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One Ride at a Time with Santa Cruz METRO

<h2>METRO Rider Spotlight </h2>
by Gary Scotty Gregg III
For most, taking the bus seems like the opposite of an adrenaline rush or a heart-pumping workout. But for Cari Johnston, hopping on a METRO bus is just the start of her adventure. It’s her ticket to scaling cliffs and conquering new heights, transforming a mundane commute into a gateway to her favorite pastime: rock climbing.
“I started rock climbing when I was 14,” Johnston says.  “It was a popular place for birthday parties, so that’s how I got into it. It was with my family for the most part, but since coming here I’ve been doing it on my own or with some of my close friends.  I get there using METRO buses, either straight there, or just downtown and then I bike over by Seabright.”
While for some it may just be a workout, or for others an exciting and daunting task maybe even too intimidating to face, for Johnston it’s more meaningful.  “It&#8217;s a good way to stay active,” she explains, “but it&#8217;s not just a sport to me, it&#8217;s a hobby. It’s a way for me to relax and cool down after a long day. I find a lot of community in it, too. Me and my friends go together and, you know, have some healthy competition between friends.”  
Santa Cruz METRO is, however, also an integral part of this facet of her life now.  “I use the METRO to pretty much get anywhere right now, because I’m a first-year and I don’t have a car.”  METRO makes it not only possible but convenient to make it to just about all of the spots she currently enjoys climbing.  
“Well here I climb mostly in the gym, Pacific Edge. I’ve done some outdoor climbing, too, at some beaches, and also on the UCSC campus there’s some boulders, but I climb mostly at the gym.”  Whether she’s headed to the Pacific Edge climbing gym, or UCSC campus, METRO has it covered.  
“I usually take the bus downtown and then bike from there, but there are some buses that run right next to the climbing gym which is really nice, especially when it’s raining.”  
When it comes to why she chooses METRO, for Johnston it boils down to a few key things: dependability, affordability, and punctuality.  “I think that it&#8217;s really nice especially that they run late-night because when I’m trying to get back home I don’t really wanna get an Uber cuz it’s kinda expensive.  It’s really nice to have that option to ride the bus instead.”  
She goes on to say “And it&#8217;s nice that they run so late that you can be out and enjoying yourself, and know that there’s a way to get back home at the end of the night.”  Finally, it comes down to not only knowing the bus will be there for you, but knowing when it will be there.  “They’re very reliable timewise, which is great because I have classes and appointments to get to.”
Cari summarized her view on METRO buses with one final thought.  “Yeah, I think they’re great.”  
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METRO RIDER SPOTLIGHT : Cari Johnston

Santa Cruz is chock-full of great surfers. It’s also the home of many great artists. It’s no surprise that, in turn, we’ve got a ton of phenomenal surfers who also happen to be phenomenal artists as well. Spending so much time in the splendor of nature while wrangling beautifully-shaped waves on which paint their unique lines, Santa Cruz-born surfer-artists such as Eugene Dovydaitis are rarely in need for inspiration for their artistic creations.
All it takes is one serene vision from inside a perfect tube or a glance towards the horizon as the orange sun melts into the Pacific Ocean to get creatives such as Dovydaitis fired-up to put the paint on their brush and go to town on their next masterpiece. Just take his latest painting, “Sunset Over Steamer Lane”, for example, which depicts a molten sunset lighting up a cloudy Fall day framed by perfect peeling waves at the Lane.
This piece takes two regular sights of Autumn in Santa Cruz, spectacular sunsets and endless swells wrapping in the Monterey Bay, and combines them in a surreal and powerful image that pays homage to the lovely place we call home. It’s a sublime and dream-like portrayal of our familiar coastline that somehow makes it even more blissful and ephemeral than it already is. Over his long career, Dovydaitis has produced tons of paintings just like this that hang like framed treasure in many local surfer’s homes.
Just like with his art, in the water Dovydaitis brings an eye-pleasing style to his approach to riding waves, and can be regularly found placing masterful strokes on liquid canvases all over the West Side. I was fortunate to get the story straight-from-the-horses mouth regarding “Sunset Over Steamer Lane”, as well as some insight into his life as a local surfer/artist

I guess it was Art Class with Katey Collier Harper at Santa Cruz High when I first decided to become a painter. She created an environment where I was always welcome to come in and work on my paintings (even if she knew I was probably supposed to be in another class).  Like most people in Santa Cruz, I did a couple years at Cabrillo College and then, a few years later, The San Francisco Academy of Art. couple years at Cabrillo College and then, a few years later, The San Francisco Academy of Art
Like most kids growing up in Santa Cruz, was obsessed with surfing. Kevin Reed, Vince Collier, Charlie Heittman, Richard Schmidt&#8230;these were my idols when I was a grom! They were like superheroes to me.
If I wasn&#8217;t painting, I was surfing.

But as a lot of people know, growing up in this &#8220;surfer&#8217;s paradise&#8221; has a dark side. Surf all day and party all night became a way of life for many of us. A growing number of my contemporaries are no longer with us, but thankfully, I’m celebrating 16 years clean and sober this month! Nowadays, a surfing is my drug of choice.
This was a recent commission done for my buddy Drew Reid, entitled “Sunset Over Steamer Lane”, 3’x6’, house paint on canvas. It was inspired by the kind of sunsets we typically get in the fall. On my paintings, like this one, I begin with a dark blue-ish gray, sometimes even black, canvas, and gradually bring the image out by working from dark to light. Then, I add layers upon layers of brushstrokes without covering up too much of the darker colors that came before.

When I&#8217;m painting something like this, I&#8217;m definitely listening to a lotta Jazz. Miles Davis and Django Reinhardt inspire me to get creative. The main feeling evoked while working on this piece was gratitude, for being born and raised in this corner of the world. What an incredible fluke of events and ridiculously good luck.

Follow Dovydaitis on Instagram for more! <a href="https://www.instagram.com/eugenedovy/">@eugenedovy</a>

One Ride at a Time with Santa Cruz METRO

You can protect our environment, One Ride at a Time with Santa Cruz METRO. METRO’s mission is to provide environmentally, sustainable transportation for Santa Cruz County.