things i think about while powerwashing 66

how to bike to work

For those who knew me in high school and early college, I was famously a non-driver. I did not have the courage nor willpower nor knowledge to drive until I was 18. I had gotten rides from nearly all my friends in high school until I got back one summer from college and decided: enough was enough.

And I basically haven’t left the road since. Every time friends roll into town or are mobilizing together, I’m always the one offering to drive! But with gas prices the way they are … I’ve been trying to cut down on the amount of driving I do in my commute by eliminating it all! By biking.

Haha, you are thinking, you must live so close to work that it doesn’t even matter. NO. I live 7 miles away from my workplace, and for some reason I have chosen to make a 14 mile round trip a few times a week. Am I getting healthier? Sure. Am I also making a fool of myself as I slowly pedal my way past traffic, dripping in sweat and gasping for air? Possibly.

But the logistics of biking to work are interesting. For example, it helps to have a suitable backpack that can also hold your work clothes. I have this neat little backpack (I just wear my sneakers when I bike and work) that hold all my clothes and work materials and I just hang it under this little hook I put under my desk.

There are whole industries built around this idea — bike racks to carry your bags. Specialized bags to clip onto the side of your bike rack. Very very very expensive pants that work for both biking and work. Similarly expensive shirts that can be worn when biking and when at work. I haven’t bought into it much … yet … but it sure can be tempting when I’m walking around that section of REI!

So this week was just a little rant about something I was looking into. Maybe next week I can do a general overview of public transit in the Bay Area.

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top 3 tunez: atreya verma

Esteemed subscriber Atreya Verma enters the fray with some classics as well as some artists that I haven't heard of before. The only thing I know about Jon Batiste is that Swifties kind of don't like him for stealing Album of the Year and getting a bunch of nominations at the Grammies.

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• Fast Car By Tracy Chapman: She performed her 80s hit live for the first time in nearly a decade at the Grammys this weekend with Luke Combs. One of the most beautiful renditions of a timeless song.
• Butterfly by Jon Batiste: the Uber-talented musician makes it impossible to predict which way this song will go next, keeping you on your toes the whole time
• Flowers by Lauren Spencer Smith: if you’re going through a breakup or just want to be in your feels for a little bit, take a spin on LSS’s latest release :)

animal of the week

This week, I am the contributor. Out of nowhere, my family and I saw a fox roaming around the backyard. After taking a shit, the fox jumped onto the fence where I could get close enough from my window to snap this quick picture.

Please remember to submit your animals to me! At ryan@torrtle.co!!! See you all next week!