Bikepacking Overnight: The Havana Nights Edition

Life has been a whirlwind of trying to squeeze the most out of my summer days and trying to grow a consulting company while working full time. There has been a lot of running straight from Point A to Point B to Point C and then collapsing. Lather, rinse, repeat. This year, it seems like I have not spent nearly enough time on my beloved Kung Fu Panda and we have been blessed with no wildfires... so I promised myself I would get out before my community's good luck ends.

My friend Nicole, who came to my bike touring talk last year and adventured over the McKenzie Pass for her first bike tour with me, is also a latin dance fanatic. She and her husband host a now famous private Havana Nights party at their property located between Tumalo and Sisters. The night promises magic under the stars well past midnight on a gorgeous lit outdoor dance floor. Dancing and teaching salsa is one of my passions that I have let come and go throughout my adult life, but these days, has been feeding my soul more and more. As luck would have it, I had the weekend mostly free and so I decided to ride my bike to the party, camp out overnight, and then finish the ride to Sisters to meet up with another friend to go huckleberry picking.

The route I mapped was a combination of quiet paved roads and good quality dirt roads and is a lovely way to ride from Bend to Sisters. There are constant views of the Cascade mountains and as you leave Bend, the traffic becomes basically non-existent. To maintain the privacy of where my own abode is as well as my friend's, I'll just provide the map from the center of Bend to Sisters Coffee Company.

Love the empty dirt roads between Bend and Tumalo Reservoir.

Lush green by the Tumalo Reservoir.

The historic Tumalo dam... circa 1915 according to the sign!

The magic fairy house set in the woods with views of the Three Sisters and twinkly lights that illuminate the night.

There is also a pond with a pagoda.

The pagoda made for an excellent "camping" spot. I didn't even need my sleeping pad because they had a futon set up in there. Probably in my top 5 bike touring camping spots ever.

Morning views from my "bed."

Taking a minute to soak in the views before heading the rest of the way to Sisters!

Brisk air, empty dirt roads, mountain views.

Selfie in the morning light with the nearly full moon!

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Sisters has a great little $5 hiker/biker spot at the Creekside Campground that is walking distance from all the amenities of town. A little further out of town off the historic highway 242 is the Cold Springs Campground if you prefer a quieter setting. I also highly recommend Sisters Coffee Company for great coffee, breakfasts, and bicycle parking out front. 

• The moral of the story is that no matter how busy life gets, there are always ways to sneak in a sub-24 overnighter. This was just 25 miles total and made for a perfect break!