Oregon - In the Words of Coach Bakken: "Wow"

After Collegiate Nationals, I came back to Tempe to celebrate finals week. Yay! So much fun! My body was pretty beat up, so it was nice to take a few days to just focus on school and relax. I had gotten sick that week anyway so the timing couldn't have been better.

I spend a week training/hanging out in Arizona before my Dad came out to Tempe to help me move up to Bend. We rented a car and made our way through California up to Oregon. It was a ton of fun, and there were some spectacular views around Upper Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel and I went for a quick swim at the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center – a really nice pool/facility.

 

Riding in Redding, CA on the way up to Bend

The main reason I am in Bend this summer is to work as an intern for Picky Bars: A gluten free, dairy free, certified organic energy bar company. Not only are they nutritious, they are delicious. I strongly recommend that you give them a try. My favorite flavor is 'Lauren's Mega Nuts', with 'Ah, Fudge Nuts' being a close second. The work environment is super relaxed, and everything that needs to be done in order for the company to get more popular is happening. In addition to being available at REI, you can now find Picky Bars on the shelves at most bike shops, thefeed.com (front page, son), and as of like two days ago, the shelves at Whole Foods in Bend!

Love me some of deez nuts

Working there is so much cooler compared to what my peers are doing at large supply chain firms. I get to wear whatever I want (haven’t tried showing up naked… yet), don’t have to sit in a cubicle doing secretary tasks, and actually get to do legit work that is relevant to the supply chain! I would love to tell you more details but I don’t know if I’m allowed to or not, so I’ll just air on the side of caution here. There may or may not be a basketball hoop in the office. And a giant, ultra-light kayak – Still trying to figure that one out…

sneak preview of what the office actually looks like.

In addition to being a great place to work, Bend is one of the top places to train in the US. You can check out triathlete mags article on Bend here. It is home to many pro triathletes, including my big boss man Jesse Thomas (5x wildflower champ – google it bro, dudes legit). The reasons so many triathletes choose to call Bend home are everywhere, so I’ll try to highlight a few.

Seems legit.

Swimming: Juniper Swim and Fitness Center

Ok this pool is SO SICK. There is one indoor pool, and a 50 meter outdoor pool (usually set up short course though). It is constantly flooded with triathletes, and there is a solid masters group to train with. They have tons of practice times, and the coach is good. Best part – I can drop into a zumba class FOR FREE whenever I want! The facility is all around top notch and it is really enjoyable to train there.

They tried to tell me I was too big for the waterslide... Nope.

Training isn't complete until Zumba class is done.

Biking: Cascade Lakes Highway

I haven’t gotten a chance to explore any other routes yet – although I’m planning on it soon – but this road is legit. I remember the first time I road out on it. I kept thinking, “why am I going so slow, I am trying way too hard to be going this slow”. Turns out I’m pretty bad at telling if I’m going uphill or not. By the time I got to Mt. Bachelor I had climbed nearly 3000 feet! And the views are spectacular! Everywhere you look, there are tons of trees, mountains (with snow on them), and wildlife (I saw 3 marmots, 2 deer, and a fox in one ride). This road goes on forever, and has lots of climbing, great views, and my favorite: NO STOPLIGHTS!

Gettin' after it on
Cascade Lakes Highway

Running: Deschutes River Trail

Along the Deschutes River they have built a beautiful trail that has loops, and some light hills. It’s really nice and has made long runs a lot more enjoyable. It takes Tempe Town Lake and pretty much clarifies that it is, in fact, a sewer compared to this beautiful stream. There is also a local high school track that doesn’t kick people off of it when they want to work out on it! Take notes ASU!

Other fun stuff in Bend:

There are tons of beautiful trails all over and lots of places to go. I still haven’t gotten a chance to really explore the whole city, nor will I have time to figure out everything about it in one summer (looks like I have to come back, or just shouldn’t leave). There is a super nice area around the old mills, with lots of restaurants and a Ben and Jerry’s. There are tons of bike shops, outdoors shops, and local microbreweries. Everything is really close together, which is great when you are carless!

Cascade Lakes HWY in Bend

What’s Next?

I’m going to be possibly racing the Pacific Crest Race in June, Definitely racing the Deschutes Dash in July, and am really excited for Lake Stevens in August. I will be training a lot out here in Bend, and so far it’s been great. I’m looking forward to a great summer up here and learning a lot about how a supply chain works in real life. For now, I'm stoked to be in Bend and am going to soak up this experience.

Thanks for reading!

If you are interested in donating money/product to the ASU triathlon team, check out our new and (somewhat) improved website here.