Inspiration in life comes in many forms, but few as universal as Huell Howser.
Although this is a gravel page, his pertinence to cycling never mattered to me whether he owned a bike or not.
The big part about being outdoors is discovery.
California is such a big state and diverse in so many ways that it’s hard to grasp.
Exploring is nothing new, but the manner which Huell did it brought us closer no matter how many miles away we were.
I’m sure part of his Tennessean charm played a part of it, but while we were drawn in by the locales he would visit, it was his connection made with the people he’d interview that brought these places to life.
His patient, yet high enthusiasm for his adventures lowered everyone’s guard and interacted on a visceral level rarely seen today.
My biggest take away I wish everyone would apply is how he listened.
It sounds simple to do, but he took the time to make sure everyone felt understood from their own perspective.
You think about how Anthony Bourdain’s colorful description brought a layers of depth to his subjects, but Huell was almost the opposite.
He turned people into the storytellers in a very Studs Terkel type of way letting other expose these oral histories.
When I’m out on the bike, it’s real easy to miss these moments with not just the environment surrounding, but people as well.
We keep our heads down a lot, not just on a bike, but often in life we don’t look around to appreciate what’s there in front of us.
I had been flirting for doing a video like this for a couple of years and I had always been cautious about stepping on Huell’s shoes, but with the tenth anniversary of his passing, I knew it was time to finally get something done.
Watching the video for the first time was cathartic.
I’ve visited so many places, but time goes by in a blur and seeing it all in front of me made it feel like I was reliving these moments, but even more how lucky I’ve been to have these experiences.
There’s no proper way of rationalizing it all.
The point is to do.
To be.
I never got to meet Huell Howser, but he will live on in all of us one way or another whether we know it or not.