When one lives in the shadows of mountains, adjacent to a gorgeous, glittering river, what does one do? Enjoy the mountains and the river, of course.
While it might seem cliché to the typical resident of Central Oregon to say that a perfect summer day involves biking in said mountains and boating on said river, that's exactly the type of perfect summer day I want to sign up for. On my ideal summer day, I set out via bike from my home in Bend's Orchard District, a bike trailer behind me stuffed with an inflatable SUP and a few canned cocktails stuck in wherever they'll fit. I pick up an iced coffee from BackPorch on the east side and then head west and up, up, up—possibly regretting bringing the trailer and SUP—along some of the handy protected bike lanes of the west side, to meet a gravel road that offers access to the Deschutes and its paddle trails and quiet inlets off the main channel. From here, pumping up the SUP is ideally the hardest thing I have yet to do. I'll float and paddle a while, crack that canned thing I brought, and meander back home once I've dried off on shore. Good thing the way back home is downhill.
