Getting Wet and Muddy for the Tough Mudder. Grrrrrr

Posted on 2012/05/13 by Jeffrey

On Saturday I completed the Tough Mudder Challenge in Pennsylvania with a kickass group of friends. A bit of background on the challenge:

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $2 million dollars raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

A few pics from the day, expertly shot by Paul Greenwood and Rachel Pennycuick, and edited by me. SLIDESHOW

Pre-mud, we were all squeaky clean and fresh. Gal brought the Fort Kickass underwear from last summer’s PEX Festival for us to wear for “team unity and kicking ass”.

After being sick for the entire previous week, it felt great to get the blood flowing!

Teamwork was essential for many of the obstacles.

That’s a pan of muddy water, with ELECTRIC FENCE WIRES dangling down. Yes they were on, yes they shocked, YES it hurt! A total psych out.

Rings, one of the many water hazards we had to swing ourselves over. Kevin was a pro.

The final obstacle was simply a mass of shocking electric fence wires, which we had to run through while stepping in pools of water. Yeah.

We were pumped and muddy at the end!

FLickr slideshow embed…

Previously, I went to the Tough Mudder in November 2011 and shot pictures of my friends running it: Shooting the 2011 Tri State Tough Mudder

Biking to Bear Mountain with the New York Cycle Club

Posted on 2012/05/06 by Jeffrey

Today I spent the morning and most of the afternoon biking up to Bear Mountain with the New York Cycle Club. The ride was about 65 miles overal, and we started out in Central Park, NYC. I rode my Cannondale Super Six road bike, which I love more and more each time I ride. With the addition of a small “bento box” to my top tube, I was able to conveniently store and access my camera, allowing me to shoot relatively safely and conveniently while riding. A few pics and video clips from the ride…

GPS Track of the ride:

Pics:
Starting out in central park…

Pit stop for coffee in New Jersey, right next to the George Washington Bridge

Absolutely required pie stop in Nyack

Final climb to the top

Top of Bear Mountain!

Our biking group at the top of Bear Mountain

Cool drinks after a great ride

Clips:

Lunch in Piermont

Posted on 2012/04/15 by Jeffrey

A relaxing lunch in Piermont, NJ while biking with the New York Cycle Club.

Black Diamond’s Sonnie Trotter and Tommy Caldwell free climb first ascent of The Shining IV 5.13+ in the Canadian Rockies

Posted on 2012/04/08 by Jeffrey

Another incredible climbing video from Black Diamond. Sonnie Trotter and Tommy Caldwell free climb the first ascent of The Shining. Interesting to see them drilling and bolting pitches, and how they handle the cameras while climbing. Also, holding together 5.13+ in a snowstorm is pretty amazing.

Article from BD

Black Diamond athletes Tommy Caldwell and Sonnie Trotter redpointed their multi-pitch project on Canada’s Mount Louis this past August. The main headwall (referred to as the Diamond Face) is a stacked beast with the following pitches: 5.12+, 5.12+/13-, 5.13+, 5.12-, 5.12+, 5.11+, 5.10, all of which they bolted on lead. Here is the video that Sonnie edited together for us that documents the challenges and adventures that come with tackling such a high-end endeavor in the Canadian Rockies.

BD athletes Sonnie Trotter and Tommy Caldwell free climb first ascent of The Shining (IV 5.13+) in the Canadian Rockies from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Photo, Sonnie Trotter

Introducing My World Map of Travel Adventures

Posted on 2012/04/07 by Jeffrey

I travel, a lot. Usually I try to write a blog post summary of my trips, to keep a constant log of the awesome adventures I go on. However, recently I’d found that a simple list of my travels isn’t really enough to present all of the places I’ve gone. The solution is a map, with place markers for all of my adventures.

Thanks to the help of a TaskRabbit, I present you now with a comprehensive Google Map depicting all of my recently blogged travels. You can click each place marker and get a list of all trips I’ve done in that area.

Hopefully I’ll check off all of the countries someday, and join the Travelers Century Club, and The Explorers Club!

See more categorizations of my travel over at my Travelogue project.

View Travelogue… in a larger map

Travelogue Project Page
Custom Google Map

Remembering My Exploration of Akureyri, Iceland

Posted on 2012/04/05 by Jeffrey

After visiting Akureyri a few years ago during my road trip around all of Iceland with my friend Sari, I can say I agree with this article – Akureyri is a great town, in an amazing location. During my time there, I stayed with friend Joseph, and explored the city center. Looking forward to going back sometime soon!

Trip notes from Iceland, around the Akureyri area:
Blönduós To Akureyri
Akureyri to Myvatn

My favorite travel blog, Gadling published last week this list of five awesome things about Akureyri:

Akureyri is Iceland’s second city. It’s not Iceland’s second largest city in terms of population – that honor goes to Kópavogur just south of Reyjkavík – but it is the country’s second city in cultural terms. Akureyri may have just 18,000 residents but with its range of tourist facilities, restaurants, hotels, guesthouses and cultural institutions, it possesses a certain urban atmosphere.

1. The city’s core
2. Hof
3. Northern lights
4. Kjarnaskógur Forest
5. Flóra

Having fun in Akureyri, Iceland

Five Exciting Things About Icelands Second City | Gadling.com.

April Fools on the Internet!

Posted on 2012/04/01 by Jeffrey

Great wrapup of all the amazing April Fools pranks from today. Google+Nascar? Sounds great.

April Fools Day makes for Internet silliness | Gaming and Culture – CNET News.

Google Nascar partnership explainer video.

Map: FatBikeRafting the Arctic

Posted on 2012/03/22 by Jeffrey

Here’s another dream expedition, and cool map to go with it. Adventurer Andrew Badenoch of 77Zero is gearing up for an amazing arctic adventure:

In the late March 2012, I’ll set my path north toward the Arctic Ocean on foot, fatbike, and packraft. From there I’ll loop back through Alaska to the Pacific Ocean and down the coast, completing the loop in Bellingham, Washington. The estimated duration of the expedition is 6-8 months, but may vary significantly due to ice, ocean, and ground conditions throughout.

Here’s his reasoning behind it:

The goal of this trek is to demonstrate the feasibility of human and nature powered transport through wilderness while maintaining the capabilities of modern connectivity. This isn’t limited to awareness, but aims to demonstrate the use of current technologies in extreme environments with the intent to make these technologies more approachable by example so others will reconnect with wildness and nature.

Sounds good to me. I’ll certainly be following him via this map:

Map: FatBikeRafting the Arctic 2012 | 77Zero.

Upcoming Race: 2012 Gran Fondo New York

Posted on 2012/03/17 by Jeffrey

Adding to my list of races and events this summer, I’ll be doing the Gran Fondo NY 100 Mile bike race with friend Chris. Just got a new bike, so I’m psyched to start racing it asap!

The second edition of Gran Fondo New York brings Italian cycling culture to the world’s greatest city on May 20, 2012. Join thousands of cyclists on a challenging 100 mile Gran Fondo and 65 mile non competitive Medio Fondo from New York City to Bear Mountain and back in an experience fit for a pro and open to anyone who loves to ride.

Basno – 2012 Gran Fondo New York – In Training Badge – Jeffrey Donenfeld.

Forbes 30 Under 30 Party

Posted on 2012/03/13 by Jeffrey

This year my sister Jill was included in the Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30 list of emerging entrepreneuers. Tonight she and I attended the reception and party for those on the list and their guest. Had a great time speaking the list members, and had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Forbes himself.

See this image in my Flickr Photostream.

Explorers Club Trophy Room

Posted on 2012/03/12 by Jeffrey

Inside the trophy room of the Explorers Club in New York City.

See this image in my Flickr Photostream.

Happy Amundsen Day!

Posted on 2012/03/07 by saraweinreb

Happy Amundsen Day today! From Wired:
“1912: Roald Amundsen claims the South Pole for Norway.

Amundsen and his team actually reached the pole (90 degrees South) on Dec. 14, 1911, beating Robert Falcon Scott‘s British team by 35 days. But it wasn’t until Amundsen reached Hobart, Australia that he was able to stake his formal claim.”

March 7, 1912: Its Amundsen | This Day In Tech | Wired.com.

Having Dinner with Jim Haynes in Paris

Posted on 2012/03/04 by Jeffrey

This past February, I spent time in Paris with my brother and sister. Our first night in Paris the three of went to a very cool dinner party hosted by legend Jim Haynes. Fortunately for us, there was a NY times photographer at the party. Although no pics of us made it into the Times article, it’s definitely a good read.

Nearly every Sunday, for the last 34 years, Mr. Haynes, a Louisiana-born expatriate, has opened the doors of his former sculpture studio in Paris and invited the world to come dine in largely the same spirit.

“There’s no prior screening, no invitations, “Mr. Haynes, 78, said. “I just say the first 60 or 75 that call can come and that’s the mix.”

Dinner? Paris? Invite Everyone! – NYTimes.com.

Blogged Travels, 2006-2012

Posted on 2012/03/03 by Jeffrey

I travel a lot. And I blog a lot. Since about 2006 when I got a little more serious about my blog, I’ve made an effort to do a writeup for each of my more major trips. In general all of my trip writeups are contained within the Travel category of my blog – however there’s no master index of all trip writeups. It’s been on my mind to put together an index for trips for a while. With the introduction of task-clearinghouse website TaskRabbit, I’m now able to get this done. Using Taskrabbit, I found Sara W, an expert blogger and taskrabbit. I had Sara go through the entire Travel category of my blog, and assemble this chronological list of travels. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep this updated myself going forward – but using Taskrabbit to get it started was key.

Photo: Backcountry Snowboarding, May 2006

Here are my more significant travels over the past few years:

2012

Photo: Sailing to Bora Bora, August 2006

Photo: Pyramids at Giza, December 2006
2011

Photo: Gaziantep, Turkey, December 2008
2010

Photo: Sweden 2009

2009

Photo: Yuengling Brewery, 2009

2008

Photo: Belize 2009

2007

Photo: Mt. Washington 2010

2006

French Polynesia- Sailing

Flight home.. finally

Posted on 2012/03/01 by Jeffrey

In the CVG airport terminal, waiting to board my CVG-NYC flight. After almost a year of constant travel, this is my final flight before starting a new job pinning me to NYC for a while.

May 2012
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