The starkness of the snow covered mountains against the green of fields and forests just brings a sense of awe. I can not, however, say that the bleakness atop McKenzie Pass would fall into the category of "beautiful" ... surreal or unreal, maybe, but not in any fashion attractive.
Upon leaving the comfort of Bill's home south of Bend, I took a leisurely ride into, and around Bend, then camped at Tumalo State Park (about 7 miles north of Bend). The city of Bend is quite nice and a cyclist's dream. I am not an off-road cyclist, but I read that there are any number of great off-road trails in this area. As for road cyclist ... miles and miles of beautifully paved and meandering roads to the west and south of Bend. The thing that is surprising to me is that there does not seem to be much in the way of infrastructure for cyclist in the city itself. There are a number of nice bike lanes, but no sense of routes. There are bike paths shown along the river that runs through Bend, but they sporadically change from pavement to gravel (several inches deep). I stopped at bike shops, R.E.I. and information booths ... "No, no city maps showing suggested routes through town ... good idea, though." Anyway, I had an easy day of it, and relaxed out at the State Park in the Hiker/Biker campground. Met a couple of young guys from Vancouver, B.C. who were doing a ride down the coast, over to Crater Lake, then over to Eugene to take the train back north.
The next day was an easy day of 17 miles to Sisters ... to the City Campground. I studied the "Fee Board" to see costs and such. Tent sites: $15 ... Full service RV sites: $35 (senior discount to $30) ... no service RV sites: $15 (senior discount to $10). No map of where anything is located, but there was a note to call City Hall with questions. Sisters is a very small town, so I rode over to the City Hall with the question "How come no senior discount to the tent sites?" angrily brewing in my mind. I was feeling quite discriminated against!! As it turns out, they now offer a hiker/biker area ($5), so I quickly forgot about the "Tent site/no senior discount" inequity ... let someone else fight that fight.
McKenzie Pass is directly west of Sisters, and consists of about a 12 mile climb (2100 feet or so), followed by about 3 or 4 miles through the lava river areas, then about 20 miles of what is now my most favorite ride of all time. The lava river area is stark ... black with the occasional white of what little snow remaining (with the exception of the snow capped mountains) ... beautiful in it's own way, but not pleasing to the eye. The ride down, however, is amazing.
Two summers ago I rode this same road, but was heading in the opposite direction. It was raining and snowing and cold and quite uncomfortable. Quite uncomfortable. What a difference blue skies and relative warmth can make. The road was very smooth and for the most part quite gentle as to turns ... but it was downhill all the way. The forest was as green as I have experienced, and the low lying ferns carpeted the forest floor with a lushness that was very pleasing to the eye. Wonderful riding experience.
Today I am heading to Eugene, then Sunday heading to the coast. Still unsure of route upon reaching Astoria, but feeling good.
Life is good when surrounded by beauty.
Regarding the senior rate for the tent site...you are a man of principle! I like that about you. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have definitely convinced me to add McKenzie Pass to my to-ride list. At an absolute minimum, it's an excuse for more riding in the beautiful state of Oregon!
Randy, Just a friendly reminder for you. Its 101 back in Tucson today. You'll need at least another month on the road to avoid summer 2014.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog.