Cranksgiving San Jose 2021: Two Wheels, New Ways to Help Our Neighbors

On a normal year, I'd sit with a big crew - Ocean's 11-style - and divvy up tasks for Cranksgiving San Jose.

But this isn't a normal year - last year wasn't, either. In fact, I'm pretty sure I haven't had a normal year since 2012. 

Thanks to misinformation, the plague is still very much a part of everyday life - so much so large events are still being cancelled, postponed, or virtual. The Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope ride was virtual this year but still great (the in-person version was cancelled due to rain) and the Appled Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot will once again be virtual. 

Cranksgiving San Jose this year is going to try to borrow the best of both worlds. 

From November 15th until November 24th ride a bike to Spartan Food Pantry at San Jose State University with some items needed by hungry students - check their donation guidelines for what you can bring.

I learned about the Spartan Food Pantry from an article by San Jose Spotlight. Run by SJSU Cares, it found in a recent survey 29% of students at SJSU are food insecure.

For those of you who live and work near downtown San Jose you can plan on an in-person donation Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 5pm or Tuesdays through Thursday from 10am to 6pm. Follow the map pasted above to find the Spartan Food Pantry, which looks like this when you reach it.

When you drop off your donation, be sure to tell the person behind the desk that "I am donating on behalf of Cranksgiving." and take an appropriate picture of yourself/yourselves using the hashtag #CranksgivingSanJose on social media. And tell your friends. Some will ignore, but others may spontaneously decide to help their fellows and make a donation too. You can also make a financial donation to Spartan Food Pantry here and just write the word 'Cranksgiving' in the Special Instructions textbox.  

Cranksgiving San Jose is also running a virtual food drive with Second Harvest Food Bank - which isn't engaging in in-person food drives this year. Whether you can manage a trip to Spartan Food Pantry or not you can join the Cranksgiving San Jose team and make a donation. 

I know all of us are tired and all of us are living some level of Personal Hell since the plague started, but just like we insist on hammering the pedals when every instinct you have tells you to dismount, now is the time to make a million little differences. Thanks for reading and thanks for giving. 

A Cycle of Hope in the Bay Area

This is where the kid-writing-from-summer-camp "Sorry I haven't written" is supposed to go and I'll do my best writing that bit by saying the three terrible words I've Been Busy.  I really don't have a whole lot of words to add to that - and words have been failing me a lot lately. I've had an unusually large amount of writing - or as it is passionlessly called "content creation" - and that has sapped a lot of strength. I also came to terms with the fact that I couldn't get enough people together to pull of Cranksgiving San Jose this year** which contributed to the relative gloom. So I'll just fall back on the standby line, I've Been Busy, move on, and write about a ride I just did to try to find my footing again.

As I've written about before, there's a big connection between bikes and housing: the more we use the former, the easier it would be to build the latter. Parking minimums cost money and empty cars take up valuable space, and without #SB50 in California, apartment projects can be denied or NIMBYed to death. Also there's the whole cars-are-killing-the-planet thing too.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley landed on the idea to use a bike ride to raise funds for their efforts to build affordable housing. Last year was their first one which I did not get to attend. This year, I was keen on the idea, but since I've Been Busy and everything I was working on was shape-shifting mass of timesinks I wasn't sure I'd be able to do the ride - or even if I wanted to: I've been taking fewer rides than I'd like since I've Been Busy and, as shown with my failure to put together Cranksgiving this year, haven't felt connected with the cycling community lately.

But just as my much loved and forever-to-be-remembered ride up to Lick Observatory was born from a crummy mood I figured an organized ride - that had other people and everything - might do me some good. I signed up for the Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope ride four days before the event and decided to do the Metric Century - or 62 mile - course. 

I flung the link to the fundraising page on my Twitter and Facebook page like a spaghetti strand to a refrigerator and didn't bother to see if it would stick. I would have written a passionate blog post about it to try to ask for donations but, as I said, I've Been Busy.

I rode home from work several days in a row (about 11 miles each time - often the most biking per week I ever get to do) and used the cargo bike to do Saturday errands. Hoping I was in the right shape, I filled my Camelbak and - after the Expired Kirkland Protein Bar Debacle associated with my Lick Observatory ride - I set the stage for a new debacle by only packing three individually-wrapped waffles about the size of coasters - only crunchier. 

And early on Sunday morning, feeling groggy because of wretched sleep the night before, I drove to Palo Alto, picked up my registration packet - some cool stuff was in there - and  made it to the start line with ten minutes to spare before we were off. 

Even though I brought a serious* road bike with me - one that I made over the Spring but didn't tell you about because I've Been Busy - I wasn't sure how well it or I would do. As you all know, most people ride faster than me and I'm fine with it. I did keep up with most of the group for a while cruising through the streets of Palo Alto.

The ride was well marked thanks to a little company called RouteArrows.com which has been - and this is from their website - "enhancing the quality of cycling and running events since 2007." If you've been to a cycling or running event over the last decade you've probably seen sticky arrows attached to asphalt. These arrows were color coded because there were routes of different lengths. And I didn't get lost once. Getting lost in a professional cycling event isn't ideal, and not getting lost enhances my cycling experience - so RouteArrows did some outstanding work that day.

And a hat tip to the volunteers who put up the arrows, too. Usually, at just about every intersection there was a turn, there would be a political campaign-style sign, Route Arrows on the pavement, then another political campaign-style sign. If it was a more complicated intersection there were extra Route Arrows to go around or a volunteer with a flag.

I followed the Route Arrows and after going about ten-twelve miles or so we ended up in the Forest Moon of Endor phase. 

At times the roads were uncomfortably narrow in this stretch and at one point I was shocked by a woman driving huge, white Cadillac Escalade. Here's what happened: she came up behind a group of three or four of us, did not use her horn, and hung back. She slowly drove this living room-sized behemoth while following us, and she waited patiently for room to pass. When she got it, she gently accelerated and passed our group with more than 3' to spare.

If you have to drive, please drive like her.

But back to the ride. The Cycle of Hope people were thoughtful enough to share the route map before the ride but that didn't matter to me for the simple reason I didn't read it. If I had, I would have noticed there was about 5,500 feet of elevation gain (about 1,000 fewer feet that riding all the way to Lick Observatory).

The ride also had stations to stop and get water and food. This one came after some climbing - and if I had known there was a lot more climbing to follow I would have eaten more food and listened to the Aloha Ukelele Squad longer. 

I also would have had more of the food at the first couple of rest areas before continuing on. The first one had these little cups of trail mix, and I was so pumped to keep going on the ride I actually pedaled carrying one. A few bumps left a trail of the trail mix behind me...hence the name, I assume.

In the Endor Stage, the trees were beautiful along the switchbacks but for the most part they were blocking my view of anything that would have given me a frame of reference in terms of distance. With Lick Observatory you could actually track your passage up and think "ten miles to go from here, I can do that" or the like...but you'd have to make time to look at a map. I didn't before Cycle of Hope because I've Been Busy so after a while each mile uphill felt like ten. 

To make matters worse, the serious* road bike I made - which has a triple chainring up front - would ignore the tiny 'granny gear' at very random and extremely inconvenient times. I sighed. Ever since building my first mountain bike eight years ago, properly installing a front derailleur has always been my weak spot. 

Before long, nerves in my legs began hitting me with intermittent pain - like each one was being plucked like a guitar string. Even when my bike would get me to the tiny ring, I felt like the essence of my body was sitting in a La-Z-Boy reading a newspaper and would occasionally look over the corner of the page at me with a disapproving expression.

From time to time I was able to take my mind off the pain I was in by taking in a view once one was available.

As with Lick Observatory, I don't mind being passed by faster cyclists since it makes my photos more interesting. 

Even with the stunning view of Silicon Valley I was not doing well until I hit another rest area. This time, I ate food. None of what you see on this table, but I ate the Clif bars and bananas on the other side of the table.

I also refilled my fast-emptying Camelbak with electrolyte water - not in the mood to care about potentially ruining it by filling it with such a concoction - and slowly began to pedal again. The serious* road bike I built never felt heavier. 

But then - a miracle. 

I followed the Route Arrows and suddenly began descending Highway 9 - which felt as though it had been given new pavement the previous afternoon. The serious* bike, which had less than 325 miles on it, came to life - and some of that life came to me in kind. I passed 40 miles an hour at least once as I swooped down the hill and back into the valley. Miles fell. 

As you know from the Lick Observatory ride I did in April, I've begun using Strava - if for no other reason it helps me later remember what hills I was on, which ones were an incredible challenge, and which were a joy to descend - here's an actual screenshot of my ride that day:

After several miles of this bliss, I had to follow the Route Arrows - and a volunteer waving a flag - through yet another beautiful neighborhood with houses few humans can afford. Still, the odometer on my serious* bike told me I had only 16 miles left to go. 

I pedaled as steadily as I could. Back in the populated areas I began stopping and riding beside other cyclists as we were waiting for traffic lights. My legs hurt but it wasn't catastrophic. Simple conversations were struck at red lights. The serious* bike got me a few questions. A drained CamelBak was refilled a third time (even though it is November things are a little hotter in the Bay Area compared to the way it is back east)

Eventually, I rolled back to the starting point and someone on a loudspeaker welcomed me back as "Rider 391!" and I was met with scattered applause...and a medal! I actually got a medal similar to the kind I get when I do the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event in Santana Row. Only there they have a volunteer put the medal on you as you pass through the finishing point. Me, I was so exhausted I misjudged the height and swiftly banged the medal on my nose trying to put it on myself - my only injury besides my tuning-fork legs. 

Moving slowly but with effort, I checked in to say hi to a friend at Cycle California magazine - who was completely understanding as to why I wasn't doing Cranksgiving San Jose this year but he said he wanted to help out next time. And I met the owner - or the new owner, I should say - of Tonik Cycling - a brand of cycling clothes for women. I took a picture to remember the name and I hope you do too, because it has a cool story behind it. 

Even though I nearly needed a spotter to get the bike back into the car, I decided I was very, very happy I had done the ride. On the drive home I vowed that there would be a next time and began to think being Busy was a state of mind instead of an absolute. There would be more group rides. There would be more meetings with interesting people where plans would form and friendships would be made. I also started to plan ahead for a new year's resolution. In 2019 I gave up French fries, in 2020 I'm going to give up being Busy. Sure, I'll have work to do, errands to run, grown-up stuff to deal with, but I'm not going to say I've been Busy. Time, like a bicycle, is something that can be made - and I'm going to commit to having more of both - if for no other reason it is good for me.

I hope you join me in that commitment - failing that you make a donation to Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley - and not to my page, either. We need affordable housing here and we should support the causes and entities that build them. Sorry I haven't written but I'll be writing more. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. 

*with an asterisk. 

**I strongly encourage anyone reading this to #ChooseYourOwnCranksgiving and ride, volunteer, or find another way to give to worthy causes this season. I'll write about this more soon.  In the meantime the hours of the Second Harvest of Silicon Valley at 750 Curtner Avenue in San Jose) on Saturday, November 16th is 8am to 4pm and on Nov. 23 from 8am to 7pm. If you have a bike and can ride it safely, please ride there with some food and bring friends with you!

You Are The Luckiest Person in California - And So Am I

Note: Please do some good - register for the San Jose Turkey Trot (which is tomorrow/Thanksgiving Day

I did not have a bad day on Friday.

What I did that morning - not 30 hours before Cranksgiving San Jose was supposed to start - was put on a N95 mask before heading into my garage, finding a roll of masking tape, and drawing the word 'cancelled' with an orange Sharpie across it before taking the photo you see above.

I used the homemade bike trailer frequently to promote Cranksgiving - even lashing 'Wally' - the decoy turkey bought from a hunting supply store  - to the top as a decoration. I had a plan to get sponsors. I had a plan for social media. I had a plan for the manifest, the weigh-in, the volunteers (and did I have some great ones and am forever grateful to them). 

I had found the perfect venue, too: San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose. 

I didn't have a plan for wildfire smoke.

Early morning on November 10, 2018. San Jose/Morgan Hill Border

The Camp Fire - which has been accompanied by the kind of news coverage and graphics that make most of my friends who aren't in California certain the entire state is on fire - began burning more than 150 miles away on November 8th. Eleven days have passed and it is still burning, and according to the most recent Associated Press story it has killed at least 81 and the list of people who are missing hovers around 800.

Last week I kept one eye on the smoke levels and another on the remaining tasks. When I learned even the most hardcover riders I knew weren't even taking short trips by bike - even with an N95 mask -  I knew it was looking unlikely by Wednesday. The next evening, San Jose Bike Party cancelled their monthly Friday night ride - the first time they've had to do that in 11 years.

So early Friday morning I went to my workshop, flipped my trailer on its side, made the sign (since I had no other ideas on how to convey the message Cranksgiving was being cancelled) and dutifully put the word out. I managed to return the bike racks I rented from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition the same day and I'm returning the prizes to the sponsors this week. And wow, the sponsors this year were great:

Beryl - the bike light company in London I've had a long relationship with - donated both a Laserlight and their Burner tailight (they used to be known as Blaze) just like they did last year. They do have other products and new ones coming out - their latest Kickstarter campaign for Laserlight Core started last month and blew past $135,000 when their goal had been $50,000 - and it's still going. 

Ford GoBike - they're the bike share company in the Bay Area. I own a membership and even though I don't use it a lot I like that I have it. A bike share membership is the confidence that comes with carrying a folded umbrella when walking under an angry sky: knowing a bike is there when I need one, I walk taller.

Be The Change Yoga & Wellness - moving here three years ago and little to put my back up against, I met Be The Change Yoga & Wellness - a nonprofit yoga studio. They just moved to 947 Park Avenue and donated T-shirts and gift certificates for free classes. If you want to manage stress and just be in better shape, visit them. They're amazing. 

Good Karma Bikes - This is a nonprofit bike shop on 460 Lincoln Avenue in San Jose. They sell a few new bikes and parts but they also sell used bikes and parts. Just thinking about it the Mystery of South Norwalk, my City Bike and my California Cargo Bike all have hard-to-find or interesting components on them thanks to frequent shopping at Good Karma Bikes. A must for a maker on a budget. 

Retail Extraordinaire Francois, at left, with Good Karma Bikes founder Jim Gardner

Community Cycles of California This is another bike-based nonprofit in San Jose that gallops in the same direction as Good Karma Bikes but isn't in the same harness. They work in 

La Dolce Velo - This full service bike shop in The Alameda (not far from Recycle Bookstore) is probably one of the most well-curated I've ever been to. They also offer spin classes now that is it winter in California - even though California's definition of 'winter' differs from my own. 

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition - if you ride a bike in the Bay Area get a SVBC membership. The bike lanes and traffic improvements that appear don't appear on their own and not without a fight. I borrowed five bike racks from them to use at San Pedro Square Market and they even gave me two helmets and two water bottles to use as prizes. Right now they're gearing up for #GivingTuesday so make sure you donate to Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition here. 

Gemellos Murals - Lila Gemellos is a local artist who has painted murals you have seen if you live in or around San Jose. I didn't know who she was until she showed up at last year's Cranksgiving San Jose without explanation and painted faces (and also my left forearm) while people were getting registered. She made the process feel more like a party and the cards she makes are beautiful thank-you notes that accompany the prizes being returned to sponsors.

As I write this, I'm looking out the window of a VTA light rail train on my way to work. My home is standing. My family and friends are healthy. I am not living in a tent in a parking lot. I'm not waiting to find out if a loved one is dead or alive.

Canceling Cranksgiving San Jose doesn't mean there aren't other ways to get your good on this holiday season, and in the coming days I'll post some ideas. In the meantime you can register for the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot which takes place in downtown San Jose tomorrow. It helps a lot of great area nonprofits, including Second Harvest Food Bank, which can use funds every bit as much as it needs good donated by bicycle. 

I took this picture this morning of the sunrise in San Jose. The AQI is under 50 and the air doesn't smell like my college roommate's car. We were only inconvenienced by smoke but didn't have to run from the cause of it. 

I feel pretty lucky and hope you feel lucky with me. Thanks again to everyone who supported Cranksgiving San Jose - and thanks for reading and thanks for riding.

Be The Change You Wish to See in San Jose

First off if you live in California vote No on Prop 6 (gotta lead off with that - it's kinda my brand for at least the next seven days. You've hopefully by now read and shared my No on Prop 6 post and LTTE. Also in San Jose vote Yes on V and Yes on Prop 1 and Prop 2).

But this morning I don't have time for long posts but I wish I had since I have good news on Cranksgiving San Jose to share - still on for Nov. 17th at 1:00pm at St. James Park. Cyclists will get together, get shopping lists, fan out across the city, and meet up at San Pedro Square Market for the weigh in, totals and prizes. Community Cycles of California and Ford GoBike have both stepped up as new sponsors this year - will have more about that; just follow Cranksgiving San Jose on Facebook for the updates. 

There's one sponsor in particular I want to single out for the moment: Be The Change Yoga & Wellness. My backstory with these people started at the tail end of the summer of 2016 which was about 3/4 of the way through the most difficult year in my adult life (and those of you who have known me a long time: yes, it even beats the summer of 2002 in New Hampshire).

I started doing yoga during the free 'yoga in the park' events to try to make peace with myself since I at the time, one year into living on the West Coast, I felt pathologically rejected by California. I felt like I was planting things, tending crops and everything would just die in a frost. Freelance work ground to a halt, hundreds of job applications went unanswered, and I felt like I had no tribe. 

But I met up with Be The Change and doing yoga once a week - or, rather, clumsily attempting to put my body through the poses once a week- was a good way to bring some light in. I made friends and just enjoyed talking with the people I'd meet - both the teachers of the class and the students in the class.

One student I met was a woman at least ten years older than me who was - and still is - very bubbly. We'd talk bikes often since I'd ride my bike to the yoga in the park. Once, I noticed a strange scar on her forearm and asked what had happened. 

Matter-of-factly she responded that a rat had bitten her while she was sleeping in the tent that she lives in. 

Be The Change is donation based and they're all about making yoga accessible to those who can't normally take an expensive class. People like my homeless classmate. Doing yoga classes once a week became a guiding force for me - I found that yoga would often help when I was in a creative rut. 

When I got a part time job last year (that, happily, was a couple of blocks from Be The Change) the first meeting I had with my boss about my hours factored in me taking a 90 minute lunch hour one day a week so I could attend class. The job eventually went full time and I still keep that schedule whenever I can. 

Be The Change sponsored Cranksgiving San Jose in 2017 and months ago, before Cranksgiving 2018 was on my radar, I asked the manager of BTC if they'd sponsor again and she immediately agreed. 

Sadly, something happened between that day and this morning: the rent, as it only seems to do anymore in downtown San Jose, skyrocketed and BTC won't be across the street from my office anymore - they have to move to 947 Park Avenue - and they are doing it soon.

You know what else? Even though this is a difficult and expensive time for them they are still stepping up to be a sponsor of Cranksgiving San Jose. 

I don't easily get floored by kindness or impressed by people, but the women and students of Be The Change are Those People (I also include the teacher in training who I startled last week when I fell asleep at the end of a restorative class - that I am not used to taking - and she tried to correct my posture. Sima: please tell her again I am so sorry about that!)

This is where I'm going with this: Be The Change needs help with their move and I want this to be the feel-good story you see on Bay Area Proud. A lot of people have already stepped up to help them with their expenses and I want you to do the same. Here is the link to their GoFundMe page:

https://www.gofundme.com/be-the-change-yoga039s-new-home

That's really all I've got - value the businesses and organizations that are your neighbors and let's help a neighbor out. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.

The House, The Car, The Vote...and California

The 800 pound hammer in Healdsburg was stolen. Police are relying on unconventional means to find the culprit.

Before I begin I need to remind readers of two things: if they live in the state of California they must Vote No on Proposition Six...and that the 800-pound hammer that was part of an art exhibition in Healdsburg, California is still missing.

Anyway I was looking through old copies of Sunset Magazine I had bought at Recycle Bookstore in San Jose. Specifically the February 1955 issue. 

The pages of these old magazines are kind of the original blueprints for the 1955 American Dream - the kind that today looks like every house you see on the first few minutes of Flip or Flop. 

The advertisements in old magazines are always entertaining to look at - usually more so than 63+ year old articles, and especially the ones that sell us a product that no longer exists.  

The ad that sticks out the most for me is the one with two huge 1950s cars. Dad and son are happily washing one while mom is pulling up in another, and two dogs are just looking on. I can just picture Don Draper responding positively to being shown this image at an ad agency meeting. 

This ad is telling readers that two cars are becoming a "must" so you should buy two cars - and why not make them both Fords!

Ads like these aren't just selling a product, they're selling a lifestyle. House, lawn, and at the center of it all: cars the size of small public libraries. And oh yeah: you need two of them. 

That part makes me smirk. I've been married for 13 years and my wife and I have had only one car between us the whole time. Between bikes, VTA (even though I'm still sour they killed the express train), Caltrain, ride share, bike share, scooter share we make our world work - by the skin of our teeth. We'd like living in California more if we didn't need a car at all.

But California was designed for a world like the one in the Ford ad - one where two adults would own two big, lead gasoline cars that you would drive guilt free and not think twice about it. The trouble is the infrastructure for 1955 California (which had about a third as many people in it back then) is mostly still with us today - save for the occasional $1 billion spent on highway upgrades that just make traffic worse. 

An unfortunate contingent of Californians are fighting tooth and nail to keep the romanticized, normalized world of driving and suburban life intact. They want to keep selling us on the house and the car and all that comes with it. California 1955: cheap gas, heavily subsidized roads you never quite see the bill for, and distance between your home and all the things you love that can only be covered by a car.* 

But like "The Surprise Car of the Year" California 1955 is a product that no longer exists. 

This November, we can decide if we want to vote for the California preserved in a specimen jar or a new one that recognizes that a new one can be made.  Please do not vote for Proposition 6, which keeps gas cheap and auto infrastructure baked in California's DNA - and please do vote for Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 - which makes housing less expensive.*

Also if you're in San Jose, please vote Yes on Measure V - it's an affordable housing bond measure that'll bring $450 million to help build more affordable homes and that has the potential of making a lot of people's commutes shorter - short enough to potentially bring additional cyclists into our ranks. 

The election is in 27 days and it's not enough just to promise to vote - you have to promise to convince others to do the same. Do that with me and let's not let the NIMBY contingency win this time. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.

P.S. - if you're in San Jose and have a bike, a lock, about $20 to spend on groceries and want to spend Nov. 17th taking part in fun bike-based food drive, follow Cranksgiving San Jose on Facebook!

*I'm stuck by the fact that some prominent people are in favor of Prop 6 but against building more affordable housing. "Yes, let's keep gas cheap so poor people can get to the jobs we give them from the neighborhoods we assign them to that are far away from ours!"

Five Ways To Feel the Holiday Spirit

Something I haven't told that many people: I have a really hard time feeling the Christmas spirit like I used to. 

It's been like that a few years, actually: the last time I really felt the buy-me-the-biggest-goose-in-all-of-London! feeling was the morning I took the bike ride I took to different toy stores on December 14, 2012.


And on the way back I found out about the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary.

One of the twenty pictures I posted a few days later - one for each of the child victims - this one summed up the feeling of Christmas in Connecticut at the time.

The following year the division I led at my then-workplace which studied consumer books was closed and I was laid off in the most unceremonious and maddeningly polite way imaginable. Today I do take some comfort knowing I was right when I predicted the resilience of print books and independent bookstores and I predicted the disaster that would ensue if Barnes & Noble tried to separate their e-book business from the rest of the company. 

But still, it stung.

My point is it can take a while to move past the derailments that can sometimes take place around the holidays - or you just aren't feeling the Christmas vibe. Either way, I got a few suggestions at ways to try and feel the holiday spirit.  

Here goes: 

5) Watch the Cranksgiving San Jose video shot by Tanner Marcoida


https://vimeo.com/247746177

Yeah it has been a while since I've written, hasn't it? Cranksgiving San Jose took place on Nov. 18th. It was harder to do this year since I was running it - and I'm not just referring to my painful lack of leadership skills but my inability to drum up volunteers to replace the ones who moved out - or were priced out - of San Jose between the first Cranksgiving San Jose in 2016 and this one. 

Still I'm incredibly happy with what was done: we had 61 riders gather 891 pounds of food to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. And the other day Tanner released the video and it is really difficult to watch without smiling. 

4) Donate to Housing Trust Silicon Valley

If you've got year-end charitable contributions you want to make before the year comes to an end, please donate to Housing Trust Silicon Valley. They do a lot of great stuff to help people who are impacted by the cartoonishly high home and rent prices out here: financing affordable homes, down payment assistance for buyers, programs to help homeless move into a place they can afford. They do important work, and as of two months ago, I am happy to say I help them do it.

3) Take a Yoga Class and donate a class at Be The Change Yoga & Wellness

Three days before Cranksgiving I was in for a shock: TechShop closed suddenly. While my anger at their Chapter 7 filing and sadness that it couldn't stay open in an area revered for its innovation is still with me, it was a reminder that in order to support local organizations you have to pull out your wallet. 

When I started doing yoga a few years ago I looked at it as a chance to be in a room full of beautiful women once a week while gaining the flexibility necessary to repair a kitchen sink with the aid of a spinx pose. But it's turned into more, and I felt a lot less unanchored in San Jose when I found Be The Change Yoga & Wellness. 

This is a very well organized pile of clothes and supplies Be The Change gathered in order to help the homeless. They allow students to take something if they can give it to a homeless person they know but I think they'll be eventually giving them out at St. James Park (which was the starting point of Cranksgiving San Jose this year). 

So when you donate to them and support BTC by taking a class as a student this is the kind of thing you're supporting. They just rock. Support them and, even better, also take a class since it's a great way to de-stress this time of year. They also have a tree right now that you can decorate by writing something you like about yourself and hanging it on a branch.

2) Volunteer

That's me with my new creation: a towable bike workstand made from the skeleton of the child's bike trailer someone in my neighborhood was throwing away. It made its motion debut at the Turning Wheels for Kids Big Bike Build that took place on December 2nd. 

Thousands of bikes were assembled by hundreds of volunteers. I put together eight of them. I wasn't in the most Christmasy mood at the start. "Ugh!" I said to myself more than once, "If they play Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas is You song again she'd better show up with an apron and a spanner to help!"

But something happened during the day. I started smiling more - and it wasn't just because strangers kept coming up to me to admire the workstand. I began to realize that little kids will grow up into adults and will always remember the Christmas morning where they came into to the living room and saw it near the tree. 

The bikes were all built with incredible speed. By the time everyone left mid-afternoon I was in a better mood. I even caught myself mumbling/singing "I don't care about the pres-ents under-neath the Chris-mas tree" to myself quietly on the way out. 

Find a place you believe in and donate money, time or both.

1) Ride a bike at night

Before you take a ride at night make sure you take ownership over your safety and get a light yourself - a Blaze Laserlight if you can.

There's not a lot of time toward the end of the year for leisure rides, but you can take miniature bikeations around your own neighborhood at night and look at all the Christmas lights. I did this a lot more in Shippan Point in Stamford and am just starting to get back in the habit of doing it again out here. It's a good way to absorb some Christmas through your rods and cones - and silently criticize the decor of others, if you choose. 

So that's what I've got. If you are a long-distance holiday traveler, I feel your pain. If you are welcoming a long-distance holiday traveler: they just want to see you and everything else is just details. No matter what, enjoy your time with family and friends. Ride together if you can but make it a no-drop ride with an asterisk: drop grudges, drop attitudes, drop regrets, drop stress and drop the general extracurricular ridiculousness. Enjoy the holidays. And if you don't feel the the-goose-that-is-as-big-as-me?! excitement rest easy. You'll get there. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. 

Riding the Ferris Wheel at Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose.