ConquerMountains.com

By John Rezell

      Oh yeah, and there was that time we found a hidden away lake in Northern California, the one only the locals know about. Yep, the one with the rock to jump off and the rope swing. She didn't want to jump. She actually whined and cried about it, sitting on top of...

By John Rezell

     I’ve often wondered about the concept of dog years, although never enough to actually research how or why we multiply an earthly number of years by seven to understand how old our canine companions might be.

...

By John Rezell

     Some days the clouds appear to leap away from bright blue skies, demanding attention.

     Some days vibrant colors of stunning yellow mustard flowers, deep red clover or crystal white clover smother the fields to the horizon.

By John Rezell

      I've never felt old.

      Not when the first gray hair emerged.

      Not when my daughters turned 18 and 20.

  ...

      By John Rezell

      She hiked this trail many times before, enough that she knew where we usually dropped down to the shore for an icy plunge into the Little North Santiam River, or where a stream tr...

By John Rezell

      Somewhere along the line joy became my goal in life.

      Not fortune.

      Not fame.

  
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Editor's Note: So listen, it goes like this: An author offers an excerpt from a book so readers get excited about it and buy the book — not so readers get intrigued and email for said author to share more for free. But hey, I know, it has been a rough year or so, and if you haven't bought my book by now chances are slim I can find any way...

By John Rezell

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an excerpt from the opening chapter of my book "A More Simple Time: How Cycling Saved My Soul."  Just why did my soul need saving? When Hank Gathers died on the basketball court on March 4, 1990 it shook me to my core. I knew Hank quite well from covering him for two years and spending a lot of time interviewing him for an in...

By John Rezell

     Nostalgia appears to be rampant during these days of Covid, those of us born of a once dynamic and inspirational generation somehow losing that fire in our eyes that thankfully has been rekindled recently in the eyes of America's Millenials who are hellbent on guaranteeing tha...

By John Rezell

     There are times in everyone's life, I assume, that they pause and warmly remember a moment that prompts them to fondly recall, "I'll never forget it. It changed my life."

     I say I assume this bec...

By John Rezell

     I arrived In Redlands that early March not sure what to expect. I quickly realized I was not alone.

     Many years had passed since the Redlands Classic Bicycle Race served as my introduction to professional cycling. Cove...

By John Rezell

     It's downright entertaining how we change throughout our course in life. I'm tempted to say we evolve, but, at least in my case, that might be a bit of a stretch.

     I think about life as a yo...

By John Rezell

     As soon as I saw the headline, it hit me hard and deep. Tiger Woods crashed in an auto accident Tuesday morning and my heart skipped a beat.

     It's not that I'm callus, but very few athletes or celebrities will do that to me. Tiger Woods is an exception — for me, and millions.

     Tiger popped up on our rad...

By John Rezell

     Gliding up the slight gravel hill through the belly of the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, I leave behind the smattering of bird watchers along the edge of the wetlands. They peer through binoculars or hefty telephoto lenses at the countless waterfowl floating about on the water or sitting id...

A year after my bike ride from San Fransisco to San Diego, I rode from San Fransisco to Los Angeles with two of my brothers. Copyright photo by John Rezell

By John Rezell

EDITOR'S NOTE: As the anniversary of publishing my first three books passes, here is an excerpt from "A More Simple T...

Wild flowers bloom on the Glacier View trail outside

Wenatchee, Washington. Photo by John Rezell

By John Rezell

From the Glacier Trail

     The views of wild flowers flowing up and down the rolling hills as they seemingly come alive, reaching up to majestic peaks sometimes b...

Missy Giove

Alison Sydor

EDITOR'S NOTE:Looking through some memories of past Decembers and this fun tale popped up from 1995.

By John Rezell

Outside Austin, Texas

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     EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an excerpt from my ebook A Bucket List of Thank Yous, a series of Thank You essays to people who have helped make me who I am today.

     By John Rezell

     If you’re really luck...

By John Rezell

     Most days I glide on my bike through the Basket Slough headed to farther points of interest in search of a good, hard workout, but yesterday I felt overcome with the urge for a more pedestrian pace through this National Wildlife Refuge.

     I took my time, relaxing to soak...