Might not make it this time then
Looks awesome though!

How does Aug 14-16 look for a Mckenzie bridge /castle rock and whatever else we want to ride weekend?

We can use Oakridge as an alternate if they are fire fighting out of Mckenzie Bridge.

Spoke with the wife and I am in, though I may be a driving if I don't get the new plane by then. Fingers crossed!

gptc wrote:Spoke with the wife and I am in, though I may be a driving if I don't get the new plane by then. Fingers crossed!

What happened to the Pacer?

Dokmow wrote:They had a notam closing the airport for firefighting operations that expired on July 15.

Hey buddy! Glad to see your still around.

robw56 wrote:

gptc wrote:Spoke with the wife and I am in, though I may be a driving if I don't get the new plane by then. Fingers crossed!

What happened to the Pacer?

Pacer went to a great couple in Klamath Falls. Amy and I are expecting our first child early next year and need more space. So hunting down a 180/182.

I'm just revisiting this thread. Nice to see its still going. I won't make the 14-16. Ive got two more weeks before I head back to the good old USA after working and traveling in Europe all summer. I'm getting excited to get out and do some flying in the 170 and some Mountain Biking.

I'm home on the 20th of August for 18 days. It would be great to meet up with some of you for a combo of the two.

Good Idea, If McKenzie Bridge is closed for firefighting Oakridge also has bike shuttles available. The trail Alpine sounds great.




ALPINE (The Crown Jewel)


Distance: 14.4 miles. Steep, Fast, Mild exposure, Sustained climbs/descents.
Technical: 2 (speed, narrow tread) Grunt: 2 (sustained climbs)
Descending: 5000’ Climbing: 1900'

Oh glorious Alpine! Known as the Crown Jewel, this is one wicked trail. A combination of every pleasure known to mountain biking, you can’t not love Alpine. Buff and narrow singletrack is the name of the game. Vast views, tight corners between 400 year old trees, high speed railing on steep side slops; Alpine delivers. The trail is not highly technical, however there are many distractions for the eye and mild exposure. Everyone from relative newbies to seasoned pros love to roll tires on Alpine. It’s a ridiculously fast and fun ride.[/color]


This video is a little lame but I like the song.

Waterboy wrote:I'm just revisiting this thread. Nice to see its still going. I won't make the 14-16. Ive got two more weeks before I head back to the good old USA after working and traveling in Europe all summer. I'm getting excited to get out and do some flying in the 170 and some Mountain Biking.

I'm home on the 20th of August for 18 days. It would be great to meet up with some of you for a combo of the two.

Good Idea, If McKenzie Bridge is closed for firefighting Oakridge also has bike shuttles available. The trail Alpine sounds great.




ALPINE (The Crown Jewel)


Distance: 14.4 miles. Steep, Fast, Mild exposure, Sustained climbs/descents.
Technical: 2 (speed, narrow tread) Grunt: 2 (sustained climbs)
Descending: 5000’ Climbing: 1900'

Oh glorious Alpine! Known as the Crown Jewel, this is one wicked trail. A combination of every pleasure known to mountain biking, you can’t not love Alpine. Buff and narrow singletrack is the name of the game. Vast views, tight corners between 400 year old trees, high speed railing on steep side slops; Alpine delivers. The trail is not highly technical, however there are many distractions for the eye and mild exposure. Everyone from relative newbies to seasoned pros love to roll tires on Alpine. It’s a ridiculously fast and fun ride.[/color]


This video is a little lame but I like the song.

Alpine is an exceptional ride! Ridden it many times. I'll try to peel away for this when it happens.

Alpine is a great trail. So is moon point, I know Randy the guy that runs the shuttle company in Oakridge.

My life is a little fluid at this point between work, family, fun and finances so no solid commitments from me, but keep the thread alive because I'm watching and spontaneity is often my friend!

CW

I'm still planning on making the Aug 14-15 dates work.......

highroad wrote:I'm still planning on making the Aug 14-15 dates work.......

Give us a trip report when you get back. I wish I could make it.

Just noticed the original video that was posted. The riders are 2 of my buddies. HAHA small world.

My wife and I got away Saturday afternoon to Mckenzie Bridge State and camped out last night after we did a quick ride before dark. The weather was really nice, but the wind in the canyon was really blowing, I'm guessing 20kt, gusting 30kt, all night long in fact. Woke up several times with the tent on our faces Eugene was reporting calm winds, so something was changing in the mountains. We had the shuttle pick us up at the airport and drive us up to the trail head of the Mckenzie River Trail this morning. I spent most of the ride wondering if the wind was going to lay down, so we would be able to depart this afternoon. By 2pm, it calmed down and when we got back to the airstrip, we ended up departing with only a slight tail wind. Fantastic ride and views!

Camp


The Trail






Lunch stop



Pillsbury Doughboy around a hot dog over the fire........perfection after a long ride.

Nice pics Brent! I went on a 26 mile ride yesterday but would have much rather done it on the McKenzie River Trail!

Nice! Glad to see you two are able to get away by yourselves now and then.

wow...you guys made it happen. I've been following this thread since it started back in the summer.
That looks like a great ride. McKenzie bridge was under fire TFR's when we went through there in August so we couldn't see it.

I've been searching for bike ride where we could use airplanes as shuttles, the kokopelli trail in Utah is one option. Let get some guys together and try to do some big rides.
Speaking of big rides, a couple of weeks ago I finished a 100 miler up in Colorado. It was 14,000 feet of climbing and took me 14 hours to complete!

Thanks guys, it was a great get away, super last minute. Our kids decided late Friday evening that they really did want to go camping with their grandparents.......and just like that, my wife and I sat in our quiet house looking at each other, wondering what to do! It didn't take long for weekend plans to hatch and, well, we ended up with bikes, the airplane and some camping gear!

This ride is definitely aircraft shuttle able if you flew into Santiam Junction and rode a couple of miles of gravel road to the trail head and then back down to Mckenzie Bridge State. I keep looking for someone to do this with me (Scolopax!) Lots of other ride options in the area also.

It had been probably 10 years since I had ridden the trail as a whole........thought I would jot down some notes to remember for next time.

There is something to riding the entire trail, an adventure and accomplishment of sorts. My wife is a good rider, but doesn't really enjoy technical riding. The lava sections of the trail are fairly difficult, and if you are not up to picking balancy lines, and shooting up and down little ledges with some consequence if you do not make it, there is a fair amount of walking involved from Sahalie Falls down to Trail Bridge Reservoir. We remembered this, but I didn't remember how much was really not ridable to maybe even an intermediate rider. We had started the day looking for an adventure, packed a lunch in our packs and had a great time, but I thought I would share a ride description incase you want to pick and choose how and what sections of the trail you ride.

Ride description:
The beginning of the trail starts in a small parking lot above Clear Lake. The first mile is fast, flowy, pine needle carpeted single track. 1 mile in you have the option of crossing a bridge and riding the east side of Clear Lake and riding the official Mckenzie River trail which is very rocky and technical, or staying on the west side and continuing the fast, flowy, single track. I recommend the west side, as there will be plenty of Lava rock to come.
Below Clear Lake, you cross hwy 126 and head towards Sahalie Falls. This section has great views of water falls, blue pools, and 8 miles of very rocky technical riding. It really is fun, and must be experienced once, but it helps to realize that you will spend the next two hours on and off your bike, possibly walking more than riding.
At mile twelve, at Trail Bridge Reservoir, the fun really begins. If i was shuttling and had less experienced riders with me, I would ride the upper 4 miles of the trail to just below clear lake, then ride the hwy down to Trail Bridge Reservoir, cross the dam at the end of the lake and join the trail for the last 14 miles. The lower 14 miles of the trail are really a great mix of by the river riding, burmed corners, smooth fast, with just enough rocky, rooty to keep you focused.

If you are starting the ride from the Mckenzie Bridge Airstrip, ride out to the hwy from the airstrip, and head left, or west for a couple hundred yards to the entrance to Paradise Campground on your right. Turn into the campground and the trail will cross the road several hundred feet later. Left takes you about 2.5 miles to the end of the trail, or right, takes you up the trail as far as you want to ride. A great ride would be from the airstrip up about 12 miles to Trail Bridge Reservoir and back (24 miles with no shuttle).

I arranged our shuttle with Mckenzie River Mountain Resort, and booked it online. I got a text later that night as we were sitting around the fire from the shuttle driver stating that they had overbooked the shuttle, but that he could pick us up earlier (8am) and shuttle us then. He picked us up right at the airstrip and it was $30 each since it was just two of us.

Anyway, hope this helps for those that haven't been and want to check out this fantastic riding spot in Oregon.

Shuttle: http://www.mckenzierivermountainresort. ... e/shuttles

Brent