hillary dixon rust

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