Bikepacking Overnight: Outback Scenic Bikeway

For a self-proclaimed introvert, I spend a lot of my time with people. This is in part because human connection is so important to my mental health and in part because I don't know how to say "no" very well. Sure I can squeeze that coffee in between work, teaching salsa, and a board meeting! I'm learning in my older-ish age of 38 that I really like doing short solo bike tours. While I love being grounded in my community, there is something liberating and calming about being completely self-sufficient for a weekend... meditation on two wheels.

There is something special about rural Oregon that I can't put a finger on, and it's not just the sweeping open landscapes. Maybe it is that a little bit of the Wild West still lives or the kindness that I encounter every time. Mind you, these are folks who I am pretty sure have diametrically opposed politics than myself, but manage to make me feel welcome almost every time. Whatever the reason, the Oregon Outback Scenic Bikeway is a gem in southern Oregon. The drivers all wave and pass with a wide berth, the pronghorn hop along side you, the birds swoop above you, and even now, in early summer, various wildflowers dot the roadside.

I decided to escape the crowds that inevitably invade my hometown of Bend, Oregon by swinging by Summer Lake Hot Springs to break up the drive to Lakeview and to unwind under the stars in the outdoor soaking pool. I was exhausted from the week so ended up sleeping in until 8:00 am! I threw my gear in the car, got a quick breakfast at the Homestead cafe in Paisley, and drove the last bit to Lakeview to set out.

Heading out from the Lake County Fairgrounds, where the caretaker let me park for free overnight. Ended up rolling out at 10:45 am, whoops!

Forested views as I made it to the summit of the Warner Pass (5850 feet!) in the Fremont National Forest.

Roadside lunch time! On these short overnight tours, I allow myself the luxury of real food.

The climb up to the Warner Pass wasn't too bad, but as I turned off onto the Plush cutoff road, I was met by a pretty strong headwind. The forested mountains gave way to wide open exposed desert. This part of the route was a bit of slog as I fought the wind, but I made it to the tiny oasis of Plush before 3:00 pm. My stomach was grumbling and snacks weren't going to cut it, so I decided to stop at the Hart Mountain Store, which proclaims that Plush is a small quiet drinking town with a cow problem. The store offers a variety of amenities, including a book exchange, a small grocery (can you believe they had huge avocados!), a bar/restaurant, and a storage area for packages shipped ahead by hikers through hiking the Oregon Desert Trail. 

I was welcomed by a couple who had passed me in their truck... "Oh good, you made it!" A hot plate of french fries and a 10 Barrel pub beer later, I felt like a million dollars.

Cow problem, indeed, except that the "maybe" should have been a little bigger. Not a single cow to be found on the road.

Descending into the Crump Lake area to look for a place to rest for the night.

Well, I suppose this will do. Waterfront property with birding (and no mosquitos)? Check and check.

By the time I found a good place to camp, the heat of the day and left its mark and I was salty and grimy from the hours spent on the road. I hung out for a bit to just relax, write in my journal, and read, and then took a glorious chilly swim in the lake about 20 minutes before the sun disappeared behind Fish Creek Rim behind me. Then, as the air cooled off, I set up camp, made dinner, and crawled into bed. I woke up with the sun... peeked my head outside the tent flap and saw a family of pelicans peacefully floating by. It was only 5:00 am, but I decided to get up since it was forecast to breach 90 degrees and I wanted to beat the heat.

I can't even count the number of birds or species of birds I saw out here!

Taking advantage of the morning light for a panoramic shot of the view from my campsite.

My tent basking in the warm glow of the morning sun.

After a leisurely coffee and breakfast just soaking in the sight of the calm lake waters and wildlife, I began the journey back to my car in Lakeview. The morning air was still a little brisk as I passed through Adel (which was still asleep). It was an easy spin back and I was headed back home by 11:00 am.

Taking one last look behind me before turning into the Warner Canyon.

The one usable selfie of the weekend.

I was bummed, the sign promised big horned sheep, but not one to be found!

And out of nowhere, this beautiful waterfall!

Just a few miles before the fairgrounds, these horses decided to give me one last moment of "squeeeee!

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• There is nothing I can really tell you that isn't already already outlined at Travel Oregon's write-up of the Oregon Outback Scenic Bikeway. I had a printed map and the route downloaded on Ride with GPS, but honestly, the route is so well signed that I barely needed either.

• I would advise to fill your water up in the towns as the streams and lakes were fairly cloudy and with so much agricultural runoff from the many many many cows, it just felt easier to carry an extra liter to be able to camp without having to filter my own.

• Finally, wild camping was not as easy to find as I thought it might be between Plush and Adel. The Priday reservoir has nice sites but I bypassed it because there was a huge RV already there, and then I found just one really nice spot along the lake right off the road around mile 49 or 50 of the route. Just one. I imagine there are other places you could camp if you wanted to wander off the road, but much of the countryside is fenced off and it seems like half of it is either private ranch land or part of a geothermal field. 

Bikepacking Overnight: McKenzie Pass 5.0 (Ladies Ride Redux)

The McKenzie pass has become a tradition that I'm happy to share with anyone and everyone (see 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017). It has everything bike tours are made of... no cars (at least during that sweet spot at the end of May and beginning of June when it is closed to cars), sweeping views of the Cascade mountains, whooshing switchbacks into lush green forests, hot springs to fit every personality, snowmelt fed streams, and an endless supply of camping options. With challenging climbs and proportionate rewards, if riding the McKenzie pass can't make you fall in love with bike touring, nothing will. After the resounding success of my last presentation to introduce women to bike touring and bikepacking, I put together a motley crew of strong and amazing women ranging in age from 29 to 52 this year to bike from Sisters to the McKenzie river and back again.

Looking mostly normalish... at least as normal as this group gets.

Our fearless mascot Bandit. It is possible to pull a 30 pound trailer and a 60 pound dog up a mountain pass... though Bandit was able to run parts of this route because there were no cars.

The gang rolling out of Windy Point.

Everyone made it to the summit!

Lunchtime on top of the Dee Wright Observatory... we are sitting here mostly to get out of the wind!

Detour to Proxy Falls.

Remember that time we find a free bundle of wood by the side of the road?

Happy hour tapas!

After a brief thunderstorm, the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy our campfire, the 6 liters of wine/beer/cider that we collectively brought, and each other's conversations.

Deer Creek (aka Bigelow) hot springs are kinda magical looking in the morning.

A roadside pullout is as good of a lunch spot as any. Except for the mosquitos. They liked me too much so I hopped on my bike and sped away.

Nearly three times the climbing to get back home!

Apparently it wasn't too much climbing because we had enough energy for a silly second summit picture.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• The McKenzie pass re-opens to cars the Monday after Father's day every year. There is a supported bike event that happens every year to make this ride accessible to everyone that has aid stations and group camping in Sisters on the Saturday before Father's day. Expect waves of bikes if you happen to ride on this weekend.

• This also means that all the best campsites are booked out in advance... I was not able to find a campsite at my favorite site, Limberlost. So I had to settle for the still incredibly charming Ollalie on the McKenzie campground. Limberlost is a gem because it is still on the 242 and doesn't require you to bike on the much more trafficked 126. Ollalie on the McKenzie has amazing sites, especially on the lower river loop that sit right on the McKenzie river, but requires a 7 mile slog slightly uphill with a minimal shoulder and a few too many RVs that don't want to give a lot of passing space for bikes. 

• With a group as big as we had, I didn't want to risk trying to find a dispersed campsite, but there are some really great ones right next to the Deer Creek (aka Bigelow) hot springs. This is just a single gorgeous pool that can get busy at night, but if you soak in the morning, you are much less likely to find crowds. 

Bikepacking Overnight: Cascade Locks to Vancouver Lake and Back Again

Weekend getaways can be tricky in the summer with my partner because he travels a lot for work, especially during the summer. Normally I enjoy having a few weeks to myself here and there because, while he loves bikes, he doesn't bike tour. His time away means I can immerse myself in my ever-growing list of weekend bike tours. His passion is racing his Laser sailboat, and so when he gets the rare week or two in free, he tries to balance sailing with spending time with me. We've found a pretty great balance of our two different passions... last year, we road tripped to Vancouver, Canada together and then I set off on a solo bikepacking tour of Vancouver Island while he raced his boat in a multi-day regatta.

I realized that was the best way for us to adventure together; I would find little bike tours either meeting him where his regattas take place, or doing a loop from the regatta itself. So when he had his eye on a regatta at Vancouver Lake, WA, I starting scouring routes, from the American Adventure Cycling Assocation's Lewis and Clark Trail, to various routes on Ride with GPS. Since it was a short regatta, just two days, I decided to start out at Cascade Locks and meet him at the regatta to camp out with him in Spacevan Spiff, his 1994 Toyota Previa converted into a camper van.

First things first, picked up a little snack from the native fish market in Cascade Locks... packed some smoked sockeye in my handlebar bag with some ice!

Hikers, bikers, and cars all manage to share this iconic bridge.

It was hot with a lovely headwind that made it feel not-so-hot, but which also made the flats feel like way more work than they needed to be. I was happy to refill my bottles at Beacon Rock which had a water spigot just off Highway 14. Since it was a sunny gorgeous Saturday, everyone was out, including fast sports cars that liked to whiz by me just a little too fast. At the first chance I got, I took a detour to get away from the traffic onto lovely empty roads. Honestly, Highway 14 isn't particularly travelled in comparison to other state highways, but the second you get off it, the roads are a bike tourists dream... traffic free and the few vehicles that do travel on them are going at a leisurely safe speed.

Bucolic farmland as I detoured off Washington state Highway 14 to get away from the weekend warrior traffic.

Flowers EVERYWHERE!

Thanks Google Maps, this is most definitely NOT a bike path... but it did lead to a greenway, so I'll forgive you.

I wound my way through Washougal and Camas and connected to the Evergreen Highway, a low traffic road that runs right along the Columbia River to make my way to Vancouver and up to the Vancouver Lake. While not necessarily the smoothest pavement I've ever ridden, the joy of riding without traffic made up for it. David had left the van door open with a cooler full of cold beers, which I took full advantage of.

Made it to Vancouver Lake and enjoyed the sunset.

After a pleasant evening enjoying the group dinner the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club put on and otherwise eating all the things, we curled up in the Spacevan and passed out. The next morning, we made breakfast to cooler skies and calm seas. David had explored the area a bit since he arrived a day earlier than I did, and recommended I check out the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenyway, a lovely car-free greenway that started near Vancouver Lake and cross the whole city. It was a lovely ride and then I connected back to Highway 14... with less traffic, I decided to crush it back to the car and forgo then less travelled detours. 

Found another greenway just a hop and a skip away from Vancouver Lake to head back to my car. I can't stress how important and amazing greenways are for a city. I was able to ride on this greenway for 45 minutes to cross the bulk of Vancouver... no cars, just lots of happy cyclists and pedestrians.

Sometimes staying on the more-travelled road leads to gorgeous views like the one here at Cape Horn viewpoint.

I made it back in good time, shaving an hour off my saddle time from the day before. It just goes to show that bike tours don't have to be complicated affairs. I might have otherwise just ridden up with David in the van, but why do that when I can kill two birds with one stone?

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Cascade Locks has plenty of on-street parking on the main stretch to leave a car overnight. Some research had shown a hiker's forum that said the folks at City Hall said that cars can be parked for 48 hours and possibly more since there is no local law enforcement to ticket or tow. I chatted with a woman at the local gas station and she told me my car would be fine overnight so long as I didn't have anything in it that might attract someone to break in. 

• If I had to do this again with all the time in the world, take the detour just after Prindle into Washougal both ways, find the most direct route up to the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway, and then coast into Vancouver Lake. 

• There are plenty of places to get water and food along the way. In the hot summer months, the 50+ miles can still require 2+ liters of water, especially with the strong winds coming off the Columbia River. 

The Silver Lining - Ride Beyond

In mid-April, right around when all the dirt roads east of the Cascades get just about perfect for spring bikepacking, I dislocated my elbow on an easy gravel grinder ride that is right off the Oregon Outback. The healing process has been long and frustrating, so I spent some time dreaming about bike touring and emailing a bunch of random customer service departments of companies that promote bike touring to see if I could convince anyone to send some free gear to give away at a presentation I was giving to introduce women to bike touring and bikepacking. Hillary from Ortlieb emailed me back immediately... yes, she would send some panniers and by the way, she loved my bike blog and wanted to invite me on a sponsored women's bikepacking ride to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Great Divide route. Who knew that dislocating my elbow would lead to this incredible opportunity?

With a three-week trip to Peru and Ecuador with my dad to distract me, I finally was able to get on my bike last week for the first time in over a month. My introduction to bike touring presentation was a smashing success with nearly 30 women showing up and I'm back in the saddle (literally!).

So many amazing women!

Yesterday, we received the official information packet and it made me all warm and fuzzy as it combines my love of bike touring and bikepacking with my passion for social justice. From the official packet: "The goal of Ride Beyond is to increase inclusion of women in outdoor activities; specifically bikepacking. Ortlieb GmbH is hosting the first Ride Beyond Stereotypes event in Slovania at the end of June 2018. Ortlieb USA plans to grow this initiative by hosting a ride in the States. The group will be made-up of 10 women with different backgrounds and skill levels. Our initiative is to show that we “Ride Beyond” through all levels of diversity, not just by gender." The roster of women on this ride is inspiring and I'm privileged to a part of this initiative!

Bikepacking Overnight: The Dalles Mountain 60-ish

Spring has almost sprung. I say almost because Mother Nature keeps teasing us with promises of sunny 60 degree weather, then sends snow flurries just days later. But I managed to find the perfect window to do a quick overnight bike tour to break in my new touring bike Kung Fu Panda. I've been looking to explore new gravel roads and after doing a little research, set my sights on the Dalles Mountain 60, a sixty mile mixed pavement and gravel route. Wineries, orchards, replicas of Stonehenge, historic Oregon Trail sites, campgrounds, solitude, Columbia and Deschutes river vistas galore... it had it all. There were even two state line crossings from Oregon to Washington and back to Oregon.

Distracted by the prospect of views of the Columbia river, I rode through a neighborhood of honeybees at an orchard in Maryhill.

Who knew, a miniature scale Stonehenge overlooks the Gorge. It was built by a rich guy named Sam Hill as a WWI memorial. A Mexican rock band was setting up to film a music video... all a bit surreal.

Horsies! And Mt. Hood.

My kind o' road. Good gravel and no traffic.

Those views of the Columbia river are just ya know, okay.

A little too early for wildflowers, but you can see what is to come from the lush banks of this stream.

After an early detour to Waving Tree winery and a tasting of a lovely award winning Sangiovese with Terrence, I made my way up the big the climb to get to Columbia Hills Historical state park where I planned to camp. I made it to the park by about 5:30 pm but realized, much to my chagrin, that it was not yet open! I had done a little research beforehand and thought that it was open, but that the sites were first come first served and reservations could not be made until later in the season. Whoops. I decided to bike by the "closed" signs and at least take a look around and then assess whether or not I had enough energy to bike 25 miles to the next campground. I was pretty tired since I had gotten up at 6 am to make the 2.5 hour drive to the Gorge and then spent the better part of the day climbing.

The water hand't been turned on yet, but luckily, I had nearly 2 liters, plenty to get through the night and to refill in the Dalles. There was also a clean porta-potty available and a picnic table. Done and done. I figured I would be a steward of leave no trace and ask forgiveness if busted. I decided to set up camp near the river and out of sight of the road for safety.

My home for the night... Washington State rangers, I left some money in an envelope in the self-pay station!

Sunrise from the tent... a good night's sleep except for being occasionally woken up by the train.

It just happened to be the full moon, which I admired along with the few visible stars that shone through the moonlight. I woke up with the sun, packed up, made a warm breakfast, and rolled out by 8:00 am. As I was biking up the long road out of the park, a ranger drove by me and gave me a quizzical look. I smiled at him and pedaled on.

Morning views over Horsethief Lake.

Back on the Oregon side of the Gorge.. land of farms, turkey farms, and orchards.

Yup. Empty gravel roads carved into hillsides.

Bombed down a sweet descent back to the Gorge to the confluence of the Deschutes with the Columbia.

Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in our comfort zones. The thing I love about bike touring is that nothing goes quite as planned in the best of ways. There is a great value in change and positive stress... finding that perfect campsite at the last minute, that first bite of dinner of burning 8000 calories tasting like unicorn tears, or navigating a particularly tough route and to find yourself exactly where you needed to be no matter how many times you thought you were lost.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• I rode this loop counterclockwise because I wanted to camp at the Columbia Hills Historical state park, which has a few hiker/biker campsites and the mileage and climbing worked out well for that. This is primarily because I already knew there was great safe overnight parking at the Deschutes River State Recreation area and didn't feel like researching my options in the Dalles. 

• I'm not sure why the Dalles Mountain 60 route bypasses the infamous Maryhill Loops road, but take it, preferably downhill. The beautiful thing is that it is usually closed to cars. Be aware that it does close to public on certain days and you can check out the Maryhill museum's website for information on that.

• Keep an eye on the weather... this area can get a lot of wind and there is nothing worse than have 30 mph headwinds and a tent that flies away.

• The two major bummers of this trip are crossing the Columbia river at Biggs on Highway 97 and again in the Dalles on Highway 197. Luckily, they are over quickly but if you don't like having to take the lane because there is no shoulder and holding up traffic, it would be easier to create loops that just stay in one state or the other. 

• While this route is beginner friendly, folks must be comfortable with steep climbs and steep descents on gravel. Most of the gravel (about 30% of the route) is in excellent condition, but a few spots have deeper areas of gravel that could cause wipeouts. 

• Other camping options along the route include the Deschutes River State Recreation area and Maryhill State Park, which is just a hop and a skip away from the excellent winery, Waving Tree. Biggs and the Dalles are two great spots to stock up on water and food, but you could get away with just packing everything you need and not make any stops at all!

Getting Through A Not-So-Long Winter... And Introducing, Kung Fu Panda

Last winter was a harsh battle against endless snow and bikes were stored in sheds never to see the light of day. This fall, I braced myself for another long dark winter, which included splurging on huge studded snow tires for the Tank (who has since been reborn as The Abominable Snow Tank). No more cross country skiing to work, I would ride my bike this winter. Much to my joy, and sometimes chagrin because studded bike tires were overkill this year, the pendulum swung the other way. We had just a few days when the snow stuck and there was not a single day I couldn't ride my bike.

With the weather warming up, explorations east to the Alvord Desert on the far side of Steens Mountain called for bikes. We relished crisp mornings in the Alvord Hot Springs and tooled around the pristine gravel roads and explored every inch of the playa. My mind raced at night as the stars twinkled at us about putting together a dirt road bike tour here...

Leaving the van behind to ride to the Pike Creek trailhead for a lovely hike up Steens Mountain.

Tooling around the playa is an otherworldly experience.

In other news, I made a life changing decision this year. I decided it was time to retire the Tank from her status as my "go to" touring bike. She was built to be indestructible in far off lands, but I often found myself wanting a more nimble setup for exploring the Pacific NW. Once her transformation to The Abominable Snow Tank was complete, I could not imagine her being anything other than my winter commuter. And so, with the help of the amazing bike mechanic Tory Sox from Bend Velo, I started building a custom gravel bike. Originally, I had started the build from a Surley Straggler frame and fork, but Surly launched a new gravel bike called the Midnight Special which made even more sense... more stable, slighter better geometry for my midget self, and more options for upgrades later. So I made a last minute crazy switch, praying that my custom frame bag would fit the new frame.

Behold, I call her Kung Fu Panda... in addition to the Rogue Panda custom Cascadia frame bag, it will include two small Ortliebs up front, a Rogue Panda seat pack, a Rogue Panda top tube bag, two Revelate Designs feedbags, and a Revelate Designs harness. 

Mother Nature can be cruel. We had a number of fronts come in dumping regular snow and rain on us right after my bike was done, so I haven't been able to properly test out Kung Fu Panda. But that hasn't stopped me from scheming! There's been a lot of local bike touring momentum coming out of the Central Oregon Adventure Cycling group that I started last year, and slowly but surely, we are connecting with each other and growing.