Utah Transplants: Roundabouts, and Volcanoes, and Redwoods! Oh, my!

Wildflowers

Ava and I planned a vacation around the High Cascades 100 NUE mtb race in Bend, OR that included a few days in Bend followed by visits to Crater Lake NP, the Oregon coast, and Redwoods NP. We arrived in Bend (never seen so many roundabouts in a town!) around noon on Thursday, which gave us time to find a campsite and hiking options around Mt. Bachelor in the Deschutes NF.

Green Lakes

Camping at Todd Lake

Having never ridden the area before, I wanted to pre-ride one section of the course Friday morning that was considered to be the “crux” of the race. This was the 4-mile climb out of Lava Lake about 70 miles into the race. Unlike the hard pack trails back home, this climb was composed of loose lava rock and sandy soil. This section was surely going to suck and require some hike-a-bike. Over 370 people toed the start line at 5:30am, with an impressive 25 riders competing in the single speed category.

Is it too late to poop?

After a short neutral rollout and about 5 miles of pavement, we finally hit the dirt on a NF road north of Mt. Bachelor. For the first 30 miles or so, I rode in second place behind Ben Shaklee (eventual winner) and with Jace Ives (last yr’s winner) and Tom Flynn somewhere close behind me. Rather than busting ass on long climbs and resting on the downs, this course was more undulating and required constantly staying on the gas for 100 miles. Really fun nonetheless, and my 34x19 gearing seem to suit the course well. In about mile 50, I noticed my rear tire rubbing against the frame (making a buzzing sound), which was due to my thru axle coming loose. After tightening the axle back up, I picked up the pace to regain lost time…AND I hear the damn buzzing sound again and see that the tire is rubbing! I pull over, check the axle again, nothing wrong there. Turns out, the bolts holding the dropouts had come loose and had caused my rear wheel to misalign.

Frolicking in the forest.

Frustrated, especially after watching Jace and Tom pass by, I rode in anger to catch up (burning matches to do so). I caught up with Tom as he was leaving the last aid station (around mile 80) at Edison Sno-Park, but I couldn’t pull myself together to pass him. This was especially true as I started to have nutrition/hydration issues right before the Tiddlywinks descent. This was not the place to be lightheaded and falling apart, because this trail is basically a roller coaster with giant berms and tables. I luckily managed to hold on till the last several miles of pavement and to the finish line, where I ended up in 4^th place in 8:58.

The next segment of the trip was a short drive south to Crater Lake NP, then to the Oregon and California coast for horseback riding and the redwoods, respectively.