Roots of Running Routes

Moving to a new place is more than simply unpacking boxes and filling out change of address forms. It's also about exploring the new place, and that means finding new running routes. Sometimes when plotting a new route, I simply go out a general direction in hopes of creating one. This can lead to getting hopelessly lost or running around in circles, but eventually leads to a new place to run. It's often trial and error process, guided by experience, and a lot like learning, where frustration and confusion coupled with persistence eventually yields to discovery. Finding new places to run helps me put down new roots, which strengthen I periodically visit these spaces again and again.

Setting up running routes in Belmont is made a lot easier by the great set of running trails they have in the open space areas around Water Dog Lake Park. It's something I've taken for granted living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where secluded trails are often just minutes away from highly urban areas. Having lived many placed both outside and within Bay Area, I can see myself putting down some good roots here in Belmont for a while.

Movin' up the Peninsula to Belmont

A number of big changes have happened over the past few weeks, and one of them is that I've moved up the San Francisco Peninsula to Belmont, CA, about 30 miles north of my old San Jose home. Since my kids live a majority of the time with their mom in nearby San Mateo, I realized I was missing too much of their lives down in San Jose. You can always go back and run races you've missed, or try beers you haven't gotten around to drinking, but there is a short of window of time you can be there for your kids as they grow up, and then it's gone for good.

With all these big changes, I haven't gotten a lot of running in lately. But rest assured, I have maintained my usual beer intake. And yes, posts here have come fewer and further between lately, but that will be temporary. Next month, Linda and I will be taking the kids on a Southern California road trip, where we'll take the kids to some fun spots in Southern California, as well as some of the excellent brewpubs on the way. I think these will be some fun postings, and I've always said craft beer drinking and family peacefully mix and will take the chance to show it, rather than just talk about it. And this coming August, I'm hosting the Beer Blogging Session. The topic is "A Special Place, A Special Beer" and I'll be asking participants to explore the geographical connection to beer and places by writing about a special place in their lives and how the beer connects them to that place.

Anyway, I'll start getting back into shape, and hope you'll stay tuned to the "new" Bay Area Beer Runner.