It’s the end of January. By now many New Year’s resolutions are beginning to lose their luster. Those three pounds lost in the first two weeks of the year are fighting to jump back on. Going to the gym is turning into, well, work (it is called a “workout”). Your goal of reading 20 … 30 … 52 books has already hit a snag and you’re a week behind. Resolutions and proclamations of a “new year, new me” are fun to announce and post on social media, but as February nears our mettle is tested. “Will this be the year?” we wonder to ourselves. “Can I really turn the corner of kicking old habits and starting new ones?” (We sure hope so!)
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.
