Stopping the Cycle: The New 11" MacBook Air is All I Need

Confession: I love computers- so much so that I've adopted a ridiculously rapid upgrade cycle in search of the "perfect" machine. My wife and I recently determined that in the eight years we have known each other I've gone through 20 different computers.

But like Ben Brooks, I think that the new 11" MacBook Air is finally what I'm looking for and I'm going all in on it. I ordered a maxed out Air yesterday (with the 1.6GHz processor and 4GB of RAM) and am challenging myself to quit searching and use it for at least two years as my main machine.

You can read the footnotes for details of what I need a computer to do for me¹, but I run a cycling team and do the occasional side job in the off-season. I'm typically at my computer six to ten hours a day and and I have the usual eight to ten programs running at all times (mail, calendar, browsers, text editor, twitter client, iTunes). Then there's probably another eight to ten programs that I use throughout the day but usually don't leave running. Three or four days a week I work from home or the coffee shop and then I'm at a race or visiting a sponsor once or twice a week. During the season I also travel regularly for up to three weeks at a time.

I won't bore you with all of my upgrade history², but I have owned the three previous MacBook Air revisions. Their faults were apparent but the slim, sexy portability won me over (and unsurprisingly I was able to find good deals on Craigslist from disenchanted customers).

The two biggest issues for me on all of the models were the 2GB of RAM limitation and the one USB port. However, I learned to judiciously close programs that I wasn't using and ration the USB port. Here are the main reasons that I ultimately sold each:

1. 1.8Ghz, 64GB SSD: The hard drive was too small.
2. 1.6Ghz, 120GB HD: The hard drive was too slow.
3. 2.13Ghz, 128GB SSD: This computer was close to perfect for me, minus the RAM and USB issues that I worked around. When the new MacBook Air rumors hit a fever pitch and promised to alleviate my two major sticking points I quickly sold it on Craigslist and started saving up my pennies.

And out came the new MacBook Airs last week. I was overjoyed but a bit tormented- did I want the 11" or the 13"? (First world problems, right?) Would the slower processor in the 11" be too slow? Would I miss the SD card slot, bigger battery and larger display of the 13" model?

I went down to the new Lincoln Park Apple Store on their opening day (kind of crazy, kind of fun) and spent an hour bouncing between the 11" and 13" machines. I even logged in to Dropbox and downloaded some of my bigger Pages and Excel files to work on while streaming HD videos that Tribeca Flashpoint produced for my team.

The 11" performed admirably and I decided that since this computer had a better battery and a higher-resolution display than the computer I'd just sold I was going to be perfectly happy. (The SD slot was not a necessity because I always carry a small card reader in my bag in case someone else wants my pictures). Ultimately, I ordered the 1.6Ghz processor upgrade for peace of mind. An 8% fee for a theoretical 14% speed increase seemed reasonable enough. [Update: Macworld tests have it as a 12% increase.]

So, now it's just the long wait until the computer arrives. The RAM and processor options I chose mean the computer has to ship from overseas, and then it goes through Oregon since I ordered it from PowerMax. I was surprised to discover that Apple isn't stocking the 4GB options in either the 11" or 13" models as it kind of seems like a no brainer upgrade. Is it possible that OS X Lion would actually use less system resources? It's something to think about while I wait for my new computer. At least writing this post passed some time.

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1. Usage: The programs I always have open are: Mail or Mailplane, BusyCal, Adium, Tweetie, Safari for Google Apps, Chrome for general browsing, Pages, Preview, Dropbox and iTunes. The programs that I open daily but don't leave running are: iPhoto, Acorn, Photoshop, Rapidweaver, Word, Excel, Numbers, WriteRoom, MarsEdit, Notational Velocity (personal notes) and Evernote (work notes). The programs I run a few times a week are inDesign, Illustrator, iMovie, Dreamweaver and Parallels (for TrainingPeaks WKO+).
2. Condensed Upgrade History:
   
   - I bought my first Mac in 2002: a 14" G3 iBook. The learning curve on what was possible with a computer was so quick on OS X that within a year I outgrew the RAM and wanted to drive a secondary display.
   
   - Next up: a refurbished 15" PowerBook G4. At $2250 it is still the most I ever paid for a computer and I will never buy a refurbished laptop again. After four repairs in 6 months Apple gave me a new one that I immediately sold. In addition to the refurb lesson I learned that I don't need that powerful of a computer. I don't play games and don't do anything that processor intensive.
   
   - After the PowerBook I ventured into desktops and used laptops, thinking that I'd have a backup at home. I picked up a G5 iMac and an old titanium PowerBook, but my travel schedule was such that I wasn't using the iMac much, keeping them in sync was a pain, and the titanium PowerBook wasn't quite as durable as I hoped (those hinges!). It wasn't until I found Dropbox that having a desktop as a backup really made sense.
   
   - After the TiBook I found what I thought was the holy grail (and one of Jason Snell's favorite machines): a 12" PowerBook. There was really only one problem with it- in order to use a couple of Windows programs that I needed for work I also had an old ThinkPad X21 (which shunned the optical drive long before Apple did). But whenever I left the house for more than a day I had to take both computers. No matter how small those two computers were, combined with their power bricks they weighed close to 10 pounds. (Now I'll carry a MacBook Air and an iPad, which combined still weigh less than the 12" PowerBook alone.)
   
   - Then the first MacBook came along. It was a little bigger than the PowerBook but it could do everything I needed AND run Windows. However, for RAM, heat and display reasons I ended up jumping off the MacBook bandwagon after about a year and then went through a few different computers before getting my first (used) MacBook Air in the winter of 2008.
   
   - Over the past couple years I've bounced between the different Air models and 13" MacBook Pros (for reasons stated above). The 13" MacBook Pro was still more computer than I needed.

Just an awful lot of 'us'

What should concern us is not that we can't take what we read on the internet on trust — of course you can't, it's just people talking — but that we ever got into the dangerous habit of believing what we read in the newspapers or saw on the TV — a mistake that no one who has met an actual journalist would ever make. One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no 'them' out there. It's just an awful lot of 'us'.

- Douglas Adams, 1999 (via www.kottke.org)

I want one

Eddy Merckx gets a stamp.



via CyclingNews

Most of Us Dream of Such Anonymity

Cyclingnews reports from yesterday's Fléche Wallone:

Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) was one of the favourites for Flèche Wallonne but finished a somewhat anonymous eighth, 11 seconds behind Cadel Evans (BMC).

Sometimes Your Doctors and Coaches Really Do Know What's Best For You

Mark Cavendish talking to the The Sunday Times about his recent setbacks:

He revealed that his well publicized dental problems had come after he defied medical orders and returned to training too soon.

“I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also scared shitless.”

Brutal honesty from David Millar about next weekend’s Paris Roubaix.
- Cyclingnews

I want some

Both the gigabit speeds and the beer.

“Alberto ‘shoots his pistol’ as many as 200 or 300 times a day,”

Velonews.com has the best April Fool’s story I’ve ride yet.

Bike Thieves Try and Make Off With 15 Bikes

Cyclingews.com reports that thieves in Austria tried to make off with some of the Amore e Vita-Conad team equipment.

"The day began terribly when we discovered that 15 race bikes had been stolen along with 28 pairs of Spinergy wheels," Team Manager Cristian Fanini revealed on the team's website.

You mean people still ride Spinergy wheels???

Sprinting, Leadouts and Longevity

"You just have to look at it that every time you crash, you’re going to get up and walk away from it OK."

Velonews has a great interview with Julian Dean from the Garmin-Transitions team. Any up and coming rider who fancies themselves a sprinter or ever wants to give someone a leadout should read this.

Guy Kawasaki Needs an iPad for Riding His Bike

Guy Kawasaki was Apple's software evangelist for 4 years and has been "living off this reputation for twenty-three years." Apparently he also likes to pedal his bike:

I will probably get an iPad when it's available. I will use it when I'm on my stationary bike because a MacBook is too big and an iPhone is too small for that circumstance. There's a market for Apple: people on stationary bikes.

(via The Setup)

What Would You Do if Fabian Cancallara told you to "stay in his wheel"?

Win, of course.

”We knew we had the strength to do it and eventually it was a question of how to put in the crucial attack,” Breschel said. “Fabian approached me and said that he would help me today and he asked me to stay in his wheel. Then he put up an incredible pace in the front of the group. As he let go of the front, I launched a counter-attack and the gap was created immediately.”

Velonews.com

High Fructose Corn Syrup is the Devil

Princeton researchers find that High Fructose Corn Syrup leads to weight gain even at the same caloric intake. http://tinyurl.com/ylbh27g (via daringfireball.net)

“In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed”

Anyone who wants to lose weight just needs to cut out high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. It’s about half of the crap you’ll find in a U.S. grocery store and anything that’s pre-made and pre-packaged. Most other countries don’t even allow food companies to use these products.

Camping

        When you think of cycling team training camps you think wine country, coastal views, mountains and extreme team-building exercises- which all immediately lead you to think of Winfield, Illinois, right?

        This afternoon we kick off the Verizon u25 p/b ABD Team camp and since more than half my team is in school and the other riders have jobs, we’re taking a pass on glamour and scenery and sneaking in a four day weekend to focus on the basics. Those basics include riding (leadouts, attacking, handling), team discussions, one-on-one meetings (me and the riders), learning more about Verizon and our Droids, and plenty of cooking and eating. (Based on this weekend’s forecast it looks like Saturday and Sunday will be heavy on the meetings.)

        Since Rosa and I are still housesitting next to my parents and Dad happens to be in Arizona for 10 days, we’ll be taking over both houses (and garages) for the next four days. That means it’s a quick stroll for the guys down to the ABD Indoor TT on Saturday and as an added bonus, staying in the ‘burbs makes it easy for Verizon superstar/hammerhead/chef extraordinaire Mark Swartzendruber to come out and pound all the guys into submission (on the bike)- then teach us all how to cook. The last time I had Mark’s cooking was when he joined us for the ABD camp in Tucson in 2003, and that was possibly the best salmon I’ve ever eaten.

        My training has.... ummm... sucked the past year or so, so I’ll be playing the “I’m just the manager” card quite a bit this weekend. Since all the riders’ schedules are still pretty hectic this week with classes, travel and work, I’ve split most of the days up into two rides with intensity in the morning and endurance in the afternoon. That makes it easier for them to jump in when they can and for me to jump out if I have to. (I’m also hoping to make a run for the border in the next day or two because the team car will be ready to be picked up in Wisconsin).

        Time for me to straighten up the place and go do some carbo-loading... it’s not too late for that, right? Stay tuned to www.verizoncyclingteam.com and the team’s Facebook and Twitter pages for stories and pics from camp.
        

"It"

http://www.verizoncyclingteam.com

L.A. to Chicago & Back to Bike Racing (almost)

        I’ve been pretty inactive with this blog over the past year- and the last post I had about bike racing went back to April 2009. I’ve thought about posting plenty of times, but usually when I had something to write about I was too busy to write about it, couldn’t really talk about it, wanted to only talk about gadgets (my not-so-secret fetish), or my thoughts would have disintegrated into politically charged grumblings- which is well outside the scope of my expertise. But for the last three or four months I’ve been almost exclusively focused on “It” and fortunately, I’m going to be able to officially spill the beans about “It” very soon. It’s not a huge secret, some folks on Twitter and Facebook might even have seen the occasional hint or excited message from the people I’m working with- but we’re still a very few important steps from having all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed- and until then nothing’s official.

        But “It” has a backstory, and It was a major catalyst in Rosa’s (my wife) and my decision to move from Los Angeles to Chicago (in Winter!), which has resulted in temporarily living in the suburbs in the house next door to my parents (which really is just like “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and extremely entertaining to be a character in). And actually, the story behind “It” doesn’t even go that far back...

        Last summer I was planning for a new chapter in my life- sort of- I was going to go back to school. I was preparing to take the GMAT and apply for a few different MBA programs. I was hoping to take my experiences from working with ABD, of organizing events and people and teams, and learn how to do it in “the business” world. I was still planning to stay involved with cycling during school- riding my bike and coaching a few athletes- but my studies would have been my top priority. A friend had planted the MBA seed in my brain last April or May and I found myself getting very cerebrally excited about an MBA program.

        Then in mid-August Rosa and I were back in the Midwest for the Downers Grove Criterium and to visit family and friends. We were driving through the middle of rural Wisconsin farmland, enjoying time away from Los Angeles, when I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. I answered it and the ensuing conversation was very short and very exciting. A couple of guys had a vision for a new project, it was related to cycling, and they wanted to know if I wanted to run It? It was far from a sure thing, there was no money (yet), and It offered no long-term security. So of course I said, “I’d definitely be interested”.

        The simple fact is that the cerebral excitement of going back to school and getting my MBA was no match for a gut-reaction, butterflies in my stomach and a rush of adrenaline. I’ve been racing bikes since I was 14, and occasionally I would think that maybe it’s time for something new, but for me life in the cycling world is exciting and intensely satisfying- whether it’s winning a race, watching a teammate or athlete I coach win a race, helping run an event for a few hundred people, or just having a great workout.

        So, a few days after the initial phone call, I meet with these guys to talk about It before heading back to LA. We met at a Starbucks next to the airport so we could talk before my flight out, which kind of made me feel like a businessman- no MBA required! Despite the fact that It is just a twinkle in all of our eyes, Rosa and I start throwing around ideas on the flight back to L.A. We’ve always talked about living in Chicago, but this time the conversation was much more serious... and we were excited. However, once we got back to L.A. we shelved the talk for a while and went on with our lives in California. I stayed busy with prep work for ABD’s Fall Fling, a couple of new coaching clients and talks with riders about the 2010 ABD Elite team. I even finally went to Disneyland for the first time ever (thanks Katy and Billy!).

        Then, in mid-September, I got another call about It. They’d decided to head in a little bit different direction (my heart sank a bit, we talked a few more minutes)... but then, “So, do you still want to be involved?” Heart soars: of course.

        Rosa and I talked again- excitedly and nervously. Los Angeles had been our home for six years, the hub of Rosa’s craft (acting), and we’d never considered moving to Chicago so seriously. But deep down we know the nervousness is why we should do it. We’re young, we’re mobile, why not.

        I flew back to the Midwest for three weeks to help run the Fall Fling and I met again with the key players. As is often the case, the more I learned about It the more nervous I became. Things sounded great, but I knew better than to get too excited too early, and especially after the bottom dropped out of the economy in October of 2008 and riders, teams, clubs and events were left with no funding. Sometimes this nervousness of mine disintegrated into fear, but it actually felt ok—kind of like cliff diving. I knew the water was deep enough because if we moved to Chicago there were plenty of other opportunities, but that still didn’t take away from the fear and the rush of jumping in.

        Rosa and I talked more via video-chat, but we postponed a final decision until I was back home so we could talk to face to face. (Technology and gadgets are no match for the rich subtleties of actual experience.)
        
        I flew back to L.A. on October 13th, we waited a couple of days, and then one evening we opened up a nice bottle of wine and talked. And we decided to move... by Thanksgiving. Even if It didn’t work out then we’d at least have the opportunity to live in the city, and we decided that after a year we’d evaluate whether or not to stay.

        Now that a decision had been made, we started to clean house and by the first weekend of November almost every piece of furniture we owned had been sold on Craigslist. For the next few weeks we lived off a couple of TV trays, an exercise ball, an office chair and an air mattress. We realized, for better or worse, that as long as we have our beloved kitchen amenities (knives, cutting boards, pots & pans, coffee maker) and an internet connection we don’t care much about the rest of the apartment.

        Rosa packed constantly for three weeks. What was left of our possessions had to fit into 285 cubic feet of moving company space and a 1994 Nissan Sentra. We sold Rosa’s ’99 Nissan Sentra in four hours on Craigslist because we thought my car would have been a tough sell with it’s many quirks and bike grease stains.

        The move itself is a long, funny story that you can read about over on Rosa’s blog here and here. It involves a broken down car just 120 miles outside of L.A., a tow truck, a few airports, Thanksgiving in Phoenix, and ultimately a flight to Milwaukee.

        Upon our arrival to the Midwest in early December we moved into my parents’ extra bedroom. Our stuff arrived (mostly undamaged) a few days later and was stashed away in their basement. Now that I was local I worked away on “It” with a clear goal in sight but still nothing signed, sealed or delivered.

        Two weeks later we flew back to Phoenix for a wonderful Christmas with Rosa’s family. Then, on Christmas Day we flew back to Chicago to celebrate Christmas with my family. And six days later, on January 1st, we flew down to Costa Rica for 12 days to take our delayed honeymoon and celebrate our one-year anniversary. The trip was also to fulfill a deal I made with myself that if my wife agreed to move to the Midwest- in Winter- then I’d take her some place warm. Costa Rica was amazing and despite my getting sick for a day we had a great time. Unfortunately, the day we returned from Costa Rica I got sick again, and it was pretty bad. Rosa had never seen me that sick before. I lost obscene amounts of weight and for the first time in my cycling life I’ve been consciously trying to put on the pounds—and I won’t lie, it’s kind of nice.

        Once I started to feel better we began to look for apartments in the city and we immediately fell in love with Chicago: great people, great neighborhoods and everything is within a few minutes of everything else. We started to get excited about unpacking our things that had now been in boxes for two months. We saw a few places that were possibilities, but nothing really perfect.

        Then, during one of our apartment hunting days in the city I received a phone call that my parents’ neighbor has passed away. His name was Bill Enders and he was a great guy and also Winfield’s first paid fireman. He, his wife and their daughters would come over during family parties and the neighborhood always felt a little safer knowing Bill was keeping an eye on things. His daughters decided that they didn’t want to leave the house vacant in winter so they made us an offer that we really couldn’t refuse: would we mind housesitting? Umm... (we thought about it for a day, then thought about saving money that we’re not actually making anyway since “It” hasn’t made an official penny...), you bet we would!

        So for now we’re rocking the suburbs, enjoying life in the Midwest, the proximity of our friends and family, keeping an eye out for that perfect place in the city, and working on It. Hopefully I can talk about It soon!