Rowing
I discovered rowing as an undergrad at the University of Chicago in 1997 and have loved it ever since. In my opinion rowing is the perfect sport (and I have tried many different sports). There is a beauty to the act of rowing that is beyond compare. The irony is, the best rowers make it look so easy. What also sets rowing apart is the fact that it is so much more a mental than a physical sport. There is a very zen-like quality to the whole thing. I'm not really a morning person either, but I never fail to appreciate the sight of a beautiful sunrise over the water.
I was lucky to find another club at Stony Brook, where I rowed and coached for 3 years during grad school. I also did a little coaching for the Grand Rapids Rowing Association. Currently I'm not rowing regularly.
Link to the University of Chicago Crew rowing program.
Music
I've been playing music, mostly Jazz and classical-type stuff, since grade-school. In grad school I was in a band called Megachild, where I played tenor sax, alto sax, harmonica, ancillary percussion, and sometimes even sang. Currently my musical career is on hiatus.
Bicycles
Like many people, I've ridden bikes around for fun for most of my life. It really wasn't until college that I started using a bike as a real form of transportation. Now I try to ride my bike to campus and nearby places as much as possible. In grad school I was part of the Freewheel Collective, a club at Stony Brook committed to bicycle advocacy. They hold repair workshops and lobby the campus administration to improve routes and storage facilities to encourage more people to bike. I have learned a lot about repairing bikes and it is a lot of fun teaching others how to repair their own bikes. Bicyling is good for you and for the environment. For more information about Freewheel, please visit their website.
