Trails are more than ribbons of dirt and built features that deliver an outdoor version of a gym workout. Trails define us ... and we define them. So what is the allure of trails, especially new trails?
Interestingly, one can argue that without trails there would be no mountain biking. Sure we can go rogue and blast through pristine settings wrecking havoc on the terrain. But trails preserve the beauty of the wilderness at the same time allowing us to mold and shape how we as mountain bikers experience the wilderness.
Any post-ride conversation over pints most often revolves around what happened on the trail. We talk about blown out trails, new features, that 2-foot drop we didn't see, the new jump line, improved berms, and the like. You see, mountain biking is intrinsically linked to the trails that we ride.
We all have our favorites. They are our favorites for a variety of reasons. In the same way it is impossible to scientifically quantify love, the same goes with why we love certain trails and trail systems. Maybe it was where we first learned to ride, it is the closest trail to your house, or where you finally climbed the podium for the first time at the weekend race. We don't know why, we just know we love that trail.
One of the most enjoyable parts of Loam Coffee is simply naming our coffees. Before we completely revamped things we had an assortment of trail-named coffees like Syncline, Hide and Seek, Whoopdee, and the like. However, we decided that we need to refine and simplify. As a result our new coffees we're releasing are named after some of the favorite local trails of our Team Riders. Sure, we'll continue to do more to throw in the likes of our Bike Park Blend into the mix, but in the end it is all about the trails we love and ride. Besides, is there anything more enjoyable than reading or citing the myriad of trail names that we love and ride? Most have quirky names with double-meanings or that they mean something only to the locals who built, maintain, and ride the trails.
So it is for the love of trails that we will continue to roll out new single origin coffees and blends and name them after the trails that we love. They may not always be the "best" or "coolest" but they are the ones that we love ...
(all photos are from Loam Coffee Ambassador Graeme Paterson)
