This morning was my first group bike ride.  I rode with the Atlanta Cycling weekly group ride.  They have rides nearly every day.  They have two to choose from on Saturdays: a 40-53 miler and a 20 miler.

I oft have bigger eyes than stomach, but I avoided this temptation and chose the 20 miler that is rated easy or moderate.  Without realizing it, I chose the moderate group which is significantly faster than the easy group. 

The ride initially seemed like it was going to be enjoyable without much challenge.  That is until I hit the first big hill.  I fell back, but was able to catch up during the straight away.  After assuring the  rest of the group that I was Ok to proceed, I was informed that the hill I had just topped was a beginner hill and only a warm up for the ride.  This, I found, was not an exaggeration, in fact it was quite accurate.  The hills were plentiful and the pace was a around 17mph.  It was quite a work out.

It is sometimes painful to realize that you are nearly as in shape as you once thought.  Experiences like this tend to motivate people or cause them to reconsider what they are doing.

I choose to be motivated.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta IASA Chapter, I am in charge of the 2009 Atlanta IT Architect Regional Conference (ITARC).  We have been busy securing sponsors, keynote speakers, and a facility to hold the thing.

Now the hunt is on for Atlanta-based speakers.  Architects who like to present to their peers about subjects that interest us all.  If you are an architect or know one, consider this blog entry a call for papers.  Interested parties should email their profile and abstract to atlantaitarc@iasahome.org. 

And there you have it.

Joe.

I have had comments turned off on my blog since I lost the history of my comments during the move from wordpress.com to josephdecarlo.com.  I have had several people complain to me about it. 

I recently started blogging again and to mark the occasion, I gave my site a facelift.  In doing this, I turned comments back on.  Since then, I have had a consistent number of hits per day and ZERO comments.  I would normally assume that the articles that I have been posting are not comment worthy, however, I have been given responses to posts via email and twitter instead of comments.

It is satisfying knowing that my blog is read by forty to fifty people a day, however, I would be happy hearing from some of you.

So here is my plea:  If you read an article and like it, don’t like it, or just have something to say…comment on it.

The Strategic Architect Forum (SAF08) is in San Francisco this year and I’ll be there.

SAF is an annual forum where Microsoft gathers 400 senior architects from around the world to contemplate architecture and architecture trends.  The meeting lasts several days and, like many Microsoft events, has three tracks.

• Enterprise Architecture 2.0
• Next Generation Social and Consumer Productivity
• Embracing the Cloud

 

I am really excited to have been invited and will definitely blog about my experience once I return.  The event is not until late November, so don’t hold your breath on those posts.

Recorded Sessions from SAF07

And there you have it.

Joe.

It is pretty cool when you are on your bike at a stop light and a complete stranger says, “I saw you riding on your way to work this morning.  You seem to have a long ride.”

We spoke briefly and realized that we work in the same building.  I didn’t get this far, but we may actually both work at Turner, who knows.  We got interrupted by the green light.

I like the thought of people expecting to see me commuting.

This morning I averaged 18.25mph on my way in to work.  That is an all time high for me, and I am very proud of it.  I worked out hard to try to get a good time and it paid off.

Well, I guess I should sign off and watch the final Presidential Debate.

Joe.