6-15-07

Finally.....

Well, it's official: I got to actually ride my bike in Kabul!! There is true Afghani dirt on the Pink Turtle. We had a BBQ tonight at the villa of our security team and instead of walking, I opted for the ride. Hey, it's the only chance to officially get the required escort and get to ride so I had to take it.

No more explanation needed.

6-10-07
Do you feel that?

It's racing fever and it's spread all the way to Kabul!! Here's where I've been riding for the last couple months....man, it doesn't get any better than this! Wait...I think I've been here too long....remember Pisgah, Clemson, Conyers, Stanley Gap......oooooooooo....Stanley Gap.....YEA!! I remember now =)

Last night was a good workout. I somehow managed to stay at a high power output at an average of 95 rpm for the entire hour. I had some good stuff to watch during this workout too. See, our neighbor on one side is the VP of the country and he had a large gathering of about 100 folks at this house. There were people coming and going and guards and soldiers with RPG's all over the place. Good times! I may get to see the new F-22's running patterns at home, but you don't get guys with AK's and RPG's. HA!

Ok, picture pages, picture pages.....


LOOK!! It's the PinkTurtle Walt Works in action. Take a good look at that becuase that bike is going to be a singlespeed or 1x9 when I get home. The gears are going on the new Dos Niner softail 29er.















There's my view for most of my workouts. Note the privacy screen around the patio next door? Yea, the VP doesn't like us nosey Yanks!!

6-8-07
12......

And we're back with more from your broadcasting correspondant from the Big Funky K-town. Weather this week has been....well....interesting! We've had sun, rain, hail, sun, heat, cool, sun....did I mention sun? This week also brought on a site visit to a building dedication. The building was constructed by the Germans with money donated from the country of Qatar and it was a cool experience to be a part of. I will say we didn't go just for the dedication as we needed to see the remainder of the site so we can include it in our master planning efforts but it was a fun time anyhow.

I've been talking also with several new contacts about the possibility of executing some facility management training for the Afghan ministries and that has brought me into discussions about collaborative work with the German government as well as the US and Afghanistan governments. It's been a great learning experience to say the least!

Oh, I bought a new mountain bike frame this week...a Salsa Dos Niner. I've been wanting this frame for about two years and just refused to pay the asking price of $1000 for a Japanese made frame when I got my custom WaltWorks for under $800! Well, I found the Salsa for under $700 from the fine folks at http://www.bike29.com/, based in the Green Mountain State (VT) and was able to get a quality new wheelset and the frame for the MSRP of the frame. I'm pleased with that! I also found a new helmet by LAS....I'll post a picture of this funky skid lid when I get home and retrieve it from the mail.

My UK trip is coming together quite nicely too. I have a close friend whose brother lives in London and has offered me two nights free lodging. Turns out the guy lives two blocks from Buckingham Palace so I'll get to see all the sights and it's all within a 10 minute bike ride from Peter's! What a blessing! With the free lodging in London, free camping at the Mountain Mayhem race for two nights, this little adventure is fast becoming a lesson in "How to spend a week in the UK for under $500!"

Ok, now onto the pictures...

Rainbow over Kabul 6-5-07

Entrance to the Kabul Zoo. I'm almost scared to know what's behind that gate!

A couple months back I posted a picture of this mosque and the catwalk to the tower. Here's an updated shot so you can see the progress!

This is a village on the west side of TV Hill. I thought the street running straight up the hill just looked cool, but this gives good perspective on how much of the population of Kabul lives. Remember, there's no running water going to these houses, so the folks up top have to carry buckets and jugs from the wells at the bottom. I won't talk about the lack of a centralized sewage system....I'm sure you understand.

This is the north face of Shir Dawarza, the mountain we hiked back in March. Again, another good shot of the houses.

6-2-07

18 days and counting!



I'll start with pictures...

Here's Ryan, GIS guru hard at work















Next is Elbert "Princess of Maui", Ryan's trusty assistant taking a break from guitar practice















Self portrait on the patio















Robin & Ruth enjoying lunch on the patio. They're truly great to have around and they're a sweet couple...been together like 30 years. It's fun to watch them!















Here's our Afghan work crew enjoying lunch family style.















Kareema (left) is one of the housekeepers and Sonia is our administrative assistant. Both do a great job of putting up with us Americans!
















Token bike shot.....The Pink Turtle enjoys the feeling of home in my pink bathroom. And no, I didn't select this room for myself -- all four baths on this side of the house are pink!















Words of encouragement on Memorial Day from D2.














Crowd mustering for the Memorial Day service. This one was rather special because this command just lost two of it's own a couple weeks back -- the first loss this command has suffered since being in Afghanistan.















My new silk rug!















So, I hope you enjoyed our little presentation today. Now for a word from our sponsor.... hehehe! Sorry, I'm feeling a bit silly today! On a serious note, please keep Chaplain Major Shaw in your prayers. Last week he was with a convoy that was involved in an altercation. His vehicle sustained a hit from an IED. He was mostly fine following the attack except for some bleeding from his ear, which is never a good sign. Monday morning he was airlifted to the main camp in country for evaluation because he was having some chest pains. The last I heard is that he's been airlifted to an army hospital in Germany and once stable, may get a trip home. I know his spirit wants to be here as he was dedicated to being here and serving the camp so please just remember him this week.

On other notes, I've found a 4-man team to race with at the Mountain Mayhem race to be held at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury, England. WOO-HOO!!! This is a 24 hour race and the promoters are saying it's the largest 24 hour race in the world. They have 450 team and 2500 racers on board so it should be a good time!

Let's see....what else in the last week.....oh, I'm not sure if I've stated this yet, but I'll be back in the States on 1 July just before my birthday, so I'll get to celebrate the 4th at home, which I'm very much looking forward to. Well, I think that's about all the news from Kabul today. I hope you'll check back with me for another edition soon.

Oh, and for all you UGA 'Dawg fans out there.....Go Vols! "Rocky Top, you'll always be home sweet home to me! Good ol' Rocky Top. Rocky Top Tennessee!" (Football season will be here before ya know it!)

5-25-07
Has it been THAT long?

WOW, I guess I didn't realize it's been so long since my last post, but my family's gotten onto me and some friends have to so HI! Here I am! All's well here, I've just been going full bore the last week or so with planning for about (6) new bases here and all the stuff that goes with them.

Let's see....what's happened that's worth reporting? We were supposed to attend an Afghan wedding tonight for one of our workers. Unfortunately, our team lead told our security guys that no one wanted to go and he didn't ask the (3) of us that did! I'm pretty peaved about that, actually, because I think my us not going, we insulted him, especially since he made the effort to ensure that everyone of us -- including all the guards -- had invitations.

What else...I'm coming home 01 July...that's good news, I guess. My replacement is already in country and is getting immersed and caught up so I'm actually glad about that because that means there won't be any lag when I do leave. The transition will be seamless.

I wish I had some new pictures to post up, but alas, there's nothing new to show right now. I have been getting some good workouts both at the gym and on my bike -- spinning, not really riding. Oh, thanks to the $10 downloads from Carmichael Training Systems, I have a podcast of their Steady State spin workout so I can now do a spin class here at the villa. It's actually a neat workout and I'm pretty impressed with the ability to be able to download these things. I guess it's their way of getting ya hooked on smoking so they can reel ya in for the hard drugs! Trust me, I don't see CTS in my future because their personalized programs are just too costly.

Oh, I'm chasing down some more work here in Afghanistan. It seems that some of what my company, MACTEC Engineering, does for core business is not being done here so I'm looking into how we can resolve that! We'll see what actually shakes out of it, but with my new help in country, I can donate some of my workload to her and spend a bit of time marketing this other stuff.

I'm sorry that this entry is a bit melancholy....I guess I'm just ready to get on now. I'm getting info on the Pensacola project which excites me to know that I have work to do when I get home. I'm excited about the time I'm going to spend in the UK and I have an opportunity to race if I can find a team -- registration's been closed for a bit now. There are 450 teams signed up with a total of over 2500 racers! WOW!!! I know mountain bikers pretty well and I'm sure someone of that 2500 will back out and there'll be at least 50 teams looking for riders in the coming weeks. I'm praying so anyway ;) I spent today just reading and watching Shrek. I did an hour on the bike outside and got a bit of sun -- I'm so incredibly scary white it ain't even funny!

Well, so that's that I guess. I kinda really miss home this trip, more than the first trip I think. I miss my friends, driving, going to dinner, my church and choir...I think I miss it all more now since I'm actually leaving it all again when I do get home and I know that. I know God has a lot in store for me and I'm okay with not knowing it all. I just wish I could be home, that's all. Okay, now that you're all totally sorry you asked for an update, I'll let ya go! Sorry to drag ya down tonight. Tomorrow's a busy day starting at 0700 and meetings all day about (5) different things so I need to go to bed.

G'nite!

5-13-07
Whew, what a day!

And I don't mean that in a good way! Saturday was not fun at all. See, apparently Friday night at dinner, we got a hold of something that was not good. A couple of here in the house were sick as dogs yesterday. I'll spare ya the details, but let's just say I feel 10x better today!

So let's see, what's new here? I'm dreaming up my vacation plans in the UK for the first week of July, I think I mentioned that before. I just found this area in the south of Scotland that has (8) sets of trails -- not just (8) trails -- and the videos are killer! I'm getting stoked about this opportunity. Maybe I'll just stay on the main island instead of having to unpack and rebuild the bike 4 times....hmm.....For my riding friends, check these clips out...http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-5S6EYZ. Sweet singletrack goodness!

So yes, my bike made it here. It's in the "trusty" hands of the fine Afghani customs folks at this moment. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go pick it up today -- and HOPEFULLY I won't get charged an arm and a leg in customs fees.

On another note, I've been asked to take on a project down in Pensacola for two years starting in July. It's an expansion of a national cemetary just outside the Naval Air Station there. I'm excited about the opportunity, for sure, but it will mean having to move and find a new church, make new friends...all that jazz. It will all be fine, but I was just starting to enjoy the idea that I haven't moved in 2 years! Well, here we go again! I'll say this, I've been praying that God make it clear as to whether I'm supposed to make a third trip back to Kabul and then I got this call. Guess He can't be much clearer, eh?

Okay, well, I need to get moving. The work day is starting here -- man, I'm thankful to be feeling better today!

5-7-07
Now that I'm away from the craziness and have WAY too much time to think, I'll get all pensive on ya ;) Most of you know that before Christmas I adopted another Great Pyrenees dog named Gus. Well, with being away and not having time to work with him while home, I had to give him up. He had some destructive behavior that I don't have time to work through since I'm gone. My folks actually found him a good home on a 10 acre farm with a family that had just lost their male Pyr the week before due to a complication in a surgery. So Gus Gus is with good folk.

Ah, since I don't talk about cycling enough lately (geez, here he goes....) I'll toss in some planning here -- maybe one or two of the sponsors are actually playing along. Wait! I only have one or two this year, that's right! Anywho, I bought a new road bike while I was home -- it's a Van Dessel Kermis. It has an aluminum main frame with carbon fork and rear end, Shimano Ultegra components and rides like a dream. I'm having my WaltWorks mtn bike shipped over here to the Kabul-town along with a trainer. I need some spin time to get jacked up for some late season riding and I can't be all out of shape just because I've been here -- my riding friends would never let me live it down. (Hush Joey! Don't EVEN start)! It should get here next week and I'll toss up a picture of it set up and me staring off at the mountains in the distance wishing I were riding them.

The ulterior motive for having the bike here is actually so I can do a race in the UK on my way home. There's this race called the Dusk till Dawn and it takes place on the Isle of Man, between Ireland and England on July 7. And this little race called the Tour de France just happens to start in London this year on July 7, so hopefully I'll catch the stage on the 8th before they head over to Dunkirk, Belgium. My current thoughts have me in Dublin for me birthday on the 3rd which I think will be kinda cool. I have very current ancestry from Ireland so it'll be nice to at least go see the place since I'll be right there ;) Trust me, there'll be a photo essay of these travels for your enjoyment...oh, did I just tease you? I'm so sorry. right!

Allright, a promise is a promise. I'll keep it short. You do realize though that just means I'll have to write more often. HA! You didn't think of that now did ya?!

Oh, and I don't know what happened while I was gone, but my morning Koran reading got switcherood from 5:45am to 4:30am. Those sneaky Muslims! Nothing like waking up to the Koran being read over a loudspeaker at 4:30am 2 blocks from your bedroom window! Guess they'll have to start getting a taste of some Vince Poole sangin' out some praises to the Lo'ord! Now where'd I put those speakers.....

5-6-07
Kabul Take 2

So apparently I ruint some of ya on my first trip with my blog ramblings because I keep getting asked for more. Well, here ya are….

I’m back in the Kabul-town, just in on Saturday from the good ol’ USofA. I think I messed up by not taking a hotel room for a night in Dubai – I didn’t sleep a wink from Thursday morning until Saturday morning (EST). For some reason I just couldn’t sleep on the planes this time – no, it wasn’t b/c I was all worked up over something – that was last time! This time I think it was b/c I was traveling alone so there was no one to watch out for me and my stuff. Anyone who’s done this internationally knows what I’m sayin! There’s no feeling more insecure than carrying your checked luggage into the airport restroom….twice! I felt like Linus with his blue blanket.

Anyway, I got here without any hitches and even got to enjoy an hour or so and a cup of coffee with a friend in London’s Victoria Station in between my flights. It was nice to see a familiar face!

Let’s see…what else….oh, not much has changed here. There were some crazy times while I was gone where folks decided to get stupid and want to kill someone, but that’s the routine here. Sunday, actually, just as I was walking into church service, I learned of an attack on a US military convoy here in town. This time I have friends who knew those soldiers killed. I’m not sure if I can give details so I won’t. Suffice it to say, this one hit the folks close to home and many on the base are a bit shaken up so please keep them and the families of the victims in your prayers.

There’s more to say, but I’ll try to keep these entries brief this trip. Here are some pictures from the trip home….

Atlanta traffic – man, I missed that! (ahem, not!)

Braves vs Cubbies. Now I DID miss this! Braves won, for the record, so put one in the W column!

Me in London with new friends. Ya know, those Brits are kinda cool folk! Next time I’ll actually have to take the tour as payment for the picture!

I just thought this made for a good picture. It’s the pedestrian tunnel at the Tube in London.

Outside London’s Victoria Station

Dubai skyline, specifically the Jumerieh area I believe. “Like a phoenix rising from the ashes….”

4-11-07

Wednesday night in the 'Stan. There's Thursday, my last full workday of this trip, then Friday it's off to the ol' Kabul International Airport for a marathon trip home! Am I excited? You bet your bottom dollar there, lil' missy! However, I will say that I'll miss some things about Kabul-town while I'm home. As much as I miss home right now, I'll likely not look at my house the same way. I definitely will not view my life as I knew it the same.



Once you experience something like I have here, your perspective changes -- it has to. For instance, I'm about to go from being one of a handful of people without a loaded gun on my hip and shoulder to getting locked up for even carrying an unloaded one. I'm about to leave a place where women have no say whatsoever....where religion dictates much of everyone's life....where contradictions and social class take first chair to most other things. I'm leaving this and I'll be able to play in my front yard with the doggers. I'll be able to invite the local bum to eat dinner with me and only risk ridicule, not imprisonment. I'll be able to drive down the road and not wonder where the IED is or where the RPG is going to come from. I will sit and watch those darn C-130's at Dobbins AFB from my front yard and remember my flight on one -- thanking God Almighty the Italian pilot didn't make a banking turn like those crazy blokes at Dobbins!



Ya know, I've sat and listened to friends and other people talk their glorious and fun adventures abroad and I've envied them. They talk about friends they've made oversees and getting to go visit them, sometimes in lands new to both. I've been jealous and a bit mad at myself for not being in a position to do that. Now I too have wonderful stories of my own and some great new friends in a strange and beautiful land. Only difference is, they'll never be able to leave and go experience someplace new. Oh they dream it, don't think for a moment they don't! They just will not have the chance...the money...the permission to go somewhere else. They won't, that is, unless someone helps them. I'm glad that God blessed me with the chance to play a small role in reshaping their future. My only hope now is that I can do enough!



Honestly, I dread going back to the office and having to face office politics and...(gulp)...spreadsheets...company policies that MUST be signed. I dread it because they are all meaningless. They serve no REAL purpose in this world. I sat with (3) Army colonels around a dinner table the other night under a starry sky in Konduz and we all feel the same. Powerpoint presentations mean nothing. Spreadsheet reports -- right, they're REAL important. Someone in the office getting all upset because the toner is low in the copier. I look out my window here and see children --and adults-- afraid of walking down the street. I watch jets fly over and wonder if they'll be shot down. I work with people who cannot afford firewood to keep their house -- and wife, and 6 month old child warm. Yet I also have the blessing of working with Americans who have chosen to be here helping. Yes, most of the soldiers I'm working with CHOSE to be here, a few have been here more than once -- that's how important they see their work here. I count it an honor and blessing to stand with them.



Yea, I'll miss Afghanistan while I'm home, I think. Mostly I'll miss my new friends and wish they could just once have the luxury of asking "Honey, where are we eating dinner tonight?" or "Where will I go on vacation this year?" or "Hey man, you wanna go to the ballgame tonight?"

4-9-07

Easter and Konduz



First, the Easter sunrise service yesterday was really awesome! There was a choir, doves, great preachin', and about 100+ people. I was talking with Chaplain Fisher at the gym tonight, and he heard today that it was the only sunrise service held in Afghanistan yesterday! Now THAT's a testament to the the chaplain staff at the base here. I have a couple pictures which I'll post below.


Chaplain Fisher delivering the opening scripture


















The Choir!














Doves that were released but didn't stray far












I actually had to leave the service just as Chaplain Shaw was gettin' cranked up because we had a convoy to the airport for an 8am flight to Konduz, which is province and a city, about an hour flight north. It would take about 2 days to drive there, because the mountains are incredible between here and there! Kabul sits at about 6500 ft above sea level and is surrounded by moutain peaks reaching over 11,000'. Konduz sits at about 1200' and is surrounded by some of the same 11,000' peaks! It was beautiful. The area was lush, the city clean, the people friendly (just as they've been all over), and there are remnants of the Soviets all over the place. It was obvious they got their butts handed to 'em -- there are tank shells that are upside down, fighter jets in pieces, I could go on. The weather was great -- 85 degrees and sunny! I think I actually got a minor tan!

Of props and peaks. Just north of Kabul














Soviet tank graveyard











Afghan surface to air missle delivery vehicles. These have long been retired.



So, on Sunday morning, I found my new dreamland -- Feyzabad (pronounced 'Faiz-a-bad'). It's this little village thats nestled in a grand valley at like 3870' above sea level. The peaks surrounding it range from 7700' to 9800'. We landed on this Soviet runway that was built using corrugated panels for fast construction. There's grass growing through the panels and the only thing you see coming in to it is a faint white line on the ground. The flight into the valley was gorgeous -- pictures do not do this place justice. I was wishing for a video cam! I have a picture below -- and no, that's not Colorado!





View of the valley of Feyzabad looking north from beside the runway.







One last word about Konduz....the Afghan soldiers and police there are really a few notches above the others I've seen in this country. They all wore their wool uniforms squared away -- even in the 85 degree heat, they saluted our colonels (and me for some reason) with a snap and at attention, and basically you can tell these men take pride in what they are doing. That's not to say the others don't, and after mentioning this as a product of the trainers the U.S. has there, one of the instructors was quick to respond that it's the people in that region. They take more pride in everything they are and do -- and it shows. The city of Konduz itself has sidewalks -- not mud-- so folks walk there and not in the street. The markets were clean and colorful. Some burqa clad lasses wore white instead of blue or black. The pride of the tribes living in Konduz really shows through and it was a joy to see!