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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cTo ride your bike over a big hill, that takes a little effort. To ride it all day, every day, you just get into this rhythm,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThe big takeaway for me from the trip was that if you think of long-distance runners after they run for an hour their brain waves enter theta states and it’s a different level of consciousness \u2013 it\u2019s more primal, not a lot of thinking, just being. And we were in theta state all day, every day, so our consciousness changed because of that and we became more in tune with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Reed, he found solace in the physical exercise of the trip and being outdoors \u2014 activities he recommends for COVID-weary people who need a boost from the mental and physical fatigue the pandemic has wrought.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this calm and inner peace that comes overt you from both the endorphins, and separation of body and mind, and the wonderful environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Reed, a landscape architect, said he believes that \u201cnature is in our genetic memory,\u201d and that experiencing it has extraordinary benefits. His descriptions of the places he saw on his trip demonstrate the awe and reverence he still has for the natural world today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat to me is one of the great takeaways. For instance, Kansas was one of the most transformative places I\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hit the prairie when the wheat was turning from green to gold. I will never forget the color. It was as if you mixed emeralds with gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then we hit the Rockies,\u201d he continued. \u201cBasically, it was still winter. We got snowed on \u2014 that was one of our backpacking parts. We climbed the longest peak in Colorado \u2014 and the sky is so deep blue up there. I can only imagine what it\u2019s like on Everest. You\u2019re closer to space and it shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
All along his journey, which ended in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and then south through \u201cthe most regal of forest kings \u2014 the redwood trees\u201d and The Avenue of the Giants in northern California, Reed kept a journal and also chronicled the trip with a 35 mm camera with Kodachrome film. When his father passed away seven years ago, Reed discovered his father\u2019s 13-page memoir about WWII, which inspired him to write his own memoir. He transcribed his journals over a two-month period before writing his first draft and then polishing the book for four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cUphill and Into The Wind\u201d is Reeds\u2019 debut memoir, although he points out that he has been published before in a San Diego Writers Ink anthology and throughout his career in various landscape architecture trade publications. But this memoir is special to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting story. I\u2019m so glad I put it out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The book is already gaining some recognition. In November, the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project awarded Reed its Local Authors Community Arts Award. As part of the award, they purchased a number of books for local distribution through the Little Free Library at Surfing Madonna Park, located at Leucadia Pizzeria and the intersection of Highway 101 and Encinitas Boulevard. Hardback versions were gifted to The Cardiff Library and the Encinitas Library.<\/p>\n For more information about the book, including a video trailer that features many of the photos Reed took during his trip, visit www.uphillandintothewind.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n