Almost Time to Get On The Road Again…

It’s been over a year since I returned from New Zealand and Australia to hunker down for what turned out to be only the first big Covid wave in the United States. For most of this time Jesse and I only left the county once, that was for a camping trip to Yosemite when Covid numbers had dipped low last summer. However, I have been fortunate to be fully vaccinated for over a month now – I was incredibly lucky and surprised to be offered the chance to vaccinate through my volunteer efforts at a shelter for those experiencing homelessness. Meanwhile, Jesse just received his second shot this past week since he works for an educational institution. Yay for a vaccinated household! It must be time to go somewhere…

For now I continue my work with COAST (Coalition for Sustainable Transportation) doing a combination of using Zoom to teach safe cycling and walking to school and a once a week meet up in my neighborhood where we have been teaching kids the rules of the road and now take them on rides around the neighborhood. I won’t say too much, but these are kids that *really* need a chance to get outside and exercise/play in a safe and supportive environment; I’m honored to be a small part of their week.

We continue to reap the rewards of last year’s garden. One of our tomato plants from last April is still producing!! And the winter crop of beets is still going strong.

• 

• 

We also have lots of new seeds starting and spring flowers galore!

• 

• 

Though my favorites are all the starter tomatoes! Last year in late summer some random volunteer tomatoes started growing in the yard and they ended up producing delicious little yellow cherry sized tomatoes that produced all winter long. Every time we ate them I threw the seeds in the garden box closest to the back door – come spring I had near 100 tomatoes to transplant and share with friends!

New garden growth means watering two times daily on the hot and dry days. Fortunately, we have a neighbor with a small garden of her own who helps us out. This allowed Jesse and I to get away last weekend for a big bikepacking trip down toward LA. I can’t say too much since the route is still under development and we didn’t create it, but it was a super fun and challenging BIG weekend. We left the house at 5am on Saturday morning, started pedaling at 6:30am, and didn’t make it to camp until 8:30pm that evening! Sunday was a shorter day, riding from 7am – 5pm, but with more heat and climbing. We were cooked, but really enjoyed the experience! I didn’t take many pictures because I was so focused on making the distance.

However, after a year in one place I really would like to go somewhere farther away; which is great because I am moving to Oregon in May! That’s right, it’s time for my next big adventure. To understand why I’m ending up in Oakridge, Oregon (pop 3,300) we have to go all the way back to 2016. That was the summer I decided to spend exploring Oregon and Washington. One of my early stops was in the town of Oakridge, well known for its mountain biking trails. It is the size of town that I love — within an hour of arriving I feel like I know my way around and what dining/drinking/shopping option are available. It also has a great campground just a few miles out of town on a paved road – very convenient! The pub was clearly a community gathering place that was reminiscent of my summer working and living in the remote Alaskan outpost of McCarthy; I was smitten. I went back a second time to meet up with a friend and show him around my new favorite town and trails. Even then I wasn’t done with Oakridge, in August I was the first person to attempt a self supported ride of the brand new Oregon Timber Tail that traversed the entire state of Oregon from south to north, and that trail just happened to go right through Oakridge! On the third time in town I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of some folks at the bike shop who were able to set me up to share a campsite with friends of theirs at the full campground, creating a small link to the town and its residents. Below are two photos from the Oakridge area on my Timber Trail ride.

• 

• 

Oakridge has always stayed with me since that summer of 2016, so I couple of months ago when I saw that the Oakridge Bike Shop and Willamette Mountain Mercantile was hiring a bike mechanic and sales associate I gave the idea serious consideration. I don’t see myself resuming international travel this year and I’ve always wanted to know what it is like to live in Oakridge and be part of the community there. I consider my mechanical skills to be moderate to weak, but ultimately I decided to throw my name in the hat. My reception by the shop and the owner was immediate and very positive! I’m thrilled to work with an eclectic group of people and to have an owner/boss that so clearly values a growth mindset and wants his employees to embrace the full life experience — life is about so much more than making money– and most people there place a very strong value on spending lots of time outdoors. Does this sound like anyone you know?! I head up there in the beginning of May and will work through the summer, at the end of which I/they will assess if it is a good fit for me for future years or not. Seasonal work, my favorite kind, is a viable option there. I’m especially excited to improve my mechanical skills — though to be honest I found myself having some anxiety last week! It males sense: new town, new field of work in which I don’t have a lot of confidence, leaving Jesse for now… Jesse and I have done long distance before and I believe in our ability to stay connected, but for the time being he needs to stay in his job here in Santa Barbara, and I need to explore this novel opportunity.

Due to the upcoming move, last week’s episode was my last More Banjo show on KCSB; but do not fret — you can always listen to all the back issues here: More Banjo!

Adventure awaits!