RAFTing

Our company runs a worldwide community service blitz each June. Originally, it lasted one week; now, it's the whole month. During this time, we can choose from a veritable smorgasbord of projects at local charities—and volunteer our time during the workday.

For the past several years, I've been a project leader. That means a little coordination work—keeping volunteers informed and supplied with the latest t-shirts, capturing some event photos—and (of course) lending a hand.

This year I chose to lead a large group of volunteers at Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT). This is a local non-profit that supplies teachers with much-needed supplies at low cost, by upcycling donations from corporations into creative educational kits (as well as offering basic supplies like pens and paper at low cost).

Our group worked on raw materials, as well as assembling and then performing quality control checks on four different kits: Breadboard Circuits, Retractor Car, Design a House, and Simple Telescope. (And our electrical engineers thought they'd get a break from their daily routine!)

RAFT started out in 1994—it's a model that works. I volunteered with them in earlier days (late 90's), and I can attest that they've come a long way since then. They were well-organized and made good use of the time we gave them today.

By RAFT's estimates, the handiwork of our 41-person team will serve 22,500 students—not bad for a morning's worth of volunteering!

Hills of Gold

From hills of green to hills of gold ... make no mistake about it, we've left the lush terrain of Ireland and the U.K. far behind.

It was exciting to see so much water in the Chesbro Reservoir (at last!).

Today's ride traditionally draws a large crowd; it's a route with options, and it gets scheduled with comforting regularity. My ride buddy proposed the flattest version—just one hillclimb, really—and then over to the Coyote Creek Trail.

I set aside my trail aversion and agreed; it has been a long while since I've biked that trail.

We picked up the trail at its southern terminus. Riding north into the strong winds, perhaps the trail would cut us a break. It certainly couldn't be worse than the headwind we would have battled on the road.

Winter rains had been a bit too much for Coyote Creek; the resulting flood caused millions of dollars worth of damage and displaced many San Jose residents from their homes.

Months later, the aftermath was astonishing. The creek looked more like a lake, and in places it may have settled into a new course.

We covered a respectable distance: 39 miles, with a scant 770 feet of climbing. Biking the trail was, actually, a delight.