The Hunger: Diana Nyad and the pursuit of an "Xtreme Dream"

In August of last year, I received a phone call that changed my life. I had just married the woman of my dreams, our art gallery was beginning to recover from the recession and I was in the early stages of launching a web development and social media consultancy business.

When I answered the phone, the voice of a close friend said to me "Alex, I have a job for you." Diana Nyad, the world champion long distance swimmer needed my help. Her attempt to swim across the Florida Straits from Cuba to Florida ended after 26 hours in the water. But she was not finished. In fact, she would be leaving for Cuba in a couple weeks to try it again, a dream that would not die, so difficult some would call it impossible, but in her mind it was a forgone conclusion that she would walk on the Florida shore 60 hours after jumping into the harbor in Havana.

I joined Diana's team as her webmaster, tasked with a similarly impossible task of keeping her website from crashing when 1 million people stopped by to get hourly updates on her progress. The blog posts I  transcribed arrived to me via a sat phone on ship to a scribe in New York and then on to me, to post on the website and spread the word on Twitter and Facebook. At all hours, I would await a phone call with the latest news to share. Being the #1 trending topic on Twitter was a heavy cross to bear! Luckily, I had many friends supporting me in this herculean effort.

Alas, Diana was stung twice by deadly box jellyfish and yet continued to swim towards her dream, until the poison forced her to abandon the swim. But quit is a word not in Diana's vocabulary. In about a month, Diana will once again set off for Cuba to make her swim across the ocean, at the youthful age of 62. When I speak to her, there is no doubt that this time she will make it. And I could not be prouder to be a part of her team.

Rivka Galchen has written an amazing profile of Diana in this month's issue of Elle Magazine. If you have ever faced a seemingly impossible challenge, take a moment to read Diana's story and be inspired to live your life with no regrets, and pursue your goals with passion and determination.

Mountain Bike Sunday: Paseo Miramar to Eagle Rock

This past sunday morning, I jumped out of bed bright and early eager to go on a mountain bike ride, my first of the year. I've been looking forward to taking out my barely ridden Jamis cyclocross bike, which has been sitting for 6 months with nowhere to go. It's the perfect bike to ride on fire roads, where major suspension is not needed.




Around 630am, I tossed the Jamis in the back of my truck and drove to Pacific Palisades. I chose to ride up Paseo Miramar, a very steep uphill trail that leads to the Backbone Trail and Eagle Rock.

The backbone trail goes from Will Rogers all the way to Point Mugu. You can literally spend days and days riding around the Santa Monica Mountains on this trail.



I arrived at the trailhead and hopped on the bike and began pedaling. The trail got steep, fast!

CAT 3?
I tried to shift into the lowest gear and realized it was slipping. I spent a few minutes turning adjustment screws and finally got it sorted out. Back on the bike and even in the lowest gear, this was waaay too steep for me and my double ring cyclocross setup. At that moment, I really missed the triple chainring I was so used to on my mountain bike.

Without the triple, this ride turned into my own personal alpe d'huez.



I struggled to keep the cranks turning, taking turns sitting and standing, and eventually getting comfortable enough to accept that I was going to make it to Eagle Rock, eventually...



Once I got past the first 2 miles, where there's a 1000 feet of altitude gain, the ride became much more pleasant. The air was ultra clear and the trail had a soft tacky trail surface from the rains that fell the night before.



As I finally had a chance to catch my breath, I was reminded of the fact that I live in gorgeous part of the world that is there for me to enjoy whenever I want it. Deer ate breakfast by the side of the trail and spring was making her presence known in the blooming flowers everywhere.



"Why don't I ride here more often?" I asked myself.



No excuse...

La Pura Vida en Baja California

La Paz

La Playa Balandra

Bird of Prey

Sunset over the Sea of Cortez


Todos Santos


Fiestas Tradicionales de Todos Santos


Vestidos Folklóricos


El "Thing"


Carne


Textiles


de la mano


Objective Fact: Best Taco in the World


Perro Tranquilo


Cactus Garden


Margarita

Diana

Fiying high above the ocean, looking down on a sea blanketed by puffy white clouds, my mind thinks of Diana. Diana, goddess of the hunt, virginity and the moon. Artemis, daughter of Zeus, sister of Apollo, frozen in marble, her bow taught with tension, her arrow on the precipice of flight.

Like our Diana, standing on a stone perch in Hemingway Harbor, about to take flight across the sea, across the universe, across the mind, across time and history. For 60 hours, she will stroke her way across the ocean, 200,000 pulls of the bow, to bring her across. Diana, pure of mind, at peace, at rest, yet active. YET ACTIVE! Pushing her body and mind beyond the limits we set for ourselves. But not Diana. She had 30 years to think about this moment. What's 30 years to 60 hours? What's 30 years to 103 miles? How lucky she is to be out there, in her element, doing what she loves, with the ones she loves, and the ones who love her.

Morning Moon

The sound of sprinklers woke me up. I glanced outside to find a crescent moon hanging low in the east, beginning a daily journey across the sky, with the sun chasing close behind.