A quick look back at 2021

Self-Portrait at Errol Creek Headwaters, 20 November 2021. Olympus 35 RD/Kodak ColorPlus 200. Hello friends! I've already documented my 2021 in bicycles, bike touring, journal comix, and cameras/film, so here's a general reflection of the past year. And what a year it was. We are still not done with pandemic and the weirdness it presents....

A reflection on the Society in 2021, and what’s ahead for 2022

Society Of Three Speeds

Spotted in the Santa Monica REI

Hello, three speed lovers! 2021 is just about done, so now is a good time to look back at what worked and what didn’t with the Society of Three Speeds.

The good:

• There were two challenges in 2021, both featuring mail-in reporting. After the success of Three Speed October 2020, I decided to do both the April and October Challenges with the official reporting journals. 31 people registered for the April challenge with 23 completing. Two dozen registered for Three Speed October, with fifteen completing. (And yes, I still need to get out October prize packs!)
• We welcomed 56 new members to the Society this year. This is almost twenty more than we got in 2020! The majority of new members came from the US, with ten from the UK, five from Canada, two from Germany, and one each from Sweden, France, and Japan.

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2021: A year in journal comics

One thing that has helped me feel balanced during these pandemic years is drawing regularly. I started up the practice again of a daily journal comic with Inktober 2019. This was good timing: I already had "the habit" by the time of the first stay-at-home orders in March of 2020. Keeping a journal comic helped...

The Midnite Bicycle League 2022 Challenge starts Saturday! You have time to register.

Hello friends! My most popular challenge, the Midnite Bicycle League Challenge, starts this Saturday, January 1st! And guess what? You still have plenty of time to get in on the action. What is the Midnite Bicycle League Challenge? It’s pretty simple: Ride your bike at night (between sunset and sunrise)Each ride at least 3 mi/5 kmThree...

My bike touring year in review, and plans for 2022

The Bantam at Women's Forum, from my May Ainsworth/Columbia Gorge Overnight. Olympus 35 RD/Kodak TMAX 100. As another year wraps up, it's natural to want to reflect back on what happened. There's one thing this year that I am thankful to reflect on when it comes to bike touring: that I could reflect on bike...

A state of my film photography at the end of 2021, and what the future might bring

It's almost the end of another year in film photography, my second since my re-entry into it in January of 2020. I've shot 143 rolls of film so far this year, mostly 35mm with a few 120. This adds up to an average of 2.75 rolls a week. This is definitely more than the "maybe...

Christmas Lights in the neighborhood, 20 December 2021

Okay, I said yesterday's post would be the last before the holiday. So I lied. This one seems to be a more appropriate one to lead into Christmas. I've got mixed feelings about Christmas. As a young kid, I loved it, as most kids do. Then I got older, got sick of family and "obligation",...

A ride on the Holiday Express, 19 December 2021

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51766612003_09783ddc09_b.jpg This past Sunday, myself, Emee, and her kids took a ride on the Holiday Express, the holiday special train run by the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF). It's an excursion train run on the tracks of the Oregon Pacific Railroad, a shortline that branches from the old SP/current Union Pacific mainline just south of...