Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder
I don’t even know how to start this. What does this race justice? I had SO much fun on my week on the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder route. Every person braved 90+ and even 100+ degree temperatures, gnarly roads, steep climbs, and a bit of dust to get to camp every afternoon. We ended up making a huge 350 mile loop around Central Oregon with 35,000 feet of climbing over the 5 days.
And then camp life...ahhhhhh. Good food and drinks, swimming holes, big pieces of grass and shade to lounge, shower trucks...it all felt like luxury. The hardest part of the day for me was getting my bike and race food ready for the next day. Each of the 5 days I procrastinated more and more until by the last day I was washing my bike and getting me food ready on race morning. Now that’s procrastination at its finest.
Day 1: Fast start, Wagon Road descent, BIG climb
From 2019 all I heard about was the “wagon road” descent where someone broke their collarbone. Eeek! Well, the mass start race started out hot and so did I. I ended up with a bit of fade before the summit and then a big fade when things got rowdy on the wagon road. 2019 folks weren’t lying; the wagon road was scary but FUN! I made it down with just one silly crash to find we had a few big climbs. I found a great group of guys to ride with and we were ripping the descents. Last climb of the day was a doozy and some people exploded. I made it up and over, to the finish, and found out the hardest part was the headwind into camp AFTER the finish line.
Day 2: It’s so green!
We made it to the west side of the Cascades for days 2-4 and the roads were notably less dusty and the shrubbery and trees so green! I love the westside. Another fast start, lots of (welcome) pavement to start the day, and then climbing a little pass to get over to Oakridge was the name of the game. I again had a bit of fade through the day but typically had people to ride with. Day 2 felt fast and when I finished, most of the women’s field had finished pretty close together so we got to fun roll as a group down into the Oakridge oven. It’s so fun getting to chat with competitors. Normal 1 day races don’t always give you the opportunity to chat and make friends like a stage race does.
Day 3: 5k climbs for breakfast
Day 3 was probably my favorite! We started out mobbing as a big group along a flat reservoir road. It got really spicy when it turned to gravel and potholes. I managed to stay on the group or within shooting distance until the climb hit. Then we seriously went up 5k feet in not many miles. I got to climb in a little group for much of it but when it got really hot and steep we split up a bit. Getting to the true summit and ripping the descent was THE BEST! It took us right to the finish line with just a short, beautiful ride back to camp along the river. I got to roll in with a junior from Iowa City who was crushing. He was getting better and better every day and it was neat to talk to him about his experience. I was impressed to say the least. I also got to meet an art idol, Lisa Congdon, on this day! Check out her art. She’s a super talented graphic design artist out of Portland. Her art is so happy and vibrant. Day 3 was all about making friends!
Day 4: Queen stage
Day 4 took us up, up, up to Diamond Peak. It was a net gain day from Oakridge to La Pine. I didn’t feel great on Day 4 but forged through the first massive climb to find my friend, Seth, that I’d been riding parts of every stage with. We formed an unspoken alliance and motored the rest of the day, up and over the rest of the big climbs. There’s another really fun wagon road on Day 4 that’s like a roller coaster. We whooped and hollered all the way down to the aid station and then kept marching on to La Pine. You’d think the 10k feet of climbing would have been the hard part of day 4 but instead it was the sandy flat roads after the finish to get us back to camp. There wasn’t enough candy in the world to get me through it without complaining. In retrospect, it was a radical day with beautiful views, roads, and people.
Day 5: Is this really the last day?
Day 5 was HOT! It was forecasted to be over 100 in Sisters, where we were to finish. We got a really early start with some folks starting in an earlier wave than my group. I was excited to ride my home roads but found there were many new ones! In a little strike, literally, of misfortune, I nailed a rock and flatted in the first 30 minutes of the race. My new silent alliance member, Seth, stopped with me while I plugged my tire, got a fancy floor pump from the medical car, and we got on our way again. Since many started early we were basically last on the road and scooping people up as we went. I had insider’s knowledge so I pretty much forced my group to lay down in a cold creek before we started the hottest, hardest climb of the day, maybe week. It brought Lauren back to life and she climbed away from us but Seth and I stuck it out together all the way to the finish at Three Creeks Lake. It felt really special to cross the finish line together after so many miles together. We celebrated with warm beers and popsicles and a dunk in the alpine lake. Celebration number 2 was at a park in Sisters with a big barbeque and awards. It was a very pleasant finish to a really special week.
Oregon Trail, I’ll be back!
