According to the event web site the 3rd day was supposed to be an “easy” ride, which meant 53 miles with only 5,400 feet of elevation gain. But the good part about this day was that it was a loop ride and we would return back to the same camp. That meant that there was no need to pack and unpack all the camping gear.
Instructions about the route at the start
The route consisted of one huge climb (3,200 feet in 10 miles), then a couple of smaller climbs and then a long downhill section. Here are the pictures taken during the ride.
I completed the route in less than 5 hours with an average speed of 11 mph.
The second day route included two big climbs: first one gained 2000 feet in 5 miles and second one gained 1000 feet in 3.8 miles. The first climb was pretty challenging with the grade often exceeding 10%. Here is the view from the top of the climb.
Willamette National Forest
The camp place was at the park in the town of Oakridge, OR. The camping spot was very nice – it was in a shaded area near the river and with a good breeze. This helped to cool down as the heat wave was starting and the day time temperature started to reach high 90s.
Entrance to the camp in Oakridge
The second day I felt pretty good and completed the course of 61 miles, 5,170 ft in 5 hours with an average speed of 12 mph.
Last week I participated in a 5-day gravel bike race in Oregon state. It is called Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder and it goes around the forests and mountain passes of Central Oregon. It is 350 miles with a total elevation gain of more than 30,000 feet. In a few upcoming posts I’ll share my experiences and pictures from this event.
At the start of the first day all riders drop off their stuff in the plastic totes that will be transported to the first camp in Blue River, OR. That will be the procedure for the most of the days: riders pack the tents and sleeping bags and drop off the totes in the morning, ride to the next camping spot, unpack, eat, rest and sleep to ride hard the next day.
Storage totes with the camping stuff
Riders gather at the start line to listen to the instructions for the first day route.
At the start line
There are two groups of riders in this event: Pioneers and Settlers. The Pioneers group consists of many famous racers and pros. They ride longer and harder courses and compete for the podium. The Settlers group does not compete but they get timed anyway. Also the Settlers’ courses are a little easier on the first and fourth day. On all other days they ride the same course as Pioneers. I registered in the Pioneers group with the plan to see how I can handle it and then switch to Settlers if it becomes too much for my abilities.
As the race started I realized that the gravel roads in Oregon are very different from roads I usually ride in Washington. They are not made of gravel but instead are dirt, sand and volcanic rocks. This became apparent on the famous Santiam Wagon Road, which is approximately 7 miles of 4 inch (10 cm) deep sand.
The sand on Santiam Wagon Road
That was the most difficult section of the first day ride for me as I had no experience riding in the sand. The rest of the roads were more rideable and very scenic. Here is the scenery from the first day.
Overall it took me more than 7 hours to complete this course (73 mi, 6,500 ft of elevation) with an average speed of 10 mph. Interestingly enough it took only 3 hours 33 minutes for the stage winner Peter Stetina to complete it with average speed of 18.1 mph. That clearly shows the difference between the pros and the average people.
