Just a little Sunday morning bike ride in SF

Most excellent bike ride

Today I went on a big bike ride in Marin County with my coworker Mike.  It was an amazing ride and took about 4.5-5 hours.  We did a ride called the Alpine Dam Loop.  We rode through San Anselmo, Fairfax, then through the redwoods to Alpine Dam, up a sizable mountain, along the ridge that overlooks the Pacific Ocean on one side and Marin County on the other side.  I'll let the photos paint the picture.

Songs about being alone, then getting up

Two of my favorite songs about being alone.  The PJ song takes someone's hand and gets the f out of here.  The D-Plan song is about the open invitation - to anyone and everyone - to be with others: "you are invited, by anyone to do anything.  You are invited for all time."

Damn I love these songs.





Fun fact: I saw the Dismemberment Plan and Pearl Jam together in Zurich in 2000 with Vinay, Amit, and Andrew Corey.

Fall weather

I was back in Grand Rapids the past two days conducting a "community forum" on how the community will collaborate to improve the conditions of children and families (that's a mouthful to say, but it was one of the most inspiring moments of social impact that I have seen at FSG).

As we were driving to the airport, I saw these beautiful, colored trees. Combined with tue crisp air I thought "THIS is what fall should feel like". Yes, I suffer from envy of other places, and I know that other cities have their pros and cons. But I also know that fall weather, taking into your lungs that cold, crisp air, is what I'm used to and what I want my fall to be like. College and high school football, back yards, leaves on the ground... Yeah, that's what I grew up with. I'm lucky that I get to come home to Birmingham to feel this weather, and to visit Grand Rapids a couple more times.