Seattle, The Hard Way

The Grand Rapids to Salt Lake City crew - From right: Marie, Chelsie, and myself

So far, so good for the GabeMcG for UGM road tour. Our jaunt from Grand Rapids to Chicago to catch a flight to Salt Lake City went off with nary a hitch. 

 The 'Campaign Bus' so to speak

Our friend awesome friend Maria was kind enough to donate her wheels to the cause, and even came out to SLC from Colarado to meet us!

 

Maria, Marie, and Chelsie the evening following our all night drive to Seattle

Maria's Friends, Kimmy and Jason live just outside Seattle, and have been fantastic hosts, putting us up in their spare room, taking us hiking and camping on Mt. Baker, and for a day trip around the San Juan Islands. Thanks guys, you rock!

Taking the Campaign On the Road

Hello folks!

I'm writing this sitting in the Delta terminal at Chicago's Midway Airport, as I begin the first and only UGM campaign tour.  I'll be making stops all across the greater Pacific region of th US. If you live in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Petaluma, the Yosemite area, or Lake Tahoe, pay attention, the campaign will be in your area soon!

The highlight of the trip for me is a stop in the heart of the Tech universe, the TWiT Cottage on Sunday, June 14th to watch a live broadcast of TWiT! I'm super excited to finally meet Leo, Colleen, and Dane in person. I'm going to try to rent a bike and ride it the 40 or so miles from downtown SF to the cottage (stopping only to rest and tweet). So keep an eye out on Sunday to follow my progress.

I have no idea who Rudy Warnock is

Here's a general itinerary for the trip:

6/4 - Mid-Day: Chicago

6/4 - Evening: Salt Lake City

6/5-6/6 - Seattle, WA

6/7-6/9 - Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park

6/10 - Afternoon/Evening - Portland, OR

6/11-6/12 - Redwood National Forest

6/13 - San Francisco, CA

6/14 - Petaluma, CA (Yay!)

6/15-6/17 - Yosemite National Park

6/18-6/19 - Lake Tahoe, CA

6/20 - Salt Lake City ---> home

Not a bad trip eh? I'm all decked out with camping gear, and campaign buttons (I wish). Drop me a line on twitter if you'd like to arrange a meet up at some point... I'll buy you a beer and do my best to convince you to get all your friends to vote for me for UGM.

Much more to come from me, and this will be the general hub... Or check out my FriendFeed for an aggregate of up-to-date info.

TerraTrike Zoomer SL Pre-Launch Interview with Leo Laporte on TWiT Live - Produced by GabeMcG

For anyone who missed it, I had a great chance about a week ago to produce an interview for Leo Laporte on TWiT Live, with Jeff Yonker the Marketing Manager for TerraTrike, the manufacturer of Leo's new adult recumbent tricycle. 

As an avid cyclist, I've seen TerraTrikes on the roads and trials for years, but I never realized they were a West Michigan product! Just goes to show the power of TWiT. I happen to live less than ten miles from their headquarters, so when I heard they were launching a new model, I took Leo up on his offer to be a, 'Stringer' to hook up with Jeff, and produce a live interview with Leo via Skype-a-Saurus!

Check it out-

Part 1:

Part 2:

How fun was that? Again, a big thanks to Leo, Dane, Jeff, and Everyone else at TerraTrike for the opportunity and access!

And stay tuned, for some more behind the scenes coverage of my trip to TerraTrike, including some trike-mounted test-ride footage on the brand new SL!

Leo Laporte Gets Played Off by Keyboard Cat (Video)

Let the hilarity ensue...

A Sad Day for Ray - TWiT Army Offers Condolences After the Loss of a Dear Friend

Just a quick note to any Maxwell's House fans.  This Week's show will be postponed until next week.  Ray lost a close friend in a tragic glider accident this week.  Our thoughts go out to him, and everyone else affected.

Kiwinerd has set up a FriendFeed conversation, and Comment Page for those who wish to personally express their support for Ray. I encourage everyone to drop a line, if only just to let him know he's on our minds if not our screens this week.

Condolences for Ray Maxwell