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Comment by tkiley | Hacker News Reader

This is one of the reasons our development team is located on Vancouver Island. We could have set up shop in the middle of Silicon Valley's startup culture, but instead, we set up shop in the middle of world-class mountain biking, hiking, surfing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. Collectively, our team gets no shortage of exercise!

Incidentally, outdoor activities provide a great environment for generating creative solutions. We do some of our best problem-solving out past the break, or on the uphill side of a downhill ride.

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I just moved to the bay area last December so I don't know all the best places yet, but you can do everything you just described very easily in SV.

I have heard California described as the mecca of rock climbing, and of course there's plenty of surfing if you get yourself south. Santa Cruz mountains are famous for their mountain bike trails.

Snowboarding is a tad out of reach with the drive to Tahoe, but not undoable. (Yeah, it looks quick on the map, but OH GOD THE TRAFFIC)

Snowboarding is a tad out of reach with the drive to Tahoe, but not undoable. (Yeah, it looks quick on the map, but OH GOD THE TRAFFIC)

www.bayareaskibus.com helps with the traffic. You pay a little extra and then don't have to worry about driving. You can use the 8 hour round-trip to sleep, read your Kindle, watch movies, etc.

(I'm not affiliated w/them in any way, but I've used them ~15 times and am a happy customer.)

If you can get some flexibility with your work days and go up Thursday night (after 7:00) and come back Saturday night, then the drive to Tahoe is a really quick and nice 3.5 hours each way with no traffic at all.

CA is amazing for everything described above, and doable from the SV, but it is muchless convenient than I imagine Vancouver Island is. Living in Seattle I can be actively engaged in any of the above with a 45 minute drive or less. From the SV, you are likely looking at a trip to Tahoe for any good climbing, hiking or skiing. It's doable, just not as convenient. (Note: I hate to appeal to authority, but I lived outside Sac for 4 years and Seattle the last year, and it is definitely easier here.)

If your goal is alpine hiking or skiing, then yes, you're going to need to head up to the Sierra. Most good spots are about 100 miles (160km) from the Bay Area. Depending on when you leave and traffic, that's 2.5-6 hours (the last during peak tourist season).

But if you're talking about hiking hills and lower peaks (to ~5,000'), surfing, windsurfing, etc., then from any of the major population areas (San Jose, Penninsula, San Francisco, East Bay), odds are good you're within 45 minutes of good waves, 20 minutes to water period, and in many places, can simply walk to a trailhead.

Sacramento is a good 80 miles from San Francisco, and isn't considered "Silicon Valley" by any means. Even there, you can find recreational cycling pretty much anywhere outside city limits, or the American River Trail. The Sierra's that much closer, with a 1 hour drive up I-80 or US 50 taking you to prime hiking spots.

It's just not inconvenient, it's limiting. You can't exercise while you sit in your car for hours and hours. And more often than not, you will choose to go.

As a Seattleite who has spent time out that way, I'm curious where on the island you are? A beautiful place!

A practical way to get exercise anywhere is to arrange to live about 20 miles from your office and cycle to work every day. Convenient way to get exercise, wake up in the morning, and de-stress after work.

20 miles each way is 2 hours total for a very fit cyclist. It's 3 hours or more for most people. And you'll need a shower when you get to work (and home, really). I don't think that's convenient for most people.

2 hours total yes, which is enough to maintain a reasonable level of fitness. You don't need a shower when you get to work if you wear lycra - it's fast wicking and you'll arrive drier than if you had taken public transport in cotton.

Also odour is caused by bacteria. If you shower before leaving and wear clean lycra there's no need to shower again at the end.

2 hours total is not a reasonable level of fitness. That's an exceptional level of fitness that would out you well outside average. Most people cannot bike 20mph for 60 minutes, or anything close.

As for not needing a shower, I'm wondering if you're the stinky guy at work. An hour of hard exercise will make anyone sweat. Wicking clothing will help but not eliminate this. As for the bacteria, those are on your skin. They reproduce constantly, and showering beforehand will not change that. You need a shower afterward to clean off the ones that have grown on you during your 20mph bike ride. You at least need to be taking a "sponge bath".

I do a similar thing, but I live a few miles away and walk to work. A bonus: Crossing the grid diagonally allows me to vary my route frequently without any additional time penalty.

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