While passing through the Harbor we witnessed another Tsunami surge, the tide in this picture is about 4 or 5 feet higher than it should be. It came up and drained back out in 6 minutes or so, pretty incredible to watch. Apparently this has been ongoing since 9am yesterday
Then breakfast and a toodle around town on the way home.
Thanks for Oma and Opie to watch the baby, It was a great morning
If the camera were not strapped on for this shot I probably would have dropped it, friendly guy, but startled me something fierce while on the slippery section of trail.
Spring is coming on strong around here
Shortcut home with time getting tight.
All this within a mile of home, play in your local parks. What you find may surprise you.
Today I was reminded by my wife to get out and go for a ride for myself. This place is about a mile from home, sometimes I stop. Most of the time it is a bridge to and from the other rides. This is one of the many reasons my family works so hard to live here. The beauty of our immediate surroundings is a blessing.
Grabbing the coffee and heading out to enjoy a few minutes of the morning to myself, I made it to the bridge and decided it was a good day to just enjoy the view. With all of the challenges of every day life it is easy to lose track of how fortunate we may actually be. I have an incredible wife, a healthy 9 month old baby girl, extended family for support, food, shelter, and my own wits about me to keep things going. Things are good, I am always striving to make it better, but things are always good.
Happy Friday, Play outside and enjoy your family!
Turn around point
Some dirt on the way back,
Good thing had the head light for the last stretch, daylight was fading fast
Praying for some sleep tonight.
Headed up the coast a bit for a quick loop. The coastal range acts as a shield from the local mountain winds. A byproduct of the high pressure dominating our local weather is the wind that comes with it, 30-40 mph gusts my late morning. The wind it the price we pay for 45 deg mornings and 65 deg afternoons in the middle of winter.
Stopping on the way back to enjoy the view of the islands.
and then time to get home and back to work.
Even a few hundred yards now and then can put a bigger smile on after a ride around the neighborhood.
This morning there was only a bit 
time for a quick toodle around down town and to close the loop along the beach for a quick surf check. After yesterday's comment about living in a smaller town I thought about expanding a bit. 
Work brought me to the Ventura area four years ago. When it was time to find an apartment, a garage for the tools and gear, and close to town and the beach were the key criteria in the search. We ended up in a town house two blocks from My wife's work, a few blocks from down town and the beach. We are able to walk down town for dinner and shopping, there are at least four local bike shops within two miles of the house, the ocean is blocks away. Most of our produce comes from the weekend farmer's markets either up the street on Saturday or I use the Sunday market ten miles away as an excuse to put in some extra saddle time. Things like Costco or the nicer food markets are a bit further, but still very accessible by bike when you need to stock up on supplies. In the last few years my work was as close as a three mile pedal to the job site, and at worst 65 miles in the car down to Los Angeles.
The only downside, well I am having a hard time coming up 
with a downside. I did not even ge to expand on the mountains to the north expanding into the Los Padres National Forest, or the fact that if we did want to venture into LA it is only an hour or so away. This is not meant to be a sales pitch for Ventura. Think about what you do to live and work and how to structure your life so that you can do the things you want. For me that is getting out of the car, onto the bike, into the water and having maximum time to spend with my wife and daughter. 
Every time I take work that puts me behind the windshield for hours on end I regret it, I am trying real hard this time to not lat that happen again. It is possible to have things come together so that you can do it your way, though you have to do it and not wait for it to just show up.
If you find you current situation less ideal than you would hope, particularly from a transformational cycling situation, just get out and make the best of what you have. Things are probably better than you think. In my four years here in town I have discovered and been able to share more than many people who have lived here for decades. The key is getting started, get outside, commit to using your legs to get around town. When that gets boring, commit to not going the same way twice to get to the same places for a whole week or more. Most of all recapture your time and have fun.
The GoPro® Helmet HERO™ Wide Camera
Living in a small to medium-sized town near your work and playgrounds definitely makes the car light lifestyle so much more accessible. The temperate climate is just the frosting on the cake.
Even though it started off at a chilly 43 deg it is warming up fast.
Happy Friday, Play outside and enjoy your family.
