Category: Travel

Travel and Race: Leadville, CO

paschmann

This race has been on my bucket list since 2001 and I started racing MTB endurance events. After a long technical story on how I got an entry – thanks Jon, and a deferred year from 2025 to 2026, I eventually lined up on the start line in 2026.

Our trip started in Tuesday flying from Charlotte to Denver, then a 1.5 hour drive to Copper where we were staying until Sunday. After dropping our luggage at the house, and building our bikes we immediately drove another 35 mins up to Leadville to get in a short shakeout ride after the long day of travel. I quickly realized why this place is so special. Beautiful scenery, miles of trails and dirt roads and quirky people. read more

Travel: British Virgin Islands

paschmann

Another year of last minute travel booking – this time somewhat justified by me switching jobs. We had the difficult decision of Islands (Caribbean), Hawaii, West Coast or Europe. Italy was on the short list for the longest time, but due to some scheduling, the crowd anticipation, and the associated expense, we decided to do something closer to home and an adventure/island vacation was on the cards. Some ideation using Claude, we decided to conservatively dip our toes into doing a catamaran vacation exploring islands. Just 2 nights on a boat and 3 nights on land was the plan. I know I get seasick and due to that, I was very nervous that it was going to be a living hell on a boat for 6 days. We booked a casual charter to explore the British Virgin Islands, and then a subsequent 3 nights on a quiet area on the north east side of Tortola .called Long Bay. read more

Travel: Southern Pines Golf Trip

paschmann

A mate organized a golf trip to Southern Pines and was kind enough to schedule it during a open weekend where I could not say no … so after a 6 odd year hiatus of no golf, I jumped into a trip down to Southern Pines with 4 rounds of golf in 3 days. My game was rusty and the parts which were not great prior to me taking a break were worse than ever, but it was as such a blast. Great friends, great location made for great times!

Pine Needles, Mid Pines, Southern Pines and Tot Hill Farm

Race: 2026 70.3 Ironman Chattanooga

paschmann

Another year back in Chattanooga, I knew I wanted to come back after the swim leg of the triathlon was cancelled in 2025, and I really enjoyed the course and the city.

My mom and I arrived on Friday afternoon after a beautiful drive through the Appalachian mountains and a short stop at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We stayed very close to the start/finish which was convenient since it was her first time attending an event like this. I stayed there the year before with Wes and it an absolutely prime location. Saturday after bike check in and info session I drove the bike course and did some sight seeing. We went up Lookout Mountain on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway (Steepest part is 75% gradient!) and had a short walk around Point Park. After multiple visits to Mellow Mushroom for carbs, race morning came pretty quick. read more

Travel: ATL for 2026 Big South

paschmann

Another long weekend visit to Atlanta, GA for the 2026 edition of Big South volleyball for the kids.

And another 3 days of hectic, non-stop action, since both of them were in different playing waves (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) but that let us equally watch both teams navigate their way through their respective pools. 1,500 Teams + 10 – 12 Players Per team = ~ 15,000 Athletes + Family = 40 – 50,000 People = One of the largest junior VB events in the US!

Sunday (Day 3) was particularly busy, since they both played at similar times but in completely different halls (+- 25 mins of solid walking between the two) this meant hustling from one side to the other. read more

Elvis BMW 507

paschmann

A couple of years ago while on a work trip to Germany, I flew in and out of Munich (versus the usual Frankfurt) due to flight costs. I gave myself an extra day to explore Munich on the way out, and amongst a few other attractions, visited the BMW Museum. One of the cars on display was Elvis’ 507 Roadster which had been restored and was absolutely mint. I did some digging on the car and its history and this video is nice to see with the context behind the project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KydN6FfR6xw