It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are.
New to Velotopia, and It’s great to have a place to share riding epicness.
With that said I just got back recently from a 3 day weekend of mountain bike madness that took place in Oakridge, OR. Mtn. BIke OR =$300 for 3 days which includes three awesome meals a day, camping on the Willamette river, enough trails to feed your riding soul and beer garden extravaganza at the end of the day.
I went with three buddies of mine that were just as excited as I was. The trip started in Seattle with a quick detour in Portland to have some tasty beverages and lunch at Lucky Labrador Brewery. It was about a 6.5 hour drive of intense anticipation to the small town of Oakridge (well worth the drive). Once we got to the campground we setup and jumped on the bikes to ride over to the local pub where a lot of the other people were that got there before day 1, It was an awesome site to see tons of bikes all stacked up on the outside of the pub, There were over 300 riders that attended and I heard that the tickets sold out quick.
The Mess
Day 1 we woke up, had some breakfast and got ready for our first ride on Salmon Creek (12 miles). This was a great warm up ride along the river that crossed Salmon Creek Bridge and got into some technical climbs and descents. After that we jumped on a bus to go ride Alpine (17 miles). It was a great day that wore us all out and ended in the beer garden. Day 2 we slept in a little and went back on Salmon Creek taking a different route all the way to the Salmon Creek Falls and then rode back to camp to partake in the beer garden festivities. I ended up getting a demo bike for the ride which convinced me that I need to buy a full suspension bike for next season, amazing! Day 3 we stumbled out of our tents, packed up and made the ride back home.
Sign up for next year starts in November. This is going to be a yearly tradition for me. Definitely!
We have video of our rides that we need to edit, I’ll post them as soon as there done.
The Crew
Head Lamp / 30 sec. Exposure Fun
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Zack and I just got back from a mountain biking vacation, which is, of course, the best kind of vacation. The first three days we spent riding the North Umpqua Trail in Central Oregon with Cog Wild bicycle tours and we had a ball! With our guides taking care of route-finding, shuttling and food prep at the campsite, all we had to do was have fun and ride bikes.
After the CogWild tour, we settled into our friends’ rental cottage in Bend and spent the rest of the week riding both in Bend and up near Mt. Bachelor. So much singletrack, so little time--can’t wait to get back!
Some evidence of the fun:
Our campsite near Toketee Lake
Riding the Umpqua Trail
Coming around a rocky ledge on the Umpqua Trail
The Weeping Wall on the Umpqua Trail
Photo break up near Mt. Bachelor
On the Metolius-Windego trail
Our bikes at rest
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The thought of one more STP just didn’t get the juices going for me this year. So how about something different? I decided to try RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC + Party). Maybe try different training as well.
I spent 2 weeks working from our Sun Valley, Idaho, office since we do the marketing for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Their season is two weeks long in August. That gave me the opportunity to ride 50 miles every other day in the high desert. Climbing mountains and experiencing some altitude and heat. I’ve learned before that if you can train at 6-8,000 ft. you can feel like Superman when you ride at sea level. Well… maybe not Superman, but at least not Superwimp.
The weekend had beautiful, if hot, weather. After the first 10 miles I ended up riding next to Mike (IT guy from King County) who happened to be riding the same bike as I was (Wilier Triestina Izoard). We then acquired another new teammate… Zach (a PT at Olympic Physical Therapy). These three amigos rode both days together and had a great time. We only had strong head winds around Mt. Vernon and Chuckanut Drive. We stayed near the head of the pack as to avoid the big pelotons. I really enjoyed that system. I usually ride alone and attach myself to various pace lines as I go. But having people to ride with that are a good physical match worked well. Hopefully we’ll get to ride together again soon.
Anyway, I highly recommend the ride. Be sure to register within minutes of it going live online. It sells out in a few hours as it is limited in numbers.
Free Ice Cream at 104 miles in Bellingham
The party in Vancouver, BC. I doubt the architect of this patio and fountain planned on beer cups, but…
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While exploring the Lopez Island road riding experience, we stopped into the village bike shop, just for grins, and found this little rag stacked by the door: Bicycle Paper. Here’s what I like about it: It’s about bikes, it’s free, it’s local, and it smells like ink and newsprint. They have a URL (BicyclePaper.com), but I find the printed edition much more enjoyable. It’s better designed for one thing, but here’s the real kicker - you can hold it in your hands. I know that sounds like the kind of thing a blog writer might not say, but it’s true. I do lament the lack of comments, feedback and the sense of community that a website affords, but it certainly has a tangible charm all its own.
The content is interesting enough - a mix of practical commuter stuff, race and event schedules, editorial and just plain bike love stuff - and you can stuff it in your jersey along side a beer and enjoy both while watching seals cavort, from the top of a bluff. That’s what I did. But I suppose it would be just as natural in your favorite coffee shop. I’m surprised I haven’t seen this ever before. Between all the races, events, bike shops and shows and all that other crap I find myself doing, you’d think it would have surfaced before. They call themselves the “northwest cycling authority since 1972.” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I wish them luck, and look forward to the next issue. It looks like paid subscriptions are available on their website, but for now I’m going to see if I can dig up another free one.
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Just in case anybody wondered, Whistler is still the most insanely off the hook place to ride a bike. That’s me, airing it out on A-line:
The van that I bought for shuttling to mountain bike trails finally earned his Whistle Wings by taking me all the way to Mecca and back - and only one broken clutch cable! This is the same van that killed my bike-commuting career with a single stroke, but I’d trade all that and more for some mountain time, any day.
If you’re ever looking at that Whistler valley trail map wondering what all those *other* trails are besides A River Runs Through it - and you’re tempted by a nice long black one named Gargamel… pack a parachute. All the beta we could get was “steep” - turns out that’s all there really is to say - oh wait, I can give you a little something more from the official trail description:
Gargamel - Insane Whistler downhill bike trail. For those who like to experience the fine line between skilled and crazy here is one for you! The evil villain lives! Built to push the envelope this gnarly treat begins with a turn off of the highway… you hit the trail which undulates for a while before it shows its teeth. Big and totally rideable for those at the top of the food chain. For those of us a little more realistic about our bodies there are definitely some walking sections. Very raw, very magnificent with real consequences. Don’t ride it alone!
We’re smiling here because we do not yet know what lies before us:
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Suffering through tour withdraw? Well then you’ll want to get yourself to the North West Film Forum for Chasing Legends. For one night only (August 11th) you’ll be able to follow the Columbia HTC team through the 2009 tour, from the inside. Watch the race and experience the highs and lows with the riders like never before.
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Dan Savage thinks people in Seattle should learn how to navigate street car tracks like the people of San Francisco do all year. I have to agree. If you can’t safely negotiate hazards in the road you might want to avoid traffic altogether. It’s called sharing the road--with everybody, including public transportation.
(For the record: I also believe that if you can’t parallel park your car you shouldn’t be allowed to have a driver’s license.)
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