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PostPosted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:26 am 
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Bike magazine rated MRT the #1 trail in North America. So leaving this trail as the last and final ride for the entire group, expectations ran very high, especially after riding 70 miles of NUT. Camp was broken and found ourselves in Oakridge by 730am for breakfast. Trailhead Coffeehouse was still closed, so it was back to Manning’s Café for the biggest breakfast you’ll find in Oakridge, followed by a 90 mile drive to the upper trailhead.

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At least we didn’t have to worry about horses today.

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More of the usual forested singletrack

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Evdog didn’t take notice of bridge width restrictions and held up traffic at the other side

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In fairly short order you hit the trail split and head around the east side of Clear Lake

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And ride by Great Spring

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The lake remains a prominent backdrop in this section

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Lava beds provide some much desired technical riding

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Got lava rock?

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Brian having trouble keeping his front wheel down today

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Evdog launches the Mojo

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The bridge marks the lower end of Clear Lake

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From here the trail begins to descend

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Sahalie Falls

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Most of this section is technical with volcanic rock and roots

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It was somewhere in this section that Stang’s Blur LT decided it wanted to be a singlespeed. Off went the rear derailleur, up when the shock pressure, and he continued on.

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McKenzie river disappears underground for about a mile and reappears at Tamolitch Falls. Normally the falls don’t flow, but the signature trademark of the trail is the huge pool of blue water.

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And then picks up speed through a series of rapids

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The trail remains technical for a bit more,

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There was a curved bridge crossing that was remarkable

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Past the halfway point of Trail Bridge reservoir, the trail buffs and flattens into an endless flow of swoopy singletrack for a couple of hours. Hardtails and singlespeeds are de rigueur for McKenzie and Stang didn’t have much issue with his converted Blur except on a couple of short climbs.

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The completion of MRT begged the question if it truly is the #1 trail in America. I can definitely see why it can be regarded as that claim since it’s got nearly everything you’d want in a trail: a forested ride in lush Oregon vegetation, technical lava rock terrain in the upper 3rd, a clear blue lake, incredible waterfalls, rapids, and meandering river, some 1,800’ of climbing that only comes from undulating terrain, and hours of middle ring, twisty singletrack that seems to go on forever. About 6 hours from the start, you’ve descend some 3,400’, including what accumulated small climbs over its 26.5 mile length. The best trail in America will always be up for debate, but I’d definitely place it in my personal Top 5.

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Next it was off to Hop Valley Brewing Company in Springfield to for great beer and food

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Notable beers were Nappy Red, Vanilla Porter, and the Cream Ale

After checking into the hotel in Eugene, the three Stooges were beat and crashed. The rest of us walked into town,

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And ended up at Steelhead Brewing Co.

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Beers were good, but not nearly as notable as Hop Valley.

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Having never been to Oregon to bike, this weeklong itinerary was definitely ballpark home run with everything we rode. Not having even touched Bend, Mt. Hood, Salem or other areas, there’s plenty of Oregon left to ride for weeks, if not years. Add in that we hit up 5 different breweries and sampled a collective total of 40+ beers, made it that much better. The next day we headed directly home to grab a full day of rest before going back to work on Mon, while Larry, Curly, and Moe continued their slapstick guesswork routine.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:23 am 
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Awesome rides guys - I wish I could've made it. Some of the best looking trail I've seen and I'm sure it was 10x better in person. And that Hop Valley beer selection made my mouth water - even at 7:15am. :lol:


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:04 am 
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Okay, this set of pics was more gorgeous than the last. And that Vanilla Porter sounds delish.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:44 pm 
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Really nice TR!

Can Brian ride a wheelie or what?

Nice Mojo Evan. That bike is sick!


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:13 pm 
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badkittyjing wrote:
And that Vanilla Porter sounds delish.

No one got it, but Hop Valley actually has a beer float on the menu using it. It's a bit sweet tasting, so I could easily see it being yummy.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 9:51 am 
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Great report(s), I am heading up to Bend in a few weeks to do the McKenzie River Trail and Mt. Bachelor so it's great to see what I will be getting in to! Looks incredible up there!


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 3:48 pm 
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jimmyj wrote:
Great report(s), I am heading up to Bend in a few weeks to do the McKenzie River Trail and Mt. Bachelor so it's great to see what I will be getting in to! Looks incredible up there!

You're gonna love this trail, and the Ibis will eat it up. Perfect bike for Oregon!

Here are some more pictures to fuel your stoke:

Getting ready
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Signs of things to come
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Offroadie has no problem with narrow bars. I got wedged in firmly right at the end
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A worthy place for a bike pic...another shot for Baja
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Into the lava
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Brian maneuvers through the rock
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GP_pilot follows Brian up a lava rock climb...this was a nice technical section, hopefully they don't pave it
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James cruises by the lake
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I meant the comment about paving it literally - some sections were paved with ashphalt. It was relaxing, but I'd prefer a more natural trail surface
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They did keep it a little challenging, however
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And then there were random obstacles to play on. 406 rides this to water's edge
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A large bridge at the end of Clear Lake. Brian on one wheel again
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The lake drains out here
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We stack up as someone realizes we were going the wrong way
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Brian crosses back across the bridge
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406 takes the missed turnoff
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James looks like he wants us to go right across this bridge. Turns out this would have been correct, but we wanted to check out the falls on this side too.
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Mist from the falls
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I made a few panoramics of the falls - they're so striking it was worth the time. We checked it out from above, first
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Then from another viewpoint lower down
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And yet another angle from below. This spot was tourist central, tons of people here
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We backtracked 1/2 mile and crossed James' bridge. These were narrow, but not nearly as scary to ride as the ones we'd see lower down with a railing on only one side
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Offroadie with bridge & whitewater in the background
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Now that's how you get over those big logs. Unfortunately, its HAB for bikers, though it is a good idea
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We cruised along the river for awhile
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And then got another view of the falls, which disappear very suddenly from rider's left as you're on the trail
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Complete with rainbow
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Falls from the other side, below. The trail you can see appeared to go behind the falls. None of us checked it out. Maybe there is the pot of gold from the end of the rainbow and we missed out!
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Just moments later I passed another gorgeous waterfall
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406 takes cover
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Ahhh....the Blue hole (or whatever the call it). I had been wondering when this would pop up. You come ripping around a corner and there it is. Unlike waterfalls, it emerges from underground so its quiet and serene.
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And a perfect background for a lean-your-bike-against-something pic
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And I couldn't resist an action shot, but its impossible to get a shot on the trail itself. So this is set up, but I could care less....thanks to 406 for taking this one.
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This whole section has tons of moss-covered lava. Technical but still flowy, it was a blast to ride. 406 rides through a chute
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Offroadie down a short tricky pitch
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GP_pilot down another corner
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Deno and Brian roll through
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GP_pilot back on buff trail
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Picturesque bridge
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We had a few mins here to set up shots while Deno fixed a flat, and I got this gem
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Offroadie was on fire, I couldn't keep up with him
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406 down the stairs
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These bridges were getting pretty elaborate
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Deno drops the hammer
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406 is all business as we finish the ride
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We found a swimming hole near the parking spot which capped off a great day of riding, then it was off to Eugene for dinner. After sneaking the bikes in past the security guard we snuck into the hot tub for another soak. A quick shower and it was off to bed. We had just come up with plans for an alternate ending to the trip, so a good night's rest was required. :ninja:


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:58 pm 
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Damn, nice pix Evan!

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:50 pm 
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Great pics guys! MRT was the most fun I have ever had on a bike. Turning over the middle ring as fast as you can, constantly shifting to maintain top speed as the trail changes beneath you, handlebars never straight due to the swoops and twists, the trees, lush greenery and a beautiful river running 10' to the side of you. After about 45 minutes I had a true endorphin rush/high that I had never experienced on a bike before.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:31 am 
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This trail effin' delivers! It's not because it has the absolute best technical, high speed berms, or downhill sections of any trail in the country because it doesn't. It's because it has just a little bit of all of these things combined with a flow that is beyond belief and encompassed by surroundings that are nothing short of spectacular.

We rode some pretty awesome trails throughout the week but this one was truly the crown jewel and stamped the end of the trip with a big, fat exclamation point.

I'm not sure I've had this much fun on a trail since I was a kid. And when I was a kid, I used to ride a lot of wheelies. Needless to say, I rode a lot of wheelies on this trail.

I also stopped to take a lot of pictures. Probably because I didn't want the ride to end. There were sections that I could have just ridden over and over and over given the time.

Nothing really differentiating this bridge from the hundred others we rode across, more so the point of view.

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The first blue pool

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Questionis contemplates the risks and rewards of riding this lava section.

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GP_Pilot shows that big wheels keep on turnin'.

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Evdog finesses his way through a thousand pointy rocks all waiting to put a whole in his new carbon frame.

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Pullback of one of the lava sections. Stang here.

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One of my favorite pictures of the trip

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From the calm...

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To the storm...

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And ending in tranquil.

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One of the locals that guard the lake. Questionis would have them eating out of his hand before we left.

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Back into the rainforest.

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Gettin' a little artsy.

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The next several miles were were so flowy that I just couldn't stop for pictures. And just like that, it was over.

The End.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:57 am 
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Wow, another great rr. I know where I'm headed next summer. Thanks for taking the time to post up all of these trip reports.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:09 pm 
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You're gonna love this trail, and the Ibis will eat it up. Perfect bike for Oregon!

I wish that I was taking my Mojo up there but will be renting a bike from Cog Wild. I reserved an Ellsworth Moment but thinking that I may switch to a Blur LT, the mileage for our 3 days concerns me so I want to make sure that I have a bike that I can comfortably pedal for 27 miles the first day, 35 the second and at least 15 the final day.
Knowing the trails, do you think that 6" is too much travel?
Thanks again for all the pics, I am even more stoked now!!!


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:12 pm 
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jimmyj wrote:
Knowing the trails, do you think that 6" is too much travel?

For MRT you definitely don't need much travel. There is some rock in the middle part but its not bad - those sections aren't too fast. Don't know about the other area you mentioned in Bend but from all the ride reports I've seen the trails there are pretty buff too. The Blur would probably be ideal. Offroadie was on a hardtail and not complaining one bit. Cog Wild should be able to advise


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:14 pm 
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jimmyj wrote:
Quote:
You're gonna love this trail, and the Ibis will eat it up. Perfect bike for Oregon!

I wish that I was taking my Mojo up there but will be renting a bike from Cog Wild. I reserved an Ellsworth Moment but thinking that I may switch to a Blur LT, the mileage for our 3 days concerns me so I want to make sure that I have a bike that I can comfortably pedal for 27 miles the first day, 35 the second and at least 15 the final day.
Knowing the trails, do you think that 6" is too much travel?
Thanks again for all the pics, I am even more stoked now!!!

Everything we did in Oregon could have easily been ridden on a hardtail. Full sus were the minority, as all the locals ride hardtails on MRT.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:05 am 
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This,:
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made me think of this:
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Making The TR:
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Evdog returns to the tree people:
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purr-de:
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