It seems like we spend so much of our lives working on something:  Most of us spend a good portion of the day at work.  We come home and work on the house, or work in the yard.  When we have the time, we might work on our bikes, work on our relationships, or find any number of other ways to work.  Even when on the bike, those of us that race, end up working on sprinting, or climbing, or whatever our weakness might be.  I started putting in heavy base miles in December, and the first road race was beginning of February.  XC mountain bike races followed soon after.  Here it is, the first of August, and I only now feel like the racing season is for the most part over.  New cross races have been added to the calendar, so it looks like September it all starts right back up again.  I’ve gotta admit, I’ve been feeling a bit burned out lately.  What I need is to just go ride my bike for fun. 

So, last weekend I got a few of my mountain biking friends together and took a much needed camp/bike trip to central Oregon.  We spent three days hitting what I unapologetically consider some of the best singletrack in the country.  There’s just nothing quite like Oregon mountain biking.  On the way out we did a quick loop up in the McDonald forest in Corvallis, which is a special place for us since it’s where we all got in to mountain biking in the first place, back in college.  Riding those trails instantly reminded us of days spent skipping Physics and rocking Dan’s trail on our hardtail steel frames.  Good times indeed...

The next day in Bend we started early, and mapped out an epic route that wound throughout the area trail map.  We made sure to include the classics like Phil’s trail, Woops, and Swampy Lakes, and checked out some new areas I haven’t seen before.  The trails here are fast, flow-ey, and fun.  The scenery is unmatched, with the snow-capped Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Broken Top, and a slew of others around every corner.  I could almost feel the stress of work vanishing from my body.  5 hours later and back at the trailhead we couldn’t stop smiling.  As a bonus, Bend is home to some of the best microbrew you can find.

On Sunday, with our spirits lightened thanks to the singletrack fairies, we set off to ride the granddaddy of river trails, the McKenzie River Trail.  It’s been about 3 years since I’ve ridden this trail, and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.  It deserves all the attention it gets-  Aaron was right on when he said, “this trail is schizophrenic!”  It starts out super technical with tight downhill turns through lava flows, and then winds along the majestic McKenzie River, and including every type of trail from serene turns, to brutal, punchy climbs, to a rooted-out skill maze.  It always keeps you on your toes.  Along the way there are waterfalls that look like they come from some dreamscape, and places where streams emerge from underground, creating an otherworldly blue.  The oldgrowth forest, the trees… they honestly speak to me, what wonder I have for all that they have witnessed.  This is such a special place, I feel lucky to be able to ride this trail.  I’ll just make sure it doesn’t take 3 more years before I ride it again.

I’ve definitely had a great time this year training and racing… It’s just really nice to just go ride my bike in the woods for fun.