Oregon Bicycle Ride 1997

In August 1997 Linda and I joined Oregon Bicycle Ride 1997, a supported bicycle camping tour traveling from Denio Junction, Nevada, to Gold Beach, Oregon. This tour was organized by Bicycle Rides Northwest, a company based in Bend, Oregon.

Several Salem Bicycle Club members, including Lando and Mary, had described to us how much they enjoyed previous Oregon Bicycle Rides. These rides are supported bicycle camping tours. The company carries the bicyclists’ camping gear from camp to camp, provides rest stops and support along the route, and breakfast, dinner, and showers at the camps.

In early 1997 we decided to join the upcoming Oregon Bicycle Ride 1997 to see what our friends were experiencing. By the end of the trip we were hooked on supported bicycle camping tours.

Itinerary

Day	Start	Stop	Mileage	Elevation Gain
August 10	Denio Junction, NV	Adel	83	4000
August 11	Adel	Aspen Ridge Resort	77	3700
August 12	Aspen Ridge Resort	Fort Klamath	88	830
August 13	Fort Klamath	Prospect	40	1750
August 14	Prospect	Myrtle Creek	84	2700
August 15	Myrtle Creek	Bandon	84	2000
August 16	Bandon	Gold Beach	56	1600
Totals			512	16580

 

Diary

9 August 1997 (Saturday)

We ride a bus from Redmond, Oregon, to Denio Junction, Nevada, by way of Lakeview. In Denio Junction the bicyclists set up their tents in a small grassy park. It thunderstorms in the afternoon, but dries out afterward.

We try out the shower truck for the first time and enjoy a good dinner in the scenic desert environment. We are excited about starting the bicycle ride tomorrow.

10 August (Sunday)

We ride our bikes west on Highway 140 from Denio Junction to Adel, Oregon, our first day of riding on a supported tour. We adopt Lando’s method of getting an early start to beat the breakfast crowd and the afternoon heat. It is a strenuous day for us, but the three well-spaced rest stops are well stocked with good snacks.

The last rest stop is 16 miles east of Adel. From there we enjoy a fast ride down off the plateau toward Adel. We are hit with very strong headwinds from an approaching thunderstorm the last few miles to Adel. Linda and I fight on to the camp at the school grounds where I retrieve our gear and we put up our tent in a downpour.

The sky clears and our camp dries out quickly in the dry air. We learn over dinner that some riders behind us at Warner Summit dove into ditches and into the back of the
equipment truck at the rest stop to escape a severe thunderstorm. What an exciting and memorable first day of riding!

11 August (Monday)

Linda and I decide to get an even earlier start today because we have a long climb from Adel through a narrow canyon up to Warner Summit west of Adel. We want to get it
behind us before the traffic gets busy.

From the summit we drop down to Lakeview and then climb to Quartz Mountain Pass. From the pass we turn onto a single lane road to Aspen Ridge Resort, our next camp. At least one rider does not make a sharp turn on this road where it is covered with pine needles and crashes. Otherwise, the weather was sunny, warm, and dry, without the thunderstorms we fought yesterday.

Our campsite is in a pasture normally used by cows and we kick cow pies aside to put up our tent. The displaced cows are complaining in a nearby corral. We enjoy the shower truck, relax and rehydrate in camp the rest of the afternoon, then enjoy an excellent steak dinner prepared by the resort.

12 August (Tuesday)

The early morning start is very cold. I am wearing tights, fingered gloves, and a cap under my helmet. Still the cold air stings as we drop towards Bly on a winding and often shady forest road. Here we regain Highway 140 and turn west.

We travel through Beatty and stop at Sprague River. There is a lot of truck traffic today. One rider looses his bike as he is forced off the road and his bike is run over by a truck. But we do not have any such mishaps.

Linda is lagging a bit after our rest stop in Sprague River, so I promise to find us a nice camp site in the shade along a creek and I push on ahead of her. I ride through Chiloquin and Fort Klamath and find our next camp at the Crater Lake RV Campground.

Rather than camp with the other Salem Bicycle Club members in a field in the sunshine, I find a nice, shady tent site beside a pond. Linda arrives later and enjoys a swim in the pond and is happy with the site. It was a long day.

13 August (Wednesday)

Today’s ride has four options, three involving rides up to the Crater Lake rim and partial or complete rides along the rim. After yesterday’s long day we decide to make today a rest day, and ride directly to Prospect.

The weather is very pleasant and the ride is scenic and relaxing. We stop along the way to enjoy a view of the Rogue River. We arrive early to Prospect and spend a relaxing afternoon and evening at the school.

14 August (Thursday)

Linda and I feel rested and strong today. In previous days we would generally fall behind many of our friends as the day wore on, but today is different.

The weather is sunny and hot. We take Highway 227 up a steep climb then drop down
to the Umpqua River. The route continues on through Canyonville to Myrtle Creek. After the last rest stop we find our friends trying to catch us, but we power on and don’t let them catch up until Canyonville.

The campsite is at Evergreen Park in Myrtle Creek. It is a hot afternoon so we enjoy a milk shake in town and the shady trees at camp. We are very happy with today’s ride.

15 August (Friday)

Today is a long ride from Myrtle Creek to Bandon, much of it along Highway 42. There are some hazardous railroad track crossings getting to the highway and some construction and a lot of traffic on the highway, but the highway has a good shoulder. At Myrtle Point we leave the highway for a scenic backroad route. We try to fight up a half-mile 13% grade but eventually surrender and walk our bikes up it.

We enter Bandon and enjoy the ocean views and find our camp at the Bandon City Park. With this, we have ridden our bikes from the desert of northern Nevada across the Cascades and Coast Ranges to Oregon’s Coast.

16 August (Saturday)

Today is the tour’s last bicycling day, a graduation day for Linda and me. We follow Highway 101 south to Gold Beach. It is a short unhurried day, except near Humbug Mountain where Linda and I race Lando.

Linda rides ahead of me across the Gold Beach Bridge at the mouth of the Rogue River. Near the far end of the bridge a RV passes her with its passenger side steps down and nearly clips Linda as it passes. Linda decides to take the full lane the rest of the way across the bridge to protect herself from other vehicles.

We safely ride the rest of the way to our camp at the Fairgrounds, and complete the Oregon Bicycle Ride 1997.

17 August (Sunday)

Several riders have arranged to be picked up at Gold Beach, but we and many other riders take the OBR-arranged bus transportation from Gold Beach back to Redmond where our vehicle waits for us. We are very happy with our experience and decide to join the Oregon Bicycle Ride 1998 tour next August.