Stop Looking for the Time - Force it Upon Yourself.
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It seems like one of the biggest complaints people have when considering what they would like to do as opposed to what they actually do on a daily basis, is time. “If only I had the time to go the gym” or “If only I could find the time to read” it seems as if people like to believe that there simply aren’t enough ticks of the clock to cram a fulfilling life into one day. Whereas I’m sure there are people that really are just that busy, I’m going to take an educated guess here and say that it’s probably simply not true. Allow me to digress for a moment.
I spend a good amount of time in transit. I’m not just talking about daily commutes or vacations. Ever since I graduated high school I’ve been in a perpetual state of (locational) transition. In the Bay Area I’ve lived on the Peninsula, In Marin, and the East Bay. I went to school and lived in Oregon for several years. I’ve even lived in other countries: I spent 6+ months in New Zealand riding my bike around the country. Not bad for the last 6 years. For me, one of the greatest joys in life is experiencing a new place.
My latest pick-up-and-go has landed me in the charming small town of Port Costa. When I mean small, I mean small. Most people say a town is tiny when you can only find 1 Starbucks and people still walk to the post office . Port Costa has a population of 190 people, as of the 2010 census and has no Starbucks. No coffee at all, actually. Its a 1 street, one bar kind of town.
Whats so unique about Port Costa is how remarkably close to everywhere it is while at the same time feeling genuinely remote. The 2 roads that service the town are windy and narrow. It is surrounded by farmland. The train rolls through town a few times an hour - an abrupt reminder of the passing of time, you really can lose your sense of reality here. Yet, the town in less than 5 miles from I-80, a few more to I-680. Berkeley and Walnut creek are within a 30 minute drive away. You could throw a rock across the delta and hit Vallejo/Benicia. Still, for someone that works in San Francisco, like myself, Port Costa would probably feel like a far away place thats kinda close to other far away places. That’s fair, its true. Does it take a long time to get to downtown? You bet. But that’s the beauty of it - I feel that it gives me time rather than take away from it.
A lot of people ask me how I can stand such a long commute. It’s simple. I make the commute enjoyable, healthy and stimulating. Lets cut to the chase - I ride my bike to Lafayette, and take the BART into SF. What does this provide me? Round trip,
2 Hours on the bike and 80 minutes on BART, which translates to:
2 hours of solid exercise and 80 minutes of uninterrupted time to read whatever I want: books, articles or magazines.
As a bonus:
$0 in gas.
2 runner’s highs.
There aren’t any self-help books out there that would not recommend finding the time to do what I do just getting to work every day in order to be healthier and happier. Instead of struggling to find the time, I make sure I have no choice. Let’s face it, we’re all lazy. If I didn’t have to, I probably would get a lot less exorcise and read fewer books.
Try moving out to the boonies. You might actually find it gives you more time than you think.
Farewell Chris and Aliyah!
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We all hope you have a great trip in New Zealand! Chris, try not to extinct entire fish populations and Aliyah, CHILL OUT!
Sempervirens
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And the crowd goes wild
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It’s amazing how little I could care about baseball. I don’t know the rules, or the players names. What the hell does RBI stand for, anyway? I definitely never made it past t ball as a kid (you mean the other team pitches at you? F that! ) but now that the Giants are in the world series its hard not to get caught in the action. Bars are fun during these games. I guess I’m more of a fan of the fans than the game itself.
Speaking of non fans:
He’s a rep. Can you tell?
Who’s down for some celebratory champagne? We know Jillian is. Sleep well sf and keep rolling!
Devil's Slide Changed my Life
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Back in 2006, mother nature decided to make a lot of people unhappy - again. Devil’s slide, the precarious cliff side stretch of hwy 1 between Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, fell into the ocean. Because there are only 2 ways to get in and out of the area by car, the event caused massive traffic between Montara and Half Moon Bay as everyone was bottle-necked into going over Hwy 92 to San Mateo. This made the drive to Half Moon Bay High from my home of El Granada absolute hell. During the months of the closure, it could take upwards of an hour just to make a 5 mile drive to school.
Somehow I put up for it for a month or two. I’d get in my car, sit in traffic, listen to the same crappy morning show on the radio and burn gas. A lot of gas. Not to mention I was consistently miserable and late for class. I could never make it on time, even I didn’t understand why. I remember my social studies teacher Mr Ballard asking me as I walked into his class head down - late for probably the 4th time that week:
“Austin, why can’t you just arrive to class on time?”
To which I replied:
“I don’t know Mr. Ballard. Why is the sky blue?”
So it went on like that, day after day. Until one day stuck in morning traffic, I looked at my speedometer which read 0 mph and I said to myself, “Fuck this, I could ride my bike faster than this.”
Wait a second, I probably could actually ride my bike faster than this!
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Jesse, Chris and I checking out the slide on Devil’s Slide which closed hwy 1 for months.[/caption]
So the next morning I lifted my mom’s old rigid mountain bike out of the rafters, pumped up the tires, lubed the chain (with wd-40) and gave it a shot. At first it sucked because I was terribly out of shape. But even on the first day I took the same route as I would drive and indeed I was passing cars - and they weren’t passing me back! It was glorious! Finally I could go as fast as I wanted to!
Admittedly, riding my bike to school started as an elitist kind of thing. I was beating kids to school that were leaving 10 - 15 minutes ahead of me by car. I got huge satisfaction out of buzzing by people on the highway and imagining the drivers staring at my back with envy and hate as I rode away ahead of them. A few times I even pinned cartoons and funny pictures to my backpack, as my way of showing that I knew the drivers were staring at me ride away and there was nothing they could do about it.
After a few weeks the novelty of being the new fastest guy in town started to wear off. However I slowly began to notice things that at first I didn’t expect. I was getting faster and stronger. Stairs became easier to climb. I started to realize that I liked runner’s high, although it took me a long time to realize I was getting one. I knew I got high off adrenaline, which back at that time could be achieved easily enough by hucking off a curb or skidding around a turn.
But most of all I realized that the world is beautiful in the morning when you move through it with no barriers around you and you can hear everything and you can see everything and you can breathe it in and stop to feel it if you want.
I think it was the first time I ever really felt connected to the world. I stopped riding on the highway. I started waking up earlier so I could take longer and longer routes to and back from school. I started looking for dirt paths. The ride became by far the best part of my day. I took this picture one morning on my way to class which I think kind captures how I felt on those rides:
Eventually the slide reopened. It was again possible to drive to school in 15 minutes or less. But I kept riding. In fact, I don’t remember ever driving to that school again. I’ve been addicted ever since.
I’ve found myself back in Montara again, a mere .25 mile from Devil’s slide which now has a tunnel being built through it so it is unlikely to ever close again. Nowadays instead of a leisurely 5 mile ride along the coast to Half Moon Bay for school I have a 40 mile round trip ride with 4,000ft of climbing to get to my job in San Francisco (via Daly City BART) which takes me a little under 3 hours there and back combined. The route takes me up and over San Pedro Mountain Road (the route up and over Montara mountain, instead of riding on Devils Slide, no cars) which is a pleasant bonus. I was able to snap this picture on my return ride this evening:
I would have thought it would have gotten old by now, but 6 years later riding my bike simply to get where I’m going is just as awesome as it always has been. Same crisp mornings, climb induced endorphins, adrenaline pumping descents and lazy evening cruises. And despite the few inconveniences, I don’t plan on ever stopping.
The tunnel that bypasses Devil’s Slide is due to open soon. So I thought it would be and appropriate time to say my thanks. Devil’s Slide, you changed my life, and in a way you will be missed.
Dat Butter
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When I'm too Wrecked to Race my Bike
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I’m taking up rally car racing. Specifically, I’ll be going back in time to race Group B. Try and stop me.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtR5OOHZSp4]
THAT VIDEO SUCKED! Said nobody, ever.
Road Bike Party Outtakes
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Remember that video of the dude on the road bike tearing it up that went viral a few months ago? Hes posted an outtakes video, pretty good stuff.
Warming up with the devil.
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Cruzin for a Bruisin
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Great weekend in Santa Cruz. Kicked it off on Friday with a quick, dark ride with local legend Jeff Kendall-Weed. No really, it was dark. The light ran out somewhere while inside of mailboxes, and being the rookie that I am, had no lights. Luckily Jeff had some which helped me get down without injury. Thanks man!
Saturday was the big boy ride. Headed up to SDF with Ben for a few laps with what seemed like a few hundred other riders. Good stuff, a bit rough on the hardtail but nothing the ‘ol handjob couldn’t handle with ease. After seeing Ben and the boys off, I rode back up to the top of SDF to descent some ripping singletrack back down to Aptos. Perfect day.
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Failed Panorama[/caption]