I spent a long weekend in Bend, OR. 5 days of riding the best singletrack I have ever seen. It all started last Thursday when I flew from San Diego to Redmond, OR, just outside of Bend. I checked into the hotel, put together my bike and met up with my friend Brian who had an earlier flight. I had arranged a ride on Cog Wild's 4:00 local shuttle. $10 got you a 30 minute ride out of town to the base of Mt. Bachelor. We would then have 3 hours of daylight to cover about 18 miles of unknown trail back to the trailhead.
Mt. Bachelor.
Straight out of the parking lot we hit sweet mountain singletrack. After a half hour or so of climbing, we began the descent.
If you kept your eyes open you could find technical alternate lines and features. There were 3 or so log rides, a couple of ladder bridges and a few chunky lines to keep the flowing singletrack interesting.
The trails are used by cross country skiers in the winter. We came across two of these huts.
Some sections just seemed to flow and flow and you could carry a bunch of speed.
There were also spectacular views.
Buff singletrack was around every turn.
The whoops trail was a blast. Hips, tables and berms all flowing through the forest. Too much fun to take pictures. Google it.
Riding out the longest log ride.
We made the trailhead at dusk, but still had 4 miles back to the hotel. We strapped on some lights and double timed it home. Cold beers and burgers at Deschutes Brewery awaited.
The stoke was high after getting a taste of the local Bend loops, however the best was yet to come. Three days on the North Umpqua River Trail and a finish on the McKenzie River trail. It was only going to get better....
