New, Awesome Sport Specific Apparel: The Dog Walking Jacket

The other day a cheerful email popped up in my inbox letting me know a new line of cute, girlie, fashionable SUP apparel had just been launch by That One Women's Beach Apparel Company.

WOW!, I thought. If I were a paddleboarder, I could follow the email's links to shopping paradise to get fully equipped for the season. Along the way, my stoke for the the upcoming season would likely have been amped to frenzy levels. However, I do not SUP.

RUNNNNNNNNN!

The times I have, which have been very meditative and quite enjoyable, I wore the same swimsuit, tank top and shorts I wear to the beach or in a raft or under the sprinkler in my backyard while sipping a gin and tonic. My logic for my clothing choices while paddleboarding: Swimsuit stays in place should I errantly paddle myself overboard. Tank and shorts because, well, it was hot out and I was working on my golden tan.

A few friends of mine actually race in SUP events and to this I say KUDOS! It is hard work to say upright and direct the board where I want it to go. To do so while employing speed to beat out other racers is really impressive. Its challenging – I am not mocking SUP people. However. Unless you’re racing in the open ocean where winds could be fierce, or in the PNW where it could be raining and 50 on a mid-August day, does you really need special and expensive apparel specifically designed for SUP’ing? Do we need fashion SUP wear that is different from “fashion” yoga, pilates, climbing at the gym, biking around town, sitting on the couch-wear? Really? If all this niche-popular specialty gear is truly required by our individual “sports” then I’m putting in my request for a specialty dog walking jacket.

Have you ever considered the variable conditions and intensity of walking your dog?! Walking your dog can result in unexpected, dramatic, HUGE adventures! I realize SUP’ing is sexy right now, but lets not underestimate Dog Walking. Like a Rolex, Dog Walking is timeless; it will not go out of fashion. Just because Dog Walking is not featured often in pop-media does not mean your dog needs that walk any less. Now that we've straightened that out....Its time to make apparel specifically designed for the Dog Walker.

The ideal Dog Walking Jacket would include:

Poop bag holder – For either the rolls or stacks, user’s choice. Zip them up in a side or back pocket (that does NOT create unflattering bumps and bulges anywhere noticeable) with a little handy opening to pull one out in a flash when Fido takes a dump. This would mitigate that problems that arise if you have one of those little poop bag holders on your dog’s leash but you’re in an off-leash area so don't have your leash with poop bag holder and there are people around watching you. Dog takes a dump? No bag? You just earned World's-Worst-Dog-Owner-Ever status. If you were wearing this Dog Walking Jacket, you would've avoided the shame!

"Squirrel??"

Snack Pocket –  A pocket that is washable and securely sealed so that if you stick a handful of Puppy’s treats in there, they wont make your whole jacket stink like chicken bullion. Perhaps this feature of the Dog Walking Jacket could be called the Snack Pack.

Leash attachment – Have to walk the dog on leash before you hit the off-leash trails? This handy dandy snap-on feature allows you fasten your leash to your jacket for bounce-free security, keeping you “hands free” AND, if you have to run after Fluffy, the leash clasp wont smack you in the face! 

Snot/sweat wipe – Crisp winter air = runny nose. Fall/Spring blooming and pollen = allergically runny nose. Summer heat = sweaty, runny face into eyes. The entire forearm of one sleeve could just be a massive snot/sweat wipe. Awesome.

Coffee cup holder – Walking dogs + morning = coffee cup in hand. But what to do after taking that last sip with more walking still to do? The Dog Walking Jacket would have an elastic and Velcro pull cord tucked inside one hand pocket for just such a challenge. Pull it out of your jacket and give it a gentle tug to be sure elastic is fully extended (kind of like those oxygen bags on an airplane). Slip your cup inside the loop and VOILA, no need to carry the cup in your hand!!

Must also be waterproof, windproof, breathable, not too hot for summer and also warm enough for winter too.

The Dog Walking Jacket. Fully featured. Fashionable. Be ready for your high intensity adventures with Scooby and look cute too! Million dollar idea? BOOM.

Everything's Bigger In Texas

The ride through the center of town to my destination starts slightly downhill. Its easy and hardly requires braking or much exertion to pedal the single-speed cruiser I’ve rented. The day has started bright and warm, even in these early morning hours. Many people say hello with friendly smiles as I pass by. My route is taking me along trail that runs beside a creek dotted with big trees and construction cranes building the future. At the halfway point to my destination, I cross one of the town's lakes and begin heading slightly uphill. These "lakes" are actually parts of the Colorado River, only dammed to stillness, and to my delight, I learn the bridge I used to cross over provides home to 1.5 million bats. Easy ride, nice people, tall trees - I could be in Boise except this city is much bigger.

Arriving at the recommended coffee shop, the attitude of the baristas, the aroma of delicious coffee and subsequent quality of my americano are comfortingly familiar. The place is packed with men and women, nearly all who are adorned with tattoos. In addition to tattoos, the men's uniform includes scruffy beards, tight, worn-in black jeans and tight often black, sometimes pink t-shirts, many with classic band logos on them. The women's includes thick, Wayfarer-style glasses and with a slightly messy but highly intentional, multi-colored, layered clothing system of tank under tee under cardigan over skirt with Dora-like shoes or flip flops.

Flipping through the local weekly to see what live music will be playing during the weekend, I can't help overhearing conversations around me. A man and woman to my left discuss plusses and minuses of life changes like moving cross country and she mentions the psychic she consulted for insight and maybe he ought to go see them too? Behind me, a group of college girls bounce from topic to topic competing for audible space with the couple: “It was so good and, like, my friend was, like, so grossed out”…”what’s interesting is the connection in Tennessee with the Cherokee and the Chauktaw” …"and then suck in your stomach and hold for like 20 seconds and if you do that every day you’ll have a flat stomach”...“This is where the career has been kicking my ass." I might just as well be in Seattle at Solstice near the UW or at Zeitgeist in Pioneer Square.

Then there is the pandemonium of birds; bold and incessant though not entirely unpleasant they hit a decibel that could nearly cause ear damage. Larger birds make a loud, sustained “squweeee” sound and the other littler birds a light, tinkling “chir chir chir.” They nestle in the flowering trees that shade coffee drinkers and hold on to branches as if they are surfing the light breeze. To my relief the air is not still and movement offers some relief from the heat. The humidity is so thick, my high-desert-of-Idaho-tamed mane into a voluminous look straight out of the Lion King. This place is so familiar, it could be Hawaii if there was an ocean nearby.

The night before, I had stepped off the plane and immediately started to sweat. The air, even at nearly midnight, was sticky. My initial impressions: hot, humid, big. Arriving so late, I had little visual perspective in the dark but had started building a human impression first from the two drunk men who’d been on my flight and kept asking where I was going to party that night as I dodged them on my way to baggage claim (luckily, I am highly trained in concourse navigation and have the speed of cheetah even when toting luggage). Then there was the very kind, award-winning travel guide on my shuttle with a big smile and gentle handshake who offered endless tips on where to go and what to do for anyone seeing his city for the first time. And, also the shuttle driver who went the wrong way down a freeway onramp to the unexpected excitement of all of us passengers.

The morning bike ride had finally revealed a visual of this city with traffic and panhandlers and construction noise that added to the impression of “big”. Even the people seemed louder, talking boldly of personal things in public. Maybe 6 months of living in a small city/big town has already changed me or maybe I’m just now learning that I’m just how private and quiet and cautious I actually am.

Which is what I’m thinking sitting at Jo’s, unintentionally eavesdropping on that couple next to me – is it a date?, just friends? – not that it matters. In their minds, they are in a private bubble and are comfortably sharing and being inspired to dig into meaty topics here at this busy outdoor coffee shop.

The birds mix with conversations and the sounds of trucks and cars rumbling up the street. Asphalt mixes with the scrubby trees and shrubs creating a natural feel in this urban hot spot. This city is a  mashup of natural and manufactured with bubbles of stillness every now and then that echo in the bustling city shuffle. I feel like I should already know this place but I keep getting lost.

Its not quite Boise, nor Seattle, Portland, or Hawaii, but a little of each. Familiar in so many ways but built by its own formula its also not. This is Austin, where the tattoos are plentiful, the biking easy and they make a damn fine cup of coffee. And food trucks. I forgot to mention the food trucks...