The coffee scene has gone through a lot of twists, turns, and changes over the millennia. Particularly over the last 75 years have we seen successive "waves" of changes ... from large commercial brands like Folgers and Maxwell House (first wave) to Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Peets (second wave) to now the explosion of third wave or specialty roasters with early pioneers in the mid to late 90s like Stumptown, Counter Culture, and Intelligentsia. So what is the third wave? According to Scott Rao the third wave "now typically refers to companies favoring lighter roasts and brewed-to-order coffee made by hipsters" (The Coffee Roaster's Companion, 11).
Riders. That is who we are. We could argue and say that we are defined by our particular riding disciplines, but when it all comes down to it, we share the same desire for dirt. So what is so special about two wheels and a set of handlebars? Why do we crave for just a few hours a day on some short singletrack? Why do we fantasize about burly rock gardens instead of planting our own? There has got to be something more going on here.
Sleeping outdoors is fun whether car camping, bikepacking, or backpacking. But let's be honest. When you really think about it, "camping" is simply reducing our quality of life for a night or two. We move from sleeping in comfortable beds in climate-controlled rooms to sleeping on thin sleeping pads hoping we removed the bigger rocks underneath. And then there are bugs and the night was colder than we had anticipated. When we wake up in the morning (usually earlier than we normally do) the first thing that comes to mind is ... coffee.
Ahhhhh ... bike parks. Who doesn't love them? They are popping up all over the place in the US and Canada, Europe, South America, and more. If you're a mountain biker who loves lift-assisted runs, big bikes, hi-fives, big air, and lots of stoke then bike parks are the cat's meow. Leading up to the opening weekend of Whistler Bike Park this year it was fun to watch social media blow up in anticipation. Count-down timers, re-posting pics from last season, pics of tuning bikes, yearly passes purchased, and the excitement was tangible.
Trails are more than ribbons of dirt and built features that deliver an outdoor version of a gym workout. Trails define us ... and we define them. So what is the allure of trails, especially new trails?
In our frenetic world there is a cacophony of information, messages, data, images, media, and voices bombarding us all at once. We're regularly told "do this," "buy this," "wear this," and so on. We usually deploy some kind of filtering system to wade through the noise so we can breathe easily. Interestingly, companies are the same. What we long for, personally or as a business is this, simplicity.
