Tom's Space

After having lost all interest in Facebook, never having had any draw to MySpace, and now losing interest in Twitter, I’m wondering if it wouldn’t just be better to get back to Blogging again.  Or should I just shut it all down and live my life?

MySpace has always seemed to be targeting a very immature (middle / junior high) audience.  I’m just a slight bit out of that age group, and though I do believe I’m still fairly young at heart, – uh…no.

Facebook had my attention for a while, simply because of the ability to reconnect with lost friends, find folks you hadn’t thought about for years and stay in touch with people.  Okay, so that was the first week.  Then I started noticing all of the “So-and-so just took this quiz and found out what Smurf they are…”.  Really?  Does ANYONE need this type of distraction in their life?

Twitter appealed to me because it was quick, easy, clean and had none of the craziness of Facebook.  I didn’t have to feel bad when I rejected someone’s request for help on their new farm or feel like I let someone down because I didn’t help defend them against the other “families” of Mafioso that were thwarting their efforts.  It let me post short, concise matters that were important to me and share them with others.

I was happily posting my workout stats, run times, exercise levels, etc. but started to think to myself “Does anyone really care if I can run two miles in under 20 minutes?” and the answer was a resounding “Don’t think so…”.  All of this information overload, along with an increase in responsibilities (now serving as the English Ministries Pastor to a Korean church) and a decrease in free time has caused me to stop and look at what I’m doing – in more ways than whether I blog, tweet or update my status.  It’s started drawing me back to “basics” so to speak.

The end result is that this weekend (Lord willing and time allowing) I’ll be returning our DVR / Cable Box combo and signing up for the “Basic Cable” that most folks got away from in the past 10 years.  Having grown up with a set of rabbit ears on the back of my TV, and a remote control which consisted of my dad yelling for me to come downstairs and change the channel, I think I can get used to only having 70 channels of nothing to watch, instead of the current 250 (plus an On-Demand system that offers more movies that you don’t want to watch anytime of the day or night).

This simplification, I pray, will leave me with hours of no TV to watch and nothing better to do than read the bible – or if my devotions are already done, maybe a good Max Lucado best seller (I just bought eight of them on sale at his website – http://www.maxlucado.com – look for the “Store”, then find the “Fall Specials” to buy three get one free!).  Maybe I’ll use my iPhone and listen to some more Podcasts of Charles Stanley.  Maybe I’ll just sit … and talk to Rachel.  Or play with Daisy.  Or go run.  Wow – there are a lot of OPTIONS here!

So let me ask you – can you really look at your life and say that you’re doing the most you can with the time you have?  Is it really worth it for you to sit for three hours a night and watch some mind-numbing crime show with cool technology that only exists in Hollywood, solving murders that never really happened and wading through commercials for yet more things that you really don’t need, but now, for some reason, can’t seem to live without?

Or, is it time to start doing the things you’ve always talked about:  Getting up off the sofa and getting some exercise.  Reading that new book – or even re-reading an old one.  Spending some time – quality time – with your spouse (not trying to squeeze in your 90 minute discussion during the 95 seconds of commercial breaks during this week’s crime drama).  Dare I say – spending time in the Word of God – The one thing that we have that will not only enliven your brain but enrich your soul.

I plan on spending much more time on the things that are important to me…and it starts with showing Comcast the door…

Blessings in Christ,

Tom…

Stay tuned – More to come…

Well, the ride is over and I finally have a few minutes to post a blog about it.  Instead of adding a bunch of pictures, head on over to my good friend Jeff Henshaw’s blog and watch his great three minute video.

I’ll post some additional pictures, though I think the ones that he and his Mom shot are probably better than the ones I took!  They’re linked right below the video…

All-in-all, it was a great day.  We started with 13 bikes at Microsoft building 88, had 21 bikes as we left Tacoma, a group of Five went their own way in Elbe, bringing us to 16 bikes through the gates of Rainier.  We met up with three more friends at our first stop inside the park at Longmire – and they stayed with us up to Paradise.  After lunch, the group began splitting to go different ways, with about 8 bikes making the complete circuit and stopping for lunch in Greenwater.

While we were winding our way down Hwy 410, we noticed several of our riders pulled over by a Park Ranger (I believe – though someone said it may have been a state trooper).  Since there was nothing we could do but aggravate the situation, we rolled past and watched for them in Greenwater.  They apparently went past un-noticed.

After a nice lunch and a short ride to Enumclaw, I parted ways with the remaining riders (excluding Tony!) and headed back through Buckley, South Prairie, then headed back towards Graham to get Tony pointed the right way.

What an amazing day – despite the spat of rain at the onset, the ride was warm, pleasant and incredibly fun.  We fell a little short of our goal of raising $500 for Team World Vision, but we broke the $300 mark – and I’m extremely grateful to ride with such caring and generous friends.

I pray that God blesses each of you that came – and those that couldn’t.  I look forward to organizing this again next year!

Stay tuned – more to come…

Well, it’s less than a week away, and I’m totally excited about our upcoming ride around Rainier!  This ride should prove to be a GREAT day enjoying some of the best roads, best scenery and coolest folks on the planet!  (Okay, so that may be a LITTLE bit of a stretch, but not much!)

As a reminder, we’ll be leaving McDonalds at SR512 and South Tacoma Way on Saturday, August 22nd at 9:30 AM.  Please be there at least 15 minutes prior to allow time to hang out and get the riders briefing.  The itinerary is fully listed in the post below this one, so check it out.

Also – if you haven’t had the opportunity, please consider making a donation to Team World Vision in honor of this wonderful ride.  I don’t check to see who does and who doesn’t, but what a wonderful opportunity to give back just a little of the blessing that you have.

I look forward to seeing all of you there – and even some of my friends from both Microsoft and World Vision!

Be blessed, ride safe, show up early with a full tank! :-)

Stay tuned – more to come…

Below is a mail that I sent out to some of our riders in the community – but you get the added bonus of some quick shots of the scenery you’ll be seeing on this ride.  These are just quick shots that I grabbed today during my pre-ride of the route…

Greetings Bikers and Friends!

August 22^nd is fast approaching and I’m looking forward to this ride!  I just pre-rode our route and am pleased to tell you that the roads are in great shape!  All of the construction on Route 123 that we’ve had in past years is gone and has been replaced with nice, smooth (well, MOSTLY smooth) asphalt and most importantly, Stevens Canyon Road opened yesterday!

The itinerary is set and is as follows:

Gather at McDonalds (South Tacoma Way at I-5) at 9:00 AM

Rider’s briefing at 9:15 AM

Kickstands up at 9:30 AM!

                We should be in Enumclaw around 3:00 or so (biker time)

We have stops planned at:

Elbe - 15 minute stretch

Longmire (inside the park) – 30 minute facilities

Paradise – 30 minute sightsee / facilities

Greenwater – 30 minute Gas / stretch

Enumclaw – Lunch / Disperse

You’ll need to be aware of the following:

At 9:30, we’re leaving.  It’s expected that everyone will arrive with a full tank of gas.  There is a station right across from the McDonalds – please top off your tank before you join the group.

There is an entrance fee to Mt Rainier of $5 per person (not per bike – two-up riders pay $10).  I would like to collect that at McDonalds and pay for all at once to speed up the process.  Please try to bring a five or ten as appropriate – I’m not promising to carry change! J

This ride will be at the pace of the LEAST competent rider for safety reasons.  This is NOT a speed-run.  Please be considerate of those that are riding with us!

Though there is NOT a requirement for you to make a donation, the purpose of this ride it twofold:

1. Have a GREAT time riding some of the most beautiful places God ever created

2. Raise a few bucks for Team World Vision

If you are able, and are so inclined, please visit the donation site and give what you can / would like.  I will NOT be collecting funds on the day of the ride – the only way to contribute to this ride is via the website:  http://www.firstgiving.com/tomtracey

If you have any questions, need directions, get lost, or whatever – call or text me at (253) 370-4601 or via e-mail at tom@tomtracey.com

More information (including some pictures!) are available on my blog at http://tomtracey.spaces.live.com

I look forward to seeing all of you there!

                Tom…

PS – Please pass this to any riders groups you know of and post on any appropriate website.  (hey Microsofties – someone please forward to the MSFT Riders group!)

Stay tuned – more to come…

Hey Bikers and friends,

For the last few years, I’ve cobbled together a handful or so of friends, and made an annual run around Mt. Rainier. This year, I’ve decided to make it a bit more official and try to do something good at the same time.

I’d like to announce the First Annual Charity Ride around Rainier! On August 22^nd we’ll be meeting to take a nice, leisurely ride around Mt. Rainier. The ride is open to any and all types of motorcycles, scooters or anything on two or more wheels with a motor! (Yes, cars are welcome – but they will be asked to ride in the rear of the pack!) J

The tentative agenda has us meeting in Lakewood, following Highway 7 (Mountain Highway) through Elbe and into the Nisqually entrance of Mt. Rainier. From there, we’ll ride to Paradise. We’ll stay there for a while and let folks rest up a bit for the next leg of the run.

From Paradise, we’ll follow the Steven’s Canyon Road out of the park and continue to Highway 410. We’ll stop again in Greenwater for lunch and then follow 410 back through Enumclaw. Our friends from the Northern parts can split off there and head back up towards Black Diamond, Hwy 18 and points North. The rest of us can either stay on 410 or as I plan, peel off at Buckley towards South Prairie and Orting.

What’s different this year? Nothing – about the ride. But what I did do is to setup a fund raising page for this year’s charity – Team World Vision.

Now – in full disclosure, yes – I work for World Vision. But this is not a World Vision ride. It is not sponsored, sanctioned or in any way supported by World Vision. Next year I’ll likely pick a different charity to support. There are plenty of charities that need our support, so I picked one that I believe in and support.

There is no mandatory donation – it’s a give what you can, if you can, when you can event. If you don’t want to give, don’t. But PLEASE don’t let that keep you from one of the best rides this state has to offer (in my opinion). The primary goal of this event is to get together and have a great ride. If we can do that, and help a charity like World Vision at the same time, I say we’ve done a pretty good thing.

SAVE THE DATE!

August 22, 2009
Departing from Lakewood Washington
Destination: Around Mt. Rainier
Contact: Tom Tracey (tom@tomtracey.com or 253-370-4601)
Donations of any amount accepted at: http://www.firstgiving.com/tomtracey 
Please note: I will NOT be accepting donations on the day of the ride. The only way to donate is through the website above.

Please drop me a line and let me know if you are coming and how many will be with you. I’d like to be able to make arrangements with the Park Service if we have a large enough group.

Please help spread the word! Post this mail on any rider list / board you may visit regularly where people may be interested in this type of ride.

Thanks – and Ride Safe!

Tom…