The Astana Jersey Story

 Bicycling Adventures  No Responses »
Oct 092009
 
Jeff's ready to ride in Astana jersey

Jeff's ready to ride in Astana jersey

Funny story actually…

A little over a year ago I walked into a Wheel & Sprocket.  They had an Astana jersey on their rack.  I had no idea there was a team called Astana.  What I recognized was the color and emblem of Kazakhstan along with the name of their capital city, Astana.

For years, Waukesha had a sister city in Kazakhstan just a few hours away from Astana.  Actually most of the time during the sister city relationship the capital was still Almaty (aka Alma Ata), but then it was moved to Astana.

I had traveled to our sister city of Kokshetau (aka Kokchetav) on seven occassions in the 1990’s.  I’ve got a friends there, great memories, a Kazakhstan flag and other national souvenirs, but I never made it to Astana.

When I saw the jersey I knew I had to get it.  It was only later, when I mentioned it to another cycling friend of mine, that he told me about the team and that Lance Armstrong was part of it and that they hoped to participate in the Tour de France in 2009, etc.

Well, then I thought the jersey was even cooler!  So of course throughout the race this summer I proudly wore the shirt.  It drew a lot more nods, hellos, and conversation than I ever expected it would.  In fact one time, early on, riding the Glacial Drumlin trail one of the DNR employees stopped me to see my trail pass and asked how my team was doing.  I thought, “my team, what team?” while my mind raced. After a pause, that I hope wasn’t too noticeable, I realized he was referring to my jersey and therefore Astana. 🙂

Of course I think with all the time I’ve spent in Kazakhstan I could be an honorary member of the Astana team.  Then it really would be my team.

Where in the World Have I Been?

 Jeff's Travels  No Responses »
Oct 072009
 

I have a number of travel goals including visiting more than 100 different countries.  While I have a good start, there is obviously a long way to go (and a long way to travel).

Below is a map of the world.  The countries shown in red are those that I have visited.  There are a few observations that one can take from looking at this map.

  1. There’s no red showing in the southern hemisphere.  Clearly I need to rectify this problem.  The equator currently serves as a barrier.
     
  2. The countries I have visited cover most of the landmass of the northern hemisphere.  Of course, North America and Russia will do that!

There are several things you cannot tell simply by looking the map.

  1. My visit to Poland and Japan did not involve ever getting out of the airport.  So, these two countries need future attention!
     
  2. I have not visited Alaska.  It is colored ref simply because it is part of the United States.
     
  3. The software that created the map marked England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland simply by checking United Kingdom.  Indeed, I have visited England and Scotland, but not Wales or Northern Ireland.
     
  4. The map detail is too small to represent several islands in the Caribbean that I have visited.

map of the world with visited countries in red
visited 26 countries (11.5%)
Create your own visited map of The World