Like many of you I wear different hats in life. Sometimes these various hats all align perfectly and at other times they seem to be at odds with one another. Case in point … I’m an urbanist. I teach on urban studies in the classroom on the university campus. Any yet I’m a mountain biker and even that an entrepreneur on some level having started Loam Coffee with nothing but a dream, a passion, and a lot of sweat equity. For years I’ve thought long and hard about how these seemingly disparate worlds even coexist together. There’s the part of my who wears flat-billed ball caps with plaid shirts and the other part of me in dress pants, a sports coat, and dress shoes (even with combed hair). With that said, more than ever before these two worlds are colliding.
reading climbed it simply meant starting our rides at 6 AM. But now after 10 years in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, BC and Portland, Oregon) I still see the pros and cons of weather.
Sure, this is the time of the year where we really complain. Rain, fog, unrideable trails (not all), and the ever-present darkness weigh heavy on us. December 21st has become a holiday of sorts in my household knowing that it is the shortest day of the year … it’ll only get better (and lighter) here on out. But ironically, I’ve come to love winter here. Not just tolerate it, but embrace it. It has become my favorite time of the year. What?
Life is busy. We’re all busy … too busy. It seems that the customary response to the question, “How are you?” is to reply, “I’m busy.” Unfortunately busyness does not always equate to time out on the trail. And in a place like Portland where to get to the “good trails” is nearly an hour drive you either default to (a) road rides, (b) gravel rides at Forest Park, or (c) hitting the Gateway Green Bike Park.
I had it all planned out. A family hike, a new trail (to us), and all of the essentials to make trailside coffee. Coffee (check). Grinder (check). Water (check). Scale (check). GSI Java Drip for pourovers (check). Coffee mug (check). Camera to document our excursion (check).
Looks good right?
But … I forgot my Jetboil to heat the water (slaps forehead).
rec·re·ate | \ˈre-krē-ˌāt \
Definition of recreate:
With coffee in hand this morning finds me poring over topo maps, google, and different trail apps to plan out my next two days.
Living in Portland feels like ground zero for the gentrification debates. Our African American community, once located primary in inner N/NE Portland is all but gone, dispersed, priced out, or for the fortunate ones cashed out. I don't have to look any farther for the deleterious effects of gentrification than the part of the city I've called home for the past 7 years.
