I know, not the “normal” kind of article written by a coffee roasting company. You’d think we’d spend more time writing about dialing in brew methods, coffee roasting geekdom, the process of sourcing green beans, and the like. While those are fun conversations … what people are most interested are finished products or results. Meaning, what can coffee do for you? That’s a similar conversation with frame builders. Sure, they could post endless articles about the specific processes of making carbon frames, welding techniques on aluminum frames, and the like … but what we really care about is how the bike performs while descending a steep chute or how well it climbs without compromising suspension travel.
My earliest experiences in trail maintenance and stewardship began around 15-16 years ago. I wasn’t part of any local trail advocacy group nor even knew of any. A local chapter might have existed but I had no connection. Instead, the trail network that I used regularly was my focal point. Every now and then myself with another mountain biking guide would go out and trim back branches and work on trails that were being washed out by the rain. The trails we rode and used were not built by mountain bikers, instead they were trails first cut by cattle and horseback riders. Erosion was a constant but I didn’t know any different as we worked to maintain the trails.
Below is an interview that I (Sean Benesh) did with another mountain bike brand a few months ago. I’ve long been hesitant to talk about me or feature me because I want all attention and focus to be on Loam Coffee. I’m out to build a brand, not my own platform. With that said, the interview will give you more context and background about Loam Coffee. Even more, there will be deeper connection to the voice you hear once our podcast is launched. Hope you enjoy …
Injuries are part of life let alone mountain biking. Sometimes they are minor ones that we can shake off and ride through. Other times they are extensive which means weeks … months off the bikes. Those are the tortuous kinds. I am reminded of an ACL injury in college which steered me away from basketball toward mountain biking. However, it is basketball which is why I’m off my bike once again.
So what’s up with Loam Coffee this year? As the dude who started it you’d figure I’d have a good pulse of what’s going on, where we’re going, and an action plan to get there … right? You are correct. While most of our vision, mission, goals, objectives, and action plans are “in-house” for our purposes I thought it’d be fun to share with you some of the things that are brewing (pun intended). The scary part is be open with this and making it public. Ready? Here we go.
Like clockwork, this time of the year has me dreaming of winters in the Sonoran Desert. Having spent 10 years with sand in my veins living in southern Arizona I still long for the desert. Now after 10 years in British Columbia and now Portland, Oregon I still feel the magnetic pull towards the desert. Something internal pulls me there.
