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Reflections
To the outside world mountain bikers and are simply mountain bikers. We all look the same, act the same, ride the same bikes, dress the same, wear the same shoes, frequent the same websites, and even talk the same. You know and I know, and I know and you know ... that's utterly not true.
Mountain bikers are an interesting lot. We'll drive two vehicles for fours so three people can ride shuttled laps. We don't think much about loading our bikes up and hitting the road for the day. "Close" trips are anything within an hour and "reasonable" trips are anything under three hours one way. Driving and shuttling become almost as important as the ride itself and we have awesome set-ups to prove it ... Dakine truck pads, coolers full of ice for post-ride brews, and then there's the whole #vanlife crew out there with the amazing retrofits.
So when do local trails become local? What does local even mean?
It never fails. At some point on a ride deep into the forest here in the Pacific Northwest my mind begins to wander ... and then play tricks on me. Every blackened tree stump becomes a bear and sounds have a way of being amplified beneath the tree canopy. Snap. Flutter. Foot steps. Rock tumbling.
I like to think of myself as a minimalist. In today's world that is a statement full of contradictions. I type this on my MacBook Pro while listening to my pop punk Spotify playlist while drinking a $3 cup of black coffee as I communicate with friends on my iPhone. Hypocrite.
More than Monday it is today ... Tuesday ... where it begins really sinking in. The weekend is over. Monday is a jolt to the system. A shock. We're in denial. The weekend can't be over. So we fuss, fume, and post memes about Mondays and the weekend we just lost.
Loam Coffee is now two years old. A mere toddler. We've seen nothing but continued and sustained growth from the beginning and for that we're grateful for you. We're learning lots along the way. At the same time we're not in any rush. Even a quick glance over the media from this weekend's Sea Otter Classic revealed bike brands and other companies who we all love and support who've been around 20 ... 30 ... 40 years. We don't want to be a quick flash in the pan, but to continue the methodical planning and relentless (and mundane) work to build something that will last long after us.
