RonAmber.com - our home on the web

Ron, Ronaldo, Ranold

Web developer, bicycle rider, motorcyclist, gardener, amateur photographer, dog-less dog lover

I've been a web developer since 1996. Our first personal website was simple, I used it to learn basic html, click here for a screen shot of it in all it's 800x600 glory. Back in the day, 800x600 was THE size!
Back in the late 90s I wrote a website that let people chat with other people they knew and share events they were hosting or going to, it was called the RSVP Calendar and the idea was to link people together digitally. Now we have FaceBook.
Back in the late 90s I also wrote the Ride Analyzer, it would let you save your bike rides and showed you totals and let you compete with other website users (virtually). Now we have Strava and MapMyRide.
I was VP of Development at On-Board Computer, Inc, working with data from a GPS that was transmitted through Terrestrial (cellular) towers from moving vehicles. Now we have cell phones.
I remember getting a tricycle (hand me down from my brother) when I was 6 or 7 years old. Some mean kids down the street stole it after a few weeks, and I remember it being burned when I found it. I don't remember my first bicycle, it might have been a hand me down from my sister (Jane). I remember being upset that a bike I had didn't have a top bar (a top bar is somehow "manly"?)
I love being on 2 wheels! Riding on 2 wheels is like magic, amazing that we don't fall over. My first "real" bicycle was a Schwinn World Tour (10 speed), bought with my first real paycheck (as a carry-out for Dillons), as I recall it was under $300, and that included a light with generator that rubbed against your tire, and a book rack back in 1979.
Amber and I got matching GT Rincons while in Pueblo, Colorado for July 4th weekend 1992. (pictures under More - Bicycling)
I received the Silver Medal in the Sunflower State Games MTB Beginner race in 1995! I've finished 2nd twice while MTB racing, never got first. I was 6th OVERALL in the Kansas Mountain Bike Racing series in 1996 (we moved to North Carolina that year, so I didn't participate in the last 2 races).
We like riding the Tsali Trails in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, always a good time. If you want to ride there, give Ron a call! He just might join you!
In 2002 I did a self-contained bike tour on the Blue Ridge Park Way. From the VA line down to Asheville, NC with my friend Grady Peace. I supplied the Wheele Trailers.
I've been skiing since 1991 or so, when we lived in Wichita we would drive to Boulder and hook up with our good friends Brent and Jeanna. Our first outing was a disaster, we went to El Dora Ski Resort and Brent tried to teach us to ski. The next 10 trips or so I took a 1/2 day lesson (or more), in probably a 4 year time span. Ron in Crested Butte CB is an awesome ski resort, LOTS of blue runs, well groomed, fast chairs, cool town. It's even more fun when you can stay with a friend.
My riding slowed way down once I became a Development Manager at C2, from 2006 to ?? 2008?
One of my goals is to ride all of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Virginia's Skyline Drive. I have a western section of the Park Way I need to ride from Exit 388 in Asheville to Cherokee (80 miles) to finish the North Carolina part. I'm planning on this for Summer 2017, 2 days of riding. No camping this time (there is no camping around!) so I'll stay at a nice mountain hotel/restaurant. Some part of the parkway, north of Asheville with Jim Terhune.
In 2003 I rode to Hanging Rock State Park with Jim.
In 2006 I bought a nice road bike - Litespeed Firenze. All butted round-tubed titanium. (you know what that all means if it matters to you)
In 2006 we had a Jelich Christmas Family Reunion in Breckenridge, Colorado. Skiing wih family in 2006, Breckenridge Co.
Amber and I are partners at Goosedown Web Development, we bought out a partner back in 2010
Daytona Beach 2012, hanging out with family during bike week.
Had a heart attack at 50. Septuple Bypass.
Back on the bike in September 2013
Exactly 6 months after my heart surgery I have a gall bladder attack in Georgia and it was robotically surgically removed.
Ron and his giant Elephant Ears in the new flower bed, 2016

Amber "the HAMMER"

Amber - the independent, bicycle riding, sharp as a tack, sweet as honey, penny-pinching, financial wiz, office manager. And, she can do all that in 2 languages (at least!)
Amber had a 4.0 average through her Junior year at The Wichita State University, then we started getting serious and it dropped a bit. ALL MY FAULT!
Amber IS my wife, has been for a long time! (it's a funny story, really!) See the section labeled US
After her first degree in Spanish (and a couple of years in the work force), she went back to school and really challenged herself and got a degree in Finance (go where the MONEY is!)
Amber looked into the job market at home (in Wichita, KS) with no luck for a few months! So, I told her to broaden the search. We ended up in Greensboro, NC (and are now in Summerfield, NC)
Amber enjoys morning runs around our neighborhood lake and evening walks with Ron and dogs.
Amber came in 2nd at the Tanglewood Park Mountain Bike Race! Pics below
I've been trying to get her to run for office for a few years now (Senator Bogle?) because of her even-keeled, keen-eyed approach to things. We need that in Washington.

Amber in 1986 Enjoying our trip to the UK in 2000

Amber in Wales, England

Enjoying the Greenway Riding our Greenway!

Amber on Greenway, 2011 White water rafting trip!

Fun on the river, 1999 Amber with the Potomac River behind her, 2002

Potomac River, 2002 Amber got a new car!

NEW 2004 Accord Amber has done a few MTB races

MTB Racing Amber racing near Winston-Salem

Tanglewood Park Amber finishing a race in 2nd!

2nd Place! Enjoying the Honda Accord!

Amber's New Car Amber, with the top down

Enjoying the Z3 Beautiful water and sky!

Amber on boat, 2007 Getting ready to go to something fancy!

Fancy dress! Proper attire for a NY wedding!

Wedding in NY A beautiful blue dress

Another fancy dress! France on 2 wheels!

Bicycling in the Loire Valley Mom came to visit

Christmas on Natchez, 1999 Norfolk VA

Amber in Norfolk, 2017

US - Ron & Amber

We started co-habitating back in 1990, after dating for a few years. I had been asking Amber to marry me for about 3 of those 5 years, and continued to regularly ask her for another 3 years before she said "yes!". I talked her into it by mentioning that our car insurance would go down if we were married, and that our Federal income taxes would be less. Little did I know that MY insurance would go down, but her's would stay the same! And, 1993 was the year that a "marriage penalty" was put in place with the IRS, so that our taxes actually went UP the first year we were married and filed jointly.

Amber is very independent, so marrying was a big deal. She DID NOT want people treating her any differently after the marriage, so one of the conditions of us getting married was that we had to keep it a secret! We had a friend marry us, and a couple friends were witnesses (required by law), but other than those 3 people, our insurance agent, our financial advisor and an automotive mechanic, NOBODY ELSE KNEW. We were married from 1993 to 2004 with NO family knowing about it. Once we moved to North Carolina (in 1996), we let friends know that we were married (it was odd that we had different last names, NC is a bit behind the times) and not to talk about it with our family. By 2004 I was worried my parents might not be around long enough for us to tell them, so I told Amber we were letting our families know the truth. My mother had a wedding reception for us on Ilovik, with all the family there. It was so much fun!

Wedding Pic

Ron on Dellrose, 1994

In New York 1994

Hiking 1994

Amber in Wilmington 1999

Ron in Wilmington 1999

Amber on the Champs Elysees 1999

Wedding on the Beach

Christmas in Wichita, 2001

New York Wedding 2002

Skiing in 2004

Skiing in 2005 Dancing at the marriage reception

Dancing on Ilovik, 2004 Marriage Reception on Ilovik

Reception on Ilovik Las Vegas, 2011

Miss America, 2011

Home, 2011

Our Round House

We live in a 15 sided house! Really!
Back in 2004 I wanted to get a sports car (a BMW Z3), Amber said that I could go ahead BUT we needed a garage to put it in (our previous house did not have a garage). I did some thinking and realized that if we added a garage to our current house, it would make our house (a 2 bedroom) one of the more expensive houses in our neighborhood. Not good! For resale, you want one of the cheaper houses on the block! So, I started looking for a new house so I could get the car I wanted. Amber had a few stipulations (she was just trying to make it harder for me to find the right place). It had to be near the future Greenway (12 years later and they are finally working on the part near our house!) had to be on a quiet street (preferably a dead end, no "street paint", no yellow or white lines) and it had to have a garage! After a few months of searching (our realtor gave me access to the ListingBook site, so I could do my own searches), I found a round house on a dead end street, it was a bit over our budget, but we went to check it out. It was weird, lots of glass and shaped sort of like a spinning top, small at the top and bottom, big in the middle. Lots of stairs just to get in the house! Amber doesn't like that, she's always thinking of her future where she can't navigate stairs. The street was awesome, though! On a lake! Back to the Listing Book, I found a listing when looking JUST at that dead end, a house that had an offer on it that fell through. ANOTHER round house! We went to see it, the price was reasonable. Amber thought I was CRAZY, the house needed so much work. She agreed to put an offer on it if we would cover EVERY surface before moving in (new carpet, paint every wall inside and out).