We couldn't start going east just yet... We are back at our Seattle headquarters (Stobin's house) once again. Cleaning clothes, car, and bikes getting ready for a push to Montana tomorrow. The weekend in Bend, Oregon was just what I needed post BC insanity. The BC was experience was rather destructive (Subaru serpentine belt, one therma-rest, front and rear shocks blown on the maverick, lots of brain cells, red truck, Daren's back, and the list goes on) so I was ready for some laid back soul riding. Our Northwest tour guide Stobin had the balls to go out on the road with us one more time and took us to the single speed mecca called Bend, OR. We packed up the ss bikes on Friday afternoon and hit the road making it to Bend around 1 am and kicked it off to a good start by scoring an awesome free campsite a few hundred yards from the trails. Bruce and I partied under the full moon for awhile got some cool photos, built a race track and called it a night as we knew Stobin had some major riding planned for the next two days.
Day one took us all over the trail network closest to town on sweet single track with turns that begged to be railed, technical rock outcrops every so often and a trail that offered incredible berms and about 40 jumps of various sizes but most were good tabletops 15 ft long that were more predictable and cleanable that what we were hitting in BC (check out the video and image another 20 of these over the course of a mile.
Good times indeed, a good 30-35 miles and rode for 5.5 hours and we called it a day and hit town for a soak in the Turkish Bath House (5 bucks) in Bend and two of the biggest slices of pizza on record. A trip by Deschutes Brewery for their Green River Organic Pale Ale and it was back to the campsite for a raging campfire and smore fest. Beers and other items were consumed under the full moon, which lead to more photos and a no bike light full moon midnight ride.
We called it around 2 am and woke up to more beautiful clear skies, breakfast cooked over the campfire remains and a long climb ahead of us. He headed to the skyline trail head and planned on getting in a short 3 mile warm up before embarking on a sustained 14 mile climb up to the 8,000 ft high alpine meadow called Happy Valley. The climb is not as bad as what you might be imagining a 14 mile climb would be like on a single speed due to the 7 waterfalls you pass on the way up a network of smooth rolling terrain through tall cedars forest. Log rides broke up the climb as well giving us a chance to stop and mess around during the three hour climb. Feeling back on my game and in true Double Dare training Bruce and I turned screws on each other seeing who might be in the first to crack after a good long one the day before and no sleep. I backed off halfway up and let him go so I could refuel and finished the rest of the ride pinning every decent and climb for the rest of the day. To say these trails are good for a single speed is a major understatement. They had the flow that you look for when you only have one gear and maintaining speed is crucial. On the way day down the 10 mile decent we pushed each to our limits, leg out in the turns, launching root gaps, and riding several man made obstacles. We knocked out 27 miles in about 4.5 hours after lots of photo opts and just hanging out on a beautiful day in Bend. More giant pizza slices and we were back on the road to Seattle and we made it town in time for Stobin to get a few hours of sleep.
Now we are here in Seattle about to hit the local trails today before heading West on I-90 to hit Missoula MO tomorrow and get in a few rides in a new town.
Now I know this is a bike blog but I do think about a lot of other things and this one I just have to touch on...
A few thoughts on what is happening in America today. Seeing that I haven't really spent time near a tv for a month and a half I turned it on today and thought to myself "it's about damn time..." Our capitalistic economic system is collapsing and I am laughing and having another wonderful day here on earth. Well, I don't feel too bad for a lot of those folks as they knew better than anyone that money only works as long people believe in it. Also, making money on the markets is just gambling for people that have money in the first place. Greed and a need for excess has created the pain that many are experiencing today. I feel I made my own decision to live the simple life and liquidate my possession of houses, condos, and the crap that was keeping me tied to my job. I made the decesion because I to felt the stress that comes when you have too many balls in the air and are dependant on others feeding the system to keep it all a float. But when that change is forced on you it's a hard pill to swallow. Living simple has made all the difference in my life and letting go of those things has allowed me to accomplish so much with out the weight. I know it is going to be a painfull experience for a lot of people that are watching their McMansion go back to the bank or wealth that was created by calling their stock broker disappear. However, I have news flash for them, it was never yours. And when you put that much stake on possessions to make you happy or shape your self image / self worth then you are in need of the same kind of check that our markets are feeling today. Get real, get out there, rock on....
Jut
1 comment:
Great story about the Canadians, that's nuts!
You are exactly right about the current state of the US and the greed and need for excess. I think it's awesome that you were able to give up of all your "stuff" and do exactly what you really want to do. Keep on living your life your way and keep up the blog! BTW, that trail in the vid with the jumps looks killer, exactly my kind of trail...I need to get off my butt and get some stuff like that built around here!
Martin
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