All photos by Sacred Harbor Photography An eight mile swim across Boston Harbor seems like a great way to return to New England. Boston Light on Little Brewster Island I entered the lottery on a lark. I wasn't sure if I should move back to New England. Nearly fifteen years had passed since my parents drove me to Washington, and I never felt drawn back. Still, I needed to do something…
One day if I go to heaven... I'll look around and say 'It ain't bad. But it ain't San Francisco. Herb Caen I’m going to miss the fog. The fog, affectionately known as Karl, has been my companion on many late night hikes, bike rides, and camping trips. It has kept me cool in what would otherwise be an unbearably hot summer and provided hours of entertainment as I watched it…
Note that while I believe bike life has prepared me for quarantine life, bike touring is not the same as quarantine. Going on a bike tour now is irresponsible. It is a good way to add more stress to already stressed communities. The consequences of an otherwise simple injury or minor illness could be dire. Please just stay put and make an adventure out of that. Every morning I wake up…
The sirens’ song rang in my ears. I had resisted their call for weeks, keeping myself at work and away from the coast. As the nights shortened so did my ability to resist, and on the solstice I found myself on my Siren rendezvousing with the Pacific. I pedaled along the bay, sun in my eyes, wind in my face. I followed the traffic then the tourists angling for the best…
I threw away my favorite shoes today. Calling them shoes at this point is overstating their structural integrity. They each had a hole in the sole, the tread was completely worn off, the uppers had split long ago freeing my toes of the constraints of laces. I don’t remember where I met those shoes. I know they weren’t my first pair of Saucony Kinvara 3s. I had just come back…
It’s evening rush hour, traffic is gridlocked, happy hours are full and noisy, street lights create odd shadows on the street; a typical Tuesday evening in the city. Sometimes the city breathes life into you, to be amongst other people sharing this uniquely human experience. For those other days, when it makes you feel alone, powerless, overwhelmed, or claustrophobic, there is the night swim. It's dark when I step out from…
I have been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. I have always savored the freedom of pulling off your clothes and jumping in the water, enjoyed the escape into a different world. I belonged in that world even if I couldn’t stay underwater as long or swim as fast as the other creatures. Diving down to hide before launching a surprise attack on my unsuspecting sister, fighting my…
After Sears I knew I needed a break. I kept seeing the ICC looming on my calendar but decided that a break was more necessary than trying to sharpen up for this race. I gained some weight and only did zone 2 workouts and I simply hoped that it wouldn't really work against me come 7 December. I left San Francisco Thursday night, slept for awhile, and woke up Saturday morning…
The first time I climbed the Sears tower, I wound up not coming home for six months. I hated my job more each day and found it increasingly difficult to get out of bed. I lacked the motivation to pull myself out of this slump, not quite realizing that I didn’t have to do this for the rest of my life. One of my best friends was living in Hong Kong,…
What's Been Going on Since Aon LA? After Aon LA I decided to go kind of nuts on the bike. I put in some crazy high mileage weeks (for me), intentionally rode dirt for the first time, and always took the high road to take advantage of those stair climbing muscles. I kept saying that I wanted to lose some weight but I know I have trouble dropping weight while primarily riding,…