I have been an English instructor here at Bakersfield College since 1996. Before then, I taught for six years at Santa Rosa Junior College in northern California. I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in English at Sonoma State University. I currently make my home in Tehachapi with my wife, Jodi, our three cats (Jake, Lt. Worf and Roscoe), and our beloved border collie/blue heeler, Django.
Besides a life-long interest in literature and writing, I'm a committed outdoor enthusiast. Hiking, rock and mountain climbing, and, more recently, long distance cycling on recumbent bicycles take up much of my free time. When I was younger, I climbed the faces of El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite, California, along with many peaks in the High Sierras, Cascades, and Rocky Mountains, especially in Canada. These days I'm more attracted to cycling, often riding down the 45 miles from Tehachapi to the college. My intellectual life must always be leavened with a dash of direct experience. The ultimate experience for me is to partake in long, wild adventures with a good supply of great books and a journal close at hand. Here are some online journals dealing with some cycling adventures of the last few years.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/author/?o=as&author=ScottandJodi&v=4a
My latest madness concerns more cycling. I will not be on campus for the Fall 2007 semester. I'm taking a leave of absence and pedaling across this great country. I'll be starting in early August on the coast of Maine (Bar Harbor) and work my way west and south, ending in San Diego. If I still have enough motivation at that point, I'll continue home to Tehachapi by riding north to Ventura then over the mountains and desert to my home, a route I have cycled before but in the other direction. I really want to finish the ride this way as there is something aesthetically and philosophically pleasing about rolling up to my front door after having left from the Atlantic coast, but I'm going to give myself the freedom to make that choice when and if I make it as far as San Diego. That's the big goal. Anything else will be icing on the proverbial cake.