Random Thoughts

Photo credit: Moyan Brenn

In my late twenties, there were a couple of years I didn’t have a car because I had sold mine prior to moving to Spain (to live in a small town on the Costa del Sol for a year). For much of that time, I lived in Kensington, which is at the north end of the Berkeley hills, just east of El Cerrito, and worked at Backroads Active Travel Company down in the flats of Berkeley. While there were times my roommate, Steph, let me borrow her car or gave me rides, or I took the bus, for the most part I got to work under my own steam, whether by bike, inline skates, or on foot. Getting to and from work took about 40 minutes each way.

It was annoying, to be sure, but I remember feeling good by the time I arrived at work; invigorated and with the feeling that I had already accomplished something.

Yesterday I walked to all my destinations around town and didn’t get in my car once, which is rare for me. I walked to the Homestead Valley community center to meet with friends and then walked downtown to meet a handful of them for brunch. They all offered to give me a ride but I told them I wanted to walk. They were just ordering when I arrived twenty minutes later, so it was perfect timing. Then I walked home and a couple of hours later, walked across town to my friend Steph’s house for dinner. All together, I walked 4.8 miles, which isn’t a huge amount but still gave me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.