Cuyamaca MTB and Camp

End of August, 2009

I cant believe that it is almost September, and yet it is the hottest its been all summer. I have lagged off in my beach going- it just seems too dang hot to make the move to the sand. I wander around the steamy house in a daze muttering to myself, "Its so hot, Its so hot..." That doesn't seem to improve my situation strangely enough.

I booked a weekend out in the Cuyamaca State Park, which is about an hour east of San Diego, and just north of Mt Laguna (in an earlier post I described this). Its a rather large section of protected forest and quite accessible from the city. I reserved at Paso Picacho, which is supposedly the quieter of the two campgrounds...I beg to differ! However, we ended up in a semi-secluded spot. My main objective was to be able to ride from the campground for two days...I sort of overlooked the fact it had been in the 90s for the entire week...Oh, well! That's silly stuff.

We got in late on Friday because I was a little over-packed, or oddly packed. Somehow the following food items seemed essential: polenta, squid, blue crabs, fish, tri tip, beef cubes, mango,can of tuna, can of salmon, can of tomatoes, can of condensed milk, and other odds and ends. How could we possible eat all of that, much less keep it cold, in 90 degree weather for two days? As it turns out we got one ride in on Saturday, but became so heat exhausted that we had to cut the miles from 40 down to about 15, and were both almost in tears. After chugging half a bottle of wine and two beers, I didn't feel well. A migraine ensued which felt like my eyes were being gouged out of my head. As I got up to gaze at the stars through squinting eyelids, I threw up all over the campground.

So we packed up Sunday to the heavenly cool AC in the truck...Ah, relaxing. Back to San Diego early with lessons learned and where bottles of Excedrin were within reach. Note to self: don't overdo it in the heat, at altitude. If you do overdo it, don't drink ANY alcohol, don't overeat a random assortment of meats and seafoods which may or may not be contaminated. And if you do, don't bring someone else along to suffer through it with you as an innocent bystander.

Oh well, back to real life, teaching ESL, velodroming, job searching and trying EVERYDAY to maintain the happiness and positivity of when I was traveling and living out of panniers.

The Velodrome

I have found at least one place where I can be a "winner" these days.

Ive never been one for speed and competition as far as cycling goes, and even running. Although I enjoy all sports, I have never been one to play to win exactly. The velodrome is an interesting side of cycling that is also bringing out some skills I didn't know I had. My first class was acutely scary- no brakes, no shifting and definitely no coasting! I had never ridden a fixed gear bicycle and it took some getting used.

Now that I am in the 4 week of classes, I decided to go for speed and try and win some races. First, I won the pace line burn out...That was surprising. Then I won the cowboys and indians race twice, albeit with a slower group, and even the women's race with an advanced female rider. I never knew I could be fast- could have the skill to win! It was just what I needed to take my mind off all the other mundane thoughts and worries, stresses and frustrations...For one day of the week, I was winning, and it felt good.

I guess all that endurance training with long distance tours has given me some strength and skill other people dont have...

A Desolate Mind in Joshua Tree

August 20th, 2009

Some people don't like the desert- they find it lacking in life and overly monotonous. But the desert is good for at least one thing, and that's to be quiet with yourself. Upon arrival in Joshua Tree the thing I found most startling was the quiet. The Joshua Trees don't blow in the wind so there's no sound of that, there no grass to rustle, no cars of course, nothing to make a sound other than your own feet tramping through the sand.

I wanted to take some photos that would show that quietness and the stillness of the desert.

The heat is overwhelming but surprisingly the shade provided some comfort. I lay back on a large rock and cooled myself like a lizard. I promptly fell asleep only to awaken to a chipmunk rooting around in my bbq pit and incessant flies buzzing around me for water. It was annoying but too much effort was required to shoo them away. I found that if I quieted my mind, they went away on their own.

I took many photos of the solitary Joshua Trees scattered about, against the blue sky. They are characteristically asymmetrical, misshapen, and somehow beautiful. Riding my bike around, I had time to come to two conclusions. The first is that everybody needs a day job (even me) and that I should make that day job be in education. The outdoors, sports, cycling, adventure, writing and art will just have to be side pursuits.

At least I am able to go away, come back, think and re-think and try always harder to be happy, enjoy life. Whatever happens, there isn't anything other than this.

Beach It Up

August 17th, 2009















I still havent found a job, well, at least a good one, and its been hard to not feel frustrated. I am still enjoying the days I have had to spend time on the beach, see my family and friends and tie up loose ends of things I dont want to procrastinate about. I guess the problem with too much free time, is too much time to think, although I dont see why that should be a bad thing. I think its easier to remain busy and distracted than it is to face the bothersome things about ourselves and where we are in life. Perhaps I need to grow more comfortable with the idea of not finding my dream just yet, the universe still has not aligned itself. That doesnt mean I have resigned myself to make no effort; in fact, I am constantly restrategizing my efforts. All in all, it just means I have more time to smell the roses, if I choose to stop, and more time to enjoy San Diego, swimming in the ocean, picking up seaweed on the beach and doing some of the things I have been meaning to do- like get to know my brother and sister, file for divorce, make photo albums, cook new foods, ride my bike more and feel love everyday.

Lake Havasu

August 10th, 2009

Who are those mer-people under the sea? Drowned lake-goers of Lake Havasu parties past? Or wake boarders who took one too many face plants and were unable to resurface...

My first weekend in Lake Havasu. It must be a rite of passage for true died in the wool SoCal party animals...Imagine the heat, the boat, the water, wake boards, wake skates, donut tubes, coolers of refreshing drinks and everybody stripped down to their bikinis. Its hard to imagine a more relaxing, exciting and dehydrating experience. Jumping off rocks and floating on the noodles in the bath water warm water. We all devolved back to our basic selves, water babies and liquid delight.

And yes, I almost stood up the first time on the wake board, and got up all the times after that. If only I could figure out how to move the darn thing. Biggest air on the donut of the weekend? That would be me...My whole body hurts.

Gourmet Club

August 5th, 2009

Summer has decided to hunker down these days it seems- the weather is hot and oppressive and afternoon naps are becoming longer and more essential to survival. Luckily there is still time and opportunity to hit the beach to cool down; the water temps are magical, if the abundant seaweed and sandbars are not. (tip: do not dive headfirst into waves!)

Gearing up for Spain has been fun. We started a Gourmet Club, which is cooking with a purpose for an audience. Our first theme was Mediterranean cuisine, which of course covers a large region and flavors. My main course was a seafood paella. This could have been quite expensive if not for the Asian market, where we were able to select fresh calamari, mussels, shrimp and cod. Since cost is not prohibitive when shopping at the Asian market, there seems to be no good reason to eat frozen fish.

Sides were stuffed grape leaves, stuffed mushrooms, salad, hummus and spicy potatoes. We were all quite nauseous in the end, but rode out the waves by watching Keyboard Cat on the new I-Phone and some other video bloopers. I guess the I-Phone is like a portable TV and entertainment system- always accessible- always ready to settle a debate or argument on something random. Like, what is the strongest muscle in the body? Is risotto a rice or pasta? I don't know what we did before Google, but the Encyclopedia Britannica surely wasn't as quick.

At last I made it out to the Velodrome for some fixie bike riding. I cant believe people ride these bikes in traffic- no brakes and no gears! I am tempted to try it myself...However, for now, I will stay on the track where crashes are sure enough...It is fun, with the wind whistling in your ears and no cars to worry about! Where else can you go 30-40 mph with nothing to worry about other than keeping your handlebars steady enough to keep rubber sides down?