There's not a whole hell of a lot that can be said about 2020 that hasn't been already, and quite honestly I'm a bit tired of talking about it and I can't be the only one. I think that shared experiences are among the integral dynamics to life as a human being, and if nothing else, 2020 was something that will forever be engrained in our collective psyche. The lens with which we choose to look back at the year is a bit of a personal decision, but to pretend that it was anything less than a trying period for humanity would take a lot of effort. My family did our best to adjust and mitigate risk to ourselves and to others while still actively trying to seek adventure and growth. My two sons drove us insane and melted our hearts. We added a third kid to the mix in December, a perfect and beautiful little poop machine named Hazel Elizabeth. My wife reminded me how much stronger women are than men. Oh and I rode my bike. Producing Local Flavours for Pinkbike presented some obvious challenges, comments section not withstanding, but I was pleasantly surprised at the rhythm I managed to find, producing these massive travel pieces while still adhering to social distancing measures and mitigations. I started a new monthly trail series for PEARL iZUMi called Underexposed as well as the Emblem Cascadia video, produced two massive edits for Pivot called Sight Unseen, was involved in the Mach 6 release video as both an athlete and editor, and still somehow managed to bring the Maxxis and Stan's NoTubes Intersections series back for its second season.
2021 is here and while life didn't just immediately change for us with the turning of the calendar page, I am hopeful of a few things. I hope that we find ourselves in a place where high fives and hugs are good to go after rides. I really miss Canada, its trails, and its residents. I've become good friends with a lot of you guys north of the border and I wanna ride bikes with you again. I look forward to not needing to add a "Note from the author: COVID-19 cases have begun to surge once again, etc etc etc" at the start of each Local Flavours. It cannot be overstated how challenging the last 12 months have been for most of us collectively, but I'm an optimist at heart and am hopeful that most of us have gained some perspective, practiced some empathy, and have a renewed appreciation for some of the gifts that are waiting for us outdoors. 2020 might have been a low bar, but I still did my best to make it work and look forward to seeing what we all can do in 2021. Happy New Year, fam.
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