Off Piste

Back when mountain bikes came without suspension, an annual fall group ride down the McKenzie River Trail was a big deal for the three dozen or so fat tire riders who lived in Central Oregon. The trail was one of the few long ones open to riding.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. It's race day and time for couch potatoes to sit back, relax and watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on television.

This is a retraction of a former blog entry that noted that Bend was pretty much bug-free in summer.
That's because if you haven't been living exclusively indoors with the air conditioning on full blast, you've probably noticed that there are suddenly swarms of female mosquitoes (Culicidae) out there eager to get into your skin.

In too many music genres, the standup bass is basically a time keeping, “thump-thump” instrument. In the hands of truly great jazz bassists like the late Ray Brown, Leroy Vinegar, Ron Carter or Charley Hayden (as well as talented locals like Michael Scott and John Allen), it is an instrument of great range, depth and feeling.

Earlier this month, friends from Rhinelander, Wisconsin, who were married in Camp Sherman at the Deschutes Land Trust's Metolius Preserve five years ago, came to visit. The husband writes a column for the North Star Journal, Rhinelander's weekly newspaper.

Every July since 2005, I've had the pleasure of riding with the kids, families and those who just want an easy ride at the annual Tour de Chutes. As a group we ride only seven miles and in that seven I'm reminded of what makes Bend still a great place to live.

 
 
Quietly and without any fanfare or elbowing others for the spotlight, Phil Meglasson has done more over the past thirty years for local mountain biking than any single person. He’s been a subtle force whose work has benefited the lives of all mountain bike riders from beginners to seasoned pros.

There are so many reasons to love Bend's annual Summerfest. Remember Summerfest? It's the fest that looks like all the other fests but has more “art” and less food.

After a Fourth of July morning mountain bike ride a friend and I drove from the Skyliner's trailhead to Bend Brewing for a beer. Beer imbibed, we got in the car and headed east on Oregon Street only to encounter a huge mob of bicyclists filling the entire width and length of Bond Street.

What a difference a year makes. Last year temperatures hovered around 100 during the day and were in the 80s at night during the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival in Fossil.