McKenzie Pass, part deux

Today 4 of us took advantage of the great weather, and an extended bike only season on McKenzie Pass to ride from Blue River to Sisters and back for the second time this year.

The weather was just perfect.


We started from the Blue River Ranger Station just before 10:30AM. Joanne opted to drive to White Branch Youth Camp, saving 8.6 miles and 1050 ft of elevation. Mark, John Henry, and I were either too stubborn or too stupid to follow her lead.





We had a gently rising roadway as we pedaled along.



After a few miles, our gentle climbing became more serious. It was not terribly steep, but was relentless.

Mark

John Henry

We were climbing, but it was a beautiful day for hill climbing!



I was working way too hard for the speed I was climbing, considering that I am participating in Race Across Oregon in 7 weeks. This should have been a cake walk, but as you can tell from my gasping for air, I was working a bit. I guess I'll have to call this a training ride!




We noted not much snow up on the pass this year when we rode this a few weeks ago, and there is less there now. We started seeing our first patches of snow at about 4000 ft elevation.

By the time we reached 4800 ft, we didn't have to look very hard for snow. That also marked the elevation where our climbing took a brief respite. It wasn't flat, but it certainly wasn't as steep as the last several miles had been.



After a short distance we began climbing again on the last pitch up to the summit.

We passed by the Craig Monument



Made the turn past Craig Lake, then the top was in sight. I stood on the pedals and went for it, unfortunately my lungs couldn't follow orders. LOL!



It was a beautiful day on top. A light breeze and blue sky were made to order.

Mt Washington

Mt Jefferson

North and Middle Sister

We crossed over the summit and began the descent to Sisters.



There was just a bit of a climb to get over Windy Point but hardly noticeable. It looks like when I'm on my aerobars I need to adjust my camera upward. It's kind of scary to only see about 3 feet ahead of the bike when moving that fast!



The last 7-8 miles the road flattens out, not entirely flat, but you have to pedal to keep moving. Today we had a bit of a tailwind. Between the gentle slope and the wind, I was pedaling in my big gear and moving in the high 20's to low 30's.



We arrived in Sisters and I stopped at Sno-Cap and ordered a large chocolate milkshake. As soon as I had it in my hand I rode a couple of blocks farther into Sisters and joined Mark, John Henry, and the waiting Joanne.





Following a short stop, John Henry and Joanne pedaled off. I held back with Mark as he reapplied sunscreen. After a few minutes we pedaled off in pursuit.



Before too many miles had passed by I took a quick stop behind a tree, and took a photo of this sign.

Wish we had more of these!

That would be the last I saw of Mark until the summit. I continued to climb and with a few miles to go to the top I caught up with John Henry. We pedaled together until the last 150 yds. I went for the town line!

We reached the summit.



Mark was waiting there, but Joanne had left.

I was informed that the guys were going to bail out when they reached the vehicle that Joanne had parked at White Branch. I had presumed they would.

We rolled off the summit.



Following the questions on gate placement directed at John Henry we rode through some relatively flat ground before making the plunge over Dead Horse Grade. It was sloped enough that I could pedal my big gear. I picked off my less favorably geared brethren.



We rode past Obsidian Trailhead and reached the edge of Dead Horse Grade. Over the edge we went. This is an "E ticket" ride!

This is from the top to the snow gate:



This is the descent from the snow gate to the bottom.



As I rolled past White Branch I saw Joanne on her bike near her vehicle. I waved and pedaled hard. I didn't know if I could pedal the nearly 9 miles back to the ranger station before those three got their bikes loaded and drove there or not, but I was going to try!

I pushed hard, with an eye checking my mirror! I rolled into the ranger station without having them catch me. I changed shoes, loaded my bike, and was gone without seeing them!

What a fun day on a bike!

...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today.................79...........0..............0..........0..............79 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June...............79...............0..............0..........0............79
Total...........2835.............0...............0..........0.............2835