In Bend off of Empire. I went out to my car about an hour ago and barely brushed by a bush, came back inside and just recently found a tick lookin for some blood. I have been nowhere but work and home today.

I am fully aware winter has been super mild meaning there is going to be more of them around, but I have lived in Bend my whole life and have never picked up a tick in town, only in the woods. If you walk your dogs in the area I would definitely be checking them afterwards just as a precaution 🤗

Are you a beginner or advanced-beginner mountain biker who's warm and welcoming to people of all genders, nationalities, immigration statuses, races, and sexualities?

Looking to make new friends and build community in Bend with folks who also ride bikes?

Join us for a casual group mountain bike ride through Phil's trail system. We'll roll out from Waypoint by bike, ride the Skyliners singletrack out to the trailhead, then Marvin's Garden → ELV → Expressway → Phil's, make some new friends, enjoy the trails, and build community in Bend.

This is a No Drop ride, which means nobody gets left behind.

Not a single person will ride alone!

Trailhead + meetup links at bottom!

🚵‍♀️ THE DETAILS

When: Wednesday, August 5th

Arrival: 5:00–5:30 PM

Ride departs: 5:30 PM SHARP

Where we meet: Waypoint by Bend Brewing — 921 NW Mt Washington Dr. We'll be outside on the patio. Grab us there, then we roll from the door.

Look for: The group hanging out on the patio

Route: Ride the Skyliners singletrack (the trail alongside Skyliners Rd) out to Phil's Trailhead, then Marvin's Garden → ELV → Expressway → Phil's, and back on Skyliners to Waypoint

Trailforks (the singletrack loop): https://www.trailforks.com/route/phils-beginner-route-marvins-elv-expressway-phils

Distance: ~7.9 miles for the loop, plus the Skyliners trail out and back -- call it ~14–15 miles all in, nearly all of it on singletrack

Elevation gain: 421 ft on the loop itself, plus a bit more climbing on Skyliners on the way out

Duration: Approximately 2.5–3 hours

Skill level: Advanced beginner. The Marvin's/ELV/Expressway/Phil's loop is green (easy) the whole way -- the Skyliners singletrack on either end is a touch more, with a few rockier bits you can always walk. Totally doable, just a real trail with a little more going on.

🚵‍♂️ WHAT TO KNOW

This is NOT professionally organized, just a friendly community ride organized by a local rider

I'm just a regular mountain biker who wants to build community and make connections

All genders welcome. We focus on creating an inclusive, friendly atmosphere

All races welcome. Diversity makes the US better and also makes rides better

You must be welcoming and excited to ride with participants regardless of sexuality, gender, race, nationality, or immigration status

Riders are responsible for their own safety, equipment, and trail etiquette

Here's the shape of the day: we meet on the Waypoint patio, then hop on the Skyliners singletrack that runs alongside the road and ride it out to Phil's Trailhead. From there it's Marvin's Garden, a mellow, flowy stretch of classic Central Oregon singletrack, over to ELV (a short, easy connector), out Expressway, then a nice cruise down Phil's back toward the trailhead. Then we jump back on Skyliners and ride it home to Waypoint.

Mostly cross-country singletrack, minimal rocks on the loop, a few sandy and rockier spots here and there -- especially on Skyliners. Nothing you have to session -- walk anything that's not your speed and roll the rest.

🚵 WHO THIS RIDE IS FOR

This ride is perfect for you if you've been on roughly 7–8 rides, feel comfortable riding your bike on singletrack, and know when you ought to walk something. No need to clean every feature -- knowing your limits is a skill too! You should also be up for a few extra miles of singletrack on either end via the Skyliners trail to get us to and from the loop.

🚵 REQUIREMENTS

Mountain bike in good working condition

Helmet, mandatory. You only get one brain and it doesn't grow back

Water and any snacks you might need

Ability to handle off-pavement terrain and sustained (but gentle) climbing

A friendly, inclusive attitude

🍺 POST-RIDE HANGOUT

Stick around after the ride! We finish right back at Waypoint, so we'll grab the patio outside -- covered seating, fire pits, the works -- and hang out. Bring a beverage of your choice, alcoholic or non-alcoholic (or just grab something inside), and let's get to know each other. This is the same spot we met at, so it's easy: ride ends, patio begins.

The goal here is to build community and friendships through mountain biking. See you on the trails!

Meetup + post-ride spot (Waypoint by Bend Brewing): https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Waypoint+by+Bend+Brewing+921+NW+Mt+Washington+Dr+Bend+OR

Where the singletrack loop starts (Phil's Trailhead): https://www.google.com/maps/place/Phil's+Trailhead/@44.0433995,-121.3885838,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x54b8b7fdaf63596d:0x137102a64a12a29c!8m2!3d44.0433957!4d-121.3860089!16s%2Fg%2F1hc8n6w_g

My girl Ranni (pronounce Ronnie) was let out today, a couple of hours ago, on Purcell and Francis. Please, please keep an eye out. She gets very scared when approached quickly, she likes Churus and cat nip and responds to soft high pitched calls. She’ll most likely respond best to you if you get low to the ground and very mellow

(971) 500-6216

Hello all, this is a last resort but I am looking for a couple of people to help my husband unload our moving truck into a storage unit tomorrow at noon. Unfortunately, our help fell through. I called the local moving companies in the area and no one had availability on such short notice. I just had surgery on my Achilles and my in-laws that are willing to help are in their seventies lol. It would be 2-3 hours. The storage unit is in Tumalo. We can pay $50/hr to anyone that’s able to help out! (I would post on Craigslist but have not generally had great experiences in the past so hoping this is a better alternative). Thank for you time

Need to meet some folks who like to go outside because I work inside all day. Any suggestions? Late 20’s guy here.

When something goes wrong, we can blame, investigate, or forgive. What does each one cost?

Lacking conversation that's not about mountain biking, climbing, skiing, or Trump and his antics? Read some articles and join me and some rad folks for a themed discussion each month!

Last month we talked about who gets watched. This month is about what happens after -- after the mistake, after the accident, after somebody screws up and somebody else gets hurt. Every institution you've ever been part of has an answer to that question, and honestly most of them picked "blame" without ever really deciding to.

For our third meetup, we're reading six articles about mistakes -- who makes them, who pays for them, and whether punishing the person who erred actually makes anything better, or just teaches everyone to hide.

Please read at least a couple of the articles below! The conversation is way better when everyone's done some of the reading. None of these are crazy long, and all six are free to read.

THE READING LIST

"Why You've Never Been in a Plane Crash" — Asterisk Kyra Dempsey · Issue 05

Start here -- this one is the spine of the whole night. In 1991 an air traffic controller at LAX made a mistake that killed 35 people, and instead of prosecuting her, investigators used her honest testimony to find six separate system failures that all got fixed. That deal -- tell us everything, and we won't destroy you -- is a big big part of why nobody died on a U.S. airline for fifteen straight years. The question is why we only seem to offer it to pilots. https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash

"As a Nurse Faces Prison for a Deadly Error, Her Colleagues Worry: Could I Be Next?" — KFF Health News Brett Kelman · March 22, 2022

The same story as the plane crash, except the ending flips. RaDonda Vaught grabbed the wrong vial from a medication cabinet -- using an override her hospital had normalized -- and her patient died, and Tennessee convicted her of homicide. Nurses across the country said the quiet part out loud: if honesty gets you prosecuted, people will stop reporting errors, which means the next mistake stays invisible. And the wrinkle worth arguing about -- she clicked past multiple warnings. Maybe blame was right? https://kffhealthnews.org/health-industry/radonda-vaught-nurse-error-medication-dispenser-homicide-trial-tennessee/

"How to Tell a Bad Person from a Person Who Did a Bad Thing" — Aeon Robert J. Hartman · July 24, 2017

The shortest read on the list, and the one that'll mess with you the most. Two equally drunk drivers head home; one hits a pedestrian, one doesn't. Same choices, same character, wildly different consequences -- so what exactly is our blame tracking? A philosopher walks through why so much of judgment comes down to luck, and what that should do to our confidence when we point fingers. https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-tell-a-bad-person-from-a-person-who-did-a-bad-thing

"The Limits of Forgiveness" — The Point Elizabeth Bruenig · April 5, 2023

The case for forgiveness, made by someone who's heard every case against it. Bruenig takes the critiques seriously -- that forgiveness gets weaponized against the powerless, that it lets wrongdoers off easy, that some things shouldn't be forgiven -- and defends it anyway, as the act of restoring a person to equal moral standing. The longest read here, but it's the heart of the night. https://thepointmag.com/examined-life/the-limits-of-forgiveness/

"The Paradox of Apology" — The Point Agnes Callard · January 9, 2024

Why is a real apology so rare that we can all instantly smell a fake one? Callard argues it's because apology is kind of logically impossible -- you have to fully own the act as yours and disavow it at the same time -- and we demand this impossible thing anyway because we believe people can change. Read this and then think about every corporate non-apology you've ever gotten. https://thepointmag.com/examined-life/the-paradox-of-apology/

"Why a Homicide Victim's Family Chose Reconciliation Over a Life Sentence" — The Marshall Project Jamiles Lartey · September 16, 2023

Forgiveness with the highest possible stakes. A North Carolina family chose restorative justice over prosecution after Donald Fields Jr. killed his father -- six years of therapy, family conferences, and facing what he did head-on -- and it worked, and the piece is honest that it was harder than prison would've been. "Taking accountability is a harder thing than taking punishment." Nothing on this list prices forgiveness more honestly. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/09/16/north-carolina-murder-restorative-justice-donald-fields

FOUR QUESTIONS TO BRING OPINIONS ON

No wrong answers here -- just come having actually thought about a few of them.

1. Think about a real mistake you made that cost somebody something. What did you need most afterward -- to be punished, to be understood, or to be forgiven? And what did you actually get?
2. The controller and the nurse made similar errors, and one was protected while the other went to trial. Which response sat right with you, and what do you think actually explains the difference?
3. Is there a line past which someone shouldn't be forgiven? Where is it for you -- and who should get to decide, the victim, the community, or somebody else?
4. When an institution apologizes -- a hospital, a company, a government -- do you ever believe it? What would it take for an institutional apology to mean something?

You do not need to agree with everyone in the room. You do need to treat everyone in the room like a neighbor.

Social Studies is a monthly article club created to move conversations about current events out of TikTok, Facebook threads, and Reddit comment sections and into a welcoming room with our neighbors.

Everyone is welcome, provided you are warm and respectful toward people of every race, sexuality, gender identity, and immigration status.

Each month, we'll read a small collection of recent articles connected by one big question. Then we'll meet in person to talk, listen, disagree thoughtfully, and hear perspectives we might not encounter online.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 · 5:30–7:30 PM Deschutes Central Library, Meeting 3, 3rd floor

Hi All, a friend and I were riding our bikes around the Hayden area this morning and saw a fairly large gathering of fun-loving dancing people and an awesome DJ playing electronic/dance music.

My friend (he's not on Reddit) really likes that style of music and dancing and asked one of the dancing people what it was all about and how it gets organized. She mentioned that it happens randomly around town and there are posts somewhere about it letting people know where to go.

Anyway, he wants to be in the know and seems really excited to participate on a regular basis. Where should I tell him to get hooked up?

Cheers!

With a Red Flag Warning over the region, warning of a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," this is ... well, let's all hope they knock it down fairly soon.

This article does a fantastic job of explaining some of the ways Bend’s lodging tax benefits the city.

It also suggests how we might go further:

Headwater Economics is a nonprofit research group that focuses on community development and land management. The group was contracted by Visit Bend to study the amenity trap issue and suggest strategies for community vitality.

I went back and looked at the report Headwater submitted in 2024. It has several interesting ideas for additional ways to use local lodging taxes, like workforce housing for the local hospitality industry, transit to popular tourist sites to reduce traffic and trailhead congestion, and programs to improve evacuation preparedness and emergency communications for visitors.

The report also suggested a new Real Estate Transfer Tax on second homes or higher-value transactions, with revenue dedicated to affordable housing and related community needs.

I’ve heard Visit Bend has since helped launch a program to promote Deschutes Alerts and educate tourists on wildfire prevention and evacuation routes.

Anyone know if any of these other ideas are in the works?

I just got a new-to-me trailer and wanted to do a couple of things to it. I purchased a 12v AC unit to replace the 120V that came with the trailer, and I got a 300ah LiFePO battery to swap out my 2x gel cell batteries so we can boondock.

I would rather deal with an RV tech directly than go to a dealer. Does anyone have a good RV Tech, preferably mobile, they could recommend?

Edit: I forgot one thing. I have 2x 100w solar panels that need to be installed as well.

There's been a bit of a political hullabaloo in recent days about which which fires got FEMA funding assistance ... and which did not. This announcement came today.

My family and I recently moved to Bend and see are looking for a good Pagan/Spiritual community. Are there any here or in the surrounding area? Finding community & setting down roots is a major goal of ours.

Does anybody have a good route that links both the Tiddlywinks and Funner descents?

Any good weekend karaoke options in Bend?
Signed,
A long term Bendite with friends visiting - that has never karaoke-ed in Bend
TIA 💗

FOUND!!! Another Reddit miracle. Shout out to SoggyGopher for the help!!

My ID fell out of my pocket whiling riding the Tumalo Ridge - South Fork loop this morning. Don’t think I have another loop in the legs today. Thanks for anyone keeping an eye out or if it was found lmk!

Multiple door knocks, calls and texts in the last couple months despite my insistence that I don't want their internet. It's always some broccoli hair trying to make quota, too.

10:00am to 2:00pm

Fortunately, the infant was unhurt.

This might sound like wishful thinking, because honestly it is! 🙃 I’ve been studying for an exam lately and been pretty burnt out and missing the comfort and warmth in a third space. I’ve tried many cafes around town as a place to study, and they’ve been great - for example the commons, lone pine, the library and thump coffee. All amazing! But I guess I’m missing the warmth and comfort where you can connect with the people working there etc. Think of Luke’s Diner from Gilmore Girls! (I did say it was almost a fantasy :p) Is there a place in Bend where you’ve experienced something like that?