FRIDAY, 21 AUGUST 2020; BEND, OREGON

 Friday, 21 August, Bend

Another amazing biking day.  It is crystal clear again and cooler than it has been.

Rob sat outside with his coffee, but I stayed in where it was warmer.  We don’t have an amazing view, so Im not as compelled to sit outside.

We paid bills; yuk!  And then we got ready for the day.

The paddle boards and all their paraphernalia were still in the truck so we had to unload all that.  Then we had to load both bikes and all their paraphernalia as well.

Today we did The Deschutes River Trail.  As its name implies, it runs along the river. It is over 12 miles of trails along the Deschutes River and through some of the most scenic stretches of Central Oregon.  The trail meanders through the heart of Bend, but also through pristine portions of riverfront with pine, juniper and ponderosa forests - winding through canyons, basalt rimrock formations and other geologic wonders.  It’s located from Farewell Bend Park to McKay Park and the Bend Whitewater Park. Trails exist on both sides of the river in addition to an extensive private trail system throughout the Old Mill District.

Once home to tow large lumber mills today the Old Mill District is a mix of parks, trails, shops, restaurants and other businesses.  Three footbridges connect trails across the river, providing convenient loops for walking cycling and horseback riding.

The beginning of it was a bit rough.  It was right along the water, but it was a cliff trail, which I strongly dislike, plus there were some big jagged rocks that we couldn’t ride up.  My bike is so heavy that Rob has to come and get it to push up hill and over rocks.  I take his bike which is about a third of the weight of mine.  The new E bikes are still heavy, but they have a walking assist to help you when you can’t ride it.  That would be nice. While pushing it up one of these areas the people who were walking at us pointed out that there was an Osprey and its next at the top of this tree.  That was pretty cool.

We rode along the river and in some areas

Over the river.

We came upon this scene of a young man being talked through the safe way to go off this swing and into the river below.

Next we came upon rapids and were lucky enough to watch a raft go through them.

There were also waterfalls, but we didn’t get a close of view of that.  The trail became beautiful and really fun meandering through the woods and along the river.

It was supposed to be 10 miles to the little town/resort of Sunriver.  As it turned out, it was 14.6.  Did I mention that we didn’t start the ride until 1:00?  It was now 3:30 and I realized we hadn’t eaten anything all day.

We stopped in at the Sunriver market.  Rob got a wrap and I got a salad.  We sat outside to eat.  It was nice.  Just as we were finishing up Rob’s bike fell over while it was in the rack.  The front wheel was in the rack and everything else was not.  Well, when it fell over it tweeted the front wheel so it was no longer true. It had a horrible wobble.  Rob looked to see where the closest bike shop was, but it was 4 miles away.  I suggested he cal Grady, the young man with Velofix who did our bikes the other day.  I remembered that his van said “We’ll come to you”.  Rob called him and he was able to come to us to fix the wheel.  

We had to wait 45 min for Grady, but while waiting we chatted with a nice couple who were originally from Southern Calif, but were now (for the past  3 years) living full time in Sunriver.  We talked about the winters and all there was to do here in this area.  They love living here.

While we were waiting this guy drove up in a very odd looking camper.  It was like a home made bubble thing with solar panels on the front.  I should have gotten up and taken a picture of it, but I didn’t.  I did get a picture of the very cool sail boat he was towing though.  It reminded me of a small Ark!

Grady was able to fix the wheel and we were headed back to the truck at 6 pm.  It was 14.6 miles to get there, so I figured 29.2 when all was said and done, but we actually found a couple other trails that were actually a bit faster and shorter.  When we got back to the truck (about an hour and a half later) we had only gone a total of 27.8 miles.  Cool.

The parking lot is located in a little day camp area right by the water.  We actually rode our bikes through several of them.  We used the rest room (little outhouses) then walked down the to river’s edge.  We get filthy riding the trails.  I also had two small gashes on my shin and wanted to wash off in the river.  So we did.  

We got back to the rig and Bella was sooooo happy to see us, although she was also mad at us for being gone so long without her.

I sat with a glass of wine, unwinding while Rob had a shower.  Then it was my turn.  Ah, nice warm water on weary muscles. We grilled some steak and a small Salmon filet.  Yummmmmmmm!  It was really good.  We also grilled asparagus and broccoli to go with it.  Obviously it was a bit late when we finally ate, so it wasn’t long after that that we hit the sack.  

I love active days like today!