One of the perks of living on this side of the Cascade Range is that hiking season doesn’t come to a screeching halt at the stroke of November and the annual onslaught of the great gray yuck. On the contrary, winter here means crisp, clear days with wide open views; one need just trade hiking […]
Outside
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Rare, But Not Unheard Of
Our band-tailed pigeon
There I was, checking my email, as I do every morning, when up pops one from my good friend and fellow airman down the road, Sage Dorsey. (Every once in a while, Sage will strap me into the back seat of his beautiful Bellanca Scout and we’ll fly out over forest and rimrock looking for […]
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Bend Represent!
Cyclocross Nationals this week
On Wednesday, the 2015 Cyclocross Nationals starts its five-day event, running through Sunday. The course is located in the temperate Austin, Texas, as opposed to locations like Madison, Wisconsin, two years ago, where temperatures are barely cresting zero degrees this week. There are roughly a dozen riders from Bend competing, including top-ranked Cameron Beard, junior […]
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Central Oregon’s New Groove
Singletrack trails open at Wanoga for booming “fat bike” culture
The day before Christmas Eve was a typical winter day: Dozens of kids careened down the sledding hills at Wanoga Sno-Park, screaming with excitement while parents snapped pictures. But, starting on New Year’s Day, there will be a new dimension added to the activities at the popular park: Fat bikes will officially be welcomed. Increasingly […]
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Two-by-Four
Four impressive build-outs for 2014, and two coming in 2015
Four Impressive Local Additions to Recreation: Whychus Creek reclamation: On October 1, Deschutes Land Trust publicly announced an ambitious goal to fully reclaim and restore Whychus Creek, a cold water tributary that runs northeast from Sisters into the Deschutes River. The mellow stretch of river—and riverside trails—will be a boon to butterfly and bird watching, […]
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From Competitor to Coach
An interview with Jordan Buetow
Earlier this month, Bend Endurance Academy announced a new coach, Jordan Buetow, who joins the staff at the Nordic Development Team Coach. Buetow grew up in Alaska, and more recently, raced for Bates College on the east coast. Two years ago, he spent the summer training with BEA, and now returns as one of its […]
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Go Here 12/18-12/25
Sledding!
Nothing says winter break like careening down a hillside, full-tilt, on a found object that may or may not have been engineered for such things. Skiing and snowboarding are tops here, but sometimes they just can’t scratch the snow-day itch like a day of sledding can. Wanoga Sno-Park Wanoga is home to a day-use snowmobile […]
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Doing It Right
Outback Adventure Riders tread respectfully through nature
This story, dear readers, is like many of the tales I’ve shared with you over the years, a story within a story—this one about off road vehicles (ORVs). In this case it started out as a love/hate thing. What removed the hate part was the provider of the tale, Wade Bryant, and the fact that […]
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Humble, but Hearty
Dirksen Derby continues to grow, but stays the same
When Josh Dirksen first started the Dirksen Derby, it wasn’t intended to be a world-class event; it really was just meant to be a low-key community gathering, something to raise some funds for Tyler Eklund, who sustained a spinal chord injury while snowboarding. But over the past eight years, the two-day event has boomed—attracting top […]
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Go Here 12/11-12/17
Dog Sledding
Given how much Bend loves both snow and dogs, it should come as no surprise that one does not have to travel to the great white north to experience the thrill of sled dog rides in person. Turns out you need only travel as far as Sunrise Lodge at the base of Mt. Bachelor to […]