Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Google

My flight back to Shanghai boards soon so I've got to be quick.  Today was very interesting.  My company was invited by Google to come and give a speech about how we utilize Google Maps with our products.  Since the show was in Japan by default I was the one to go.  There were only 750 in attendance for my Steve Jobs-like speech.  I had to speak through a translator and everyone in the audience had a headset to hear the simultaneous translation.  Since I've done my fair share of simultaneous translating myself I knew what things to avoid and how to speak so it would be easily translated.  The translator was grateful and she did a great job.  It was a bit nerve wracking but Steve Price would have been proud.  The other guest speakers were quite boring and went over time.  I was given 10 min to speak.  I got up there, did my things, gave an awesome speech if I do say so myself, and was off the stage in 9 minutes.  Immediately after one of the executives from Google came back stage to thank me for coming and say how happy they were with it.  The even coincided well with a product launch we are doing in Japan anyway so it was good for us to.  Enough about that.

This was the stage I spoke on with three big screens showing my presentation to the crowd.  

On a training ride awhile back in the mountains near Shanghai

Will is wearing is biking jersey and sitting down for a healthy-sized bowl of plain rice.  My kids do love their rice.  

Bath time with Cheeks.

Swimming in the tub.

couple of weeks ago I did a two day stage race on the East Coast of Taiwan.  This is me in the red on the left sprinting to the line at the end of a rain-soaked 170km stage.

My new bike.

The diet that Jen is trying hard to get us all to do.  

Jen and Will doing their morning Rip60 workout out on the covered balcony.

June very happy to get some ice cream.

Last week was a holiday in China so I had the chance to go to Thailand and do a 5 day stage race, like a mini Tour de France for amateurs, or so I thought.  The race was stacked with pros.  One guy had a lifetime ban from pro races for testing positive twice.  His finished 3rd overall in this race.  The guy that won the race was racing the world champion and tour de france champions just 12 months ago.  It was really cool to race people at such a high level but the race was super hard.  I could fill books to give the full race report but here is the basic summary.  Every day was about 105 degrees and 90% humidity.  We were doing about 6,000 feet of climbing per day and riding just over 100 miles per day.  I had three top ten finishes on the stages and was set to finish top ten overall until the final day when I got a flat tire 40 miles from the finish.  I was able to get another wheel from a friend fairly quickly but the peloton was gone and i was left to chase alone.  I was able to limit the damage but not able to rejoin the peloton to maintain my top ten GC (general classification) position and fell to 17th.  The race was epic and a bit of a breakthrough for me.  I was able to climb and hang in there with some very accomplished riders. 

Jen and the kids have been doing well.  Will passed his interview for school and will be starting in September.  The teacher asked Jen what she has been doing because it seemed like he had been in school for a year already.  Playing is the answer.  This school will allow him to do a lot more of that.  there are no desks in the school.

more later.