Bend it like Roadrash

Saturday we went to Bend to ride some killer trails. We rented some sweet bikes from Sunnyside Sports — Bjet rode a Top Fuel and I rode a Gary Fisher Rumblefish. They are a top notch shop and the bikes were tuned to perfection, it was a blast to ride a bike that is better than my own and 1000 times better than the clunkers we rented in the McKenzie River Valley.

We left the shop and rode out to the Phil's Trail Complex, a great trail system that can probably be ridden nearly year round. Lots of flow, lots of climbing!

Bend is on the east side of the mountains, and more arid than the typical Pacific Northwest environment. It felt a bit more like Denver than Portland. But trails like "the Helipad" would feature volcanic rock (in this pic we took a break on a little volcano).

We started out around an elevation of 3600', rode up to the trail head at about 3900', then up to this awesome shelter at about 4750'. The shelter is a great safety feature for Winter Warriors, I could imagine hiker, cross country skiers and even maybe some crazy snow-mountain bikers and huddling around the fire having a wee "Après. or after party.

I wish I had a better camera, but here is a view of Mount Bachelor from the shelter area. Stunning! The valley leading to the mountain was lined with rocky Buttes, I wish I could have ridden out there for days!

After the shelter we rocked a fun downhill called "Whoops," full of table tops and up-and-down rollers. We climbed Phil's trail up to the "HeliPad" (and very small clearing with rocks arranged in an H symbol, I don't know if this is actually used to evacuate injured cyclists) at about 5000'.


We then went down a fun descent called "The Storm King,' then onto a more technical trail called "C.O.D" (Cause of Death? yikes!). Unfortunately we ran out of food and water at about 4 hours of riding so we were forced to head back and stop by a time-share resort for calories.

It was fun to ride back and forth from the trail — it's great to have trails you can easily commute to (i.e, Hurray for Devou in Cincy!). There is a possibility that we could move to Bend someday, and it was great to use the commute as a way to see the town and get a sense of what a typical training ride would be like if we lived there. Even along the road there was a multitude of off-road options, Bend is a town that's great for outdoor enthusiasts.

Riding like a King

It's not everyday that a boy from Ohio gets to ride up the side of a mountain and touch the clouds. The King's-Castle trail was also nearby to our vacation home. It's a 7 mile trail where you meander up the side of the mountain, check out the view from the top and fly back down all within a beautiful old-growth forest!

Checking out the view just of another mountain. Little did we know we were just below the cloud line ourselves. I wish we rode on a clear day — I read there are views of the 3 Sisters (mountains) from the top.

Bjet taking a Senior Picture style portrait on our way up. She had a tough day, she forgot her mountain bike shoes and was stuck with the platform pedals on the rental Nishiki. I was lucky and had a blast climbing up the mountain. I was daydreaming that if I lived there I would timetrial to the top and down all the time!

Unfortunately we had to wake up early and ride before we returned the bikes. We did not get up early enough and were forced to turn around on a fire road before the summit. I hate not reaching the summit, but the early birds get the worm and get to munch it down on top a mountain like a beaked version of Julie Andrews... Follow?

Soul Riding along the McKenzie River

Between Eugene and Bend there is a paradise land called the McKenzie River. It is in the Willamette National Forest. It is pure and vast. And it is home to a 26 mile off-road trail that features long, flowy sections guiding you to Oregon's Wonders — waterfalls, lava fields, 100 ft tall pine trees and a vast rolling river flowing with pure water from the tips of the Cascade mountains. Whomever designed this trail was a genius.

Unfortunately our appreciation of the trail was limited to the junker bikes we rented nearby. I had a Nishiki and Bjet had a Mongoose, but they were probably entry level bikes with a spring rear suspension and components made from lead. The Nishiki looked like it went through a war, fortunately I could get clipless pedals on the Mongoose for Bjet.

The trail was super fast and flowy through a beautiful forest next to the rolling rapids of the river. It was great to ride for an hour, then have a quick Clifbar picnic next to the river.

The one downside is that the trail features many bridges. The upside is they make you stop and appreciate the views, but they really aren't ridable unless you are one of those downhiller supermen with no fear. Most of them only have a railing on one side and steps lead up into most of the bridges making it difficult to ride onto the bridge (probably so people don't try to ride and fall off into the water). I kind of wished half of them were easier to ride, because sometimes you had to dismount 3-4 times within a mile.

Overlooking the TrailBridge Reservoir. Unfortunately my foot slipped off the crappy platform pedal while climbing, and I nearly lost my balance and slid down a 100 foot dirt hill! I preferred the view from the trail... We had to turn around just past the reservoir to head back and be with the family. I was surprised at how slow we were, we had to stop and keep checking out the spectacular views and we didn't even get to see the best parts!

I hope to get back there again someday, I found myself wanting to just get lost out there for an entire day riding the whole trail back and forth.

Going to Oregon!

I love Oregon!

Anyplace where I could be gainfully employed bike-delivering handmade local vegan organic gluten-free food from food trucks must be a place I want to be — but actually Pho Lang Thang in Cincy does have a bike messenger so we are catching up).

Our day in Portland:
Saying at the Ace Hotel which will hopefully offer free bikes to get around on
Go to Awesome Cone at 32nd and Division
http://www.foodcartsportland.com/
http://www.urbanspoon.com/t/24/21/Portland/Street-Food-restaurants
Unfortunately no bike sharing at the moment, but maybe a pedicab:
http://portlandpedals.com/ ((503) 329-2575)

Guides/Pages to Mountain Biking
http://www.ormtb.com/
http://www.ormtb.com/Central_Oregon/CO_Trails/Phils.htm
http://cotamtb.com/trails/
http://mckenzierivertrail.com/
http://mckenzierivertrail.com/more-area-bike-trails/king-castle-trail

Bike Rentals:
It's best to go to Bend to rent bikes, Eugene has no mountain bike rentals
Hutch's seems to rent a variety of bikes, including mountain bikes:
www.hutchsbicycles.com
http://www.cogwild.com/bikerentals/
http://bicycleway.com/bikes/rental

Bike Tours:
http://www.cogwild.com/default.aspx
http://www.cogwild.com/One-Day-Tours/Bachelor-To-Bend/default.aspx

Jimmy Vs Cat 3

Even though Portland freekin rocks it was wonderful to get out and see Oregon at its finest. Bjet and I explored the Tillamook area and drove down the coast. Coffee, cheese, beer and seafood. These people know how to live. And I know how to consume, meaning I'm steadily putting on the "L-B's". Kissing our lovely Sister-in-law Bri and Bro Pat and Nephews Eliah and Simon adieu, Bridget and I set out to conquer the Oregon coast.

Riding along the highway you look out into the ocean and sea ravishing waves pummel the volcanic rock. Turn left and after a couple miles suddenly we felt back home, or at least in Appalachia. Under the shadows of pine covered mountains was a little farm with a prairie full of cattle. The Yachats River trickling past, separating the farm and the forrest.

Another eight miles and suddenly the road turns upward. For the next six miles we climbed a forrest service road with a rough coat of asphalt and some killer grades. Some sections were just gravel — sometimes with a grade of over 10%. Getting fatigues you try to stand on the pedals and your rear wheel spins out. Day one we rode together, day two Bridget said I could have fun and test myself. But after a couple of these switchbacks beat me down I realized that I could only give it about 80% or else I would lose time by being fatigued. There are not climbs in Cincinnati that are this long and relentless.

At the end of this first climb is an incredible view, a nice present after all the effort. At the top is a clear cut of the forrest and we can look down and see the farmlands we had ridden trough. We turn a corner and hit a wall, the clear cut allows the ocean wind to shear against the side of the mountain.


Next we have a fun descent. I guess I could say fun, but sections of this road are missing also and you have to keep a steady line over some rather large chunks of gravel. But at the end is a nice paved road leading to Cape Perpetua a beautiful overlook to the ocean with some WPA-era structures.

One our third venture up, we took a left onto another forrest road and rode up to Mount Klickitat. This climb is a bit higher and we nearly got up to a half mile from sea level. It was a turn inland and the type of pines were dramatically different — tall and slender. The forrest looked familiar and I seemed to have recalled that they may have filmed some of the Star Wars Endor scenes in Portland. I swear I saw an Ewok.

Map of our ride up to Cape Perpetua.

Notes from Portland, pt3

Swedish breakfast. Sounds like something you do with flatulence and tricking your spouse under the covers. Think again. Bridget and I rode to Broder for a charming frukost. Trout on rye toast, YES PLEASE! Bridget had the cute little round pancakes with Lemon Curd and Lingonberry sauces. Had a little coffee across the street too.

Tried to go out for a ride. It began to drizzle as we ascended the West Side Hills. First was Cornell road, a lovely climb that's not too bad of a gradient. We turned onto 53rd and there are some more difficult sections. And we finished the four mile climb onto Skyline Boulevard. We were supposed to see views of Mount Hood, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helen but it began to rain harder. Once on top of the ridge climbing was limited to the rolling little hills. We began to get cold and wet. I've ridden in twelve degree weather but I began to suffer.

We turned around. I was shivering all the way down the descent. We turned onto 23rd and grabbed some lunch at The Ram's Head. Really great bar food. The sun came out and we were eating in the sun but I was still covered in goose flesh.

After a warm up /clean up we rode up to REI where Bridget looked around.

After that we ate an incredible dinner at Clyde Common, a wonderful meaty menu that was very savory. I ate a fried rabbit leg. Yum. Then a wonderful roasted half chicken with asparagus salad and mushrooms. It was one of those dishes where everything really balances out all the flavor. Nice touches of red wine vingar to the asparagus.

We walked up to Cacao for an incredible dessert of spicy dark drinking chocolate. Followed by another Americano from Stumptown. I ended up riding another 10 miles to burn off some of the calories...

That was pretty much the night save for a late attempt to return to the Ram's Head for a late pint. But we were more tired than expected and the streets were bizarre. Time for bed...

Notes from Portland, pt2

Sleep deprived we walked across the river to Hawthorne Street. We met our awesome homies Matt and Beth for some breakfast.

Went shopping, bought some delicious sweets at the Pastaworks, one being a cherry tart and the second a Swiss hazelnut chocolate.

Picked up two Masi road bikes at Veloce Bicycles. Went for an easy ride out the Springwater Corridor bike path for a couple hours.

Met back up with Matt and Beth and ate some incredible mexican food, I had tongue tacos and some Horchata. They were incredible, like deliciously rich pulled beef and the horchata is a sweet cinnamon rice milk.

Coffee. Dessert. What a day.

Notes from Portland, pt1

"YOU'RE UGLY!" the homeless woman spat at me as I told her I did not have change.
"I get it from my Mother (sorry mom)" was the quickest, self-deprecating comeback I could muster.
If you don't believe me, as Leah Frank-Finney. She was there. I don't know how.

Hopped on the Light Rail. Bike hooks in the train car, a couple of bikes with downtube shifters. One is a Bianchi with some Super Record components. Wow. Tattoo sleeves...

Delicious lunch at H50 in hotel lobby. Hotel and bistro are clean, posh and affordable... Salmon roll, vietnamese sammy and a couple of local brews. Nice ambient music, kind of like Six Parts Seven but better.

Saw tall bikes... Check.

Set out to discover mystical city of books.

Dude from Everclear playing in public park. Yes he is still living with your ghost...

Ate a "Vertigo" crêpe. Spontaneously purchased a crêpe from a street vendor attempting to relive a moment in Paris, much like Jimmy Stewart attempts to recreate a relationship with same/different woman in a Hitchcock classic. Funnier in my head.

Pearl District seems pretty awesome. Found Powells. Two well stocked racks of bike books. C in my P... Got plenty of books for our new nieces and nephews. Saw some cute children's authors like Joëlle Jolivet and another that led me to this pretty blog.

Ate dinner at this awesome cinema and bistro names Livingroom Theaters. Italian Sodas. Listened to a song by Clock Hands Strangler on SOMA FM. Spicy Tuna roll and a salad. Yum. Cool indie movies playing and the interior design almost makes me faint.

Went across the street to the Ace Hotel where a yummy eatery and ordered an americano.

This city is my mecca. Beer, bikes, architecture, culture... I am feeling so inspired.