My friend Mitch is a kind, handsome, intelligent, funny, single, mid-20’s import from the center of the universe. He lives here in Vancouver now, hustling hard working six days a week to make a good life for himself and his awesome dog. Punctuating those days spent grinding away at work with as much time in the forest and on the slopes as possible.

He’s really busy. And like many really busy people, who also are trying to get the most out of their free time, he’s maybe not the best at being patient with the things in our lives that require a calm cadence. You know, stuff like traffic. Stuff like when you really, really want to ride that new wood feature on your favourite bike trail but the volunteer builder isn’t throwing it up quite as quickly as you’d wish. Stuff like when you have to know the answer to a technical or inventory question about a product, in the evening, on a weekend, that’s not clearly displayed on a company’s website.

Now for better and worse, older folks, like myself, maybe have a certain beaten-down experience-fed patience about this stuff that a bright-eyed innovator like Mitch hasn’t come round to yet. For example, when it comes to learning the actual waterproof rating of that fresh shell, or the torque spec for the linkage bolts on a suspension bike, or discerning when a certain bicycle chain will be back in stock, I send an e-mail. And, set a reminder to follow up when I don’t hear back within a couple of business days. It turns out, that’s for chumps.

What does Mitch do when he has a gear query that needs quashing after a few Grauburgunders on a Friday night? He swipes right to it. A little small talk, a couple cute photos of his dog, and then straight to the business at hand. And does he get lucky? Oh my yes. Mitch is too much of a gentleman to Tinder-and-tell but there are at least a few employees from a certain, local, high-performance outerwear company, that are prepared to give up the goods in exchange for some witty banter after hours. 

So what’s an impatient, information-hungry, monogamously attached gear-whore to do? Obviously, you need to find yourself a Mitch! Or maybe a couple of them, because you never know when yours is going to go off the market. Just feed them the odd craft sour and enjoy your access to suavely obtained information. 

You’re welcome.