A near miss

How awesome is this?  This is a new intersection being tried out in Portland in high bike traffic areas.

I could have used something like that on Thursday morning.  I missed getting slammed into by a car by about a foot, after all the brake screeching was said and done, both mine, and of the car driver.

In short...I was moving along, in the bike lane, on the right side of the road, exactly where I was supposed to be.  And a driver, turning left, into an entrance to my right, waited for a car to pass, and didn't look up at all, and accelerated her car, and didn't look up again and see me.  Luckily I can yell/scream pretty loud.  I think that is what saved me from getting hit dead on.

To avoid it, I pulled on my brakes so hard that I snapped the cable on the front one.  I'm going to get that replaced this weekend.

I must say...this is a good reminder to myself to make sure I make eye contact with drivers who are turning AT ALL TIMES.  I normally do that.  I didn't this time.  And man o man, did it frickin' shake me up.

It's bizarre...a couple people joked with me about it afterward.  I can't find anything funny about it.  I'm going to use it as a reminder of my need for safety first.  That may sound corny, but it's true.  I think too that if I'd been in a car, and we had had a fender bender, it would be no big deal, an inconvenience perhaps.  Not when it's car against bike.

On a much lighter note...that pic is from a great page on The Huffington Post about bike culture.  Check it out here.

                                                              Bogota. Colombia

The Met simulcasts

The New York Metropolitan Opera a few years ago started doing live simulcasts of some of their productions into theaters around the country, and around the world.  Click here for a link to the upcoming season's schedule.  They have been an amazing success!  And has brought world class, among the best, opera to scores and scores of people who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to see/hear/experience them.

I've been to several of the live broadcasts....And now with summer, the opera season is over, they are rebroadcasting some of the best, most popular ones....

Two weeks ago I went to see LA BOHÈME.  This is such a familiar opera...but it was a treat to see it, and hear it again.  Here's a great clip of a very famous aria.  Sorry that the subtitles are in French.  The soprano is actually singing to her real life husband, who is playing the other lead role.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiyT5_UipMs&feature=related

And then this past week, another one, TURANDOT.  This aria is sublime....enjoy it.  ;o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyTT4myt1jI

5 days a week

View of the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City from a business trip I just was on.  Looks like a really good bike city.  Huge, wide streets, lots of bike lanes, and amazing scenery.  Nice.

I really have been enjoying riding five days a week to work.  I've been pretty consistent with the five day weeks.  I've missed a few days...I was sick and feeling wiped out, so I bussed it one day....And another two days I rode the bus into work since I was going out right after work.  In general though...I've gotten to this very cool place where I don't even really think about whether I'm going to ride or not, I know I am going to.

Riding in the warmer, sunny weather is an amazing experience.  I love the sun beating on me, sweating, feeling the ever present San Diego ocean breeze.  Really feel in the elements that way and can't imagine being cooped up in a car.

I am missing taking pics as I move along my different routes.  I feel motivated to start doing that....I'll post over the next week or so for sure.

Comfortable with Uncertainty

I've got three full weeks of riding to work every day under my belt.  I feel like I've undergone a huge shift in my mindset about this.

It's funny.  Not ha-ha funny.  But interesting funny.  I got an email from a friend, Grammarblock blog writer Monika, commenting that I've been quiet lately in my blog/writing.  I realized I'd finally been riding MORE than writing or thinking about riding.  That's a huge shift.  AND....a powerful one for me.

I was noticing something that would happen in my thoughts when it would be late in the evening, about the time I was getting ready for bed, getting the next day's lunch ready, etc.  That is when I was always deciding on whether to ride the next day or not.  So many times, countless times, my thoughts would go to a safe kind of thought.  The thought would be something like, "I've already ridden twice this week, I should rest tomorrow."  Boom.  Instant nail in the coffin for riding the next day.

Something shifted though a few weeks ago when I started to allow myself to hear that little thought in the back of my mind that was saying...."what would it be like to ride all five days.  I bet you'd feel great about that, and I bet you're physically ready for it."

Physically I have been ready for it.  It was mostly all in my head, so to speak.  I have been a bit more tired in the evening, but then, I sleep more soundly.  Good deal on that.

The title of this posting, COMFORTABLE WITH UNCERTAINTY, is the title of a book by Pema Chödrön, who I've written about before and provided some links for her talks, teachings.  The first line in Chapter 32 is:  There are three habitual methods that human beings use for relating to troubling habits such as laziness, anger, or self-pity.  I call these the three futile strategies- the strategies of attacking, indulging, and ignoring.  


She goes on to say a few paragraphs on:  The mind-training practices of the warrior present a fourth alternative, the alternative of an enlightened strategy.  Try fully experiencing whatever you've been resisting- without exiting in your habitual ways.  Become inquisitive about your habits.  


Become inquisitive about your habits.  So true.  

Quote of the day

The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor;

he takes measurements anew every time he sees me, 

while all the rest go on with their old measurements 

and expect me to fit them.

George Bernard Shaw 

Almost June

Memorial Day weekend!  Hooray for a nice 3 day weekend.

Inspired by the awesome BIKE TO WORK DAY, which was so much fun....this past week I passed a huge milestone.  I biked to work all 5 days!  I've done weeks of 4 days quite a bit, but had never gotten to all five, Monday thru Friday.

And besides being a little bit more tired in the evening than usual, it was WONDERFUL!

Probably going to ride to the beach in the morning tomorrow and take some pictures along the way.  Will post if I get some good ones.

Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day is tomorrow here in San Diego.  I meant to write about this earlier in the week, but had been away last week back east visiting family, so this week has been catch up with everything/one week. 

Here's the link to the "official" site.

From there, you can see where there are support stations along your route.  There they will have snacks, bike safety info, free t-shirts if you register in advance!  I can not resist a free bike to work day t-shirt....

And...not to be left out, The Onion has their take on this great event...check it out here.  :o)

Enjoy the ride!!

A Sunday ride

Just got in from a BEAUTIFUL Sunday ride with my friend Dan.  We ended up doing 14.74 miles, which on a day off from bike commuting was pretty good!  I mapped it out just now using MAPMYRIDE.  That site can be used for biking...and they have sisters sites for running, among other activities.  I have an app for it on my phone which I haven't used yet.  I'll test it out tomorrow on the way to work to see how accurate it is.  There's something about seeing what I've just ridden on a map, with distance, etc that is very high on the cool scale.

We stopped to take a few pics I wanted to share:

Florida Canyon....The yellow wildflowers are breathtaking....Rolling beds of them all over the place.

Another Florida Canyon shot, heading south.

And another, going up one of the many running trails.

Over to the neighborhood of Mission Hills.  You can see thru the tree a few skyscrapers of downtown San Diego.

Mission Hills for this pic as well.  Thru the trees you can see the houses on the other side of this grove of trees, bushes and shrubs.


So many people out today, walking, running, biking.  The ride thru Balboa Park was fantastic...families, couples, friends...volleyball games, flag football games.

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR IN SAN DIEGO!

Department of Transportation

I try and not repost from other sources in this blog to make up an entire entry.  I really try and create my own "original thoughts".  But this article about the Department of Transportation is great.  

Here's just a taste:  In what amounts to a sea change for the Department of Transportation, the automobile will no longer be the prime consideration in federal transportation planning. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the needs of pedestrians and cyclists will be considered along with those of motorists, and he makes it clear that walking and riding are “an important component for livable communities.”

In a word: TERRIFIC!!!! 

On a related note.....

Bike to work day is coming up too.....May 21st.  More on that later....

Start planning now!!  ;o) 

                                           

                                              This is "Walking Bike" by Max Knight.  

Google maps for bikes

I've been using Google Maps so much since I started this car-free adventure.  I've gotten pretty good at it, using all of the features in it, the various options, etc.  In case you don't know, for directions, it offers options for car, public transit, and walking.  That has helped tremendously figure out how to get from point A to point B for me without a car.

Now, it's gotten even better.  They just introduced, in beta, an option with bike routes!

Go to the main page, and then click, GET DIRECTIONS.  After you enter your point A and B, you'll see the default option of BY CAR.  Click and that for public transit, walking, or bicycle.

I'm not going to walk you through all the different things you can do with it.  Play with it.  Even if you're doing the directions for going by car, you can play with it.  You can choose, under options, AVOID HIGHWAYS, among other options.

Once you have the map up that they give you, one of the coolest features is the drag feature.  You just pull the line they tell you to go on to a different street, and the whole map resets itself according to your new route you've chosen.

Play with it.  I find it's pretty fun to play with and come up with new ways to go somewhere that I hadn't thought of, new things to see.

Easter morning ride!

On the Georgia St. bridge over University Ave this morning about 7am...chilly, overcast, beautiful.


I went for a ride this morning to the beach from my place, to a friend's to meet up with him, and from there we went to the beach....

Total was about 20 miles from what I can tell from imapmyride.com.  Very cool.  I almost didn't want to do it, thinking that it would wipe me out for the weeks riding.  Wow was I wrong.  I feel more motivated than ever.  Especially motivated to get a new bike too.  I put that off for so long.  We'll see how that shopping goes.

                                                                   Ocean Beach Easter morning

There were a bunch of people out too....running, biking, walking dogs.  Love being out early like that.

I've feel like I'm in a great mode....two weeks in a row now of three days biking to work....my goal is three this week too, then on to four weeks....Feels really good.

Totally unrelated....saw a very bizarre, intense movie last weekend.  From South Korea, called MOTHER.  It's about a mother whose son is accused and jailed for a murder...and she sets out to find out the identity of the real killer.  NOT what you would expect at all.  

Motivation to bike is back!

Feeling very good! I biked to work three times last week!  I rode on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  All great rides!  Just in a matter of a few days I could feel my energy and enthusiasm come back.  I almost rode on Friday, but knew I had to give my body a break.  And by the end of the work day on Friday, I was feeling it.  I was yawning, totally wiped out.  But in a good way.

My goal this coming week is for three days again.  I want to get another great week in like this, then reevaluate for next week.  4 days??  ;o)

Riding in on Tuesday, it was sort of overcast.  Perfect riding weather....This pic below is one of the million scenes I came across with wildflowers in bloom thanks to our extra wet winter than just ended.

The funny thing is that this pic looks like it could be some country road far from everything.  Not in the least.  There's a huge strip mall across from it, Wal-Mart etc.  But, at 7 a.m., strolling by on a bike, this is what I experienced.  And it was wonderful.

What a nice reminder to see the beauty right around us.  So nice.

Also when riding this week talked to a bike commuter I hadn't seen before.  He and I had a lot in common....same type of ride, from Normal Heights to Kearney Mesa.  Similar type of bike, our age, body type.  Nice to chat with someone at the relative same level about routes, traffic, hills, etc.

On a totally different note...I am obsessed with Pandora lately.  If you don't know it, check it out here.  You create your own radio station by putting in the name of an artist, song, or composer that you like.  And it builds a station around that selection.   Then you rate the songs, thumbs up, thumbs down.  That way, they are about to gauge what other songs you may like or not.  Right now I'm listening to Mahler's Symphony No. 2.

It is for all types of music too, not just classical.  Try it out.

Summer is here (for now)

It's so easy to get motivated to ride on days like this.  It was crystal clear when I woke up this morning.  The forecast was for the upper 70s.  And....we changed clocks yesterday...which meant a lot of bright sunshine to accompany me on the way home.

Both rides, in to work, and home again, were, for lack of a better word, AWESOME!

I did notice a bit of struggle on some of the hills....the lack of biking continuously over the last month or so I'm guessing.  That's OK though...

It's going to be nice seeing all the people outside again, enjoying the warmer weather and more daylight.

Summer is here!

This is a random street corner on my way to work, close to the office.  You can't make out as clearly as I like the blue little flowers on the hillside, but it took my breath away.  All over SD this time of year, after the wet winter we had are these types of scenes.  A pure joy to take in.

Hiking in the rain at Cowles

 

Not my pic.  Raining too hard to take my own camera!  This is a nice pic on a clear day.

I went for a hike today, in the rain...and it was spectacular!  The reason I thought of commenting about it here in this blog about car-free living came to me while hiking.  One of the things that I like so much about the biking, and the bus-commuting is the fact that I'm out in the world.  I'm not enclosed in a car, having the world whiz by.

I'm on the bike, feeling the air, the wind, the sun.  Seeing people, the green from all the rain we've gotten this winter, the huge racoon popping out of some brush...(a bit jarring to see, but very cool nonetheless)

Or on the bus...the chatting with a bunch of people I wouldn't normally interact with.  Or reading, devouring books actually.  Or seeing so many sights as a passenger that again, as with the bike....things I'm not whizzing by. 

 

Today at this spot there was water rushing down here!

Hiking up Cowles Mountain today, in the pouring, and I mean, pouring, rain for a big chunk of the time, made me feel like I was in it, in nature, in the whole of life.  I could have easily stayed home, or suggested to my friend that we just go out for coffee.  I am so glad he said, when he got to my place to head out for the hike, and it was raining steadily by then,  "well...this will be an adventure!"  Ha ha ha...how cool is that?

Important tip for bike commuting

GET ALL OF YOUR STUFF, CLOTHES, FOOD, ETC. READY THE NIGHT BEFORE.

That's my tip.  I had that reinforced big time this morning.  I didn't get enough sleep at all last night.  Waking up and already having my lunch made, fruit cut up, and clothes ready made all the difference, mentally, in my riding today.

And wow o wow was it a beautiful ride to work.  Leisurely, enjoying the sunrise, warmer morning. 

Two days riding this week.  My goal is three days...Friday being the third.  Feeling good.

Bus musings 2

So I had a doctor's appointment this morning, which left me not able to take the express bus to work, the one that is so easy, a straight shot, etc...

I had to take the 15, two miles out of the way, to downtown SD, to then grab the 20 express.  So, I had so many different things happen that could easily have bummed me out....but I kept laughing inside at how funny it all was. It felt like a cross section of daily life was going on around me.  An adventure instead of an inconvenience....

So the first bus either came ten minutes early, or ten minutes late...still not sure about that.
I scrambled to get together my bananas I was eating at the bus stop, along with the new bottle of water and coffee I had just bought at the 7-11 on the corner, to enjoy while waiting for the bus...hahaha....

I said to the driver..."oh, you're early..." Reply was "grunt".

Bus was packed...as I find a place to stand, after about ten seconds, I hear a thud.  My banana had fallen on the floor of the bus, and all these eyes looked at it.  This one guy glared at me like it was something illegal or illicit.  Sheeze....Then as a seat opened up I went to walk to it, and realized that the bottle of water in my backpack had broken open.  The same guy, the banana guy, said, with a total attitude, "Hey dude, you're dripping all over the place."  Sheeze again....

Then downtown, waiting for the next bus it kept getting better:

Two couples,  obvious tourists...got on a bus, from the back!  The driver kept trying to close the door on them and they fought it back....It was priceless to see.  They obviously were confused about how to board a city bus, but a crowd of like 10 or 15 people all just stood there, watching agape at what they were doing.
That they were confused wasn't what was funny.  Several people were trying to tell them to enter via the front door of the bus.  What was funny was their insistence in entering via the wrong door!

Then, that bus left....and suddenly a car from a parking lot across the street turned the wrong way down the one-way street!  A cacophony of honk from the cars coming in the other, correct, direction, didn't dissuade the driver.  He just stopped.  For a full minute at least. All of us on the corner stood there again, dismayed at what was happening.  The driver eventually turned into a side streeet.

So then the guy standing next to me starts to tell me about how he did the same thing once when he was 18, in LA, on a freeway, at 2 am, totally shitfaced (his word).

As I'm hearing that anecdote, some guy walks by on a cell, and all I hear him say is, "Well, then why the fuck did you call me if I gotta leave a message now?" 

A little after...the bus came, and I went to work.

Bus musings

Bus, el autobus, el camión, l'autobus, el guagua...no matter how you say it...it means BUS.  And it is such an easy way to get around.  

I have had so many good experiences with mass transit recently here in SD.  It makes me wish that other people weren't so afraid of learning how the bus/trolley system works. 

I had to run several errands today...and, bam!  A $5 day pass got me where I was going so easily....Rode my bike down to Velo Cult in South Park for a tune-up.  From there grabbed the bus back up closer to home.  Then over to a friend's house who is out of town...I'm checking his mail, etc.  Then home....

And in a bit, I'm heading over to Hillcrest, about two miles, to the Trader Joe's. 

All for five bucks.  How easy is that? 

I'm thinking back to when I started this car-free experience...the bus system did intimidate me to some extent.  It had been years since I needed to use it.   I remember even being a bit self-conscious about standing there waiting. 

But, with the easy of the web, sites like googlemaps to find the quickest bus route to and from where you're going, when the next one is, etc....and now, with the iPhone....oh la la....SO FRICKIN' EASY!  The gps in the phone finds where you are, and you give it where you want to go...and bang!  Directions, schedules etc...Très cool....

Ride the bus.  Get off the grid...even if it's just a bit...

First ride in a while

Beautiful sunrise on the way to work this morning....took my breath away.

Today was the first ride in two weeks to work.  What a difference it makes in my mood, and outlook, just amazing to be honest.  I got everything, clothes, food, ready last night, which is a huge help.  Even with that, this morning I almost bailed and took the bus.  I'm really glad I didn't.  I immediately felt good...barely out of my driveway and down the street.....

I'm committing to one more day this week. 

Stones and sand and rocks

View on Sunday after the storms cleared out...crystal clear, beautiful!

The rain from last week left so much in the way, on the bike trail, in the bike lanes, the parking lot I go through...I got my legs all muddy on the way to work.

Sort of cool actually.  It felt so good being back on the bike going to and from work today, that those obstacles didn't bother too much.  But...after over two weeks...I could sure feel it in my legs.  Very hard ride home...I was wiped out.

But now, home, relaxed, so glad I did it.  What a difference already with the days getting slowly a bit longer...the extra light is very motivating.  And this morning...it was chilly, but not cold.  Felt invigorating.

Overall a good bike day.  The rain is expected to return tomorrow...I'll see what it looks like in the morning.

Dodging puddles

Wow did it rain last week!  Didn't commute on my bike even once...bummer....

Seriously though, it rained so much for San Diego...it was pretty cool.  The best part was though that I had the awesome 960 Express bus to grab to get up to work and back.  I walk about 12-13 mins to catch it, which is pretty nice, usually.  On Thursday morning, at 6:35 when I leave for work, it was coming down buckets.  So....I walked next to some buildings to help with the blowing rain.  Didn't help much..

Funny though...it was STILL ok being car-free.  Really.  I got a ride home from work on Monday from a co-worker.  I started to sort of panic about walking to the bus in the rain, and the walk from the busstop to home again.  Then after I got home I thought, "this is silly....it's just rain."  So, I took the bus the rest of the week. 

View from bus stop at about sunset, in a lull between rain bursts.

My rule for riding in this is: If the roads are wet....I'm bussing it.  I don't have the confidence to ride while it's real wet.  And, it's just a risk I'm not willing to take.  There are enough hazards, mostly crazy car drivers, that to worry about a slick road isn't for me.

Having said that...I'm very excited that it is crystal clear blue sky this morning, and tomorrow looks good for a bike commute!

Car-free?

I haven't posted in two weeks, wow!  I guess I was just too busy...a friend had some surgery and I was helping out, works been very busy and hectic, leaving me wiped out at night....

Anyway....this is about car-free, not necessarily just bike stuff.  For a week I was driving a car, my friend who had the surgery lent me his to get back and forth more quickly.  I enjoyed the convenience of getting some errands done for sure.  But...an interesting thing happened...I wasn't filled with a desire to be a car driver again.  It was interesting for me.  I started to miss my bike riding.  I did do some errands on my bike last weekend, and getting back "in the saddle" felt really right. 

What I'm trying to say is....this car-free really resonates with me.  I miss the exercise and the quiet time that biking to work provides.  Really looking forward to Monday's ride to work....

Listening to the most amazing podcast right now....It's a dj in Vegas that a co-worker, former co-worker  :o(, got me into, the dj, Faarsheed, is a friend of his.  This link is to his mixes....one of the mixes that I dare you to listen to and not start swaying back and forth to a bit is 008-1.  Quite a difference from opera, but oh, so, good..........

New Year's morning bike ride

That is not my picture by the way.  I forgot to take a pic while I was out this morning riding.  This one is from a biking forum I follow. 

I just took a short ride, 35-40 minutes, around the neighborhood, from Normal Heights, over to Hillcrest.  What a beautiful morning!  New Year's Day...9:30 a.m. temp was 63 degrees...and sunny....

I only rode to work once this week, on Monday...Tuesday I was too tired, hadn't slept well...and then Wednesday and Thursday were wet, so I rode the bus.  I really was craving getting back on the bike today.  That feels good to want to be on it.

Bike-wise this weekend I'm buying a better, brighter, more expensive ($!$!) front light.  I am more confident riding at night, as I wrote in a previous post.  But still...my present light really isn't as bright as I want.  It became very apparant this week when the bulb died, and I had to rely on my "blinky" light.  No thanks.

The one I am probably going to buy is from this company, they look sooooo cool.  And bright!
Seriously though, I did read a lot about them on some of the bike forums I've been following.

On a different note... best book I've read in ages in ON PAROLE.  I loved another book of his, SHIPWRECKS, and this one was equally as good, despite being very different.  Check both out.