Saturday was my first ride on the famous McKenzie River Trail (MRT). BIKE magazine named the MRT one of the 10 best trails in their December 2004 issue, and I was excited to see why.
I heard about the ride on the DoD mailing list, and joined up. The DoDers have been good at showing me trails, and this was a great opportunity, especially since riding the MRT involves a shuttle. Nine of us met in Springfield to carpool: Candy and Steve, Laurie and Bianca (her dog :), Lee, Mike, Tim, Chris, Chris, and Chris (me).
Tim rode with me, on the 45 mile drive out to the bottom of the MRT, where we dropped one car. From there, the remaining cars drove another 20 miles up Hwy 126 to the top of the MRT.
We all saddled up, and headed out on the trail, primarily guided by Steve and Laurie (although I believe at least a few others had done the trail, and some had done parts).
About 10 feet into the trail, the stunning scenery starts. Right off we cross a bridge with a beautiful river and the beautiful color of the turning trees surrounding it. We jumped into the singletrack, and a short bit after, we're riding above a lake, again with just amazing scenery. We were barely even getting warmed up, and I was already wanting to stop every couple minutes to take pictures! This vibe was brought down a bit shortly thereafter when Mike broke his chain, for what would be the first of four times (yes, you read that right). Luckily he quickly fixed it, and we were off again.
Continuing on, was more stellar singeltrack - really fun stuff, great flow, super fun. A brief break next at Sahalie Falls, which is a really cool waterfall. It was hard to get a great photo of it, but was quite nice to see.
Bring On the Lava
The top half of MRT is known for it's lava sections of trail. This is a really killer, technical section of trail. Hands down this was my favorite length of trail. It's not as hard as somewhere like Grouse Ridge, but there are definitely a few tricky sections. I was able to ride everything, except I believe two or so tiny "climbs" (more like quick upturns in the trail). The lava took its toll on tubes though! We had several flats in the group during this section, and also found two people had tubes with tears at the valve stem of their spares. We wound up scrunching one of my 29er tubes into Tim's rear wheel.
I can't wait to get back to the MRT to ride the lava section again. While technical, everything still had a great flow to it, and you could really get after it. I was rocking this on my full rigid Niner, and just loving it! In my past cycling life, I would have thought I was nuts to ride a rigid, but the Niner particularly ripped it up through here. I survived without flatting, and couldn't wait for the rest of the trail.
Lunch at Blue Pool
Backing up a minute (got carried away thinking about such a great section)... A ways into the lava, we stopped at Blue Pool to eat. I sucked down a PB&J, while we waited for Mike who had stopped just a bit up the trail with a flat. I talked to Laurie while we hung out, and watched Bianca take after her (wink wink, Laurie). Mike had still not shown, so Lee walked back up to find him. This is when we found out his spare tube, had a rip at the valve stem, and then his pump broke! Dude was not having a good day, mechanically.
After the lava section, the trail turns more buff, and gets going faster. I was following Laurie for most of it. Laurie was spun out on her 29er single speed, with Bianca trailing close behind (man can that dog run!). We were pushing it nicely, and it's darn good I had someone in front of me to show the trail. We both could have gone faster (if Laurie had gears, and if I was being smart and knew the trail), but it was perfect as is. Somewhere along the way I think Mike broke his chain one or two more times. We were probably two-thirds of the way at this point.
The rest of the trail is pretty consistently super sweet, twisty, fast, flowing, fairly buff singletrack through the trees. We stopped occasionally to fuel up, and then got to a point where Mike broke his chain for the final time. He was about out of chain, and it was getting late. We had to send Mike out to the highway at this point. It was a bummer for him, but a good call.
Through the last sections of trail, it was gorgeous... The sun was getting lower in the sky, and the cool fall air had crept in. It cooled things down enough to rev up the goose bumps both from the cool air, and the great trail. This is the kind of ride that you really don't want to end. Ok, maybe stop for some monster burritos, then keep going.
After 5.5 hours on trail (although only about 2.5-3 ride time) we arrived back at the remaining car at the end of the trail. A really great ride, good company, and stunning scenery. The route (GPS data/info) was 25.5 miles, with about 1070' climbing, and 2700' descending. The drivers piled into Lauri's mobile, and retrieved the cars at the top. We all then hauled ass home, I'm guessing most of us thinking about what we'd ride next, or when we'd get to ride MRT again...
Full set of photos available here.
Showing posts with label DoD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DoD. Show all posts
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Crawfish Ride
I rode Crawfish yesterday, which you can do starting at the same place as
Brice Creek. Here's the map. Many say Crawfish is better. I'd seen these pictures of Brice Creek and was eager to ride it. The DoD guys had just ridden it last weekend, but Brock suggested Crawfish, possibly hitting Brice at the end. We wound up not doing Brice, but that was no problem.
We did Crawfish as a full loop, but many shuttle to the top, because the
initial climb is 6 miles up gravel road, and took our group 2.25 hours
(and I was the first to the top, so you get an idea of the group's
climbing speed :) Four of us were riding: Brock, Steve, Sarah, and myself.
But then the descent just rocks! Best ride I've done so far here.
All singletrack, all the time. And, there were rocks! The descent
had full on rock gardens, including a couple uphill sections, and then
just tons of twisty, sometimes rooted, singletrack that went on for
2.5 hours. Superb.
Brock and I loved it. Sarah and Steve were not as enthused, as
they thought it was a bit too technical. Sarah commented at one point that we were riding down a river bed, not a trail. Heehee, that was one of my favorite sections! I do love the rocks. We were going to tie in Brice Creek at the end, but everyone needed to get back, and/or was wasted.
Total ride was over 5 hours, with 5000' of climbing, 16.7 miles, two broken spokes (Brock), and this was the first mtb ride here where I didn't run out of water!
Brice Creek. Here's the map. Many say Crawfish is better. I'd seen these pictures of Brice Creek and was eager to ride it. The DoD guys had just ridden it last weekend, but Brock suggested Crawfish, possibly hitting Brice at the end. We wound up not doing Brice, but that was no problem.
We did Crawfish as a full loop, but many shuttle to the top, because the
initial climb is 6 miles up gravel road, and took our group 2.25 hours
(and I was the first to the top, so you get an idea of the group's
climbing speed :) Four of us were riding: Brock, Steve, Sarah, and myself.
But then the descent just rocks! Best ride I've done so far here.
All singletrack, all the time. And, there were rocks! The descent
had full on rock gardens, including a couple uphill sections, and then
just tons of twisty, sometimes rooted, singletrack that went on for
2.5 hours. Superb.
Brock and I loved it. Sarah and Steve were not as enthused, as
they thought it was a bit too technical. Sarah commented at one point that we were riding down a river bed, not a trail. Heehee, that was one of my favorite sections! I do love the rocks. We were going to tie in Brice Creek at the end, but everyone needed to get back, and/or was wasted.
Total ride was over 5 hours, with 5000' of climbing, 16.7 miles, two broken spokes (Brock), and this was the first mtb ride here where I didn't run out of water!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Oakridge: Middle Fork Ride
I gathered with 14 other riders for a ride setup by the Disciples of Dirt, which is Eugene's very active mtb group (which mostly amounts to a slew of folks on the same mailing list, who do a lot of riding, and a lot of trail maintenance!). Two of the folks, Andy and Megan, had driven down for the weekend from Seattle. Andy was probably one of the best riders of the group, and Megan hung just fine (and was a Daily Distraction to boot). This was a "Slow Boyz" ride as the DoD group has a few self-classified sub-groups (others include the "X-Men" who are the hardcore guys that are out to win the Creampuff (which makes the death ride look easy), 3 of which we came across going the other way, as they did the 50 mile variant of our ride, primarily on single speeds).
The ride was aptly named Slow Boyz. There were some good riders, but it was a bit of a party ride - each stop was a bit longer than at least I (and a few others) would like, but that's also par for the course with 15 people on a ride! The people were all very friendly and nice, and it was a nice mix, likely age range from about 30-50 (I know one guy was 50). The courtesy level was very high, and the DoD hosts were great about keeping everyone together and ensuring folks knew where to go, etc.
We rode the Middle Fork trail in Oakridge. This is a great trail. There was still snow at the top so we put in a bit lower (Chuckle Springs), but overall got in 22 miles of 100% singletrack! We were out riding for 5.5 hours. During that time I kid you not, we must have done 20 creek crossings, about half of which were not really rideable, and also went over these awesome log bridges (probably a half dozen of them - killer views of the river while walking across - wish I had my camera). The trail was primarily flat/rolling - even with 23 miles, we only did 1100' of climbing, and 2600' of descending.
Not as technical as I'm used to, but I got the impression that it was on the more technical side for the area(?), as there aren't a lot of rocky trails there (technical = rocky, for me). It sounds like the more technical or harder trails there tend to be super steep stuff. I plan to get out to "Heckletooth" and "Larikin" (sp?) soon. Also Tire Mountain and I think it was Black Bear or something. I've ordered up the super sweet laminated Tread maps of all this stuff. And then there's Willamette Pass, which is a small ski area, but does the lift-served stuff in the summer, and puts on a bunch of DH races, etc. I will be hitting this hopefully, as I hear it's quite good. There is also Oregon Adventures ( http://www.oregon-adventures.com/) that does shuttle and guide service. Randy and his crew sported two vans to shuttle us up to yesterday's ride. This was very cool, and I plan to use that service again for sure (as well as possibly some guided rides, so I can learn the trails faster).
Anyway, the trail is a river trail, meaning we followed the river the whole time, crossing back and forth a few times. I rode my rigid Niner (to the disbelief of nearly everyone on the ride - there were a couple Nomads, a few other Santa Cruz's, a Turner, two Reigns, and then a couple hardtails, etc.). The Niner performed superbly! I am absolutely sold on the bigger wheels acting like a form of limited suspension. I won't say it was a plush, but the thing just charged that trail, and I love it. I am fairly beat today - my feet are sore, and my shoulder is sore from all the bike portages over creeks and bridges (I usually hang my saddle on my shoulder, which isn't overly comfy to begin with). I also ran out of water with over an hour of time to go.
After the ride, we hit the Trailhead Coffee Shop, for beers and dinner. The whole thing with at least the Slow Boyz is very social, and it was a fun time. Nice that folks are so welcoming and friendly. THC has got to be making a good half of it's revenue from mountain bikers, as 100% of the folks in there at dinner were post-ride, and we met there in the morning as well, where some folks were grabbing breakfast, we got coffee, etc. Anyway, finally drove home, and rolled in about 10pm. A pretty long day given that I'd met the carpool folks at 8:30am. All in all a lot of fun, and I'm psyched to see the various other trails. I definitely plan to ride with the Slow Boyz again (the Creampuff is not my idea of fun).
The ride was aptly named Slow Boyz. There were some good riders, but it was a bit of a party ride - each stop was a bit longer than at least I (and a few others) would like, but that's also par for the course with 15 people on a ride! The people were all very friendly and nice, and it was a nice mix, likely age range from about 30-50 (I know one guy was 50). The courtesy level was very high, and the DoD hosts were great about keeping everyone together and ensuring folks knew where to go, etc.
We rode the Middle Fork trail in Oakridge. This is a great trail. There was still snow at the top so we put in a bit lower (Chuckle Springs), but overall got in 22 miles of 100% singletrack! We were out riding for 5.5 hours. During that time I kid you not, we must have done 20 creek crossings, about half of which were not really rideable, and also went over these awesome log bridges (probably a half dozen of them - killer views of the river while walking across - wish I had my camera). The trail was primarily flat/rolling - even with 23 miles, we only did 1100' of climbing, and 2600' of descending.
Not as technical as I'm used to, but I got the impression that it was on the more technical side for the area(?), as there aren't a lot of rocky trails there (technical = rocky, for me). It sounds like the more technical or harder trails there tend to be super steep stuff. I plan to get out to "Heckletooth" and "Larikin" (sp?) soon. Also Tire Mountain and I think it was Black Bear or something. I've ordered up the super sweet laminated Tread maps of all this stuff. And then there's Willamette Pass, which is a small ski area, but does the lift-served stuff in the summer, and puts on a bunch of DH races, etc. I will be hitting this hopefully, as I hear it's quite good. There is also Oregon Adventures ( http://www.oregon-adventures.com/) that does shuttle and guide service. Randy and his crew sported two vans to shuttle us up to yesterday's ride. This was very cool, and I plan to use that service again for sure (as well as possibly some guided rides, so I can learn the trails faster).
Anyway, the trail is a river trail, meaning we followed the river the whole time, crossing back and forth a few times. I rode my rigid Niner (to the disbelief of nearly everyone on the ride - there were a couple Nomads, a few other Santa Cruz's, a Turner, two Reigns, and then a couple hardtails, etc.). The Niner performed superbly! I am absolutely sold on the bigger wheels acting like a form of limited suspension. I won't say it was a plush, but the thing just charged that trail, and I love it. I am fairly beat today - my feet are sore, and my shoulder is sore from all the bike portages over creeks and bridges (I usually hang my saddle on my shoulder, which isn't overly comfy to begin with). I also ran out of water with over an hour of time to go.
After the ride, we hit the Trailhead Coffee Shop, for beers and dinner. The whole thing with at least the Slow Boyz is very social, and it was a fun time. Nice that folks are so welcoming and friendly. THC has got to be making a good half of it's revenue from mountain bikers, as 100% of the folks in there at dinner were post-ride, and we met there in the morning as well, where some folks were grabbing breakfast, we got coffee, etc. Anyway, finally drove home, and rolled in about 10pm. A pretty long day given that I'd met the carpool folks at 8:30am. All in all a lot of fun, and I'm psyched to see the various other trails. I definitely plan to ride with the Slow Boyz again (the Creampuff is not my idea of fun).
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