Central Oregon is an amazing place to live. The characteristics which drew me here more than a decade and a half ago remain.
We don't need to make this place a better place to live; we must work to keep it an incredible place to live.
The identifying aspects of this place, gracing the cover of Outside magazine and showcased in glossy airport ads, deserve nurturing and respect. Visitors will not stop coming here; our population will not stop growing. The pressures on our public lands, our urban growth boundary, our restaurants and our parking lots are not going to cease.
But we can do something about it.
We need to take care of the places that take care of us. We need to smile at passersby, pick up our dog's poop, yield to the uphill rider and slow down as we navigate through roundabouts—or better yet, leave the car at home and ride a bike.
And we can support the organizations that work tirelessly to make Central Oregon a place that we are grateful to call home. Our outdoor experiences are possible because of these nonprofits. Learn, donate, and get involved!
Central Oregon Trail Alliance - cotamtb.com/
Meissner Nordic - meissnernordic.org/
Central Oregon LandWatch - centraloregonlandwatch.org/
Oregon Natural Desert Association - onda.org/
— Serena lives in Bend with her husband, Ben, and medium-sized pup, Piper, and loves her morning coffee almost as much as she loves riding her bike. Serena is a professional cyclist with Liv Racing Collective, an avid Nordic skier (occasional racer), cycling coach and writer. She also works as the sustainability manager for Visit Bend, striving to develop and implement sustainable solutions for our recreation tourism industry.
