Oakridge – RuslanY Bike Travel

Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder – day 4

The rides on day 4 and 5 were going to be the hardest ones. Both routes cover big distances with lots of elevation gain. On top of that the heat wave was going to be at its maximum with day temperatures reaching 110 degrees.

The race organizers decided to offer an option for all riders to reduce the exposure to the heat. Instead of a planned start at 7:30am they allowed people to chose an early start at 6am. Also they allowed to switch from Pioneers’ route (94 miles, >9,000 feet) to Settlers’ route (84 miles, 7,000 feet). As I was starting feeling the fatigue I decided to switch to an early start and a shorter route. That meant that my total timing for the race will not be tracked anymore, but the timings for the individual stages will be still tracked. That was OK with me as at this point I just wanted to survive and complete all 5 days.

Even the shorter route was pretty hard. First there was a long climb to cross the mountain pass and enter the eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range. Then the later sections of the route were going through the dry and exposed areas during the day time heat.

The early start definitely helped and I got to the next camp around 2pm. The camp was in a local park in the town of La Pine, OR.

Overall I felt OK during the ride and was able to complete 84 miles with 7,000 feet of elevation in less than 8 hours with an average speed of 11.7 mph.

Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder – day 3

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.

Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder – day 2

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.

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.

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.