Ramen: Well, as many of you know and can see from previous posts, I along with one other guy started a Ramen noodle business. We've been working on the concept and business plan since October 2007 when my friend, Matt, approached me with his idea of a Ramen truck serving late night ramen to San Francisco. The time of operations turned out to be a major roadblock as the police dept. weren't about to give us a permit to serve late night. We decided to change our business a little by starting out as a Ramen noodle business serving out of cafes/bars. So we found a kitchen to cook out of, formed relationships with distributors, bought our supplies, and took our venture to the next step. We started serving out of a cafe called Caffeine and had wonderful reviews as can be seen on Yelp.com and Chowhound. We've served for the past month but have decided that Caffeine isn't the place for us. So that is where Matt and I are at now. We will be meeting with different people over the next couple weeks to talk about various ways of making ramen a profitable and successful business. We are also searching for a possible permanent location to serve out of.
Triathlon: On June 8, 2008 I was one of 2000 people participating in the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. For those of you who don't know, it is one of the most famous triathlons in the world. I was lucky enough to get in through the lottery system. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it because of the steep registration fee (over $300) but in the end decided that it's a once in a lifetime chance. I almost didn't get to do it as I overslept the morning of and was woken up by my buddy who I was supposed to be meeting at 5:20. I had worked the previous two nights serving ramen so I was a tad tired. The swim start is the most intense start to a triathlon that I have experienced. 2000 people are on a boat next to Alcatraz and within 6 minutes everybody is in the water. Now picture me jumping off a boat and starting to swim right away due to my fear of being jumped on. The swim is a 1.5 mile trek through cold, wavy water. This year the water was about 56 degrees and the waves weren't very bad. I'm a slow swimmer and so my time of 42 min. was the 1227th fastest time (which is very slow). It didn't help that my hamstring cramped up towards the end of the swim and I had to float on my back trying to stretch it out. I then ran 1 mile to the bike transition area to start the 18 mile ride. It's a short bike ride that is very technical and hilly. Not many races have 90 degree turns at the bottom of hills but this one has at least two. Since I live in SF I knew the course in and out and it definitely was a plus as I finished the ride in 58 min. which was the 233rd fastest time. Now came my strength and the part that I was waiting for: the run. The run isn't a normal run though as there are a couple hills, a beach run, and at the halfway point is Sand Ladder which are 400 "steps" up a cliff. The cool thing is they give you a split for just the sand ladder portion and I made it up in 2:37 (92nd fastest). I finished the run in 56 minutes putting me at a 7:03 mile pace. I was really happy since it was the 66th fastest time and my total time was 2 hours and 46 minutes bringing me in 267th place. Now if only I could swim faster. :)
Other: In other news, I will be headed home next month for my friend Brandon's wedding and am looking forward to seeing all my family as my sister and her family will also be making it home. In SF, life is crazy but I'm managing to try to make sense of it all. I've joined a couple soccer teams and currently have games on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Practices on Thursday. No races planned for the summer but may do a half ironman in Sept.
