This is Rosie, a Surly (https://surlybikes.com/) do-it-all bike I rescued from Craigslist last December.
Seen here with her bags packed, she and I are minutes from heading out, ready to start an adventure to ride a wide swath of Oregon.
I haven't seen much of the state, so I was very excited to experience nearly 450-500 miles of it from behind her handlebars.
Finally it was time, and we rolled out. Starting a bike tour straight from your driveway is a great feeling of freedom and simplicity.
Once past the mailbox, we headed for the Van Nuys train station for an overnight trip to Eugene.
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I've biked to this station a few times and it's always a hot mess of traffic and little room for cyclists.
There's no graceful route to get there by bike, especially when its fully loaded and I'm not used to the drunken-goat handling.
Meanwhile, my mind is swirling and chaotic, hoping I’ve packed and planned adequately.
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The trip went mostly like this: I biked east from Eugene along the McKenzie Highway up and over the Cascade mountains. From there the route goes across a large flat and dry basin with Prineville as my destination.
In Prineville, there's an event called the Ochoco Overlander - a 4 1/2 day, organized bike tour that follows nearly 175 miles of gravel roads in the Ochoco National Forest.
It began and ended in Prineville in a big loop. The Good Bike Co bike shop (https://goodbikeco.com/) hosts this every year.
After the event, I went southwest to Bend to visit friends from SoCal that have since transplanted. Shout out to Greg and Marilee!
Then, back north to Sisters and Eugene retracing this part of the route.
Here's the first part of the story:
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First time on a sleeping car. Normally I board the coach car with bike in tow. Trains with sleepers require you hand over your bike to the attendant to be stowed in the baggage car.
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My "Roomette" is a small space, but comfy since it's just me. It can sleep two, since there is a fold-down bunk above. The opposing seats fold down to make a bed.
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Finally on-bike in Eugene. What's this? Dedicated bike paths alongside the streets! No such thing in the L.A. Foothills.
I easily navigated my way through town to stock up on food then pointed Rosie eastward. Today will be 60 miles to the campground, mostly (slightly) uphill the entire way.
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My route took me through U of O campus.
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Many bike paths keep you close to the city, but not directly riding with traffic. I followed this path for miles while exiting downtown Eugene.
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Getting into my groove and happy to be riding. Weather is perfect.
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Making progress, Eugene is many miles behind me.
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The route follows the McKenzie River. Here, I pulled over and devoured lunch, snacks, water, more snacks. I dug around to see if I had magically packed a second lunch. Nope.
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The McKenzie Fire (https://catchmagazine.net/article/the-mckenzie-fire-by-kelley-moen/) burned through a huge area along the river in 2020.
I passed scorched properties, blackened and felled trees and many home-made signs thanking the firefighters.
I can relate to those signs. Back home, we live in fire country.
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Finally arrived at tonight's campground. A long day for me and Rosie.
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Rich, the campground, host helped me find a good site. There were too many look at and I was exhausted, so his suggestion was much appreciated.
I slept like a rock!
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Good morning, the adventure continues!
Just as I started, I noticed a twinge of pain in my left knee. I attributed it to yesterday’s huge push.
It hung around for the remainder of the trip, but was able to manage it with Advil and spinning in lower gears.
It’s easy to let the excitement of the moment distract you from signals from your old-man body 😊
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I happened upon a group of riders doing their yearly reunion-bike tour.
I fell in with them as we headed up, up, up and up some more to McKenzie Pass then down the other side to Sisters.
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Just before you reach the top of the pass, the thick forest ends abruptly and is replaced with 20 square miles of lava.
My first look at Middle Sister and South Sister, volcanic peaks over 10k feet elevation.
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I think this is Mount Washington. And a hell of a lot of lava.
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[Photo by US Forest Service]
A lookout was built at the top of the pass. Officially known as the Dee Wright Observatory. Yes, it’s an all-lava fortress.
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Over the pass, heading down, down, down. With all the loaded weight, Rosie and I gathered a lot of speed. Not much braking while leaning into the turns.
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The road levels out when getting closer to Sisters. The forest has changed from thick and green to more sparse and grassy. Ponderosa pine everywhere! I find this woodland most beautiful.
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A ranch just outside of town.
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Sisters has a nice city park. I crossed the creek via the footbridge to get to the city campground and settled in at the bike & hike campsite.
Then took a short ride to a local brewery for take-out pizza and some cold beers. Life on two wheels - it's the best.
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Good morning from Sisters. Wicked cold overnight and this morning! I heard it was 36 degrees. I'm wearing my warmies (bike pants and puffy) to start off the mornings ride. I am riding to Prineville today.
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Lunch spot. Rosie is doing better than I am, since I continue to monitor my knee pain.
She’s got no issues other than some balding tread on the rear tire. I can relate to balding. No worries Rosie.
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Along the way to Prineville. This is farm country.
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First look at Prineville from the local overlook.
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Finally arrive at town and visited the bike shop where the big event will begin very early tomorrow morning.
The building used to be a gas station, but now serves bikes. As it should be! Oh, and they have beer on tap. Where am I??
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Although I’d like nothing more than to just relax, it’s time for chores. Laundry, CVS, dinner and motel check-in.
Thankfully I got a t-shirt from the bike shop. All others are in the wash.
The next day starts a new and different part of my tour. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.
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Let me know about your bike tour adventures. Have you explored Oregon?
Leave a comment below, the password is: life is good