Was a nice day. So went and got away from people and watched waves at the Marin Headlands.

When I go on a bike ride my mind is pretty clear. Probably the only time I don’t have a million thoughts running through it. My bike rides is more of a form of meditation.

Most bike riders are passing me by. Most don’t say a work which is fine by me. I wonder if it because I’m not in lycra a d riding a road bike. Have we got pass the whole waving craze and just let people ride in peace. 

If I’m around town most bike riders are riding all kinds of bikes and running errands. When I get away from town it is the road cyclist in their lycra. Racing each other and probably trying to beat times of other cyclist on Strava. I’m in shorts and t-shirt and hiking shoes. Hiking shoes have become my favorite shoes to wear when riding my bike. If I wind up at Briones I lock up the bike and go hiking. Might ride the trails but it becomes difficult in some areas. Pushing a bike is more tiring than hiking up a trail.

Thursday seems to become my errand day on the bike and Friday is my long rides. I don’t know why it just became the routine. 

The weather is turning nice and that means less time stopping at Starbucks and Peet’s and more resting outside. Nothing is better than reading a book under a tree with a nice breeze. Could become a short nap. Now that is what riding my is about.

Daylight savings has arrived and it sucks. Lose an hour of sleep and spend the next month adjusting to it. Why does government always have to meddle into the lives of people.

This signals the time for people to come out of hibernation. Time to get in the way. Go clog the parking lots. Go hiking and have to get passed the fat guy wearing a football jersey and his wife and kids. The kids are running around screaming. The parents are screaming, “Get back here! Get away from the Cliff!” The beginning of a hike I have to speed up and get pass them. Hike far enough and it becomes quiet and I can enjoy the views. 

The warm weather bicyclist start to make an appearance. Time to clog the bike routes. Some even decide that blasting crappy music through a bluetooth speaker is the way to go. Can’t enjoy the sounds around them. Then there are the constant talkers. Good thing I have rides that most do not do. Most do the main rides. Go to a bicycling book and see what are the best rides in your area. I look at those books to know what rides to avoid. I will ride them in the winter when the warm weather bicyclist are in hibernation.

Thanks George Bush for getting people out of hibernation a month early. Can’t wait for winter to get here.

Rain didn’t show up today so I hopped on the bike and went for a ride. Not only was it a nice day but the wind didn’t show up. Now that makes for a perfect bike ride.

Now lets see how long does California take to fill pot holes and repair streets. Riding in the bike lane and avoiding pot holes makes for a blood pumping ride. I like to stay in the bike lane but sometimes it can’t be avoided.

When I drive city streets I try to stay out of the right lane. It isn’t only trying to avoid bicyclist but trucks that double park. 

If I can help it I stay off of busy streets. I know I have the right to be there but sometimes I feel like i’m putting my well being or life on the line. There is the three feet law but it is ignored. Cars don’t want to slow down behing a bicyclist so they will go buy and hope for the best. 

More bike lanes are being built but in some cities they are rarely used. Richmond CA I know you want to be a cycling city but your bike lanes are rarely used. Maybe you should fix your streets instead. There is a sadness in empty bike lanes.

REI wants to be my bike shop. Can’t see that happening. Don’t like making an appointment months in advance for work. 

REI changed their bike brand name from Novara to COOP. Don’t think I want COOP on my bike. Change the name of the Safari but it is still a Safari. I have a Safari and I like the name. It says, “Adventure.”  I feel like a road trip.

Time to start heading home.

I miss the 1980’s rack systems. They sounded great and the bouncing lights were great. Nothing better on a night that is snowing and lying in bed and watching the lights bounce.

Remember when the CD came out and it was great. No getting up to flip over an album. Thought the sound was great. 

I tried the digital downloading of songs and really don’t like the sound. It is convenient and works great for the throw away music that is recorded today. But every now and then a song catches my attention and I download the song. I can’t see buying the whole album because as I said most of the music today is throw away.

Before the government messed up the radio with allowing corporations to own more than one radio station in a market there were so many choices. I grew up with radio playing Big Band, 50’s and 60’s, Jazz, R & B, Country and everything else. Then the 90’s and poof radio sucked.

People say you can go with Sirius, Spotify or any other internet radio. Again I’m not paying to listen to music. Good thing I kept my music collection. Though through the years I have weeded out the junk and probably need to do it again.

The mixed tape was great. Always enjoyed making a mixed tape and then sharing it with people. Then I got a recordable CD player but the mixed CD never caught on. Then the Ipod came along. Then internet radio. No one cares anymore.

Living in the SF Bay Area is getting out of the price range of the middle class. The cost of living keeps going higher and people have to keep moving further out. Which adds costs just to come to work.

If you are riding public transportation to work it could cost you $200 to $400 a month. For example people move out to Pittsburg or Antioch, or Oakley to buy a bigger house or to pay lower rent. A BART ticket from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Embarcadero will cost $13.10 round trip add $3.00 for parking if you drive. Just for the fare, not including parking that comes to $65.50 a week. That is $262 a month. Now if you drive you have gas and wear and tear on your car.

The problem with the SF Bay Area wages have not kept up with cost of living. If you are on the low end of the pay scale and having to live further out you are problem living pay check to pay check and probably running short at times. Probably living with one or more people.

The SF Bay Area has always been expensive but there was a time when a person could make it. Everything here is out of whack. Homeless have started putting up tents in Oakland, San Francisco and other cities but the cities just let it go. They don’t even want to fight it. They may do a token raid but the tents will just go elsewhere.

The education system is busted and the politicians won’t fix it. Just throw money into it. Never gets better. I would think if you have Silicon Valley the education would be there to provide people the skills to get the jobs. Nope. Only the high income areas have that hope and in the poor areas get what you can because the politicians have wrote the poor off.

So companies higher people from Asia to do the work because they are being trained to do the job in the Tech era. Don’t learn math and science and you get to fight for the crumbs. Ride the Fremont to San Francisco train and you can see the failure of the education system. Look at job wanted posting and see the jobs in Bio-Tech and High-Tech that goes unfilled because Americans are not qualified to do the jobs.

The SF Bay Area is becoming a land of rich and poor. The middle class is disappearing and having a rough time making it. People living here should understand the reality and adjust. A high school diploma is useless. Learn a trade that can earn a higher income. Because the days of just figuring it out later on is over.

At least the SF Bay Area has mild temperatures and plenty of activities to do. Can’t say there is nothing to do, There is plenty to do and some it costs nothing. The pink section in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sundays list things you can do. Also there is plenty of hiking and bike trails.

Personally I enjoy living out here but the cost to live out here is rough. Doesn’t help the the answer the politicians can come up with is raise taxes and fees. They keep this up and why have a job when I can make more living off the state.

Went to hike the Marin Headlands. Was cloudy but not too cold. Some of the trails were blocked because of all the rain. Not too safe to be near the ledge. One minute you are on solid ground and the next heading toward the ocean. Always good to play it safe.

The tunnel going to the Headlands was closed. Doing work on it. Have to take the long way. Takes more time. Bicyclist going down is not a problem. Coming back and they are in the way. Some have to be wondering what they got into. Flying downhill is one thing but have to peddle up hill that is another thing. Some are in over their head. But they are getting some exercise. 

Still was a nice day for a hike.

Didn’t rain as much as the weatherpeople said. Actually got a bike ride in. Nothing to adventurous. Rode to the gym to get a workout in. Nothing too crazy. Got in after the morning crowd had gone. 

After the workout I rode to Walmart to use the Coinstar and exchange my coins for cash. Coinstar has to get a better choice for gift cards. So took the cash and Coinstar keeps ten percent. Still a nice chunk of change though.

Then it was off to the library. Pull out the Chromebook and looked around the internet. Not a lot going on. Checked my stocks and they keep going down. Wouldn’t want to think about retiring now and watching my IRA and 401k start to lose money. The fear of having to work extra years to make up the loss. But it could be a buying opportunity if stocks keep going down.

After finishing playing on the internet I did some reading. Actually was able to finish a book and start another one. Got to keep moving forward with my reading.

Now if the rain would leave I can get into doing longer bike rides. I’m not touring or commuting to work so I want to ride in nice weather. I actually make a bad bike tourer because I don’t like riding in the rain. I tend to stay longer in a town. Yeah I’m a fair weather tourer too.

Actually I don’t worry too much about how many miles I ride. Good to be on the bike and not in the car.