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My Great Big Bend, Oregon Mountain Biking Adventure

john-muir-quote-mtb-bend-oregon-1000w

Last week (July 2016) I finished a mountain biking trip in Bend, Oregon. The trip included seven days of riding, camping in a hammock, and exploring the town of Bend.

It was a spectacular trip!

I biked 277 miles, rode 18 of the trails in the Bend area (just a small fraction of the mountain biking trails in the Bend area).

The trip was filled with spectacular mountain trails, high desert landscape, challenging climbs, and thrilling descents. The entire week was a refreshing break.

Here is what I learned…

  • Bend, Oregon is one of the best places to ride in the USA. Hundreds of miles of well-marked trails and a large number of rainless days allow for a wonderful mountain biking ecosystem. In my seven days of riding, I only rode a small fraction of the vast number of trails available in the Bend area.
  • People in Oregon are kind and helpful to visitors. I always received a kind greeting and a helping hand wherever I went.
  • God gave me good health and allowed me to the encounter another small slice of the vast universe he created. I am thankful to God and acknowledge his wonder, power, and creativity. It is his world, and he allows me to live in it.

Below are my daily experiences, filled with photos, maps, and descriptions of my rides. I hope that you use my experiences to gain a perspective about Bend and that you benefit from my experience …

Day Before the Bend Mountain Biking Trip

Day One – Eugene to Bend

Day Two – Into The Wild

Day Three – Mountain Biking is Art

Day Four – Moving Day

Day Five – Dirt Paths of Life

Day Six – Marianne and Houdini

Day Seven – Easy Day

Day Eight – Last Day (Perfect Day)

Day Before the Bend Mountain Biking Trip

It is July and I am am back in Oregon again. My trip has two objectives:

  1. to cheer for my daughter as she runs steeplechase in the 2016 USA Track Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon
  2. to mountain bike in the Bend, Oregon area for one week

My daughter Rachel did not make the Olympic Team. As a father, I can do nothing but cheer, and be amazed at the talent, the competitive spirit, and the work ethic that God has given her. She competed against some amazing athletes who deserve to represent the USA in the 2016 Summer Olympic competition.

Rachel’s races (preliminaries and finals ) were a few days apart. So during the “off-days” between races, my wife (Susan) and I traveled to Crater Lake via car. I showed her some of the places I went on last years bikepacking trip and thoroughly enjoyed sharing the time with Susan.

Tomorrow I will be taking a bus from Eugene, Oregon to Bend, Oregon to enjoy my trip’s second objective –  a week-long mountain biking trip in Bend.

This year’s mountain biking trip will differ from last year’s mountain biking trip in several ways:

  1. Operate from a base camp
    I will set up a base camp in Tumalo State Park, located a few miles from Bend, on the Deschutes River. Last year’s trip was a bikepacking trip – breaking down my camp each day, packing and carrying all my supplies via my mountain bike to the next day’s camp, setting up camp, and repeating the same packing, riding, unpacking process each day. This trip, I will set up a base camp once, and return to that base camp each night to rest and refuel. Rather than carry 35 pounds of food, supplies,and gear, I will carry a relatively light pack with food for lunch, water, and bike repair gear. All the camping gear stays at the base camp each day, waiting for me as I return from the day’s mountain biking adventure.
  2. Have cell coverage
    Last years trip I operated without any cell coverage for a majority of the week-long trip. I relied on pre-downloaded maps and on my orienteering skills (reading maps, recognizing landmarks, and understanding my location, in order to stay on course, and to keep from getting lost in the wilderness). With the exception of some areas around Mt. Bachelor, the majority of the area where I am riding around Bend, Oregon has cell coverage. So I can just download some maps and look at the little blue dot on my phone that tells me my location (assuming I have an operating phone).
  3. Have resupply points
    Last year I had to pack all my food and supplies for a week’s ride – there were few resupply points. This trip, I can bike a few miles into Bend and get food or other items (if needed). Yay for resupply points!!!

 

Needless to say, this trip will be less arduous and less risky than last year’s solo bikepacking trip. But this year’s trip will be filled with amazing trails and adventure. My heart is brimming with anticipation for all that Bend has to offer!

Below is a short video of a trail called “Slalom Loop” in the Bend area trails system. Amazing!

https://vimeo.com/77762256

 

Day One – Eugene to Bend