It’s one thing to talk about cutting away busyness at a high level, but how we do it in our day-to-day lives? I suggest using simple tools to remove distractions. This is no easy task. Most of us work on a computer (a.k.a. distraction machine) for large parts of our day and spend entertainment hours in front of glowing […]
The neck of the person to my right is bigger than my thigh. Her boyfriend’s biceps obviously contain watermelons, and drunk guys in bars would single him out for a fight to test their manliness. I’m attending The Fit Expo at the L.A. Convention Center, where there’s a protein shake sample for everyone and a […]
Thoreau said it well: “It is not enough to be busy. The question is: what are we busy about?” We bury ourselves in activities, put our head down, and toil away. Popping up to breathe years later, we look around and wonder where we are. This isn’t the life I wanted! The new year is […]
This article was initially published here on The Good Men Project. Beneath a crescent moon in western Montana, I park the camper van among thick pines. My dad, who loves to sleep under the stars, lays out his bedroll. Bears (or mice – they sound the same in the dark) tromp through the woods. “Can I […]
On Christmas Day, Chelsea and I talked about 2015 during a walk along the sea cliffs of Santa Cruz. Instead of throwing out new adventures and aspirations, we studied the rear view mirror. We are currently landed in Santa Cruz enjoying the sunshine and excellent local trails. This stillness affords reflection on what we’ve done, […]
The wedding invitation from Chelsea’s brother offered three options for the dress style. White. Sexy. Steampunk. We chose steampunk. Which meant we had to figure out what steampunk was. If you’re wondering, Wikipedia has a long, opaque description…that still left us with no idea what to do. Google image search saved the day. (Picture steampunk […]
To share the latest happenings, in the future I’ll occasionally start blog posts with italic notes like this. This week’s announcement is an interview we did with Bicycling Magazine. Check it out! For years, my dad and I talked about doing a road trip. We made it happen this October, carving out 10 days to drive the Sprinter van through the […]
Heads up that Chelsea and I are heading south to San Diego this week for a wedding. Afterward, we’ll drive up the California coast in December. If you’re in the area and want to hang out, shoot us an email! —— We all know good video when we see it. The creator’s process and methods are less obvious. […]
One of the finest routes I’ve ever cycled is Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. The winding, beautiful trip over Logan Pass starts by a rushing river and climbs (and climbs) for 11 miles as views of the valley below open like a magical picture book. During a recent road trip through western Montana, my dad […]
Yesterday marked two years to the day since we fired up the Sprinter van and headed out on this trip. The picture above captures how excited we were. The time, while highlighted by various adventures, has also freed me to invest in creativity through writing, photography and (lately) video. Another huge benefit is that traveling non-stop […]
It’s 1863. The Civil War rages, herds of (dwindling) bison still roam the plains, and Conestoga wagons are in style. Henry Ford won’t drive the first Model T off the line for another 45 years. In the hills of southwest Montana near the Continental Divide, the mining town of Bannack is thriving after gold nuggets were […]
Kindness from strangers is a side to travel that frequently surprises and humbles me. From help with directions to an unexpected offer of a place to stay, I’ve received gracious treatment dozens of time. Having the opportunity to pass along the goodwill is just as much fun. I missed the publication of this short video called Road Angel while […]
The winds over the Cascade Mountains in Washington always punch airplanes around. As I sat in a 20-seat propeller aircraft during a recent trip, the metal creaked, the engines roared, and the pilot fought winds so strong the flight attendants stayed seated the entire time. (Never a good sign.) Luckily, I happened to be reading a book chapter about fear. […]
I’m one of those weirdos who loves tracking numbers. They help me understand and frame the world, my data-gobbling brain dining happily when served courses of city populations, distances traveled, workout stats, or even Quicken files tracking our spending. I’ve dialed this back over the past few years to avoid turning into Spock, but still find […]
Südtirol or Sudtirolo. South Tyrol. The Italian Dolomites. Whatever you call it, the NE corner of Italy was our favorite cycle touring location from our trip through Europe. A German traveler first insisted we visit this place, a sentiment echoed by other people we met along our way. They were right; the little-known, sparsely populated region is […]
Bicycle touring in Europe has something for everyone, with terrain ranging from flat, well-signed bike paths to mountains and the challenge of the Alps. After 3.5 months exploring by pedal power, I absolutely recommend a cycling trip here. Whether your trip is long or short, self-guided or with a company, there’s great times to be had […]
During breakfast in Innsbruck, an American woman nearby leaned over to chat. Lamenting a canceled flight, she lowered her voice and said conspiratorially, “we drove down from Hamburg instead of taking the train because of, you know, all the Syrian refugees.” I didn’t counter her comment. Later, however, I couldn’t stop thinking that I should have questioned […]
Some places stick with me like a bright splinter of happiness lodged in the memory banks. With views like the one of Lake Bohinj above, I’ll be dreaming about Slovenia for awhile. As we climbed over the mountains out of Croatia, I didn’t know what to expect on the other side. I’d heard of the […]
**** I left the country at 23. It was my first trip outside the U.S., a solo, year-long adventure to explore the world. That escapade fused new brain connections as I hitchhiked through New Zealand, played chess with my brother on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and met my future wife in Prague. The result (other than a lingering hatred of night bus travel) was a vision […]
Two months ago, my friend Michael told me about the Petzen downhill mountain bike area in SE Austria. Since it is hunkered in the Carpathian Mountains near Slovenia and 1,500 miles from where we were in England, I figured that would never happen. Nevertheless, I added it to Evernote just in case. Sometimes, these things work out. As we […]