Pivot those Plans!

Will and I touring the future site of Gateway Park!

After leaving Idaho, we spend a few days in Tahoe City. The weather was questionable, so we didn’t spend much time outdoors, but we did go see the lake. It was beautiful. I was really hoping to see a bear or two from a distance, but no such luck campe our way.

After a few days of resting, regrouping, and a side quest to get an oil change for the Ford Bronco Sport, we made our way over to Emigrant Gap to take a tour of the Gateway Park, currently being prepped for construction. It’s going to be an absolutely wonderful way to interact with the outdoors when it’s finished. It’s being created by the 40 acres Conservancy. A Black owned/ lead land trust co-run by Team Abundance rider Jade Stevens. I’m sooooo proud of her and what she’s building.

After the whole Idaho experience, I’m freshly reminded how important it is to create these deliberate onramps for BIPOC folks to access the outdoors. It doesn’t always feel safe, so it’s nice to know there’s a space where you are ABSOLUTELY welcome. Even when we were in yellowstone, we could count the number of other Black folks we saw on one hand. One Black man was so happy to see us, and we all had a moment. If you know, you know.

After leaving Emigrant gap, we made our way towards Yosemite National Park. One of the ways my neurospiciness presents is that I sometimes find it challenging to change direction when I’ve been dead set on a specific plan.

Hillariously tho, that’s only the case for really small things. Like a food decision for example. If i painstakingly reviewed the menu, got myself worked up in excitement about having the steak, and then the waiter tells me they’re out of steak… my brain wants to shut down and throw a fit. I don’t throw a fit, but I usually REALLY want to.

On the other hand, big decisions like career plans, and travel plans are much easier for me to happily pivot. So when I saw an instagram post saying “don’t go to national parks right now” we were 30 minutes outside of Yosemite National Park on the first day of the government shutdown, I quickly made other plans.

This wouldn’t count as a crisis, but I personally pride myself on how great I am in a crisis. I can quickly assess a situation and come up with a solution. It’s a silly comparison, but I always compare it to when the Avengers are fighting Thanos, and Dr. Strange is doing this brainstorm thing where he’s assessing every possibility and comes upon the one scenario where they actually win. That’s what it feels like in my brain. It rapidly scans several options and lands on the best case scenario.

So oftentimes, by the time everyone else has caught up to the idea that there is a problem, I already have a solution. Or if we’re all problem solving in real time, i’ll ask for a minute so i can do my Dr. Strange parlor trick. It cracks me up because it’s absolutely ridiculous, but super effective.

Anyway. That was a long way of saying, please don’t go into the National Parks right now. I know my last post was boasting about how great they are. But unfortunately, politics have once again got in the way of a good thing and the parks are understaffed. Last time the government shut down people were defacing the nature, cutting down joshua trees, leaving human waste everywhere, etc. In some cases the damage was irreparable, so the best thing we can do is stay away until the nps folks are getting paid to maintain stuff again.

It was super frustrating to be THAT close to the park, and not step foot inside of it, but at the same time I don’t want to be part of the problem. We found a nice place with cute cabins and had a good nights rest in a bed. There was also a adorable little kitchenette, and a hot shower.

On the first day of the shutdown, we also received nine e-mails from recreation.gov. One for the campground in Yosemite, and eight for the campground where we were supposed to stay next week at Joshua Tree. They all said the campgrounds were open for the dates we reserved, and it almost felt like they were trying to reassure themselves of this. On the second day of the shutdown, we received two e-mails, one processing a refund, and the other informing us that the Joshua Tree Campground reservation was cancelled.

I feel so bad for all the government employees figuring things out right now with little to no support. Even flying out of Asheville this morning, the TSA workers were doing their best with long lines and less staff.

If you’re interacting with any government services, and folks are still showing up, please remember to be patient and kind.

What was I doing in Asheville? The Bronco Campout! It was a lovely event celebrating the community restoration efforts a year after Hurricane Helene came and ripped through everything.

Bronco WildFund and SORBA rented a much sought-after campground in the Pisgah National Forest, and provided free camping space, food, live music, and activities for the community! It was very well received.

I was there to help lead the Mountain Bike rides, thus fulfilling my annual October Mountain bike tradition. If I’m being honest, I think mountain biking is SUPER fun. But the pointy rocks and sticks are very scary. I always find it fascinating that a lot of mountain bikers think road riding is scary. It just all depends on where your comfort lies. Different strokes for different folks!

A little update from the world of cycling. It sounds like Team Israel Premier Tech has had enough bad press to make the pivot. Last week it was announced that they [weren’t invited to a race in Italy](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/we-find-it-extremely-regrettable-that-threats-of-violence-have-disrupted-our-sport-israel-premier-tech-respond-to-giro-dellemilia-exclusion/), and perhaps that was the final straw because now we’ve learned they are [changing the name and direction of the team.](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/moving-away-from-its-current-israeli-identity-israel-premier-tech-to-change-name-and-rebrand-for-2026-with-owner-sylvan-adams-stepping-back/)

I can’t imagine it’s a good business model for a cycling team to be barred from participating in bike races, so i can almost guarantee this was a decision driven by money.