3rd Annual Crater Lake Trip Photo Dump

Last weekend, Trish and I completed her birthday week (actually we stretched it into 2 weeks, if we’re going to get technical) with our annual Crater Lake ride, which we have now done 3 years in a row.  Each year, right before Crater Lake becomes covered in snow, the roads around the lake close to all motorized vehicles, leaving it a biker’s paradise for the weeks preceding the first snow.

This year, since Trish and I were riding solo rather than with our two friends, Audra and Darren, who normally accompany us, we decided to ride the rim on our tandem, and then bring our mountain bikes and seek the path less pedaled in the surrounding area.

The weekend was filled with tarmac, gravel, singletrack, b-roads, and dirt doubletrack; we pretty much covered it all.  What follows is a photodump of the experience.

Crater Lake Rim Ride Map (Day 1)

Ready to go in the morning; the tandem is about as long as our Echo…

Our awesome little cabin in Union Creek.

Chipper faces for 6:30am in the morning!

A required stop before any long ride.

It’s not hard to make pictures look good up here.

Trish was not impressed with my choice to take selfies while trying to keep the tandem from careening off a cliff. Worth it!

Due to some construction zones on our ride, we got pretty muddy at the beginning of the ride.

Another ill-advised selfie.

Post Crater Lake Gravel Grinder Map (Day 1)

Ride number 2 for the day, this time on dirt and gravel.

Nature.

It was pretty unrelentingly up at the beginning.

The signage was a bit confusing, but we figured things out eventually.

Trish went back to the car and I headed down to our cabin via some more gravel and dirt roads, almost all of which was downhill.

Dead Mountain Map (Day 2)

The ride to the summit of Dead Mountain can be started in downtown Oakridge, so we parked right outside the local brewery and started pedaling.

the ride starts as a steady climb up quiet roads that climb north of Oakridge.

The signage for Dead Mountain is very official.

The blind over-the-shoulder shot sometimes has mixed results.

And we’re still climbing, in case you’re keeping track. This was around mile 7.

And we’re there!

From the summit, it’s almost all downhill back to Oakridge, all on flowy singletrack.

Unfortunately for Trish, as the sole riding partner on this trip, she was the major focus of my camera lens.

The final switchback before a nice gradual descent for the last few miles into Oakridge.

A cool little fish hatchery area along the Salmon Creek Trail.

Trish and I racing a train into Oakridge! The train won…

Victory meal was held at Brewer’s Union Local 180, which was also where we parked. Very fortuitous I’m sure.

Also a bike friendly establishment.

When you own an Echo, fitting three bikes on/in the car takes some creativity.

Veggie burger and beer!

A map of Oakridge at the front of the brewery helps MTB riders dream up their next trip while aided by the clear-minded reasoning that results from such establishment’s beverages.

Categories: Pedals and Packs, Pubs and Pinots

Tagged as: Burley Tandem, crater lake, Giant Liv Lust, Marin Pine Mountain 2, mountain biking, Tandem Riding