hillary dixon rust

Okay, well maybe it does. For lack of a better word we got lucky last night.

We had our usual Thursday meeting but due to my lovely wife's eating habits we ended up skipping Coach and Horses and heading to a little bar called Little Bar. 
 
You see, my dearest sweetest Sara is a vegetarian and so when she found out that there was going to be a vegan hot dog stand posted up outside Little Bar right by our house she asked if we could swing by. Everyone agreed to switch the meeting place and that was that. 

The meeting was going as planned and everyone is on the same page and drinking some beers and a guy walks up and says something about the beer we chose and asks if we want some buttons and of course we do so I notice that the one I grab has a bike on it and says "ride your bike" and Emerson says "Hey, mine says "I love (but with a heart) bikes)"." 

The guy explains that the company he works for was born on the seat of a bike. I immediately tell him about the doc and he says it sounds awesome and the rest is history.
 
Dallas is what they call a "Beer Ranger" over at New Belgium Brewing which is the wind powered, employee owned company that's based in Fort Collins CO and makes the very tasty and popular Fat Tire beer.

There's nothing official yet but just the idea of having a beer sponsor makes me happy. I can't imagine a better fit for the crew we have assembled. And if it wasn't for Sara wanting to buy a hot (veggie) dog off a street cart we would have never had the chance.

I'm finally off work tomorrow so stay tuned for some new pics and maybe a surprise. Yeah, I have been planning something special for you. 

Chirp,
hillary  

First let me apologize (to the two of you) for the fact that I've been slacking on the posting and pictures. 


I've been working with Emerson which is good but it makes it so that my riding is just commuting. Not that I'm upset about it. I love to ride regardless.


I rode with my good friend Dan Illescas on Sunday and it was extremely good in all respects. Dan made up his mind that he needs a cross bike and took the first step to making that happen which was to sell his old trek.


Okay, I can't contain it and I swear I'm not counting chickens before we even get the eggs but I sent an email this morning to American Classic http://www.amclassic.com/weeblylink_new_window 
and I actually got a response! They like the idea. The only thing I had to agree to was to wear a helmet the whole time. Which is a no brainer. There was concern because in the video we didn't wear them but I wear one all the time since march and ha ha ha.


I care what happens!


Thank you.


Chirp,
hillary

But Rapha has apparently been making the most badass road biking videos for like the last year with the help of the amazing Dave Christenson (http://www.vimeo.com/user387659weeblylink_new_window) behind the camera. 


All I can really say is HOLY CRAP PLEASE let our doc look as good as this. 


Some people might get discouraged when faced with such awe inspiring work and think "I should give up because I cannot compete with that.", but not me. This gives me hope and makes me know even more that we are headed in the right/best direction with the vision we are trying to create and and and...I'm just really pumped on Rapha and ther clothes and the videos right now and I hope that we can be as good as them. 


Here's a lil' taste - http://www.rapha.cc/short-films-from-the-roadweeblylink_new_window


Just go seek out their Vimeo.com page to get more blown away.


Chirp,
hillary

I must say that riding in Griffith offers some of the best of all worlds. It's almost car free, there's very very few reasons to stop riding, the hills go up & down and uhm...well that's it really. 

T'was another pleasant day in the park. The up parts of all the hills are getting easier which I think is a good thing. I'm sure once I'm out on the road I'll find something worse but hopefully by then I'll be soooper tough.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3278204weeblylink_new_window

Chirp,
hillary

the less I post the less people look at the site. So I guess I need to ride more.


I finally snapped to the realization that the business cards I ordered really weren't coming and promptly reordered them. The whole thing is dumb but I did unearth some really cool photos of my old bike and so I cropped them up into what I believe to be some wicked cool abstracty type things and made more cards that I'm actually happier with. As my wife says, "Everything happens for a reason."


Which explains a lot really.


Last night Emerson and I had our weekly "doc meeting" at what I believe to be the best bar in Hollywood the Coach & Horses. The reason I think it's the best is that they sell 24oz PBR's for $3 during happy hour. The other reason is that I swear I saw Guy Ritchie there last night Nick Moran and whatever. Also, there is a DJ on thursdays that plays awful music and he has a shaved head with tattoos all over it. 


The point is that Brent McCracken came along and he wants to be a camera guy for us which is awesome cuz he is awesome and it will make it a zilly times better. He's got a ton of experience and good ideas. 


Time for a quick ride and then I'll post some pictures.


Chirp,
hillary

I don't know if he'll bother to come check the site but...

While I was on Palos Verdes Blvd South today I met a guy named Chris on a super rad Specialized Tarmac (SL?) which is road cyclist code for super rad bike. I pedaled my ass off and caught up to him just so I could get a look at his bike and we ended up talking for about 5 minutes while we rode. 


He was on his daily loop and had plans to stop by a church his friend is remodeling. When we parted ways we shook hands and I suggested he check out the site since I am making a documentary about cycling. It would be easier with business cards (I'm sure they'll be here soon) but I got my full name out before he made his turn so hopefully he'll be reading this...that would be weird.

Well the reason I mention it is because it's the 1st time I've actually gotten up the nerve to tell someone about the doc/site that is just a random stranger. Everyone else, even the people I don't really know I at least know a little. Well whatever.


Chris, if you're reading this, thanks for the conversation and thanks for stopping by the site.  


ride report http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3272567weeblylink_new_window


Chirp,
hillary 

I love to ride for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is that I get to think. 
It probably sounds silly but I can't really think most of the time unless I'm doing something. I'm not sure if I even want that to make sense.

My point is that I got out on the road today and something popped into my head. The thought has been banging around in my skull for a long time but today it seemed more urgent and important.

The idea is that maybe this capitalist, consumer driven, disposable society we live in isn't really the best way to live. I mean, we all basically live like James Dean. Fast, loose and out of control. But some people don't even see this as a problem. They don't see it as something that needs solving. They either aren't aware, or don't care about the consequences of living life in this manner. Well, look at ol' jimmy now.

I think of things like disposable razors and it hurts my brain. The thought of developing a product that at its core makes it necessary to make more of the product seems insane. But we as a society have embraced this and now apply it to just about everything we own. We plan on getting a newer version of whatever it is we've bought just as soon as we possibly can. The example I use will not only prove my point but it will make me look awesome at the same time.

EX: I was coming down Melrose on my way home from my bike ride and I saw Blackberry (the phone) on the street next to a Jeep Cherokee that was parked outside of a Pet Clinic (the sign didn't say veterinarian). I stopped, circled back and picked it up. The phone had a scuff on it but the screen was intact and it was obviously still working because it started ringing in my hand. I opened the door to the Pet Clinic and there were 3 ladies sitting inside all holding onto their dogs. I held up the phone and said "This was on the street next to the Jeep parked out front." Immediately a lady dressed up in Juicy sweats and with a bit too much Botox jumped up and said "Oh my gosh thank you! It must have fallen out of my lap.". She looked at it, saw the scuff and then said "Well now I have to get a new phone."

Now, I'm not saying that it's completely horrible to get new things. I got stuck behind a guy today in an old VW Beetle that  had been extremely well maintained but in the end the engine just isn't nearly as efficient as a newer one would be and I'm sure that cute lil' bug has belched out more than it's share of poison by now. Solution? Get a newer car that pollutes less and keep it for another 15-20 years. 

I read a true story one time in Discover Magazine about a company that had developed a way to make scalpels and razor blades (and a ton of other highly useful things) that lasted up to 25 years without ever becoming dull or needing to be replaced. They shop their inventions around and were repeatedly turned down by manufacturers because they had a limited number of sales they could make. Meaning, once they sold one of their products the customer was set for life, thus they lost a customer. It seems to me that I would love to never have to buy another razor but I guess I'm crazy. It also occurs to me that there would almost always be more customers because new people are born everyday. But I guess a razor factory that has to wait for people to grow up and need razors wouldn't get much use... 

So the way I apply this to myself and the documentary is that if I had my way and the series was a success it would essentially make itself obsolete. Which I see as a good thing in a whole bunch of ways. Mostly because I love to start new projects and I already have a few that I want to do after the documentaries are finished. 

Chirp,
hillary

I thought it was going to be really hard to find things to do for the documentary that fit my general idea of what the whole is supposed to be about. But once I set out on my researching spree I've come to find that there are a million things that fit. Which is great but now I'm realizing that it might be harder to pick the "right" things to do.

It's not all about cycling.

While it's true that in a sense, this site is about all things biking, but there's really more to it than that and I hope to do a better job of exploring that. I'll start now.

One night fairly recently I was at a party sitting by the pool having a conversation with some friends. The topics of the night were much like the "mighty duel" between Wesley and Inigo in  The Princess Bride. They ranged all over and were as much like battles as pleasant conversation can be. Oh to be opinionated.  

We finally settled on what we were currently reading, which is normally pretty safe because we normally never read the same books at the same time and thus can never really debate the subjects. I had been reading a book that was partially about a group of people that "set out to save the world". It doesn't really matter but the book is nonfiction.

My friend immediately laid into me with "What does that even mean? You can't "save the world.". Do you mean "save the human race"? It can't be done. That's not a goal. That's just something people say. What are these people really doing?"

Sounds like a nice night huh? Well that's the way we like it. I explained the "saving the world" idea in a bit more detail but no one was having it. For example, they didn't see how studying traffic patterns to alleviate congestion made any difference. Heck, maybe I don't either, but I want to. And  my friend's comments did make me think. 

What am I doing to save the world? What am I doing to make it better for everyone? Is there something I can do that will support me that can also benefit a larger group? How can I do what I love and get my own selfish goals and  make that good for everyone? 
 
So, I made this site to support my idea for a documentary about exploring the US by bicycle. But why do I want to do that? Why not go by Smart Car or train? Well, I love riding bikes and have always wanted to do a cross country ride. I remember as a kid wondering if it would be possible to make it from my house to the beach without getting on the expressway. Later I did quite a bit of traveling by car across the country but it never felt quite right. It was always more about where we were headed and how soon we were gonna get there.

As much as I want to just get away and ride on the open road and not think of responsibilities or work or money or food, I just can't seem to do it. Even if I had the money to jump up and leave I wouldn't. I decided there had to be a way to make my selfish act of exploring the world in a way I love good for everyone. 

I've been working in Reality TV for a while and I've met and traveled with some amazing people like Emerson Jaco who I've become good friends with. On top of that, my best friend Zack Mctee (http://www.zackmctee.comweeblylink_new_window) owns and knows how to operate a really awesome Canon 5D Mark II camera that shoots high quality video and takes amazing still photos.  We all think it would be cool to meander across the country and make enough money to live and also to make something awesome to share with the world.  We also know that we are more than capable of doing it.

But it's more than the traveling and feeling of freedom for me. It's also a way for me to become a better person. You see, I am almost constantly confused by people and the way they do things and their reasons for doing those things in the first place. I dislike being confused. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you "hillary hates everybody.". Which in a sense is true because everyone confuses me, but in reality I am in love with all people and their individuality. What I really dislike about people, myself included, is our constant irrational and illogical behavior and I want to be less confused by getting to the bottom of this behavior.

Here's a quick example of what I mean - 

Are Cheeto's good for you? I think we can all agree that unless you are literally starving that Cheeto's are not good for you. So then the follow up question most people would ask is "Why do you eat them if you know they are bad for you?". Which is a very good question and one I would like to know the answer to but the question I really want to have answered is "Why does someone (a company) make Cheeto's?". 

I'm not going to try to answer that in this post. I will almost certainly explore the idea soon but for now I want to focus on why I want to make the documentary. 

So here I am, wanting to make something that people like, but that is not only not harmful to them, but actually good for them! And good for me. The only way I can think to do that is to meet real people one on one and have conversations with them about their motives and what drives them and hopefully connect with them in a meaningful way. If we can do that and make it entertaining to watch and get people thinking differently and bigger and in a more communal sense then I think I'd be happy with that.

I want to meet artists, musicians, people that run successful "Mom & Pop" businesses, urban gardeners, people that make their own clothes, regular farmers, people that make their own soap, urban planners, hunters, environmentalists, and you. I would love to meet you. Who ever you are and what ever you do and think and want and need, I want to meet you. Let's meet up and save the world. 

Chirp,
hillary