One week out

May 23, 2021

I sit down to coffee and an almond croissant at Cafe Umbria this morning, shortly after its doors open at 7. Before turning to the journal to document yesterday’s fine ride up the Westside Regional Trail, I open up my email and find this:

This is new. My email account is apparently linked now to Rachael’s new Garmin Edge, so I can follow along as she’s being live-tracked on her solo ride out to Sauvie Island. I watch in fascination for a bit as she advances north on Highway 30, feeling just a bit guilty and regretful that I didn’t invite myself along when she left for the island at the crack of dawn. Nothing to be done about that now though, so I have a sip of coffee and return to the journal. We leave for Minneapolis in a week anyway, so I’ll be putting in plenty of miles soon enough.

Rocky got off to such an unusually early start this morning because we have big plans for the afternoon: the much delayed reunion of the Hostile Actors Club, that scruffy group of miscreants and misfits who found solace in each others’ company three years ago when they were branded as Hostile Actors for expressing unwelcome thoughts and then banished from another notorious cycling website.

For those interested in history, our charter meeting was held at an undisclosed location somewhere in southeast Portland - in Sellwood, I suppose you might say. With members of this itinerant group often away from the region it’s been a challenge to find opportunities to reconvene; but we did manage to cross paths again later that summer, and once again early last spring just before the pandemic exploded.

For many months now we’ve had our eyes on the calendar, the state of the world, and our vaccination statuses, hoping that we’d get a chance to reunite before Team Anderson skips town for another half year. Finally though it all came together just in time and the core group met once more at that same undisclosed location where the group was born.

It was a wonderful afternoon, with much to catch up on from the past year. After a year of social isolation it was remarkable to see each others’ entire faces, share hugs, and celebrate the fact that we have come through. Let there be laughter! Let there be pizza! All hail the glorious HACs!!

Image not found :( — After a few hours indoors we retired to the jungle for fuel and further festivities.

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Andrea BrownThat was a fun day!

To get the back story on that gong: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/chindwin1415/gong-shopping-and-island-hopping/
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3 years ago

Ron SuchanekIt was great to reconvene the subversives after all this time.
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3 years ago

Bob DistelbergLooks like a fun (but obviously subversive) group.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob DistelbergIt is! It’s also quite welcoming in spite of its small size. Local chapters and regional meetups could be arranged. In fact, though she’s probably forgotten about it we have an honorary member in Gauting we hope to meet up with this fall.
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3 years ago

Bruce LellmanI think Jen has established the closing ceremony for all future HAC meetings.

And a wonderful meeting it was. A great bunch of cyclists, now fast friends, all brought together (ironically) by reading cycling journals on another cycling website, before we knew we were Hostile Actors.
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3 years ago

Jen RahnTo Bruce LellmanI *love* sounding the gong and look forward to the many closing ceremonies to come.

What a perfect evening of collaborative hostility, merriment ... and pizza!

And there couldn't be a more warm, welcoming, and beautiful undisclosed gathering location.
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3 years ago

Suzanne GibsonWonderful to see all you guys in action. And I'm sure no one was laughing at you now, Scott, looking so suave with your new haircut. I'll have to find a gong.
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3 years ago