Lance Oliver
Welcome to coffeericeandbeans.com, my corner of the web.
Infrequently asked questions
Q: What's this strangely useless website about, anyway?
A: For many years, when I was a full-time freelance writer, editor, and translator and — like all freelancers — was always seeking new clients and additional gigs, this was my personal/professional site with samples of my work. Now that I've scaled back, translations are done by machines (and so is an unfortunate amount of the writing), and I am no longer seeking new gigs, I've removed most personal information because it tends to attract phishing scams and other unwanted e-mail. But since I've used this as my main presence for more than 20 years and my e-mail addresses are tied to this domain, I keep it.
Q: Are you that guy who writes about motorcycles?
A: That's me. Since 2001, I have specialized in writing for the motorcycle media on a wide range of topics, including industry trends, legislative and safety issues, travel stories, and product evaluations. I worked at the American Motorcyclist Association for seven years and in 2014 RevZilla contracted me to create an online magazine. That grew into Common Tread, which has since expanded to sister companies J&P Cycles and Cycle Gear.
While Common Tread soaks up most of my time and ideas these days, you can see more of my motorcycle writings at The Ride So Far, a site I originally built to promote my book of the same name, published in 2010 by Whitehorse Press, and now my blog for stories that don't fit on Common Tread. See more on the Links page.
Q: What's with the photos?
A: The photos in the slide show above were all taken by me and are some of my favorites.
Q: Why the strange name?
A: Half a lifetime ago, I took a break from my career as a newspaper reporter and spent a year working as a volunteer English teacher in a small town in the least developed part of Costa Rica. The locals had a saying:
For breakfast I have coffee, rice, and beans. For lunch, I have rice, beans, and coffee. For dinner, I have beans, rice, and coffee. That way I never get bored.
It's a reminder that satisfaction has more to do with wanting what we have than having what we want. Plus, I happen to like coffee, rice, and beans.
Q: How can I contact you with important and exciting information, such as a Middle Eastern prince who needs to park $20 million with you for safekeeping?
A: My e-mail address and (an outdated, fortunately) password were posted on a dark web site years ago, so I've seen every scam attempt known to scamkind. So you'll have to bring your best effort.
On the other hand, if you happen to be an old acquaintance looking to get in touch or if you have questions about my work, the contact is the same. Send an e-mail to "LKO" (my initials) at this web domain.
