Christmas 2009

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I took a few pictures and put them in a gallery as usual.

Not very interesting, right? It proves that I was there at least, but there are several places where the photo is either washed out from overexposure or too dark from underexposure. This is a common problem with photography in a forest on a sunny day—it’s too bright in the sun and too dark in the shade for most cameras to capture detail in both areas. Your eye has the ability to perceive a much wider range of brightness, so pictures of high contrast scenes like this one often turn out disappointing.

One way to get around this it to capture several images of the same scene with different exposures and combine them into a high dynamic range (HDR) image. So I used the exposure bracketing on my camera to take several pictures in rapid succession with a range of shutter speeds to vary the amount of light captured by the image sensor:

I then used some software to combine these images into a single HDR image. However, there’s still a problem: conventional computer monitors (or printers) can’t display the full information in an HDR image, so we still have to map the information in the HDR into an image that can be displayed. This process is known as tone mapping. Here’s the result:

This is closer to what I remember, although it could still use some tweaking (the vegetation was lush and green, but I’m not sure it was that green!) and it’s not exactly a prize-winning composition. You can find some very striking example of HDR and tone-mapping on Flickr.com, some realistic and some less so.

There were about 3,000 riders at the start on Sunday morning, with several routes to choose from ranging from 10 to 90 miles. I rode the 65 mile route. The ride started at Dripping Springs High School in Dripping Springs, about 20 miles west of Austin, and wound south through the town of Wimberly before returning to Dripping Springs.

We gathered for the start at 7:30 am (after battling traffic for an hour and still having to park a mile and a half from the start). Here’s my view from the starting position:

There was a really great crowd gathered to cheer the riders on, including the high school band and cheerleaders. Many people who lived along the route also came out to cheer as we rode by. The scenery was beautiful, although it turns out that they call it the “Texas Hill Country” for a reason:

That climb starting at about mile 43 was tough! Still, there were some beautiful views from the tops of the hills. I rode with my friend Asuka, and we took our time enjoying the nice weather and the friendly people at the rest stops. The only real glitch for me was a blowout in my rear tire on a steep descent at about 35 mph. That was a little scary but fortunately I managed to stop without causing a crash for myself or anyone else. We finished in about four and a half hours, then hung around to enjoy some of the post-ride events. Melissa and Matthew came, and it was great to see them cheering for us as we turned onto the final straightaway.

I had a great time doing the LIVESTRONG ride, and it was really inspiring to see so many cancer survivors out there enjoying themselves and doing their part to help others facing similar struggles. I hope to ride again next year! You can find a few other pictures in the gallery.

You can see the full gallery here.

During the ceremony, one of the Austin A&M Club members reviewed the history of Muster. The tradition dates back to the 1880′s, and has always been a time for Aggies to get together and remember their days at A&M, regardless of where they are in the world. Muster took on a somewhat deeper meaning during World War II, when a group of 25 Aggies gathered on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines under intense bombardment by Japanese forces in 1942. The gathering was widely covered by the U.S. media, and helped boost American morale. Beginning the following year, Muster became a time to remember Aggies who have passed away during the preceding year. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, sent the following message:

On Corregidor – 21 April 1946

In this hallowed soil lie the mortal remains of many men who have died that liberty might live. Among the bravest of these brave are twenty officers, sons of Texas A&M, unable themselves to answer this year’s annual muster. It is for us, therefore, to do so for them — to answer for them in clear and firm voice — Dead on the battleswept Corregidor where their eternal spirit will never die but will march on forever, inspiring in those who follow the courage and the will to preserve well that for which they bled.

Of them and those of their fellow alumni who lie in hallowed soil of other lands and those who survive them, may it truly be said that in the noble teachings of their Alma Mater — in the tradition of the great American leader, Sam Houston, who this day, one hundred and ten years ago, wrested Texas from foreign dominion by defeating Santa Ana on the historic battlefield of San Jacinto – they stood steadfast, unyielding and unafraid through those dark days of our country’s gravest peril – and by inspiring example helped point the way.

Signed – Douglas MacArthur

Melissa and I were lucky enough to visit Corregidor during our trip to the Philippines a couple of years ago, and it was a very moving experience. Here’s a cool picture I found of the Aggie Muster that took place on Corregidor just after the war on April 21, 1946:

The recipients of Austin A&M Club scholarships were recognized and the names of Austin Aggies who had passed away were read, with their families and friends answering ‘here’ in their place. In addition, the names of Aggies killed in military service in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past year were read. After the playing of Silver Taps the ceremony was concluded and many people went to McCormick and Schmick’s to eat and visit. We made some new friends, and it was great to see the Aggie Spirit alive and well in Austin.

The ride started and finished at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the site of two memory fabs that Samsung claims is the largest semiconductor facility in North America. As there were roughly 1,500 riders expected the ride used a staggered start to avoid overwhelming the local traffic. Here is a picture of the starting line just before the 43 mile riders departed:

The weather was quite a bit cooler than I expected, with overcast skies and light fog. My teeth were chattering as we started, but it was fine once I got warmed up. The route led through gently rolling rural farmland northeast of Austin, through the communities of Pflugerville, Cele, Rice’s Crossing, and New Sweden. Here’s a picture I snapped while riding:

The ride was well-supported with volunteers offering food and drinks at several rest stops and making sure no one missed a turn. I averaged a modest 15 miles per hour, with a top speed of 30.0 mph on the only downhill of any note on the ride–not too bad considering I only had a chance for one training ride in the month leading up to the Rosedale. Matthew and Melissa met me at the finish, and we stayed for a barbecue lunch and some live zydeco music.

I had a great time doing the Rosedale Ride and plan to be back next year! The rest of the pictures are in a gallery.