Hills+Snow+Bike=:(

Well, I'm glad that week is over...

Ben headed to Mexico for Christmas so I was on my own for deliveries this week...A little nostalgic but also a bit rough...We had tons of snow and by the time Wednesday rolled around for The Source deliveries, the temps had risen and what was left was a sloppy mess...I must say, in the 18 months of this business, I have felt more defeated, but this was certainly up in the top 10 worst days I've ridden in. The support I received was very rewarding...People were sliding all over the place in their cars so the fact that I was on my bike, not to mention carrying 500lbs, was impressive to the folks downtown...Here is a little clip of a NICE part of the route...As you can see, not much plowing going on...

The weather is changing from heavy snowfall to rain which should help next week go smoothly...I even had a pleasant surprise at the shop this morning....The pipes were un-frozen!!

What a difference a week makes...

So last week, I picked up the keg of Jubelale for our Holiday Extravaganza by bike in pleasant fall weather and the very next day, we started getting storm cycle after storm cycle...As I look out my window right now, I'm estimating about 8 inches of snow in spots...Deliveries were interesting and there may be potential delays this coming week...It's a bit frustrating that the city of Bend does little to maintain bike paths(or the roads for that matter)...and by little, I actually mean nothing...It's a vicious cycle...People won't ride in the winter because the bike paths aren't clear and the city won't maintain the bike paths because nobody is riding...It puts me in the situation where I have to ride in the road with traffic passing by within inches...Oh well, perhaps someday Bend will become a bike friendly town, but as it is now, my nerves are being put to the test...We had a storm move in last night that probably put another 3 inches on the ground with more to come tonight...The roads look awful...I have my downtown route tomorrow that should go on time but I'm skeptical about Tuesday...

On a lighter note...Skiing has been fantastic..There was an inversion today so all of that dry powder from last week is turning into a solid base for Mt. Bachelor. This means less chance of damaging my skis...

Who said Ponderosa's don't make good Christmas Trees?

My wife Amy and I waited a bit longer than usual to get our Christmas tree this year...I think we were holding out for that big snow storm that never came...For the last two years we have skied in for our tree but this year wouldn't allow it. It didn't occur to me until about a week ago that the only way for us to get our tree this year, with clear roads and beautiful weather, was by bicycle. Yesterday, we hopped on our bikes and headed up Skyliner. We rode a bit more than halfway(about 6 miles) to Tumalo Falls and took a forest service road that was closed to motorized vehicles and began our hunt for a suitable tree...Turns out, below 5,000 feet, your not getting anything but a Ponderosa..We searched for about 30 min. before we settled on a beautiful Charlie Brown christmas tree..Sure, it may not have as many needles or branches as a Noble, but the honks and looks we got on the way home were enough to satisfy even Amy on our choice. Hmmmm. perhaps next year we will ride AND ski to get our tree......

Where's Winter?

So it's December 2nd....The mountain has yet to open, and today was a balmy 55 degrees....What a winter.

The lack of snow has me thinking a lot about spring and the direction I'd like to take the biz. I have been enjoying the curbside composting service and will continue to grow this aspect of Cascade Couriers but I've decided to really push the "messenger" services starting around April/May. In the mean time, I'm just getting the logistics figured out so that if it does do well, I'm not overwhelmed by a lack of planning. I am hopeful that businesses will see the value in this service...Gas prices are down but I think if this summer has taught us anything, it's that our dependence on oil can put us in a very bad situation quickly. Hopefully this lesson won't be lost and we all will continue to find better alternatives..