Lately there have been some athlete blogs showcasing gorgeous scenery... mountains, trees, beachfront settings, sunsets... all inspiring vistas. Often, when I take pictures during my workouts I, too, generally focus on the pretty things (except when it is a pivotal bathroom or monumental dungheap). I tend to look one way and not the other.
I am definitely sequestered from reality, here all cozy in my little gated community. This hit me hard on Saturday morning. My husband was listening to the radio. "Did you know there was another homicide?" Another? I have been hiding my head in the sand... He went on..."There have been 8 homicides in (our city) this month!"
It is just over one mile from our house to the pre-ghetto... the edge of the Iron Triangle. Fortunately, between our house and the pre-ghetto are: The Gate, police headquarters and 6 lanes of freeway. When we moved to this city we were moving from the nation's #5 ranked crime city to #6... a step in the right direction :P but The Gate really makes all the difference when it comes to feeling safe.
Last night, I went for a ride. I decided to look that other way. Not the pretty way. I didn't head into Crime Central on my bike, though I do drive through it nearly every day. It doesn't really scare me, but perhaps it should. I guess I tend to not really think about it. It's there. I need to go through it to get where I am going. Just do it.
I headed, as usual, over to the water. For a change, instead of looking out over the water at this...
or noticing the lovely marshlands and all the interesting waterfowl or Mt. Tamalpais in the distance, I looked the other way.
About a mile of the ride is alongside a huge postal transfer center...
I am definitely sequestered from reality, here all cozy in my little gated community. This hit me hard on Saturday morning. My husband was listening to the radio. "Did you know there was another homicide?" Another? I have been hiding my head in the sand... He went on..."There have been 8 homicides in (our city) this month!"
It is just over one mile from our house to the pre-ghetto... the edge of the Iron Triangle. Fortunately, between our house and the pre-ghetto are: The Gate, police headquarters and 6 lanes of freeway. When we moved to this city we were moving from the nation's #5 ranked crime city to #6... a step in the right direction :P but The Gate really makes all the difference when it comes to feeling safe.
Last night, I went for a ride. I decided to look that other way. Not the pretty way. I didn't head into Crime Central on my bike, though I do drive through it nearly every day. It doesn't really scare me, but perhaps it should. I guess I tend to not really think about it. It's there. I need to go through it to get where I am going. Just do it.
I headed, as usual, over to the water. For a change, instead of looking out over the water at this...
or noticing the lovely marshlands and all the interesting waterfowl or Mt. Tamalpais in the distance, I looked the other way.
About a mile of the ride is alongside a huge postal transfer center...
The razor wire lets you know you shouldn't hop the fence.
This mile goes by fairly quickly when biking but much more slowly when running.
Next door to the postal transfer center is ...
Home of $9.99 pizzas that are soooo bad for you.
Right near the Costco is a great little getaway spot...
Coffee Cup Beach
The pathway down to Coffee Cup Beach...
I thought I would find a litter-mess of coffee cups down there.
Nope... just a rainbow of colorful, used condoms.
A little further down the trail is this...
I know what you're thinking...
prison guard watchtower!
Wrong!
It has something to do with horse-racing...
the track grandstand is in the distance.
And here are the bales of straw and horse-trailers in the parking lot.
One of the exciting parts of the trail is where it parallels the freeway. Just a flimsy cyclone fence and 4-foot retaining wall between you and fast cars...
It's kind of hard to shoot video with a cellphone while biking down a trail,
so a little slack in the professionalism department and a lot of appreciation for the risks I took :P
So that's the less-gentle side of my 'hood. I am working up the guts (or stupidity) to do a photo/video study of the harsh side.
Are you ever afraid where you work out? Of what?
Do you get to run or cycle in a lovely environment?
