Mt Whitney Summit -- August 2008There are days when I feel accomplished, and there are days when I feel down. Sometimes life seems to get a little boring, and the days begin to pass in the blink of an eye. So I've decided to write this post in an effort to keep myself inspired and to remind myself not to let my life get too boring as I quickly approach my 31st year. There are some things that I've accomplished that I can look back upon to remind myself that I am living, and there things I want to do to make sure I keep living. On days when life gets frustrating and starts to seem pretty boring, I remind myself of these things that I've done and can continue to be proud of. And along with that, I have to keep reminding myself of all the things out there that I want to do!

So here is my list... What are your accomplishments and goals? How do you stay motivated?

Done and/or accomplished:

• Summitted the highest mountain in the continental United States (Mt Whitney) in one day (up and back, 22 miles, 18 hours, 6000+ ft elevation gain)
• Driven across the United States (3 times, once alone, twice with a friend)
• Bicycled from San Diego, California to Phoenix, Arizona, 400 miles in 7 days
• Backpacked Spain alone for two weeks and also ventured into Morocco
• Completed a half marathon
• Left my family and moved to California by myself
• Went to the 2003 NCAA Final Four Basketball tournament at the Louisiana Superdome
• Taken a train some 3000 or so miles across the United States
• Driven the gorgeous Pacific Coast Highway up the California coast to Monterrey
• Fasted on water only for 4 days

Things I want to do: (Not limited to just this list :) )

• Finish a marathon or longer race
• Take an overnight hiking/backpacking trip
• Ride my bike up the Pacific Coast
• TRAVEL more (Asia, Africa, more of Europe, South America, anywhere really)
• Live in a van or RV for at least a month
• Hike some or all of the Appalachian Trail
• Become self employed

Labels: adventure, biking, hiking, inhibitions, lifestyle, personal development, random

Photo Credit: Sean Haffey, Union TribI don't live in Ocean Beach anymore, but when I did I lived near Dog Beach and the San Diego River. Actually, many people don't even know that there is a river in San Diego, but there is. So anyway, when I lived there, I always used to jog along the river on the bike path, (yes the linked map is the actual path of the river, only the first few miles were paved at the time I lived there) and once when I was trying to avoid getting in my car I tried to follow the path on my bike into Mission Valley to make a run to Borders to look for a guide book for my trip to Spain.

Of course during that attempted ride is when I realized that the path didn't actually follow the river that far, or at least if it did it wasn't obvious to me. In typical San Diego "you can only get there in a car" style, it just stopped near the freeway where the there was really nothing but a perfect place for a homeless camp. And actually, I'm pretty sure there were some camps right near by, since I've heard plenty of stories. None the less, I made it to Borders in once piece (though I was quite out of place in the sea of cars) and got my book, but not without having to carry my bike up a hill, across the end of a freeway ramp, and even over the dry river bed on some railroad tracks that had there been a train coming I would have been killed. Oh yea, then I had to brave an actual road, which is no minor task around here since most people who are driving are usually doing something besides driving.

So when I saw this article, I can't tell you how excited I was to read that the bike path is being extended to actually go all the way into Mission Valley, eventually all the way to Julian. If it actually gets completed, I'll certainly make use of part of it which could connect me to the beach without ever really having to ride on a main road. And the other more noble goal of the path is to make people realize that yes, there actually is a river there!


Related Links:
San Diego River Conservancy
San Diego River Coalition
San River Park Foundation

Labels: biking, conservation, ocean beach, San Diego

Falling Uphill,
Scott StollFor the last two months or so I have slowly been reading my way through Scott Stoll's book, Falling Uphill. It is quite an enjoyable and inspirational book, and the fact that's it's been taking me so long to read it actually bodes well for the book, ironically enough. I find that if I am enjoying a book, I tend to take it slow because I am not ready to be done with it. The exception to this rule is for novels that end each chapter with a cliffhanger, in those cases I have been known to sit and read for hours.

In Scott's book, there is plenty of substance, and quite a bit that gets you thinking about life. I particularly enjoyed the following quote of his, and wanted to share it with you.

I like the challenge of cycling up a mountain: breathing hard, my body burning, and the feeling of peace when I reach the top: sweat being whisked away by the wind, watching the lizards scuttle, listening to the birds sing, sitting on a rock, the whole world spinning beneath me. That's what I enjoy most in life. I want to walk through the world barefoot, as if I were a child again, letting the leaves of grass tickle my toes even if my feet get dirty.

As I mentioned last week, if you know of any inspirational blogs, websites, or stories, please share them with me. I am always interested in reading and promoting stories that inspire.

Also, check out Scott's blog here, as well as his twitter.

Related Links:
Long Walks and Inspiration

Labels: biking, books, inspiration, reading

I just got back from my latest adventure this weekend. This one was something totally different from anything I had ever done before. A co-worker of mine had decided a while back that he was going to quit work and move back east. But he was going to ride his bike back. Immediately I liked the idea, but I wasn't ready to ride across the whole country, nor was I in a position to quit my job. So I decided that I would take one week off and ride with him.

As it turned out, we spent a few weeks training before his trip was to begin, though didn't get into the shape that we wanted. The most we had ridden was 32 miles in training, and he was hoping to average 50 a day over the course of his 3 month trip. This was perfectly manageable, considering that he would no doubt get into good enough shape pretty quickly to be able to knock out 100 miles a day. But could we do that the first week, and could I make it to Phoenix in order to get picked up?

Turns out that, yes, we could, and yes, I could.

We left San Diego at 9AM on a Saturday, and I made it into Phoenix by mid afternoon on the following Friday. It ended up being just a little of 400 miles in 7 days, for an average of 57 per day. Not bad considering ascended from sea level up to 4500 feet and back down to below sea level then back up to over 3000 feet over the course of that first week.

Obviously, as I write this I am back home, but he is still out on the road and will remain so for another couple months. All in all it was a great adventure, and one I would certainly welcome again. Which is actually ironic because after a few days I was thinking how I never wanted to get on a bike again, only to be sad to be done when I arrived in Phoenix.

I think the best parts about the trip for me were (obviously to finish, and) the ability to be so self sufficient and also to see people's reactions when they heard what I (and especially my friend) were doing. The fact that you can ride your bike for 400 (me) or 44000 miles (him) with only a few packs of gear and supplies totally breaks some people's view of the way the world works. Some were surprised, some didn't believe it, and others were blown away that such a thing was even possible. Of course there were some who were shocked, but in the same breath thought that it was the coolest thing to be able to do that. I don't live a very non-traditional life, but to be able to open other people's minds once in a while and show them the possibilities that are out there if are for their own life is a good feeling.

If you want the details, following is the breakdown day by day of what we did, and here are the maps, each destination is where we stayed for the night. The sixth day is when my friend and I split ways, he headed north, I to Phoenix.

MAP - First two days

Day 1. San Diego, CA to Alpine, CA
Day 2. Alpine, CA to Jacumba, CA

MAP - Last five days

Day 3. Jacumba, CA to Glamis, CA
Day 4. Glamis, CA to Blythe, CA
Day 5. Blythe, CA to Wickenburg, AZ
Day 6. Vicksburg, AZ to Wickenburg, AZ
Day 7. Wickenburg, AZ to Phoenix, AZ

Questions? Feel free to ask!


Related Links:
Mt Whitney in One Day

Labels: adventure, biking, green travel, travel