Jane Quinn is all business in the back.
Sponsored snowboarders, bike riders, rock climbers, kayakers—we have those here in Central Oregon. But our outdoor culture is perhaps better personified by those with broader skillsets, based in a variety of fresh air activities. You know the type. These are the morning and evening session hillside junkies, putting in time around work schedules for one kind of turn or another.
Bend newcomer Jane Quinn has wasted no time in stomping around the high desert since she moved here six months ago. She’s an active member of the outdoor scene and industry, guiding the Dirt Divas mountain bike program out of Pine Mountain Sports and a Source-certified Renaissance (wo)man.
Source Weekly: So, what do you like to do?
Jane Quinn: I like to run. I like to mountain bike. I like to be on the river. I like to hike, climb, ski, snowboard and I also like to get into the backcountry.
SW: How have you managed to stay psyched about so many outdoor sports?
JQ: My focus definitely shifts periodically. If I get kind of bored, I switch to something new.
Having all those options helps keep me psyched. It’s motivating to have the freedom to get out and do whatever I want to do.
SW: How do you make time to get outside?
JQ: I’m active every day. I'm usually up in the morning taking the dog on a run before work.
I usually get three or four miles of running in a day, and on my days off I'm out for the majority of the day. I work four, 10-hour shifts and then have three days off. So, it leaves a lot of time to schedule long days outside.
SW: How did you end up in Bend?
JQ: The thing that impressed me most about Bend is that it has a small town mentality, but it doesn't have the standoffish, ‘Who are you and why are you here?’
Everybody has been super welcoming, and when you make plans to do something outside with people, they actually do it with you.
SW: What does the pursuit of the outdoors mean to you?
JQ: I think it's two-fold. For me it's really therapeutic, and it's also a great way for me to set some personal goals for things that I'm passionate about.
Even if it's just getting out for a run in the morning, it makes the whole rest of my day so much better.
Renaissance man :
noun, a person with many talents or interests
Tyge Shelby has been leaving tracks on the East side of the Cascades for 10 years now. This longtime local all-arounder divides his time between the Juniper-scented outdoors and his private clinic, Shelby Chiropractic.
Source Weekly: So, what do you like to do?
Tyge Shelby: I mountain bike, ski, rock climb, surf. I’m certified to scuba dive. I do some road biking. I love to skateboard. I don’t know—I kind of love it all.
SW: How have you managed to stay psyched about so many outdoor sports?
TS: The change of season always gets me stoked about the upcoming activity. When I take the summer off from skiing, I get psyched on it the first time I go out in the winter. Same goes for climbing or anything. Every time I pull something back out I get really excited.
SW: How do you make time to get outside?
TS: I get out whenever I can. I lived out of my van for about a year. I bought the van and fixed it up. It was the middle of the summer at the time, so I would stay out at Smith Rock a bunch. When winter rolled around I was staying up at the Mt. Bachelor parking lot, skiing in the morning and working in the afternoon.
SW: How did you end up in Bend?
TS: I knew I had to live in the mountains after skiing and experiencing Tahoe for four years. Then I moved to Cincinnati, of all places, for a year. There was nothing to do there, but there was a climbing gym. When I moved back to the West coast, Smith Rock was the first place that I stopped and I was like, ‘Holy moly, this place is amazing!’ I moved here 30 days later, and I’ve been here 10 years now.
SW: What does the pursuit of the outdoors mean to you?
TS: It’s more than just getting outside and playing. I start to get cabin fever if I don’t. I’ve got to get out to where there’s dirt, trees, rock and water. At this point, I don’t think I could just decide to give up the outdoors and the activity. It’s become such a part of me.
Photos taken by Crystal Images and Tyler Roemer.
