Rating excellence

Hello Everyone, 

Who is the best baseball player in the world right now? I've only recently begun to appreciate the sport, but my favourite sports writer, Cathal Kelly, wrote a great article last year arguing that the answer to this question is Canadian Joey Votto. Most casual fans are tempted to respond with a "Joey Who?". He doesn't hit home runs, he plays on a terrible team, and is painfully boring in interviews. But he does one thing better than any human alive: he gets on base. How do you win baseball games? You get guys on base. 

Yesterday's post teased with the possibility of riding the best trail in America. My verdict on the McKenzie River trail? Exceptionally beautiful, but not the best this country has to offer.

To be sure, it is a magnificent trail, and on its own is worth visiting Oregon and driving out to the middle of nowhere. It really is that beautiful. You're in the middle of a rain forest with crystal clear blue water running next to you. But fundamentally, it is a hiking trail. And as much as hiking is a great activity on its own, mountain biking isn't just a faster version of it. At its best, mountain biking challenges you in a different way than hiking. And thus, the best MTB trails aren't just beautiful, they are difficult in a unique way. Beauty is a necessary but but sufficient condition. And this trail didn't challenge. 

The whole McKenzie trail is 24 miles long, and while we didn't do all of that, yesterday was the longest run Arthur and I have done since we started. Marie wanted to get up to where there was still snow on the fround, so we did an out and back route to the Blue Pool, for a total ride of five and a half hours, and about 21 miles. As mentioned, the trail isn't really challenging, no big climbs or descents, so Arthur trotted easily for the whole length.

The Blue Pool is a section of the river with a big waterfall and a pool of amazingly clear blue water. The trail sends you to one side of it with, but high above the water. Basically, it's a cliff you're standing on, and Arthur's fondness for going to the ledge and sniffing around made me very nervous. 

We took a short break there, while we watched to see if a couple of white water kayakers were going to shoot the falls. But it started to rain, we were already cold, wet and hungry by that point, and had 10 miles to go to get back to the truck, so we didnt stick around. Needless to say, we were even more so by the time we made it back. Beer and hummus sandwiches have rarely tasted so good.

Wes