04/04/2026
Sometime back in 2020 enough of our staff got covid that we pulled the rip cords and closed the shop for 2 weeks. We all fell like scattered dominoes, which meant that our negative tests came around similarly and after 9 days we realized we had enough of a crew in the clear to reopen the doors a few days early. When we communicated with the team about coming back in I was told that Ben might not message back and probably won’t be there early because he was in the woods given the freedom of the two weeks.
This turned out to be true. Ben was out. Way out. But returned back exactly on time according to the original schedule we had set.
There may be no better articulation of the deep reliability combined with the impressive desire for adventure and freedom that Ben possesses. It is this combo that gives him a sense of presence and purpose that has made him an absolute joy to work with for the last 6 years. When in the shop, Ben is in, and on. A true bike/ski shop asset with years of experience and expertise with the technical side of every piece of gear we sell.
But when the doors are closed or Ben’s name isn’t on the schedule, he’s out. And we couldn’t respect him more for it. What could be more commendable than someone who can live and breathe solitude in the wilderness and bring a bit of that magic to his human interactions on the other side?
Today is Ben’s last day (for a while) before he signs out and goes on another big adventure. On 4/20 Ben will start his hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from Campo, CA. He’s got around 5 months to hike the entire 2650 miles before reaching the Canadian boarder with a goal to average around 17 miles per day.
We honestly couldn’t be more excited for Ben to take on this challenge. We’ve always created an experience that allows people to get outdoors, and damn if this isn’t completely in line with our greater mission.
Ben, thanks for the consistency, thanks for sharing your experiences to make us better, thanks for meeting the ridiculousness of retail with humor, thanks for finding a very best friend in Abe, and thanks for singing really, really loud. We will see you on the other side.
The trail awaits ✨