Curves, twists and Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon is one of the few outdoor sports meccas. A town where adventurers and dirtbags can get their fix without venturing too far from civilization and muddy hiking boots are considered fashionable. Locals enjoy daily access to the kinds of outdoor adventures that us tourists merely dream of.

Old Mill District, Bend. Credit: Bend Lodges

Bend’s landscape sets the tone: the pristine Deschutes River twists and curves through town, the Cascade Mountains rim city’s western limits and the high desert landscape to the east offer a seemingly endless horizon of adventure. The river is lined with single-track, streets are painted red with bike lanes and the downtown area boasts copious gear outfitters for all your wildest adventures.

Nearby Smith Rock State Park features miles of hiking and thousands of popular rock climbing routes. During a trip to Bend earlier this month, we took a morning to hike around Smith Rock, taking the formidably named Misery Trail for views of the famous Monkey Face outcropping and the valley below.

The trail maintains a steep climb for the first half mile before cresting the summit for a chance to catch your breath and take in the panoramic views. The trail descends to the Crooked River and around the base of numerous climbing routes. When you’re standing at the base of a climbing route, people watching takes on an all-new meaning; climbers, you are a rad/crazy group.

Beyond the scores of adventure sports, Bend has wholeheartedly embraced the art of craft brewing. In a town of 80,000 people, you’re nearly bewildered choosing between the 22 craft breweries to enjoy a post-hike pint. For fans of craft beer, the Ale Trail is a unique and fun way to see some of the town’s most popular brewers and sample their best work.

Bend finds itself being near everything while also nothing; a balance that could only be fully appreciated by people looking for adventure.

Beauty bike lanes, eh

Sacramentans talk about making our city better, a lot. Too often they don’t find the will to start, let alone finish, their grandiose ideas. When recent discussions of new bike lanes in downtown fired up, I was skeptical to say the least. We’re a city that’s on hard times and only the most biker-dedicated city would keep the safer streets dream alive when funds are scarce, right?

I’m happy to say Sacramento has kept that dream alive. You kept the promise, albeit months late, and so far it’s worth the wait. I stand and applaud the effort to resurface and paint new lanes for cars and bikes on some of our most busy streets.

In the hotter-than-I-expeted debate about the bike-friendliness of Sacramento, I fall somewhere in the middle. Can Sacramento be the next Portland/SF? You bet! Should we? If I had my way, yes. But, can we? This is where I see people split.

Some don’t want to devote any money to bike lanes and accompanying infrastructure. To me, it’s key to the “big city” dreams of Mayor KJ and others. Our downtown is the perfect size to become a showcase for complete streets—where drivers, cars and pedestrians get along comfortably. Let’s become that shining example and let people come see what Sacramento does right.

Portland’s lanes often lead to a box for bikers to gather at red lights.

Green lanes separated by an extra “buffer” from traffic.

What too many people forget is that Portland and SF weren’t made bike friendly. They had to work at being bike friendly. Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither were the miles upon miles of green bike lanes in Portland, SF and cities beyond (LA, Minneapolis, Denver to name a few) that have made bike commuting a priority. This is the type of club we should crave membership in. Let’s get past this club’s ugly bouncer and red velvet rope, take a walk inside and smell the awesomeness.

Sacramento’s bike lanes project is an amazing step forward. We have lanes in parts of downtown that used to be a biker’s nightmare. From downtown, I can only imagine how much further we can expand these bike-friendly ways.

To the nay-sayyers: bare with me on this one. You’ll see your drive to work isn’t ruined by bikers, it’s made easier. For every one of us you pass, that’s one less car in your way. Give us a little room, a little respect, and together, we’ll help make this city a better place. We’re all in this together.

Bike thieves tried and failed, mostly

The rare Sacramento night, crisp cool air and a flowing breeze. Fall is coming and we’re happy. Except for what we didn’t know. While we were enjoying a dinner with friends, someone was trying to steal our bikes.

The dirty bike thieves tried their best, using bolt cutters, socket and allen wrenches to strip parts and cut pieces away. We found our bikes, somehow still locked to the bike locks, hurting the next morning. Kari’s took the worst of the abuse. Bolt cutters snipped the cable going around the rear tire and frame and cut right through the front tire, tube and rim in some lame attempt to open it up enough to slip past the U-lock.

My bikes got off a little easier. My fixie was stripped of nearly all its parts, except our thieves got lazy and stopped half way. The handlebars are loosened and flopping around, the bolts connecting the front brake are missing, but the brake is in decent shape and the entire bike flops like a dead fish if you pick it up. The icing on the cake? The rear rim was removed to steal my chain tentioners, then put back on without the axle bolts.

So far, my 24 speed only had the handlebars twisted, let’s hope that’s it. Each bike got some scratches from being thrashed around the steel bike locks in our parking garage. Today brought us a terrible mix of disappointment, anger, violation and insecurity. Our living room is now clogged with bikes that we’re too scared to leave downstairs.

I’m not sure where we go from here, but I know I won’t be over this anytime soon. After locking up to anything remotely stable during my days at UC Davis, this experience has left me shaken to say the least.