Last year I reposted a ride report from cycling buddy Thomas Shafer about a self-guided 4-day tour he organized in Oregon’s Wallowa region. I was invited to join this year’s version of the tour, which happened during a 4-day weekend June 22-25. This year’s tour started/finished in the trucker’s refueling mecca of Biggs Junction, Oregon. For what it’s worth, Biggs is one of the largest truck stops along the Oregon section of I-84.
This year’s 4-day route was a ~328 mile loop with almost 28,000′ of climbing:
Notice the saw-blade like topography of the route. Yep, there was a ton of climbing (and descending).
Preparation began in January and February as tour veterans laid out plans and invited new candidates to fill out the crew on this “invitation only” ride. The core group regularly ride with one another and are a close-knit band who also did a series of training rides together in the months leading up to the tour.
In addition to riders from the Seattle area, this year’s tour included a rider from the other Washington, and two from Oregon. The age range was nearly 50 years: Our youngest rider was ~23 and oldest ~72. Sixteen riders (all guys) participated in this year’s tour:
CREW:
Bryan Smith: Former cat 2 road and track racer who aggressively rode at the front throughout the tour.
Ian Fuller: Septuagenerian and Eugene, Oregon resident who has been cycling and racing bikes since he was a teen. He considered the tour to be a training ride in preparation for RAMROD.
Jason Smith: Canby, Oregon resident who is a former downhill and road racer who spent most of his time mixing it up at the front of the pack.
Jeffery Miller: One of the tour’s strongest climbers whose distinctive laugh was audible for miles (usually from behind).
Joel Robinson: Made a strong showing in his first year with the tour.
Jody Carter: Tour veteran pushed his limits throughout the tour.
Kenny Kramer: The tour’s wine connoisseur and avalanche meteorologist.
Mark Rivera: The tour’s beer steward made bold breakaway moves throughout the tour.
Pete Adachi: Was heavily involved in route and sag planning; had to keep reminding himself that he was on vacation and didn’t always need to push the pace.
Ray Meinhart: Our guest from the East Coast. No doubt he considers the residual lactate a valuable souvenir.
Ray Willis: Relatively new to cycling and is quickly expanding his skills by hanging out with strong riders.
Rick Raymond: Another veteran racer who pedaled like this was a stage race.
Svend Sorensen: Known for his “stair stepper” out-of-the-saddle climbing style. Despite having a cold and an “old school” bike, he was usually at the front on the climbs.
Tim Willis: Ray Willis’ 23 year old son, recent UW graduate, and the youngest member of the group who refused to be humbled by his elders.
Thomas Shafer: Tour organizer and “CEO”
The tour started on a Thursday when everyone drove to Biggs Jct and spent the night in a motel. We (safely, thankfully) parked most of the cars in Biggs Jct, and used 2 minivans as sag support vehicles. Everyone was assigned approximately 40 miles of driving duties, but it worked out that some folks chose to spend more or less time on the bike. Riders’ total mileage ranged from about 250 to 310 miles.
Day 1: Biggs Jct. to Heppner / 97.5 mi / 9,118′ climbing
The tour started with wet pavement, ~2 miles of pedaling into a Columbia River headwind, then a southward turn up Fulton Canyon, which turned into a mostly wind-assisted cruise to Condon for lunch then on to Heppner. Riders were drenched in a downpour during the final 15 miles of the day.
Day 2: Heppner to Fossil / 86.4 mi / 7,837′ climbing
Day 2 backtracked the final 10 miles from the previous day, then headed toward the aptly named (for a group of ambitious cyclists) ghost town of Hardman, OR. Rain showers and very fresh chip seal gave way to sunny skies and a silky smooth descent to Spray. After lunch the group pacelined along the John Day River to Service Creek and the base of a long climb toward Fossil.
Day 3 Fossil to Maupin / 68.6 mi / 5,673′ climbing
Day 3 was a cruise through the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds, followed by one of the tour’s toughest climbs out of the John Day River, lunch in Antelope, and a cruise down the infamous Bakeoven Rd from Shaniko to Maupin and the Deschutes River. It’s worth noting that we stayed in fantastic accommodations at the Imperial River Company in Maupin, which sponsors a cycling team and is the home base for several Race Across Oregon events.
Day 4: Maupin to Biggs Jct. / 67.9 mi / 4749′ climbing
The final day involved a bit of adventure. We started with a nice flat cruise down the Deschutes River, followed by a long climb to Dufur where we had lunch. The crew headed northbound on mostly country roads towards The Dalles. The original plan was to cross the Columbia and return to Biggs via Hwy 14 on the north side of the river, but because of heavy traffic and minimal shoulder on 14 the group decided to change the route before it reached the Dalles. Plan B: Ride unknown Moody Rd, which turned out to be an unexpected pièce de résistance to finish the tour: 6+ miles of frame-chattering gravel road overlooking the Columbia. It was the highlight of the tour for me. Moody Road did exact a bit of revenge on a few of us: Slashed sidewalls, blown tires, minor owies.
Although the ride was challenging, throughout the tour I couldn’t help but keep perspective: This was the same weekend the Randonneurs were doing their Cascade 1200 km, and in mid-July the ~520 mi / 40,000′ Race Across Oregon covers much of the same ground. In both cases riders pedal significantly more distance in a single serving. While I appreciate the challenges of ultra rides (I had a small dose of it in 2008 when I competed on a 4-man RAO team), I’m not a big fan of sleep deprivation and I like to stop to take pictures and smell the sagebrush. In that regard, a tour like this was the best of both worlds for the likes of me-plenty of challenge, but without the pressure of a timed event.
