The Bicycle Water Cooler, as I have chosen to call this website, is a virtual location for me to put my thoughts about all things I care to talk about in the world of technology, riding bikes, food, and whatever else that tends to cross my path. My overall intention here is to provide my thoughts, feelings, and feedback in the form of long-form text blog entries.
Oftentimes, I find that those approaching the sport of cycling are met with frustration, either with the costs of the bikes themselves, being overloaded by a lot of information, and unfortunately a lot of elitism and condescension. My intention of running this site and writing this content also includes overcoming some of these obstacles, as I feel that they need not be obstacles at all.
This sport opens you up to exploring our beautiful world from a unique and personal perspective, while also forcing one to look inward at who they are currently and who they can become.
Since beginning to ride my road bike in 2013, I’ve developed a deep love for riding my bike whether it be for fun, exercise, or exploration. I particularly love to geek out when it comes to using new gear, be it clothing, technology, sensors, and especially analyzing of all the data. I’ve especially grown quite fond of traveling with my bike, especially to Europe, where I can get the chance to relive what it’s like, even if only for a few days, to be a professional rider.
Ah, to take in the sights of the Alps. Or to be walking the old Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. Or maybe enjoying gelato on Lake Como.
Professionally, I’m a Site Reliability Engineer, so I’m a sucker for graphs, details, and data. I’m always trying to read or learn something from any of these areas, and I find it enjoyable when I can relate things that are normally lifeless or soul-less to others in a way that brings them to life.
As for the site itself, it’s directly managed by me, via a Golang-based static website generator called Hugo, which has made for quite a technical journey of its own! Additionally, the website itself is hosted within the Microsoft Azure Cloud placed behind their CDN for scalable availability.
It’s all quite fascinating to me, so feel free to look around and reach out if you have questions or suggestions for me! I look forward to hearing about your most recent riding adventure around the virtual (Bicycle) Water Cooler!