General Store

One of our customers gave us a neat little poem over the holidays. I'm not sure if they wrote it, or if it is from someone else's library, but it goes like this:

Someday I'm going to have a store
With a tinkly bell hung over the door
With real glass cases and counters wide
And drawers all spilly with things inside

There'll be a little of everything:
Bolts of calico, balls of string
Jars of peppermint, tins of tea
Pots and kettles and crockery
Seeds in packets, scissors bright
Kegs of sugar, brown and white
sarsaparilla for picnic lunches
banannas and rubber boots in bunches.

I'll fix the window and dust each shelf
And take the money in all myself
It will be my store and I will say:
"What can I do for you today?"

By: Rachel Field

I love the poem, and reading it makes me proud to be here behind the counter, listening for our tinkly bell to ring, so I can say "What can I do for you today?"

We don't have bolts of calico, or balls of string, jars of peppermint, or tins of tea, but we do have coats of Carhartt, jars of ski wax, boxes of bike tubes, racks of showshoes, and halls of skis. We have shelves of cast iron, racks of gloves, piles of goggles, stacks of Danner boots. Galoshes of all sizes, and tires both skinny and wide.

The past few weeks have been a lot of fun. So many new faces have come through the door, looking for advice on fun trails to ski, and telling tales of where they've been.

If you are in the area I'd suggest heading up to Salt Creek falls for a view of the frozen ice around the majestic falls. From there you can snow shoe on the area trails, or continue on up the highway to Gold Lake Sno Park or Willamette Pass where there are lots more trails to explore.

Happy Holidays! Get out there and have some adventures.

Thriving Oakridge Style

Just a quick post to remember last years good rides (Shuman, Mac, and Eug at Waldo in October) and to remind us all to get out and enjoy the nice fall weather even if it is November.

Eugene is in Flagstaff enjoying the sun and wind and lasting friendships, Mac and Danielle are raising their family and keeping real, and Derrick is tending to the shop and thriving in the ridge again after a few years away.

We love seeing you all in the shop and out on the trails. Share your thoughts about the shop or anything else on your mind by commenting on our blog posts.

Two recent pictures I took riding the Hardesty Trail with a few friends. It is a continual and consistent 6 mile gravel road climb up from Highway 58 to access the trailhead. Once there you are rewarded with an awesome swooping downhill just a bit shorter than the climb. As you can see there are some good technical and off camber bits of trail to keep you on your toes.

Just today it started feeling like fall in earnest here in Oakridge. For the first time in many weeks cloudy skies obscured the sun, and we had a cool and grey Western Oregon day.

Summer Riding

Summer Riding.

This seasons riding has been top notch. A wet and long winter let to full rivers, and plenty of moisture to keep the ferns, oregon grape, and vine maple green throughout the summer.

We've had a great but early blackberry season, and now the huckleberries are popping out in force at high elevation.

There are literally hundreds of miles of single track trail within about 30 miles of our shop, and over the winter lots of trees and branches fall across the trail. Thanks to the countless, and counted hours of work by the Disciples of Dirt, local volunteers and the Forest Service the trails are cleared of debris each year, and by the early fall almost all of the trails are finally totally open.

So this time of year we like to enjoy the onset of cool weather, the absence of mosquitos at high elevation, and the turning of the leaves, as the trails dry out and we all prepare for the rain.

The pictures posted here are from a few of the local trails closest to Oakridge (within 10 miles of the shop!)

Come on by or give us a call to get the lowdown on what's riding good.

Spring in the Northwest

Spring? Isn't it summer yet? Well, not quite here in Oakridge.. However the deep snowpack we accumulated this winter is melting quickly, up to 5000 feet or more now on some of the southern slopes, but still clinging as low as 3500 on the northern faces.

We have been making the most of this cool and wet spring by doing some great bike rides at the lower elevations, skiing up on Diamond Peak, and gardening in the Salmon Creek community garden and at our homes.

The Merc is better than ever, stuffed to the brim with all kinds of spring and summer stuff. Chaco sandals, Haro bikes, Womens Carhartt clothing, and happy employees. This is my third summer at the Mercantile, and I still feel fortunate to be a part of such a positive and unique business every day I go to work.

The Cascade Cream Puff is coming soon, just over the horizon now as it happens on June 29th this year. Its a great event, and I'll be out there on the starting line for the sixth time if all goes according to plan. Whether doing it as a competitive event, or just as a great way to spend a long day on a bike riding some amazing trails, there really isn't a better organized or more professionally run bike event. Not entered? Come hang out at one of the aid stations, or volunteer to help with the race. Call the shop, or go to www.cascadecreampuff.com
to learn how to participate in a great event.

New Old Additions to the Shop

Now on display: very rare John Deere bicycle, nice old Schwinn and 100 year old tandem.

My dad, Dan Cleveringa, worked his magic on all three of these bikes and then gave them to Mac and I when we got engaged in 2006. They are now properly displayed for your enjoyment, come & see for yourself!

My favorite is the tandem, it has a wooden top tube, carbide headlamp, triple twisted spokes and wooden rims. The John Deere is like nothing you will ever see again with a square tank that opens, an open weave metal rack and wooden rims (which are metal plated and painted to look like wood). The Schwinn is classic head-turner. Dark red and cream paint, horn button in the tank and hearts in the chainring.

Huck's New Page

In order to keep the shop blog a shop blog, Huck now has his own.

Come see! www.williamhuckleberry.blogspot.com

Winter Tidings

Little Big Man-William Huckleberry Bowerman has been dominating the Mtn Merc blog recently, and those of us here at the Merc proper are feeling a little bit left out. So to properly compete with Lil' Will' we have some antics of our own to show you:
Steve, Mac and Eug out on a ride about a month before the baby was born.Eugene Shreddin' on the uni at Tele Fest.
Norm goes for the pass!
And from our very own Shameless Commerce dept: We have a few pairs of Scarpa tele boots available in like new condition for $250. Some have been worn a couple of times, some not at all. Mondo Point sizes 21.5 thru 25.5 available, with the exception of 24 and 24.5 sizes.
Eugene is gearing up for a big adventure to the bottom of the world! He leaves for Santiago, Chile on the 29th of January for a 6 week trip. He plans to backpack in the Patagonian Andes, where he hopes to find his friend Lindsay, learn a bit of Spanish, and clear his mind a bit. When he leaves Mac and Danielle will be back in Oakridge taking care of the shop, and of course introducing little Huck to Oakridge. We'll be happy to have them back! The community garden, the shop, and many of those loyal to our shop here in Oakridge all miss them every day.

If you like to ride check out our link to Coconino Cycles down in Flagstaff, Arizona. They're still shreddin' this winter, and will be up our way for the Handmade Bike Show in Portland during mid February. Stop in and see them at the show or on their blog to see some of their beautiful work, and meet a couple of great people.

Cheers!

Relaxing at Home

Today is an entirely foggy day here at the homestead.

Kris and Tom are in Northern California on a romantic road trip and Mac, Will, William and I are holding down the fort.

Liz, our midwife, will be here in 15 minutes to tell us how much bigger William has gotten in the last week. Our guess is that he's surpassed 11 pounds.

This top picture is Heidi and William. She was here for the entire labor supporting and encouraging us on. She's a gifted and strong friend.

My parents will be coming to visit in about a month, we are looking forward to that!

More William

We can't get enough of him. Here are the latest.

We have the angelic baby and the mully-hawk baby. What's that? A mullet and a mohawk at the same time. You know: business in the front, party in the back.

Lots of fun!

Couple More...

I can't get more than a couple pics to load so they are all coming in small doses.

Corresponding pictures

Here are the pics to go with the last post. I couldn't get them to upload for some reason.

We'll be in Oakridge the next couple days on a trial run, get the systems tested, you know. Then we come back to the homestead for another week.

Hope to see some of you soon!

Such Fun

13 days with William!

Never have I been so busy, especially with only 12 diapers and Mac gone for 2 whole days...
Thanks to Kris and Uncle Will for keeping us fed and warm.

Big Will took the ceiling out of the lower bathroom thinking there were rats living up there. Low and behold they had wings. During the birth a bat flew all around the kitchen and upper bedroom.

Little Will is telepathic, we've discovered. He moves cats and things around the room. We call him Swami Bat Boy.

We have been walking to the other house for breakfast and socialization. Soon I'd like to go to the pond for big adventure! William has been there with Mac already.