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.
Hats off to Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) and to the many organizations and individuals that support its initiatives. COTA develops and maintains the Bend area mountain bike trail system in cooperation with the US Forest Service. COTA rocks!!!
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 …
Woke at 7:00 am and packed up to check out of Motel 6. I am moving to a hotel that is close to the bus stop where I pick up a bus that goes from Bend to Portland. Checked out of Motel 6 at 8 am and biked through the town of Bend. It was cool (about 55 degrees) and sunny. Stopped at a local restaurant to fuel up with a bean, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito.
Climbing fuel – breakfast burrito.
I am completely excited about my last day in Bend. I planned to ride TiddlyWinks trail (the 7.2 mile trail on which I fell two days ago), and Storm King trail (4 miles). They are both super fun trails and I begin the day with unbridled anticipation. Rode out of Bend up the Cascade Lakes Highway, 13.5 miles, to Wanoga Snow Park. The trailhead for Tiddlywinks is there. Arrived at the Tiddlywinks trailhead (about 5,500 feet in elevation) at 10:40 am.
Rode to the most challenging section of the trail and stopped to rest and get a drink. The challenging section had danger warning signs, but riding this section of the trail is mountain biking at its best.
Danger ahead – thumbs up!
Loved descending the challenging section of Tiddlywinks trail. The big-time downhill curves and switchbacks were super fun, leaning into the banked berms while riding the disc brakes to keep a safe speed. Zig-zagging through pine trees, flying through the jumps, and nailing the landings was super fun. I rode with a heightened sense of awareness – using all my skills, balancing efforts, quickness, and agility to negotiate the downhill course.
Downhill section of Tiddlywinks trail near Bend, Oregon. Bumps, jumps, banked berms, and fun!
Rock section of Tiddlywinks trail – near Bend, Oregon.
Stopped at the bottom of Tiddlywinks trail for lunch (granola, trail mix, and water). While eating lunch, I noticed a bike about 20 feet up in a tree and took a photo. I wandered, “Did the rider get some big air on a jump and met the tree mid-air? Or was this a rider who met a tree when the snow was so deep that 20 feet up was ground level (snow melted in the spring)?”
Lunch spot at bottom of Tiddlywinks trail.
Bike in tree at bottom of Tiddlywinks trail – near Bend, Oregon.
Saddled back up after lunch and rode the flowy and fast Storm King trail. The ride was mostly downhill and was invigorating.
After riding Storm King trail, I connected up with the Deschutes River trail and rode it downriver towards its end near Bend.
Rode into Bend and checked into my new hotel. Then I returned my bike to the bike shop – loved the sign outside the bike shop. It was late afternoon and was sunny and 80 degrees F.
Walked to dinner and then walked about 2.5 miles to the hotel. Cleaned up and packed up to leave Bend via bus early the following morning.
It was a superb day – a perfect day – the best way to end my mountain biking adventure in Bend.
I rode 38 miles today and topped out at 5,500 feet in elevation.
Woke up at 7:30 am in the Motel 6 – what a luxury (compared to camping in a hammock)!
Did not eat breakfast – just geared up and got ready to ride. It was 54 degrees F outside when I began riding.
I saddled up and hit the trail for another day, cranking up the mountain towards Mt. Bachelor. I’ll use all my 24 gears on today’s ride – another day of adventure!
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” ― John Muir
I wonder what John Muir was like many years ago – perhaps he would be a mountain biker if he lived in this day and time! I am privileged to take his advice on this day, following some wonderful dirt trails on my mountain biking adventure.
It is another great day. I am thankful for the exquisite beauty that God made in his creation. The way the sun rises to warm my skin, the way a tree grows and extends its shade, the grace of a bird in flight on the mountain updraft, the symmetry of a bright flower’s bloom, the thundering rush of a stream over a waterfall falling at its base and running downstream. God’s hand is everywhere I see, hear, and feel – and in everything I experience.
And I am grateful for the health with which God has granted me. Due to health issues, many are not able to ride mountain trails as I ride them. And my health is not taken as granted – I consider health a gift from God each and every day.
So I started the day thankful and amazed at what God had in store. I rode out of Bend towards Mt. Bachelor, on the Cascade Lakes Highway, headed for an epic advanced/difficult trail called “Tiddlywinks” (7.2 miles long).
Sign on Cascade Lakes Highway – near Bend, Oregon
The climb was gradual for the first few miles out of Bend. But the elevation grade kicked up soon. I geared down and kept cranking. Many vehicles headed out of Bend on the highway carried mountain bikes, road bikes, kayaks, paddle boards, and other recreational equipment. Many bikers passed me as we cranked uphill. Most of the bikers going up and down that highway were road bikers. Each had an encouraging word as we passed. I saw a cross country skier with poles and roller blades going up and down the highway – he was training seriously in the off season (summertime).
With stops to rest and to check navigation, it took me about 3 hours of ascending 13.5 miles to get to the Tiddlywinks trailhead. I stopped and ate lunch (granola bar, trail mix, and water) near the trailhead.
Tiddlywinks trailhead, near Bend, Oregon.
Don’t let the trail name Tiddlywinks confuse you. This is one epic mountain biking trail, not some fru-fru trail. The trail begins with a mile, or so, of relatively flat downhill. Then some climbing to a ridge. After this things get interesting – multiple danger warning signs on the trail – see the “skull and crossbones” on the pink sign below.
Some serious. steep downhill trail after the signs. I rode down multiple switchback curves through the trees – the trail was similar to a motorcycle motocross track with MONSTER banked earth berms and deep ruts.
Switchback curve and banked earth berm on Tiddlywinks trail – near Bend, Oregon.
Switchback after challenging switchback took me downhill. It was a big drop. I thought the curves would never end. It was mountain biking heaven! I was riding the brakes most of the way down, using both front and rear brakes to check my speed. In between the curves were earth mounds and rocks for launching jumps into the alpine air.
I took multiple jumps and had my only fall of the entire trip. I saw another earth mound, let go of the brakes to gain speed, and launched into the jump, only to discover a rock outcropping out of sight, but visible as I launched past the mound. Mountain rock embedded in the landing zone (LZ) is not what you wish for. My front tire hit one of the rocks in the LZ, and my front wheel slowed. The rear-end of the bike kept moving forward with my momentum, and my speed forward launched me over the handlebars. This move is called an “endo” (short for end-over-end). My bike and I tumbled to a stop just off the trail. I was still clipped in to the pedals. When all the tumbling stopped, I was located upside down (and sideways) in some low bushes, with the bike on top of me. I think my backpack took some of the impact of my falling body when it hit the ground. And my helmet did its job protecting my head. I lay there for a minute, letting the adrenaline and the shock of the crash subside. During that time I was doing a self-assessment – was anything broken or bleeding? No visible injuries. Then it took a few minutes to get the bike off of me, to untangle myself and the bike from the bushes, and to right myself.
Relieved that I had no injuries, I rested. Then I got back in the saddle after a few minutes and rode the rest of Tiddlywinks trail downward to a trail called Storm King (4.1 miles). Storm King was a fun, downhill, flowing trail. Then I hooked into Catch and Release trail (2.5 miles). Then I rode the Deschutes River trail (4 miles) back to Bend, following the Deschutes River. Stopped next to a place upriver of Bend called “Lava Island” and ate a snack. It was sunny and 82 degrees F.
Lava Island, Deschutes River, Oregon.
Then I rode streets of Bend to get a snack at Taco Salsa. I thought it would be a snack – I ordered a bean and cheese burrito – and they delivered a monster burrito that became my dinner. It was delicious and hit the spot at the end of a full day of biking.
Eating outdoors at Taco Salsa.
It was early evening, so I biked to Bend’s town park (Drake Park) on the Deschutes River and enjoyed the green grass and relatively cool temperature.
I biked 39 miles today and hit 5,500 feet in atitude.
I took several dirt paths today – like John Muir suggested. It was a good day and I was grateful for the blessing of this adventure.
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” ― John Muir
Woke up at 6 am. It was 39 degrees for a low last night (brrrrrrr). I stayed warm all bundled up in my hammock.
Ate breakfast – granola, nuts, and hot tea. Used a MSR Pocket Rocket backpacking stove to heat water for oatmeal and for tea/cocoa. It was good to eat something warm after a cold night.
Today is moving day. I had planned to stay seven days at Tumalo State Park. But when I checked in, the ranger told me I could only stay three days – this was a complete surprise to me as I had called ahead and mentioned that I was planning on staying a week, and asked how bikers can camp there. At no time during the phone call did the ranger mention that there was a three day limit for hiker/biker campers. I checked the state park website for rules/restrictions. The state park’s website had no mention of a three day camping limit for hikers/bikers. Neither was the unpublished rule posted on the park’s signage. The state park website allows car campers to book reservations more than seven sequential days. But hiker/biker campers can only stay three days.
There were many extra camping spots at the hiker/biker area of the camp. I explained all this to the park rangers and I requested special dispensation from the rangers. But the park rangers seemed to be more bureaucrat types, less customer service oriented types (a typical government operation), fond of stating the unpublished rule (a rule found nowhere on their website, not on the park’s signage, and not mentioned on the phone when I called ahead to plan the trip), and apparently the park rangers seemed unmoved by reasonable logic.
Having such an unpublished rule, and then refusing to extend grace to a camper who asks for an exception to the unpublished rule is not a particularly helpful way to treat guests. I asked the rangers to update their website to inform hiker/biker campers of the unpublished three day limit.
So I broke camp. I was the only person in the hiker biker camp and had to leave, according to the ranger bureaucracy, leaving zero hiker/biker campers at the campsite. I packed up, loaded all the gear on my back, and rode my bike the six miles into Bend, loaded down with gear. There are no other campsites around Bend, so I checked into a Motel 6.
Next, I rode west out of Bend. Bend is a “bike-friendly” town. Well-marked bike lanes are everywhere, with signs informing vehicle drivers of bike lanes. People ride everywhere in and around Bend. And Bend drivers are careful with riders and pedestrians, stopping if a rider or pedestrian is at a crosswalk, always looking for them. Bend drivers made a very positive impression on me. This is a far cry from Plano, Texas (near Dallas) where drivers seem to have a distinct dislike for bike riders – a biker takes his life into his own hands when he rides the roads around Dallas. Plano and Dallas are some of the least bike-friendly cities in the world.
I rode out of Bend, up Skyliner Road to Phil’s trailhead. There, I hung out in the whoop-de-do section at the trailhead (here I am in the short video below).
Trail marker at the top of Lower Whoops trail, part of the Phil’s trail complex.
Climbed up Ben’s trail (5.5 miles) to Lower Whoops trail (1.8 miles). Took Lower Whoops trail down (1.8 miles), kicking up dust to Phil’s trail and took Phil’ trail down (6.1 miles). Stopped to take a photo of the chicken, in mid-trail.
The “Flaming Chicken” on Phil’s trail near Bend, Oregon.
Today is the first clear day – you can see Mt. Bachelor and Sisters Peaks.
Sisters peaks in the distance.
I biked back down to Bend and ate a burger at a local restaurant. Rode 32 miles today. It was also Free Slurpee Day (July 11 – 7/11), so I got a cold slurpee (thanks 7-Eleven, it hot the spot).
Mountain biking is a rush – one must stay constantly alert, assessing the terrain ahead while negotiating obstacles. Leaning into banked curves, negotiating rock gardens, and landing jumps takes skill, coordination, and snap judgement. Trees do NOT move. Wise mountain bikers choose their line carefully…
In addition, mountain biking is great way to stay fit. Biking up the mountains around Bend, Oregon is challenging for this flatlander who lives at 600 feet altitude in Plano, Texas. The higher altitude makes for less oxygen – climbing is a challenge, especially with less oxygen. Bend is at 3,500 feet altitude, and the Bend area trails go upwards from there.
Much challenging riding out there. But hey, If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you!
I took a bus from Eugene, Oregon to Bend, Oregon this morning. Traveled with an Osprey hydration pack and a duffle bag holding a week’s worth of camping supplies and mountain biking gear.
The bus ride from Eugene to Bend was filled with the exquisite beauty of God’s creativity found in the Oregon Cascade mountains. We rode up the McKenzie River valley, following the river as we ascended. I thanked God for the towering fir trees in the dense forest, draped in moss, tops disappearing in the fog. What a creator!
Arrived in Bend, Oregon at noon and hopped off the bus, ready for adventure! Ate lunch at a sandwich shop in downtown Bend. Then walked to the bike shop to pick up my rented mountain bike. I rented the least expensive mountain bike – a Specialized Rock Hopper 29’er.
Rode to REI to get a last minute item – a sleeping bag liner. The weather forecast was cooler than I had anticipated – lows at night in the low 40’s (F). And there is a chance of rain the first couple of days. There is nothing worse than being wet and cold, so I got a sleeping bag liner to add to the warmth of my sleeping bag.
Rode from downtown Bend to Tumalo State Park, located on the Deschutes River, about six miles northwest of Bend. Set up camp – a sleeping bag in a hammock with a rainfly. Had a rain shower while setting camp, so I got a bit damp. Finished setting up camp, then went down to the river to check it out.
Deschutes River, near Tumalo State Park, near Bend , Oregon.
Ate dinner (granola, nuts, and dried apricots). Took a shower (washer my dirty clothes in the shower), and got ready for the nights sleep.
I talked with the park ranger and she informed me that I could only stay three days in the state park (some rule they made, but failed to place in their website). This was unexpected news – I had planned on staying all seven days, and had not outfitted my bike to carry gear from camp to camp. So I will need flex my plan. Grrrrrrr.
Dusk brought the sounds of children playing in the state park camp, the river bubbling by, and the birds chirping as they got ready to roost for the night.
This week’s trip will be much easier than last year’s bikepacking trip to the Middlefork River, Crater Lake, and North Umpqua River. Here is why…
Supply points – Last year, I had to carry all my supplies for the week because there were no supply points. This year, I can ride into Bend whenever I need something.
Camp set up and break down – Last year, I had to spend about two hours each day, one hour breaking down camp to load it on my bike, the other hour to set up camp. This year, I am operating out of a base camp and leaving camp set up at the base camp for the entire week. I will ride out of the base camp each day and return back to base camp each day.
Packing less weight – I will only need to carry the essentials for the day on my bike – water, a lunch, weather gear, and bike repair gear. Last year I was carrying an extra 35 pounds of gear. This year it is just about 20 pounds – water being the majority of the weight. Every ounce makes a huge difference when cranking up those mountains.
Cell coverage – last year I was out in remote back country with cell coverage only about 10% of the time. Thus, I could not use cell phone mapping functions to navigate. This year there is cell coverage in almost every area where I am riding. If I can keep my phone charged with the solar charger, I can use it to navigate.
Showers – Tumalo State Park (my base camp for the week) has showers – something I did not have last year. No sponge baths or cleaning up in ice-cold rivers. Yay for showers!!!
Versus last year’s trip, I feel “footloose and fancy free”! I am cruising with relatively light weight and I won’t get lost (knock on wood).
Went to sleep to the sound of soft rain on the tarp covering my hammock.
It is July and I am am back in Oregon again. My trip has two objectives:
to cheer for my daughter as she runs steeplechase in the 2016 USA Track Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon
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.
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.
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).
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!
Mark Updates 