It was time to get back in the saddle. A winter had passed, and a spring. It had been a winter of dark days in a cozy new home, a place where they would watch the storms from their couch as it crossed the mountain. Spring brought new beginnings, cherished visitors, new life, and loss. … Continue reading
Smoky summers are back here in Ashland and it’s about time we prepare to get out of town, fleeing to the clear skies in faraway hills and valleys and the coast. I always meant to write up a short post on our gear list in hopes of helping future travelers prepare for their journeys. Jeff … Continue reading
“You could be sad at how many stories go untold, but you could also be delighted at how many stories we catch and share in delight and wonder and astonishment.” The esteemed Brian Doyle (1957-2017) Cold, salty water seeps into the mesh tops of my cycling shoes, as the crunch of sand bites metal cleats. … Continue reading
Traveling the Katy Trail and Ohio to Erie Trail by Bike A common question we are asked when recalling stories about our bike trip is: What type of roads did we encounter over our four-month voyage? “Don’t tell me you biked on major highways!” people exclaim with alarm, thinking of foolish cyclists they’ve narrowly passed … Continue reading
“Breathe on the world. Hold out your hands to it. When mornings and evenings roll along, watch how they open and close, how they invite you to the long party that your life is.” -William Stafford: “A Valley Like This”- We’re still getting into a routine: arise from tent at 7am, deflate and pack our … Continue reading
“You could walk into the woods anywhere, any sort of woods, every sort of woods, and you would be a different animal within ten steps, as soon as the woods accepted you, as soon as you couldn’t hear anything else but the woods. […] You could walk into the woods anywhere and you would be … Continue reading
“So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the Earth to see where your main roots run.” -Henry David Thoreau- April 20, 2017- Throughout the last three days, we’ve traveled by foot under changing skies- one moment we drip with rain, and then in another we’re pelted with hail. The … Continue reading
The bike path has come alive again and so have we. Songbirds call from tree to tree and Bear Creek roars white, frothing up the sides of its banks. My wheels kick up the beeswax musk of crushed cottonwood buds. It is almost unbelievable, this sunshine, streaming unapologetically through vapor lingering in the air. The … Continue reading
In the beginning of July, I was a lucky participant at Fishtrap’s Outpost workshop, a week-long writing workshop that takes place on the Zumwalt Prairie, owned by the Nature Conservancy as North America’s largest native grassland. This little gem of waving grass and wildflowers, bear tracks, and coyote song is nestled in the notch of … Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that I am one year through my two-year masters program! When I moved to Ashland last July, I hoped that riding my bike would be as much of a central activity in my life as it was in Portland. Well, lo and behold, it has. I commuted to Medford on the … Continue reading
in the midst 