I’m back in Portland this week after a whirlwind trip to Arizona, which included speaking at the Spirit World fundraiser for the Arizona Trail. What is funny is that even though I spent a good amount of time writing and prepping for this speech leading up to the event, when it was time actually to speak, I pivoted.

A few years back, I found myself riding in the Oakridge-Westfir area of Oregon at Mountain Bike Oregon. It’s the kind of place that makes you believe in second chances, not just for old logging towns, but for entire communities looking for a new way forward. The singletrack was (and is) world-class, and the ridgeline views were unforgettable. But what struck me most wasn’t the trail—it was the people. A small, tight-knit community that had weathered economic downturns and reinvested in itself through the simple act of getting people out on bikes.

That didn’t happen overnight.

If you’re a rural town dreaming about becoming the next trail destination, the reality is this: building a network of mountain bike trails is a long, bureaucratic process. It involves securing access to land, navigating environmental and zoning approvals, funding construction, and then maintaining those trails season after season. It’s not just dirt and tools. It’s diplomacy, funding cycles, and a whole lot of patience.

And yet, there’s good news.