Central Oregon Bike Trip
Central Oregon Bike Trip
In May 2021 Garrett and I packed up our bikes, dropped off Kai at my parent’s house, and headed to central Oregon for a bike route Garrett has been wanting to complete for years. You can find the exact route at Bikepacking.com. We started in Prineville, Oregon and then went through the Ochoco Mountain Range around the John Day Basin and then looped our way back through the Ochocos to finish the route. In total we rode about 150 miles on gravel and paved roads. This route was really unique because we biked through snow in the Ochocos (it actually snowed for a brief moment during the route) and then felt like we were getting completely scorched in the John Day Basin near the painted hills. It was definitely not an easy trip (for me) as I was not in shape for it, but it was such a gorgeous trip overall and I’m so glad I was up for the challenge!
I was debating whether or not to bring one of my DSLR cameras, because my favorite setup is about 6 lbs total. My whole sleeping system (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and pillow) is under 5 lbs, so the camera is a big luxury item to bring. And I was already worried that I would slow Garrett down, which of course was inevitable. In the end I decided to bring the camera and chose my lightest kit lens, because I didn’t want to risk breaking one of my professional lenses. I’m so glad I decided to bring my camera because I loved this trip so much and being able to look back on these photos is definitely worth the extra suffering I endured to carry it (though I questioned it in the moment)!
This trip taught me that it’s difficult to get your camera out while you’re pushing yourself physically. I didn’t capture as much as I wanted, but I also wanted to be in the moment. And let’s be honest, I was mostly huffing and puffing and oftentimes couldn’t find the energy to get my camera out. It was definitely a learning experience and an opportunity to find a better balance on trips—and maybe be in better shape for the trips!
Garrett got a flat about 15 minutes into the trip!
I got a flat and we pulled over and while Garrett was fixing it, my other tire went “pshhhhhhhh” and lost all its air too. Best thing about being married to a bike mechanic—he fixes the flats :)
we saw SO many cows
This was a second campsite of the trip so we were so stoked for this river! We immediately stripped naked and jumped in!
It was SO hot. We went to the painted hills visitor center and hosed ourselves off. Minutes later all our clothes were completely dry.
Our last campsite!
We found some snow!
After this point we had a 20 mile decent! It was so awesome and very needed! I ended up drafting off Garrett the last 10 miles of flat pavement. Thank goodness the last day was easy because my legs were toast!
