5/9/09: Tumalo or bust

Yesterday was one of those great epic days of riding bikes that only come around once in a great while. New-to-me trails, amazing weather, and perfect trail conditions: tacky enough you can really lean into every turn with complete confidence your tire will hook-up with the trail with ease, but not too wet to get create mud holes.

The trails in Bend are clearly made by people who ride bikes. The trails slalom through the trees, taking every opportunity sweep through the natural curves of the land, and if there is a natural rock element to increase the level of difficulty, the option is there to go up and over instead of around. My goal was to reach Tumalo Falls which is fairly high in elevation and with the run-in with snow 2 days prior I wasn’t sure if the trails would be clear. After riding over several patches of snow I popped out onto the road to finish the last 3 mile push up to the falls. It was a majestic sheet of water cascading over a cliff with a gorgeous run-out heading downstream.

Rolling back into camp after riding 35 miles my legs were fighting the twinges of cramping but the conversation of fellow bikers at the trailhead lifted my spirits and re-instilled the excitement for the ride the next day. Feeling guilty that Summit had been in the RV while I was out playing, I turned around and completed another 5 miles for Summit to stretch his legs.

Today was spent searching out the “technical trails” of Bend. To this point the trails have been amazingly smooth and with short sections of rocky, technical areas. The first thing out of everyone’s mouth after “where are the technical trails” has been C.O.D. (Not sure if that is in reference to any rental bike that is Cash On Delivery post riding this trail or not.) It is a great trail with many more rocky sections than other trails I have ridden in Bend, though the Colorado trails could teach the Bend trails a few things about rocky, technical sections. It was still another amazing day of riding with great flow to all of the trails.

Three days of solid riding; I am heading back to Portland area for one final week of classes before the clinical year begins.