Cycling from LA to San Diego

Last weekend, my older brother and I rode our bicycles from my office in Arcadia, California to La Jolla, California - about 125 miles.

Tim, an Estate Planning attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, with a J.D. from the Harvard School of Law, has been running marathons, triathalons, and Adventure Races for years. He is even looking to participate in an Iron Man race in the next 12 months.

San Gabriel River near Duarte, CA

Huntington Beach, CA - pier

By contrast, I ran my first Olympic Distance triathalon earlier this year, and was fortunate to even finish. I just starting cycling about a year ago, and don't really have any particular training schedule or technique. Although I knew that I could complete the distance, I was worried that I would not be able to keep up with my brother.

Laguna Beach, CA


San Onofre, CA

As it turned out, we had a great time, and kept pace with each other throughout the ride. The primary reason we were able to maintain a similar pace was that I rode a street bike, while he rode my spare Mountain bike. The street bike made the ride far easier for me than it did for my brother.

Camp Pendleton, CA

Oceanside, CA - pier

Despite the fact that he is the more experienced rider, the better trained athlete, and much stronger than I am, my bicycle was far superior to his for this particular task.

Also, even though my brother is the more experienced rider, I had previously ridden to San Clemente, about half way to La Jolla, and knew what to expect. I had the right tool for the job, more experience at the specific task at hand, and so was able to lead the way and keep pace with a superior athlete.

La Jolla, CA

Sleeping seals at La Jolla, CA

In the same way, parents who hire the right lawyer with expertise and experience in family law can keep pace with the other parent in the marathon we experience in raising children.

Good Folks at Orange County Dept of Chld Support Services

I had the good fortune of spending an afternoon in Department L-52 of the Orange County Superior Court the other day. Most of the afternoon was spent waiting for a commissioner to arrive (ours was on vacation so the others were doing double-duty in their own courtroom and then in ours when they finished their calendar).

I observed three top child support attorneys interacting all day with various attorneys, parents, and each other. They uniformly showed courtesy and respect for all concerned, a good sense of humor and a positive outlook. They were professional, respected all arguments, and were quick to grasp the nuances of various issues and positions.

After our matter had been resolved, I ran into another DCSS attorney who regularly works in Department L-51. This attorney is also smart, professional, courteous, with a great presence and a relaxed, positive countenance.

With so many great people showing their best to the public when no one was looking (there was no judge present for most of the afternoon), its clear that somebody over there is doing a lot right. It appears that the culture of the Orange County DCSS, or at least the group I dealt with, is healthy and positive.