The Great Bike Adventure

So let me tell you about my friend Sheila, we met last year at surf/yoga camp in Bali and you may recall that we traveled a bit through Bali after. Sheila returned to her home in San Francisco and once I got back we spoke on the phone a few times.

I have to say, Sheila is one of my heroes, there is so much she has done with her life you can't help but be inspired by her. Well one day in January I get this really funny email from her, which with her permission, I am posting below.

"Tuesday, January 15, 2008

As fate or whatever would have it, the electricity to our home is out. We went in a little celebration walk to celebration sushi and when we came back, PG&E celebration trucks were in the street, street lights mysteriously out, we making jokes about celebratory electricity until we opened our celebrating door & the switch didn't work—we'd been had. I shall celebrate in the darkness.

Any wondering about whether I would allow myself to get distracted by other matters in lieu of writing my invitation/celebratory missive/declaration of freedom and first day of the rest of my next few months is over. No wondering. It's 9pm, dark & I have time on this battery operated information-catcher. I write.

Today was the last day of my current job in real estate. Some of you know that I went on a trip to Bali in October & was inspired to quit. I've really wrestled with the notion of staying in this job for some time—it's not what I would call inspiring work. It has at times been interesting & I've certainly learned a lot, but inspiring…no.

My endorphins have been libidinously giddy since I came to this conclusion—the conclusion that my soul was withering and sucked dry by the demands of said job. My goals for my trip to Bali were refreshment & inspiration—I got what I wanted.

The past two months I've spent helping hire & train my replacement & prepare the way for her to assume my duties as seamlessly as possible. The past two days were pleasantly LIGHT in workload—I've planned well & it was an easy baton to pass on.

I've also been trying to think expansively & open up to all possibilities in life—what can I do now that obligation and money aren't arm wrestling?

I was going to go to Bali in March and surf some more. I was going to go hither & yon, visiting friends. Somehow, with or without segues, I was reminded of my dream to travel around the world by all means other than the two-winged hollow metal bird: boat, foot, bike. I love bike touring—I love the compactness, the self-sufficiency, the direct sense-engagement that I get from wind and smells and sounds that I just don't get from enclosed vehicles.

Flowing with the idea of the bike, I have decided to bike from San Diego, California to Sarasota, Florida this Spring. This is where the invitation comes in—YOU'RE INVITED to participate on this tour.

If it strikes you as cosmically necessary and good and life aligns for you to take this mythic quest with me, please come. I plan to leave on March 15th. I MAY start biking from San Francisco, but it's likely I'll start from San Diego. I have two months to train & get my bearings & stuff together for the tour.

Lodgings: a mix of camping, hotel/motel and some couch surfing if possible

Pace: I'll have a better sense after a few more weeks of training, but my initial realistic desire is to bike about 300-350 miles/week. I think I'll be doing a 60-70 miles per day 5 days/week. A lot depends on hills, wind & weather conditions.

Rest: I want to stop where inspired for a few extra days. At this point Melton has agreed to fly to Austin, Texas to meet me there.

How long will I be gone: At this pace and with a few days rest (from what I've read so far), I think I'll be on the trip for 12 weeks.

Where will I be biking: Through the Southwest & South. Across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and down the peninsula of Florida.

What is this invitation exactly?
Well, if you have enough freedom, interest & gumption, I can give you more details about approximate arrival times of where & when. You can drop in on the ride (you'll need a bike or a skate board & one really strong leg and some camping stuff) and ride with me for a few days, a week, whatever.

I'm also interested in crashing @ your friends homes if you have friends along the way. I want to camp as much as possible & do the hotel thing when I need a proper bath & privacy. I'm open to the hospitality of anyone who enjoys visitors as well.

Though some see this as a very isolated, off the grid experience, that's not my intention for this trip. I want to meet people, connect, indulge my passion for travel & biking, enjoy the beauty that this geographic mass has to offer my eyes, nose, skin & heart. I'll be getting a small laptop & blogging my way across the country.

Music playlist donations for my biking soundtrack are also welcome.

I'm STOKED about this very RAD adventure I'm about to embark on. Melton has been super supportive, which I appreciate tremendously.

I'm very excited for the next few months! Let me know if you want to join me. Thanks to everyone I corresponded with about the job stuff and all your support!!"

So I'm not joining Sheila but I figured I would share her email with you all. How cool is this adventure! You can keep up with Sheila and her adventures on her blog http://inspiredtobiketour.blogspot.com/

Let's support the people out there who are bucking the system and doing their own things in life!

How Outside Magazine Saved My Life...

I had been itching to get out of the airline business pretty much since I got into it. The summer I was 14, I worked in my dad's warehouse doing data entry, labeling newspapers and doing other stuff. It was a weird world I had ventured into, the walk from the office to the bathroom, all the way on the other side of the warehouse, was particularly scary for a 14 year old girl. There were stories of crazy people - like the crazy old European woman that would lift up her dress in meetings with her vendors and crazy people that tried to make me memorize the international rule and tariff books, for fun. I think that the combination of lacking sunlight and wacky people made me not want to ever go back. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the job from my dad but I just wasn't that into it.

So numerous years and accelerated summer courses later, I landed back with my pops. What you may or may not know is that both my parents worked in the airline industry and my dad used to take me to the airport with him when I was a baby. I joke that I must have inhaled too much jet fuel as a kid.

So what I expected to be a short term gig, ended up becoming a career - one that I never actually wanted. No doubt it was what I needed at the time, I used to be scared to answer the phone and years later I could be found sitting at my desk with my office phone on one ear and my cell phone on the other! But jokes aside, I got stuck, I let it happen. My mom says I'm a gypsy, and that is something, along with all my creative aspirations, I turned off. At least I thought I could.

So I had this great, very hectic career, working with some awesome people and I couldn't breathe anymore. Traveled the world (didn't see much of it), rented an apartment in Manhattan (didn't see much of it) and I couldn't take it anymore.

Around the summer I turned 30, some great people made their way into my life and helped me uncover some of those passions of mine that I thought had been long lost at this point. I am a person that used to look at the sky, trees or ocean and try to see how many different shades of color and shapes I could see. It's sort of about training your eye and mine had been severely out of focus.

It took me months of mental anguish to start taking the steps to make some of the changes I needed to make. At a particular low point, I had to go on a few business trips. I was at the airport browsing the magazine stand and I saw the cover of Outside Magazine, on it were three surfers and it said "Dream Jobs - Turn Your Passion into a Paycheck." I didn't buy the magazine on the first flight or the second or the third. Finally on the fourth flight, after a particularly aggravating conversation about my career path, I bought it. I read the issue from cover to cover on that flight.

I realized there are millions of people in this world who hate their jobs but that I did not have to be one of them. Sure, it is only a small percentage of people that are successful doing something they totally love to do, but what is stopping me from being one of them? Me - that's my obstacle, that's it. So if basket weaving is what turns me on, might as well go for it.

I guess today is online journal day, given that I have spent hours online looking for a job over the past few weeks and I don't feel I'm getting anywhere at all, I think I had to remind myself what it's really all about.

PS Pick up an issue of Outside Magazine and get inspired!

Photo credit - Outside Magazine.

The Seasons First Surf!

A cold and nasty day last winter, I'm lying under the covers of my bed, watching a cheesy surfing chick flick (ok I'm embarrassed to admit it, yes - it was Blue Crush) and I have this thought - man that would be kind of cool to try. I have loved the ocean since I was a little girl and when I was a teenager I started getting really into the the whole surf culture, and of course I always loved those surfer boys. Anyway, time passed, I grew up and sort of forgot about all of it. So on this winter day I come up with the whacked out idea that I'm gonna try this. Maybe it was part of an early mid life crisis or something, who knows. After researching on the internet a bit I see I can take lessons in Long Beach, NY about an hours drive away. So a year ago I started taking lessons and well, you know the story, I quit my job, took off and went to learn to surf in North Carolina, Bali and Miami.

About two weeks ago I reunited with my crew - we are three girls and we met in the surf classes we started taking last year. We are not any good but we love it and we have a great time together being stupid and cheering each other on. After a lunch in Long Beach we head to Unsound surf shop to get properly outfitted. We have wetsuits, they match - it's retarded, but for these waters we also need neoprene boots, gloves and hoods. This in itself was a hilarious excursion, the gloves are so thick you can't move your fingers, the hood makes you look like an idiot and the boots. Well if you can actually get them on it's an accomplishment but getting them off - that's an exercise in patience, willpower and strength. Much to Jen's mortification, Reena literally had to pull on my boot and drag me across the floor of the surf shop. Funny.

So this last Saturday, now being properly outfitted, we met up again. Jen and I to hit the water, Reena to assist us in getting dressed and cheer us on. One definitely needs a helper because once you have one glove on it's practically impossible to get the other one on and rocking the Michael Jackson one glove look is not wise in 43 degree water. Once fully dressed, Jen and I braved the water. It was not actually that cold but the wind was a killer. We caught a few waves, they were baby ones, but that was just right for us. Despite the cold and the extreme exhaustion from paddling in neoprene it was so good to be in the water again. You are out there on this deserted beach, it's so beautiful, the birds are fishing and you are working hard to paddle, stand up or not fall off; but somehow it is so incredibly calming. All you can concentrate on is the ocean and for a little while all that crap driving you crazy just goes away. Corny but true.

So kook that I am, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, get out there and keep paddling.

Sex and the City

Not really. Last week I had visitors. My cousin Samantha and her friend Steffy came to visit me in NY after they had visited my family in Miami and gone to Key West and the Bahamas (you see - this traveling thing actually does run in the family). The only people that visit me sort of regularly are my mom and my friend Camille who comes up for business. How exciting to be able to show these two around one of my favorite cities!

I picked them up at JFK, we had dinner in Brooklyn at Picket Fences, which is in my neighborhood and is really delicious. Their mac and cheese is awesome. Anyway after dinner I packed these two into my car and drove them into Manhattan. I have some pretty strong opinions on how people should see NY and I consider a night time drive through the city essential. How else do you begin to take in the twinkling lights, the bridges, the billboards, the shock and riot of color, sound and light that is Times Square?

So we drove over the Brooklyn Bridge with great views of lower Manhattan, up the west side, down through Times Square (that really hit them!), through the Village, up the FDR, back down through Times Square again (for the pictures) and back over the Brooklyn Bridge and home. But not before they could experience the difficulty of finding legal street parking in Brooklyn at 1am. Ha ha ha.

The next day, with spectacular weather, we went to Rockefeller Center. The top of Rockefeller Center is 70 stories above Manhattan, with amazing views of Central Park and the Empire State Building. No lines and no waiting. Bonus.

We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue, which is as beautiful as any cathedral in Europe. Funny enough I have lived here for 8 years and never been to either the top of Rockefeller Center or St. Patricks.

We hopped on the subway and went to Gray's Papaya on the Upper West Side for hot dogs that my sister insisted they try. So for something like $3.50 you get the recession special - 2 hot dogs and a drink. I have to say they are really good. I have actually been here before but generally after a night out. We sat in the little park on 72nd and Broadway, watched the city walk by and took it all in. I think one of the really important things to do when in a city, be it your own or one you are visiting, is sitting on a bench in the sun. Somehow I think you get a better feel of the place, you just have to sit, be still, observe and get the energy of the place. Now that I think about it I think I have been doing this for a really long time. Funny that I just notice this.

After chilling out a bit we headed back on the 1 train and hopped on the Staten Island Ferry, the best and cheapest way to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and lower Manhattan. Why is is the best? It's free! Imagine, something that's still free in NYC! So after the trip on the ferry it was time to get back on the 1, we went to Central Park, took a carriage ride through the park - again something I have never done, and it was really nice. After taking some pictures with our cranky horse, we walked up to Lincoln Center and had dinner at Rosa Mexicana. For sure one of the best restaurants in the city. We drank pomegranate margaritas, Samantha made guacamole table side with our waiter overseeing, we ate too much, tried to get through the pitcher of sangria and headed out again. But destined for home we were not.

I ask, where in the world can you go shopping at 11:30pm? Times Square of course. So we headed to the Quicksilver store, the girls did some shopping and we finally made our way home.

The next day we headed back to Manhattan. The girls were not much for seeing museums but the weather was not so great, I thought well, I could take the to the Museum of Sex. (Yes this is where the Sex and the City part comes in.) Again another place I have never been - so first we see the exhibit on Sex in Design - plenty of interesting objects and art on display, for cultural purposes of course. Next comes the "film" exhibit. Well, that was interesting. Everything from "educational" films to soft core, hard core and celebrity films on display. Kind of a weird place, a few suspect characters standing around just sort of watching the films very intently. It was sort of shocking and funny all at the same time.

We decided to go get some lunch and headed to Coffee Shop in Union Square. Models and quasi celebrities abound, we ate a delicious lunch, went shopping again in the claustrophobic atmosphere of Times Square. We caught our breath in Bryant Park with a coffee and made our way back home. Initially I had big plans to take them to a fancy dinner and then out to a bar or lounge but I think we were all so tired out that we opted to stay in, order a NY pizza and watch a movie.

The following day, I got the girls some bagels (I had to make sure that they ate the NY classics!) and they packed. We went for lunch at the super fantastic A Farm on Adderly, where we intrigued the bar man and the patrons with our Swiss German. We finished up, packed up and made our way back to JFK for their flight to Zurich.

6 Months Later....

So I started documenting my journey 6 months ago and so much has happened. I have been half way around the world and back - it almost doesn't seem real. I made some really great new friends and have been able to spend some quality time with old friends and family. Lots of catching up on the last few years.

Did I have that epiphany as to what to do with the rest of my life? No, not at all. I think one of the hazards of taking off and doing something like this is that you can end up more confused than ever. I know other friends have gone through this. You start running out of money, you don't want to go back to a corporate world and way of life but you have NO clue what you want to do.

What have I learned? I know I like to chill out and live life a little more slowly, but I also know I like certain parts of city life and it's vibrancy. I know I have great friends and family, that every time I start to get stressed out about where I'm going seem to have just the right things to say to me. It's weird, I did this thing - traveling across the world by myself, quitting my job and looking to start over doing something else and I get scared just putting a resume together. Aren't there jobs for people who want to travel, write, take pictures, do yoga and surf?

I had plans to start a yoga teacher training course now in April but it was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Isn't that a funny way to remind me everything happens for a reason and I should just go with the flow? Strange.

But don't take this post as me bitching and complaining - I am happy and I am so so so happy I did what I did. It's probably the biggest gift I could ever have given myself. Somehow I just thought it might be good to recap the last 6 months and give an honest statement of where I am now. So I will keep blogging about where ever I am and whatever I am doing, if only for myself. I am kind of liking this online journal thing!

Time to go home

After spending a few fabulous weeks in Europe it was time to go back home to the USA. So once again I boarded a plane and made my way back to JFK International Airport. However I was not to be spending my time at my home. I had a job lined up! So I unpacked and repacked and headed to the Upper West Side of Manhattan where I had the job of watching Finn, my friend's cocker spaniel for a few days. I love animals, so for me it was a great way to make a few bucks. I spent my time hanging out with Finn, froze my ass off in the snow, went to a career seminar to look for that epiphany and did some general catching up.

After Finn's mom came home I was back off to my home in Brooklyn to repack again, I was off to Miami again but this time to pick up my car and drive it back.

I spent the next few weeks in Miami, lethargic as all hell ( I think there is something in the air down there!) I visited with family and friends, worked on business ideas, hung out with my cousin and her friend who were visiting from Switzerland and did not do much else.

Finally on the 17th I was ready to get on the road again, this time really eager to drive and get back to NY. So I drove - no stopping for sightseeing (although I would not have minded a few surf lessons in North Carolina again), no speeding tickets and 1 flat tire - and 2.5 days later I was home and ever so happy to be back.

Venezia Parte Due!

The next day I woke up, got out of the hotel and went to see Piazza San Marco in the light of day. I don't think words can express what a magical sight Venice is, the skies were bright blue, the sun was shining making all the gold on the buildings glitter and because it was not high season there were not a lot of tourists. Perfect!

The piazza originated as a small plaza in front of Basilica di San Marco in the 9th century and was later enlarged to it's current size in 1177. I went to explore the basilica, which is this amazing mix of various styles of design and architecture - Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic. I was told that when you walk in the basilica your jaw literally drops, well I can attest to that. The walls are covered in the most amazing mosaics, many of them gold, so everything just twinkles. I figured since I prayed in about every temple, Hindu and Buddhist, that I have come across in the last few months I might as well pray in a church who's faith I was actually born into. So I sat in a little chapel off the main basilica, on the the creaky wooden bench and kneeler and listened to an at least 90 year old priest give Italian mass. After mass, I walked up into the dome of the basilica where you can actually go out on to this roof terrace and take in the sights of the piazza. Really spectacular.

That morning, my aunt Helena and her friend Gertrude had driven down from Switzerland to meet up with me in Venice. It was really nice to have some company - Venice is almost too romantic a city to visit alone. Either be with a boyfriend or some friends and family but not necessarily alone. So once we met up, we went for a fantastic lunch at a lovely restaurant on the Grand Canal, next to the Rialto bridge. We basically walked for hours through the city, past technicolor bright buildings, into fantastically expensive boutiques, we went to the Basilica Frari where I was able to see the famous painting "The Assumption" by Titian. In this painting Titian developed a particular shade of red paint now known by any art student (me) as titian red. We kept walking through the city on these winding roads and alleys over these tiny bridges. We passed antique booksellers, paint pigment stores where the colors are in powder form and you just wish you could stick your fingers in the powder, the color is just that beautiful. I think over all the color and light in Venice is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, this rosy pink misty light in the morning and in the evening turns white buildings pink and just accentuates the vibrancy of the colored buildings. It is like literally wearing rose colored glasses.

We had a lovely dinner where we received free prosecco (sparkling wine) for apero and a free limoncello for the digestif or after dinner drink. Limoncello is a tart and sweet lemon liquor, served chilled and especially delicious. We visited Harry's Bar for their famous bellinis, prosecco and peach puree. Harry's Bar created the Bellini and was a favorite haunt of Hemingway. What a day!

The following day we went to the local market where we saw all the food the locals were buying for their lunch and dinner, oranges from Sicily, anchovies, artichokes, octopus and all kinds of fish. After seeing where our food came from, we went for our lunch. I had planned to go see the Guggenheim museum after lunch but I was having so much fun with Helena and Gertrude that I decided to skip it and stay with them. Instead of going to the Guggenheim I ended up purchasing a pair of ridiculously gorgeous and sexy Italian shoes, now known as my Guggenheim shoes as they are quite the work of art. Ha ha ha.

After lots of walking, talking, shopping, eating and such it was time to go home the next day. So after breakfast we drove north, stopped at a town by the Garda Lake for lunch, stopped to visit the Virgin "Rosa Mystica" in Montechiari and finally made it back to Switzerland that evening. All in all, a fantastic trip.