Off the Clock I ran — well, ambled over — the Dipsea Trail last week with my running buddies. I started real early. It was the first time in 20 years I’ve run the (7+) mile course without a certain amount of stress and a definite amount of pain. The upside, of course, is the beauty of the trail and the lore and romance of the race. We all had fine dinners at the Parkside in Stinson Beach (they have a knockout inky black porter on tap), gemütlicheit of all these healthy people.
I was forced to quit by knees that would no longer take the hard downhills (where I had to make up for being a slow uphill runner). Being forced into racing retirement has huge benefits. Running, if I do now, for the joy of it. Off the clock. No hurry, no need to train, hey, there’s a lot of other stuff to do!
Look Where You Want To Go This is what a pro mountain biker told me. Meaning when you’re say, going fast downhill in rough terrain, look at where you want your front tire to go, don’t look at the immediate foreground. Look ahead and your body will make the adjustments and get you there. Same principle in life. Focus on where you want to go and by golly, you’ll usually get there. Athletes know this.
Our Next TWO Books I’m starting on Water and Wheels: Tiny Homes On the Move as soon as I get back from this (my last) PR road trip. I’m going to start the book with mobile units by one guy — tent, dogsled, umiak, sailboat, birchbark canoes, road van — all created from scratch by Mark Hansen, a prolific and remarkable builder living on the shores of Lake Superior.
The second book, due to a flash yesterday, will maybe be on Small Homes, say under 1000 sq.ft. We’re starting to collect info, so if you know of unique home in this category, please leave a comment with yr. email address and we’ll be in touch. It’s either a book like this, or a second tiny homes book. Just have to see what shakes out.
My Last Tiny Homes Roadshow Trip I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Seattle, renting a car, hoping to both go to a somewhat remote hot springs and then to SunRay Kelley’s Sedro Woolley compound to photograph his latest works, if time, out to Anacortes, to check out aluminum fishing boats (in the 15′ range), then drive to Puyallup to do a slide show at the Mother Earth News Fair at 4 PM on Saturday June 2d, then Sunday to NYC for the annual Book Expo America and a slide show at the v. cool Spoonbill and Sugartown bookstore in Brooklyn, Wed. June 6 at 7 PM. I’m so excited to be going to NYC; it’s been a 40-year love affair. When the cab hits 2nd, 3rd avenues my pulse starts racing. Absolutely station central. I’ll be blogging up a storm from there.
Love the inspiration I get from your blog. Thank you! I'll be at the Mother Earth News Fair as well, tabling for the non-profit I work with. Excited to hear about your slide show. I'll definitely come check it out!