Good Bye

This summer has been...different and amazing. I loved finding such a perfect way to give my summer as much freedom, entertainment, dedication, and variation as possible. It was interesting to see a different point of view gained by racing traffic on a busy evening or turning down far away invitation. I grew a new appreciation for my bike and staying closer to home. Bikes are amazingly efficient already and people are still working to create a better, more efficient design. I plan on trying to continue on a carless school year, although realize it would be more realistic to aim for using my bike as my main transportation. I say good-bye to the SUMMER OF THE BIKE planning to continue my idea next year with hopes of perfection. I over all went in a car for about 4 trips and plan to finish next summer with a big fat 0. Thank you for reading my blog all summer and helping me stay on track and thank you to all my friends who came to carpinteria to hang out with me.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.                                              -Albert Einstein

Dawn to Dusk

Sunday night, after eating dinner with family at Carlito's, my dad and I started our amazing ride home. When we finally had a break from traffic I started to think about the surprisingly huge difference between dawn and dusk. At dawn it is newly cold because of the long period of darkness and I would say less people are walking the streets than dusk. At dusk it is still warm out from the daytime sun and people are all rushing about trying to get home. I am not arguing one is better than the other, however I am saying although in many ways they are different as much as they are similar.

(Photo from http://files.sharenator.com/Spectacular_Sunset_From_dawn_to_dusk-s1024x768-63175.jpg)

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking. ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Back to Bike MOnkeys

Yesterday, I participated in a bike monkey activity at Hazards. We helped welcome new families and helped prepare the for the orientation ride on September 6-7. To get to Hazards of course my dad and I biked. It was the first time ever that we biked to town both on Road bikes. The ride took us about 45 minutes, which cuts down our normal time by about 15 minutes! The ride was really fast and fun.

Chain Bracelets

Lately, I have been reading a lot and on one of my common visits to the bookstore I ran into the owner. She saw my bike chain bracelet and said she would love it if I made a couple of them for her store! I told I would and have already ordered materials to make a few as a trial. I am very excited and hope this works out past just a bookstore.

A ride (finally)

Last week my dad and I finally rode into Santa Barbara and I got to take my rode bike for a real ride. It was amazingly easier. We biked along the service rode to Santa Barbara where my dad had a business meeting. Then we biked to the horrifying apple store where nothing can ever be easy. After an irritating visit there we cruised to the bike store where we got a rack for my bike and saw a 1936 paper route bike. An all-American company that made guns and bikes made the bike. The rest of the day I could not help imagining what the owner of this bike might have been like.

Back again

Back on the road bike after a long time realizing how much I fly. I am overjoyed at the idea of ride into town on Thursday, although I know I will wear away my energy before the day is up. I also have a camp in San Francisco starting Saturday and have not found an alternate source of transportation yet. Lets hope when later today I look up the Amtrak train schedule I'll find something.

Beautifully Unexpected

Last night my father and I went on a night ride along the carp bluffs. We hopped on our bikes when the sky was already well into it’s slumber and rode off into the darkness of the night. My Dad and I were riding along the coast we quietly appreciated the amazing wonder of the stars and the different sights of darkness. You can see just as much in the dark as you can see in the light, only you see different things. Apparently not bushes, because my dad ran into one.

A Pleasant Surpirse

Just a few days ago my father discreetly hinted that there was a gift coming my way and I immediately guessed it was a road bike. My father confirmed my belief and told me to go to the shop. On Thursday I walked to BikeSmiths, the Bike shop that we ordered my bike through, and Jim the owner of the shop welcomed me to watch/ help build the Marin- Terra Linda that I would be riding very soon. The next day I biked to the bike shop to watch a master perform the task of constructing my bike. As my bike grew into more and more of a bike, my excitement steadily developed. Not long past 12:30 I zoomed out of the bike shop to the ranch experiencing the new speed my bike delivered.

Cars

       Some people say that cars are great because of the speed the get you places or because it takes hardly any effort to power them. While I admit I am sometimes tempted to hop in the car, I don’t and I always try to remember how good it feels to be using alternate transportation like biking. It feels good to just be doing something different from other people’s daily lives. Besides making me feel good, riding a bike gives me freedom rather than living by my parents schedule I completely control when I go places and where I go. Just try it. Try only living on your schedule, and your bike for one day.

An Evening Ride

         Yesterday evening my family joined my grandfather and Grandmother for an early dinner. My way of transportation was naturally by bike. My father and I biked through Carpentaria along the service road though Summerland up Sheffield Road to his house. After dinner my dad and I raced my sister, my Mom, and my little brother home. Although they were in a car we thought it was likely we could beat them due to the large amount of traffic on the freeway. Sadly, when we raced a green mini van on the freeway, they quickly sped out of sight. Our hope diminished a bit, but we still had a fun ride. The downhill from my grandfathers house to the bottom of Sheffield was especially fun. When we arrived at home my sister told us she had hardly beaten us here.

An Inconvenience

       Today I rode my bike to my family's ranch to replace the break pads on my bike. When I got there I turned my bike upside down and went about fixing my bike with my dad. After a while of unsuccessfully  trying to replace the hydraulic disc break pads on my bike my dad and I realized some sort of unknown liquid was leaking out of the hydraulic brake cable on my bike. My dad and I learned that fixing hydraulic disc brakes was a bit beyond our skills at the moment so I rode my dad's bike and he rode my one-braked bike to a bike shop.

The First Day

      Today was my first day. I did not do much besides swimming and Baby sitting my Brother although I did not get in a car. I am sad that I did not ride my bike either. Today was not a win or loss. Tomorrow I plan on doing much more if I can. One thing that stands in my way if I want to bike into Santa Barbara I have to convince someone to accompany me and not many people like to bike 30 miles for the fun of it. I can always bike around Carp town maybe I with hang out at Rincon Beach.

A Summer to Remember

       This summer I am going to try to challenge myself and do something different so starting today I am going to try not to get in the car. Inspired by my school, Santa Barbara Middle School, the biking-est school in America. I am going to spend the summer on my bike, however I have two challenges heading my way. This summer I have to go to Menlo Collage to attend soccer camp and am committed to a road trip to La Jolla with a friend. Although I am going to try my best I realize I will be lucky to pull away from the summer and into the school year with out having hopped in the car once or twice.