When I'm not at work you might find me at the Mondavi Center, the Woodland Opera House, or doing any of the following: running in Triathlons or related sports, Traveling, Reading, or Fencing. Along with my true hobbies listed above the following are pseudo hobbies that I don't have sufficient time to pursue in depth or things that I really love but can't do much right now due to the present ages of my children: Caving, Hiking, Rock Climbing, and Scuba Diving

Since moving back to California I have started competing in triathlons. My annual triathlon is one held at Lake of the Pines (LOP) near Auburn, California. The LOP Triathlon is a small triathlon but very hilly (except for the swim of course). I have competed in the Sprint category which is a 0.6 mile swim 15.3 mile bike ride and 3.8 mile run every year since 2003. They also have an entry level triathlon which is a 400 yard (0.25 mile) ~2.5 mile bike and 1.6 mile run/walk in which my older kids have competed in.

The event inspired me to get off the couch and start some serious training which culminated in 2007 with me completing an Iron Man Triathlon.

The LOP in 2006 was a real boost as I lost 15 lbs and had been regularly training with the bicycle commute from Woodland to Davis. I took about 23 minutes off my previous 2005 time and felt like I was flying on the bicycle, hills and all. I was still a little slow on the run. But honestly I don't enjoy running that much. At any rate I continued to drop weight (Now I'm Max - 25lbs) because of the continued bike commute.

In spite of all that I ran my first marathon in March 2007 in the Envirosports Golden Gate Headlands marathon (this is a very difficult and steep trail marathon held in the beautiful Golden Gate National Rec area just west of and above Sausalito) (see pictures below) Warning!!! it seems like everything Envirosports does is full of serious hills but also has some beautiful areas and nice views !!

Here is my time. I was actually 2nd place in my age group. No, nothing to brag about, but I did finish which was the goal.

GOLDEN GATE HEADLANDS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 7 MILE™ - 20th annual

March 31st, 2007

Bib	Name	City, State	Age	Gen	AG	OA	OA
3978	Paul Erickson	Woodland, CA	37	M	2	17	31
Finish 05:09:52.0

I also completed the envirosports Napa Valley Vintage Half Iron Triathlon in May 2007. I did OK in the swim and bicycle events but was very slow on the run. Definitely a weakness that needs some work. Times are below

	NAPA VALLEY VINTAGE HALF-IRON TRIATHLON - 3rd annual						May 5th, 2007
Bib		Name	City, State	Age	Gen	AG		OA	OA
74		Paul Erickson	Woodland, CA	37	M	38		141	194
Swim 00:44:43.4 T1 00:04:59.9 Bike 03:30:21.5 T2 00:03:20.8 Run 02:36:21.7 Finish 06:59:47.3

Just for training this year I also ran in the Teton Dam Marathon (Half marathon distance) which I completed in 1 hour 57 minutes (that's just under 9 minutes/mile) so I am getting a little faster on the run. It was a very fun run to do while on vacation in Idaho June 2007. In June I also completed the Folsom Lake Open Water Swim swimming 2.4 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes.

In August 2007 I completed the VineMan triathlon which is an Iron distance triathlon and a qualifier for the Ironman world championship in Kona. No I didn't qualify!! The course is challenging (lots of hills) and I was very happy to finish before dark.

My split times are below. Once again I was really slow on the run but I felt I was flying on the bike. I was nearly 2 hours faster than my original goal of 8 hours for the bicycle portion . The swim split was 1:20 with a 7 minute T1.

In the future you may find me competing in any number of events listed at trifind.com. Hey it beats stressing out over the upcoming tenure decision!

You might find me continuing to train by running around the UC Davis Arboretum or riding the routes listed at the Mad Cow triathlon team site in addition to my riding to and from my home in Woodland to UC Davis (A ~12 mile 1-way trip) Beyond getting me in shape this cuts my fuel bill down to approximately 1/4 of previous and I got rid of the obnoxious UCD 50 dollar a month parking pass too.

I ride a yellow 1967 Schwinn Paramount, which is the same bicycle I rode across the United States (Los Angeles to New York City, 5 weeks) with in 1994. For more information on crossing the US see the American Discovery Trail. Although this is not the route I took this looks like a much better option than sniffing your way across the country like I did.

Ok back to my old bicycle now. I have recently relearned that the age of the bike matters precious little as compared to the physical fitness of the rider (I passed an awful lot of carbon fiber bikes, carbon wheels and aero bars on the Half Iron and Iron triathlons) I have owned the bicycle since 1986 and until recently it had all original equipment including the Brooks leather saddle. I have since replaced the saddle, rims, and brake levers. The pedals were also replaced before the Vineman to accommodate clip-in speedplay shoes.

Fencing

I have recently taken up sport fencing at the Woodland Community and Senior Center. I am currently learning foil and find it extremely challenging and fun. Fencing is a super aerobic sport, presents a mental challenge and has lots of history associated with it as well. My son also fences with me and we will often clear the front room for a bout right there in my living room. Ill try to get some pictures up shortly.

Monkeysee.com (this is a beta site that hopefully will be around for a while longer)

Travel

Pictures from some 4x4 travels in the High Sierra. Yes that's my old gas guzzling amazingly tough 4x4 Landcruiser but like China my per capita energy use is very low. When it is loaded we get over 96 passenger miles/per gallon. Ah another side benefit of having children!

Scuba Diving

I love to dive, but as diving is not a family oriented activity (at least not with small children) my dive adventures have been somewhat limited lately. I am a registered Master Diver with NAUI.

On occasion Professor Ian Kennedy (Dive Buddy Extraordinaire seen below) and I have gotten together for trips to the Monterey area. see pictures below

Swimming with the manatees in Florida was an incredible experience. One of the most unique dives I have done is the DiveQuest at Disney's Epcot Center in Florida.

Hiking

I have gone on some incredible hikes throughout the western US including sections of the High Sierra Trail and crossing the Grand Canyon. I have plans for many more hiking adventures once my kids get old enough to carry their own gear.

I have not explored much hiking in Northern California yet but the time is coming soon.

My favorite area so far is the Mineral King region of the Sequoia National Park.