Geof Ochs (Co-Founder, Head of Product Development)
People keep complaining about how bored they are during quarantine. I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I haven’t found that to be remotely true. It has been a fantastic time to reset after a crazy busy winter season and take stock of everything. Spring cleaning came a little early this year, and I am grateful for the opportunity to get ahead of it before the hectic summer. Cleaning out the garage, switching my gear from winter to summer and selling old gear, it’s all part of a necessary process to uncover the mess and organize the gear closet. Something I don’t get to do too often.
That being said, it’s not the same busy. I miss the gatherings with friends and family, and the final spring ski days at the resort. As long as the works day begins with a pour-over, then they are all pretty much the same as they used to be, which is nice. A little less time with co-workers and more alone time working on new and exciting projects. If we are stuck at home, at least we can use the environment to adjust our perspective and think creatively about the year to come.
Probably like most of us in quarantine, the one thing that hasn’t changed much has been my attire. I’ve been rocking the SYNC Logo Tee and Glacier Tee on the daily. They are the perfect weight for an all-day tee shirt. And I won’t complain about the multiple comments I’ve gotten on Zoom. ha ha ha. I’m pretty committed to easily washable and care-free WFH outfits and these fit the bill.
TV shows:
- Tiger King. Didn’t like it, but watched the whole thing. Ooof.
- Re-watching Suits and Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Started “The Americans”
- The new season of Westworld is bonkers
Activities:
- Crushing puzzles and playing cards
- Re-connecting with old friends from college and hosting large family get-togethers on Zoom
- Giving my truck the platinum package. Detailing the interior and exterior.
- Re-working the summer calendar from bike races and weddings to more camping trips and time in the desert.
Workouts:
- Yoga, lots of yoga. Mostly using CorePower Yoga OnDemand.
- Local mellow ski tours. Keeping it low-angle and low-key.
- Long walks around the neighborhood.
Makayla Brown (Team and Club Manager)
As a textbook introvert, social distancing has been far easier for me than for many. I quite enjoy the little home office I have set up for myself at our dining room table, where I have a great view of all the dogs that pass by on their multiple daily walks. Of course, I do miss a few things about “normal” life: weekly girl’s night dinners, going to the gym, daily grocery store runs and wandering the aisles of Target. To maintain productivity, I make sure to keep many steps of my normal routine the same and add a few new ones. Per usual, I have lemon water and greens powder every morning before coffee, get at least 30 minutes of fresh air daily and take at least 10,000 steps a day. I have also taken to using a “happy light” at my desk, taking actual lunch breaks away from the computer and calling one loved one a day to check-in. My routine is by no means perfect, I very much need to work on getting up before 8:45 to start work at 9:00 and not drinking a pot of coffee a day. At no point during this quarantine have I missed or even considered putting on normal clothes. Jeans? No thank you. My uniform of choice is either leggings and an oversized collegiate crew neck or an all-black SYNC Benchmark getup, consisting of our Benchmark Hoodie and Jogger. The high neck on the hoodie is comfy to wear while working on the porch to get a daily dose of sunshine or during a weekend skinning adventure. I wear the Joggers during work time, under my ski pants to skin on colder days and during my big weekly outing to the grocery store.
TV shows:
- Narcos Mexico
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (while I could probably recite each episode verbatim it still never gets old)
- Parks & Rec (same story as Sunny, but there’s just something about familiar, lighthearted and brief TV show episodes)
- Vegan cooking videos on YouTube
Activities:
- Cribbage
- Cooking 1 or 2 new recipes a week, most recently, Kung Pao Cauliflower with Red Curry Rice, Vegan Hamburger Helper and homemade hummus by the gallon
- Decorating the guest bedroom with string lights and having a staycation
- Torturing myself by browsing PetFinder.com for doggos and kitties that aren’t allowed in our rental
Workouts:
- Peloton app free 90-day trial - They have everything from meditation to outdoor audio running classes. Personally, I find mustering the patience to complete a 10-minute meditation more challenging than a running workout so I find this app to be a great way to strengthen my mind and body.
- Running - sometimes using the peloton audio classes and sometimes just letting myself enter a meditative state.
- Skinning - got to love getting outdoors in the sunshine and getting a few turns in.
Roger Carry (Marketing and E-commerce Strategist)
While quarantine hasn’t shifted my routine majorly, as I usually work from home, it has opened my eyes up to how much I value my time outside the house. When you spend all your time working inside it definitely feels like an escape to go out and meet friends for a beer or to go for a bike ride/ski tour in the mountains. Without the ability to hit a coffee shop for a change of scenery discipline to stay on task has to be cranked up. Although the downsides are there I have been fairly productive and have been finishing off projects that have been put off all winter. When you are not leaving on a Friday and coming back exhausted on a Sunday night after a weekend of skiing it’s amazing how much you can get done. The biggest sanity saver that I have had during this quarantine is my SYNC Benchmark hoodie. It’s been a staple in my work from home kit as Canada hasn’t decided that it’s spring yet and this hoodie is one of the warmest and definitely the comfiest pieces of clothing in my closet.
TV shows/movies:
- Tiger King (of course) and I started watching Hunters.
- Watching every ski/bike movie on the internet.
- Going down Youtube rabbit holes on camera equipment and van builds.
Activities:
- Audiobooks and a lot more cooking than pre-quarantine.
- Weekly FaceTime happy hours to keep sanity levels high.
- Painting rooms and doing other home improvement projects that I have been putting off.
Workouts:
- Using Zwift to get some indoor riding in while the weather is still so-so.
- Core and upper body exercises plus trying to stretch more.
- Gravel riding on the days that the snow melts enough in town.
