very friendly hostess. It wasn’t very crowded, probably less than half the tables were occupied but we still waited a few minutes before being greeted by our server. After getting our drink order she disappeared for another few minutes before coming back to get our order.

Dawn ordered the grilled salmon and I ordered the pork chop. Dawn was disappointed when the server returned to break the news that they had run out of salmon. She settled on the sole based on the server’s recommendation. The pork chop, served with a delicious apricot chutney, came with onion rings and french fries and was grilled perfectly. Even though Dawn had her heart set on the salmon, she enjoyed the sole. The food was wonderful, definitely a welcome to Stockton. It’s the service, however, that might keep us from coming back.

Our server was not rude, in fact, she was quite friendly. The level of service just didn’t match the ambiance (or price) of the restaurant as a whole. Our server didn’t ask if we wanted an appitizer, soup or salad. We waited longer for drink refills than you’d have to at Moo Moo’s. We asked for more bread (which was delicious by the way) but never got it. We never saw a manager the entire evening. Call me old fashioned but I think “table touching” is vital in any restaurant, especially at Stockton’s new fine dining establishment.

All in all, Paragary’s is a great new addition to Stockton and a wonderful addition to downtown. We loved the location; we loved the ambiance; we loved the food; we didn’t love the service. It wasn’t the worst service we’ve ever received and we still had a wonderful evening together. Will we go back? Not sure. We probably won’t be bringing any out of town friends - there are other places in town where we can show off Stockton.

Check out other reviews on yelp and The Record.

Extravaganza 2008

Last weekend, we celebrated the 28th Extravaganza at the National Hotel in Jackson, California. We drove up on Friday night and had a grand ol’ Extravaganza type night.

On Saturday we had our normal get together which was made even more entertaining by a stunning theatrical performance by FNGs Randy and Sue. They had a (fake) speech planned that got everyone thinking they were leaving early because of something someone said about them. Sue even brought out the tears and everyone was up in arms. A few of us noticed her husband video-taping the whole thing and grew increasingly skeptical. After a few minutes they finished their joke to roaring applause... good one guys.

Hope and Joe hid the flag this year and a few of us spent hours in the heat looking for it. In the end, Randy followed the hints and grabbed the prize... now he has to come back next year.

I especially had a good time being scared out of my mind, not once, but twice, when Hope and then Grace snuck in my room. I was not expecting Hope and wondered why Grace was trying to distract me. When I went back and found Grace there a few minutes later I really freaked out. Even though I expected her to be there, it still scared the crap out of me. Dawn and I even got Mike pretty good when she walked away and “accidently” didn’t shut the door all the way. C’mon! Really? Well, Mike fell for it and hid out in our room for a minute, amazed at the prize he just fell into, until I jumped out of the darkness yelling, “did you really think we’d let you in like that!”

Extravaganza ’08 was a blast... only 360 more days ‘til the next one!

Click here for the pics that were fit to publish.

10,000 Miles in 5 Years

Tonight, on Harney Lane, east of Devries Road and west of Davis Road, I achieved my 10,000 mile goal - nearly a month before my fifth anniversary on the bike. Last December I set the goal to reach that number on or before July 16, exactly five years since I started riding. In order to make my goal, I’d need to ride over 1,800 miles in just over six months. For many riders I know that would not be much of a challenge, but given that I only rode 1,100 miles last year, 1,065 in 2006 and 1,800 in 2005, hitting 1,800 in half a year was going to be tough.

To mark the occasion, here are some stats.

2003 1,179.21 miles 2004 2,951.92 2005 1,804.92 2006 1,065.19 2007 1,174.64 2008 1,832.67

10,008.55 miles 7/16/03 - 6/19/08 678:25:27 15.157 average speed 391 rides

3,481 miles on Trek1000

6,519 miles on Specialized Roubaix

I’ve met a lot of great people being out on my bike and I know I’m not winning an award here but I did want to thank a few particular people.

Mike and Harold - I’ve logged over 1,600 with these two guys after I met them in ’06. I had been off the bike for a few months and just ventured out for a slow spin. After a few miles I saw them ahead of me and fought against my legs to catch up with them. After that ride we stayed in touch and I have truly enjoyed getting to know them and sharing quite a few Sundays with them. Two kinder and more generous guys would be tough to find.

Chuck - the friend that got me into cycling. I kept talking and talking and talking about riding. Well, he was the one that told me to shut up and buy a bike. I did and then a few weeks later he showed up at my door and proceeded to kick my butt every ride I ever did with him. “Cycling rewards consistency” was the only thing he said to me more often than, “c’mon!”. He gave up a lot of his time to ride with me and Bill (the Newman Bike Club) and eventually taught me how to climb. He doesn’t ride anymore but I still hear him in my ear every time I go uphill. He was the one to show me what became my favorite ride: Mt. Diablo, which I re-visited 19 times. Now Chuck, get back on your bike!

Dawn, Emily and Makenzy - my awesome family. I am so lucky to have your unconditional support. You have never, not even once, complained about the time I spend on my bike and are always waiting for me to hear all about my ride, sometimes in excruciating detail. Every moment I spend on the bike is a moment away from you guys and I appreciate that you support my crazy hobby (is that what it’s called). I love you!

My bros - you’ve even gone out and rode with me (some more than others) and you all have always made me feel like Lance Armstrong. Let’s ride!

Starting at about mile 8,700 I started taking a picture every time I hit 100 miles. Check out my 100 Miles at a Time pics on Flickr. Also, check out my other ‘bike’ related posts here.

By the way, for friends and family that think 1,800 miles in 6 months, or 10,000 in 5 years, is a lot, check out Michael Buckingham! This guy puts on some major miles. Check out his blog here.

My next goal? To reach my next 10,000 in 1,239 days - that’s November 11, 2011 - less than 3.5 years. At just under 3k miles per year I’m pretty confident I can hit that one before Mike and I turn 40!

Ride on! Ride on!

Canyon Classic Century

Today I rode the Canyon Classic Century for the first time. This ride, put on by the Modesto North Notary, used to conflict with the SIerra Century. I'valways wanted to do this ride since it goes over one of my favorite climbs in the area - the Del Puerto Canyon, just west of I-5 in Patterson, California.

My alarm woke me up a little after 4 AM and I was out the door by 5. I arrived in Patterson, registered and hit the road a little after 6. The last couple of days had seen temps hit near 100 so I was bracing myself for a hot day. It was a warm morning but there was a little chill in the breeze. My hope is that it would still be there on the first climb which was coming pretty quick.

After a quick spin to get out of Patterson I got to Del Puerto Canyon, a slow starting climb with some awesome views.

I made pretty good time up to to Frank Raines Park. I've done this climb before and it helped knowing it well. I did not push hard up the first half of this climb because I knew that the worst was yet to come. The 15 mile climb took me up about 1,100 feet but the next 9 miles would take me up another 1,200 feet! After a quick water refill I turned right at the top, for the 17 mile trek up and down Mines road.

After a longer than normal lunch in Livermore I headed out for a short, but nasty, climb out Tesla and Corral Hallow Roads. I heard about a tandem couple that hit a deer flying down Mines road. It was starting to get hot but there was a tad bit of a tail wind which helped a little. I tried to stay in my center ring on the climbs but at this point I had to drop to my triple. My center was just a little too big... maybe I should consider a double.

Finally, the ascent ended and after some pretty fast descents the climbing ended and was heading back to Patterson, through Tracy, with a nice tail wind. After the mile 75 water stop I met up with Greg from Taft. We talked about all the normal things you talk about on a century and after I told him about my nearing my 10,000th mile in 5 years he told me that he crossed his 10,000th mile on this ride - and he also beat his goal, by two weeks, by doing it in less than two years! Wow, that's awesome!

Finally, after 7 hours on the bike, I made it back to Patterson and after a pretty good meal headed home.

What did I love about this ride? Well, it is a beautiful course, great climbs and awesome views. I also liked that, for the century route, there was no double-back, it was different roads the whole way... I love that! The volunteers were all very friendly and the rest stops were great. There was tons of fruit and food at each. They even had ice-chests with soda, vitamin water and energy drinks at most of the stops. At the mile 75 rest stop they even had awesome homemade cookies and red licorice. The food at the end of the ride, tri-tip, salad, bread and chili was great. They also had tons of cold drinks on ice, even my favorite, RC Cola! I don't drink a lot of soda but at the end of a ride like this I want one and RC rocks!

What did I not love? I do not like Cytomax. I just can't drink it. Next time I will remember to bring my own mix (Powerbar Endurance). Almost every century offers Gatorade and some people complain that they'd prefer Cytomax so I can understand why they went with it. Also, there were not a lot of other riders. They offer a few different courses but even in the beginning there are not a lot of people. I spent a lot of time out there without another rider in sight. I have no idea why this ride doesn't get more riders, it really is a great ride.

Overall, the Canyon Classic is definitely a ride I will do again. Great views, great climbs, great people and rest stops.

Stats 109.21 miles 7:17:07 on bike A lot of climbing 15.0 miles per hour

Oh, and the tandem couple? I heard the that captain broke his wrist and the stoker busted her lip, the bike will need some repair and deer just "bounced off" and ran away quickly.

Check out the pictures. I ended today with 9,945 total miles...stay tuned for the big 10,000... coming soon!

Ciao Bella

After Emily has been bugging us to try this restaurant for months, we finally ate at Ciao Bella tonight. We almost didn’t go after looking at their menu online. It seems only some of the dinner menu is put on their site. We were a little nervous when we got there because there were only two other parties there. The feel of the restaurant was very comfortable and given that it was blazing hot outside we were thankful that the shades were pulled down, making the place pretty dark.

Our server greeted us quickly and took our drink orders. He was very friendly and suggested a couple of delicious sounding appetizers (maybe next time).

I had the raviolis and Dawn had the Shrimp Scampi. Emily had a Chicken Caesar salad and Makenzy had Spagetti. All the meals were awesome!

The food was excellent. It was a little pricey but the portions were huge. When we go back we will likely split two entrees among the four of us.

The service was superb. The staff was very friendly and made a lot of great recommendations. Our server did everything right, he treated our daughters like real customers, served ladies first, didn’t “auction” our food to us, engaged us in the perfect amount of small talk.

We highly recommend Ciao Bella, at 5646 N. Pershing, just north of Robinhood. YOu can find them online at ciaobellastockton.com.

Stockton's Gas Prices

Stockton, the city that recently topped the rest of the nation with the highest foreclosure rates, is now atop another list. The Record ran a story today about gas prices. I know, that is not a big deal. What caught my eye was that Stockton has the highestprices in the nationwide survey.

Actually, this did not surprise me. Every morning, on the news, I hear the national, state and Sacramento area averages, which are always lower than what I see in Stockton. Yikes, maybe I should start riding my bike to work more often.

So, what am I doing to save gas? For starters, since I commute over 100 miles per day, I am trying to not drive at all on the weekend, unless I absolutely have to. For normal errands, I will either ride my bike, walk, or wait until I going to or from work. Besides that, I have been driving slower on the freeway. By driving the speed limit (which often requires me to stay in the right lane) I am getting a 10% bump in my MPG.

Wow, a 74 cent increase from 4/9/08 to 6/2/08 (in Tracy and Lathrop, respectively... I try to not buy gas in Stockton).

Check out my other gas price pics on Flickr.

(story also appeared here on MSNBC)

My Hopes for iPhone 2.0

I originally planned on waiting until June 29th to write "Why I Still Love the iPhone One Year Later". With any luck, however, I won't have the same iPhone on 6/29.

I was one of those crazy people that stood in line overnight to get my hands on the first iPhone. Emily and I spent 20 hours in line in front of a local AT&T store and were, in fact, one of the first people in the store when they opened the doors at precisely 6:00 PM on Friday, June 29, 2007, amidst cheers and applause.

My impression of the new device and the launch event was very favorable. In my mind, I had built up the new super phone to be the greatest thing since the invention of, well, you guessed it, the phone. How do I feel about the phone a year later? I still love it. The seemless integration with my e-mail, iCal, Contacts, pictures and videos makes it one of the most useful tech gadgets I have ever used.

Having said that, I am super-excited about the rumored next generation iPhone announcement next week. Nearly all rumors point to the new iPhone running on the much faster 3G wireless network and being available in larger capacities, among other exciting offerings.

Of course I understand that next week's WWDC is about more than just the iPhone. Perhaps we'll see some new hardware. Perhaps all of the iPhone chatter has provided a convenient cloak for some other new whiz-bang; only time will tell. For me, it's all about the iPhone, so here are my hopes for what happens tomorrow on the iPhone front (in order of personal importance).

* New iPhone available for purchase * Lower price, subsidized by AT&T * 32 and 64 GB models * Copy and paste (c'mon, why did I have to wait a year for this!?!) * Picture messaging (I am so tired of the "... has sent you a picture..." messages) * Search functionality (like PBF Search) * Video camera (like PBF ShowTime) * Over-the-air syncing with dot-mac (or whatever it'll be called after next week) * Native IM with video * Flash * GPS I am also excited about the launch of the new App Store. I am not much of a gamer but the games that were shown at the SDK launch were pretty cool. Also, I can't wait to see what the jailbreakers have been bragging about.

If you have some time to kill tomorrow morning, check out 2008 WWDC keynote bingo. Me, I'll be following on MacRumorsLive andTwitter (although, based on the recent health of Twitter I would venture to guess that this site will crash tomorrow).

I will not be attending WWDC but, as luck would have it, I will be in San Francisco on Monday afternoon, perhaps a trip to Stockton street will be in order.

The Grape & Lita Hope

Last night, we went with Mike and Shauna to see The Grape play at this year's kick-off Bowl Jam at Pacific Bowl. After having watched The Grape play at The Blackwater for so long, it was nice to see them play in a place where they had some room to move around. Tom, the founding member and song writer of The Grape, on guitar, Ted on bass, Ralph on drums and Jady on vocals, played for 45 minutes before taking a break. An "administrative error" prevented the headliner from playing so The Grape played a second set before giving the stage up to Lita Hope for a rocking 45 minute set. Lita Hope and The Grape share a drummer and Ted and Tom were kind enough to let Lita and the others play their set on their equipment. This was the first time we'd seen Lita Hope perform and were quite impressed. Check out the pics from the show.

My New Favorite Bike Shop - REI

I am an REI virgin no more. I only heard of REI a couple of years ago but hadn't been inside one until the Stockton one opened. Emily and I went on grand opening weekend and were impressed with all of the bike and camping stuff. Although I had heard of REI I had no idea that they sold bikes and bike accessories.

Tonight, I needed to get a new pair of arm warmers. After a few years, mine dissapeared. I was so happy that they actually had a few different styles, all sizes and plenty of each in stock. After grabbing a pair and a new water bottle, the Store Manager approached me and asked if I needed help. I told him that I thought they might put one of the other bike stores in town out of business. His response was noble. "We don't want to put any bike shop out of business." He added that they just want to encourage more people to ride. Then he said something brilliant. "We want to put BestBuy out of business. Our mission is to get people outside."

Brilliant. I am now an REI member.

What's all this Twitter about?

If you follow me on Twitter, feel free to ignore this entry; this information is not new to you.

If you have no idea what Twitter is, please keep reading. Many friends, family and other readers to this site have asked what is all this Twitter about? Before we get started, let me just say that Twitter is not new. In fact, there were more than 14 million other people that discovered Twitter before me (courtesy of Twitterholic).

Wikipedia defines Twitter as, "... a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (SMS), instant messaging, or a third-party application..."

In short, Twitter is like text-messages you can follow online or via text message to your cell phone. The first person I started "following" on Twitter was David from the FredCast (the internet's premiere cycling podcast). With a quick text page of 'follow FredCast to 40404 I was getting text page updates from David. Besides getting updates on my cell phone, I can also go to the internet and read his updates there http://twitter.com/fredcast.

I now find myself following a handful of my podcast friends, other cyclists, writers, technology gurus, the three leading presidential candidates, and a guy I went to high school with among others. Twitter loads especially easy on my iPhone so I check it often throughout the day.

I also track keywords in the public Twitter via text message. By sending a text message of 'track beckwith' to 40404 I get updates to my cell phone any time someone in the Twitterverse uses the word 'beckwith'. What else am I tracking?

The name of the company where I work. Because I work for a large corporation with millions of customers it is very interesting to see what the Twitterverse thinks of us. Mostly negative, some positive, but still a interesting angle on the voice of the customer.

Where I live, where I ride, where I work. I track Stockton, Lodi, Pleasanton, Livermore. I also track 580 and 205 which helps when there is a traffic issue.

Still confused? Well, don't be. The fine folks at Common Craft have done it again with a great video explanation of Twitter. Check it outhere.

Also, in case you always wanted to know what a podcast was, Common Craft has a great video explanation of that, too. After you watch that, hop on over to Pizza Go Here and subscribe to our podcast.

So, now you know all about Twitter. Sign up and follow me. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.