Well week seven of the coronavirus pandemic is behind us. When this all started I was hoping that maybe it would be five to six weeks and we’d be back to some semblance of “normal” life. Well that theory got blown out of the water. Over the weekend Governor Brown extended Oregon’s state of emergency until July 6th! I get that there are political and economic reasons to do this (can you say federal funds) but damn that was quite the reality check.

Mia and I have been talking about the positive aspects of everything that has been going on. I refuse to dwell on the negative aspects as it just isn’t how my mind works. On a personal note I biked just over 860 miles for the month of April. It has been my best month in the past 7 years by about 10 miles and the earliest I have ever hit that mark in I don’t know how long. None of my rides were over 50 miles. I got most of them just by commuting to/from work. I think I may have driven the Subaru Outback maybe a total of 200 miles all month, so saving on gas too!

The other positives that we have seen is just the number of families out for bike rides, walks, etc. I look at it as a blessing in disguise that as kids are out of school and parents are working from home they are getting to spend more time together. I don’t think I have ever heard a single parent say “man I wish I could spend less time with my kids”. Perhaps in the long run there will be some longer lasting positives. It’s not about trips to Disneyland, putting your kid in fifteen activities as the same time or working 60 hour weeks. Life is about spending time with family (and eventually friends again).

Normally I’d be in the middle of a mountain bike racing season right now. Weekends not spent racing or doing long rides would instead have been spent looking for a hike to do with Mia and Codi. Now I’m still doing my rides, but from the front door and not driving to the Gorge or something like that.

For me personally spending more time at home has gotten me back into the kitchen to play around again. I’ve always considered myself a decent cook and I like to make deserts more than main dishes……It’s a good thing I rode those 860 miles this past month!

This weekend’s treat comes from Handle the Heat and her No-bake S’mores Mini Cheesecake bites. I’ll get right to it. I thought these were just okay, not awesome, but not bad either. I felt the cheesecake was more like a thick pudding or dense mousse as opposed to the cheesecake texture I had in my head. I’d give them a 6 out of 10 for a score. They were simple to make and do have a nice creamy texture, just not what I was expecting. The big positive I’ll take out of it is that I learned to make my own marshmallow cream or as I prefer to call it Fluff. Crazy simple and fantastic taste.

If you’re reading this please take a moment to step back and reflect on the positives of the current situation. I realize that not everyone has as rosy a picture as Mia and I have. The other thing to remember then is that someone is always there for you or better yet maybe someone needs you to be there for them. So don’t be afraid to reach out and just let that someone know.

Thanks for reading,

-Pete