Friday, June 26, 2009

Project: Escape From L.A.

yeah, I've been pretty quiet lately, neglecting my blog. But for good reason! I've been stressed out of my mind with my latest project which I dubbed: Escape from L.A.

See a few months ago, I decided that I cannot be in a cubicle, stuck in front of a computer for the rest of my life. Tendonitis (repetitive motion injury) helped in my decision making. And the fact that I'm not getting paid much. And the fact that biking in LA/SFV is a nightmare (see my previous post about industrial van vs bicycle stalking incident, FYI, LAPD never got back to me about whether or not the City Attorney is going to let me press charges).

My boyfriend also factors in on my reason for moving. He lives up north of Santa Barbara and ever since we started going out last October I've fallen in love with Santa Barbara (and Santa Ynez, Solvang, Los Olivos, etc). I come up whenever I can. Santa Barbara is a small town of a little over 400,000 people. Well, not exactly a small town but I come from Los Angeles, so it's small to me. :) It's got a great bicycling infrastructure, I've only seen one small road in all of my explorations in this town that did not have a bike lane. It's a college town so there are a lot of bicyclists of all ages and types riding about. I'll be starting school at SBCC this autumn, want to work on my prerequisites and get on the waiting list for the nursing program (I was serious about getting out of the frakking cubicle).

I brought up my Flying Pigeon on Amtrak a while back and biked around, got a few compliments on my bike. I usually see a lot of road bikes or beach cruisers up here, but Josef from Flying Pigeon L.A. assured me that he sold a FP to someone who fixes bikes up here so I gotta find this guy.

I move in a week. I had a job lined up but due to the recent budget cuts in California (by our esteemed Governator) the job I was a shoe-in for is not available due to a hiring freeze. Too bad jobs in public service/medicine are the first to suffer when your state is facing bancruptcy. So, at this time, I am job hunting like crazy and making sure all my little items are packed. Got a u-haul reserved for next friday for a room a friend is going to rent to me that's a 20 minute walk to the beach :D and easy biking distance to, um, EVERYWHERE (YES!).

So, if any of my readers know anyone in the Santa Barbara area who knows how to work on european style city bikes, or at least any bike with an enclosed chain like mine, let me know. If anyone wants to get together for a slow ride to explore the area with me, send me a message :) I'm currently blogging from NorthStar Cafe on State St and got the caffiene jitters. May swing by WheelHouse Bikes, they look like my kind of bike shop, even though my boyfriend is loyal to Bicycle Bob's. He doesn't have to know... :P

now for bike porn!


This is my Pigeon at the Santa Barbara Amtrak station, the train cargo lady said I needed a lighter bike. LOL! Even the train station is lovely up here.

ZOMG look at this bitching bike!

I want to find the owner and tell him/her that this bike is so freaking sweet. I love the box. (taken at the beach, in Santa Barbara, near State St)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

hey glad to hear u like sb! I was born and raised here and never have i gotten tired of its gifts...anyway check out bicicentro.com i think thats the site...if not, just google "bicicentro santa barbara"..its a non profit that has volunteers who repair for free/donations.they also do group rides and things for kids and adults/the community. I just got into bikes..mainly single speeds and am building one from scratch. Just started this week! Good luck...no pics of bikes but check my music out at myspace.com/soledadmusic3

Ps. Sb pop. Is only about 95k :)

out riding

out riding
riding my flying pigeon