Friday, November 19, 2010

Bicycle Tours

I have enjoyed riding bicycles since I was a kid. I recall commuting to Jr. High School on a bike, and loved my mission area when we were on bikes. I took a cycling class at BYU with Suzanne and learned a lot, and also commuted at college on my bike.

Later in life I really got hooked on road cycling. I started commuting to work regularly and went on lunchtime rides, as well as many Saturday club rides. We would routinely do 50 to 100 mile rides. In the summer of 1990 I graduated to a week long summer tour with a group of about 20 cyclists. We had a van haul our gear and we stayed in motels each night, riding 70 to over 100 miles each day. Our tour in 1990 started in Walla Walla, WA, went over to Lewiston, down to Enterprise, Halfway, Baker, Ukiah, Pendleton, and Walla Walla. This photo is near Enterprise:


1991 was an ambitious tour beginning in Roseburg, OR, over to the coast, down to Eureka, back inland to Weaverville, up to Yreka, Ashland, Klamath Falls, Crater Lake, and Roseburg. I can't locate any pictures from that tour.

I didn't do a 1992 summer tour, as Steven was a newborn. In 1993 I joined the group for half of their scheduled tour, beginning in Wisdom MT (staying at the famous Sandman Motel), over to Yellowstone, and down to Jackson Hole. Here is the Sandman and a traumatized Teresa:






In summer 1994 we started in La Grande, OR, over to Halfway, to McCall, ID, Emmett, Vale, OR, Burns, John Day, Ukiah, and La Grande. The road to Ukiah:






1995 was the most ambitious tour. We rode in the Rockies in Colorado, starting in Gunnison, down to Ouray, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Creede, Gunnison, Buena Vista, Aspen, and Gunnison. Here is a view near the headwaters of the Rio Grande in the San Juan Mountains:

On the way to Aspen:

We climbed several passes over 10,000 feet, and the air was pretty thin. Here was the high point prior to the descent into Aspen:



In summer 1996 I did something a bit different with the Oregon Bike Ride tour from La Grande to Ukiah, Monument, Fossil, Maupin, Mt. Hood, Newberg, and Pacific City. This tour included tent camping, but a truck hauled our gear. Here I am fixing a flat in the Coast Range on the last day:


This was from a one day ride up to Mt. St. Helens.

When I travel in the metro area, or the state, or even throughout the West, I often remember places because I rode my bike there.

No comments:

Post a Comment