The drive to Oakridge was fairly non-eventful. After pulling into the parking lot by the red covered bridge, we started the routine of getting ready and trying to determine how to dress for the upcoming grind up the forest service road. Having done the grinder before, I was prepared to under-dress a little knowing that soon enough there would be an hour of huffing and puffing up the road. Soon enough we were on the dirt road and I looked over at Dan and said something along the lines of get comfortable for the next hour.
We were both on single speeds and the key was finding a comfortable rhythm as we worked our way up up up.
I was determined to make sure Dan had the full meal deal relative to Alpine so the plan was to ride up to Cate's Cut in and dive on to the trail there. We stopped along the way up and took in the big views that showed off the Cascade Peaks along the backdrop of blue skies. It was weird to think that we were now on the other side of Bachelor, Sisters, BrokenTop, etc and that Bend was just on the other side of them there hills…..
Cate's Cut in came quickly enough and we got on the trail and continued climbing for a few hundred more feet of elevation gain. Before too long, we were up in the meadow where we stopped in the bear grass and took it all in. At this point, I could tell the 2 hour drive and the subsequent 1+ hours of steady climbing were going to pay off in spades. Dan had this look of peace and wonderment about him…mission accomplished.
The long descent was filled with amazing kodak moment opportunities and the trail was riding better than any other time I have been lucky enough to ride that trail. The trail was pretty much perfect. All too soon, we finished the first descent above windy gap and then caught what might be some of my very favorite trail of all time….Return of the Jedi. There is something amazing to me about this section of Alpine. The old growth, the riding, the flow, the canopy and lighting along that section…all very special. I was curious to see how Dan would react.
I grunted my way up the climb before the final descent on that section and waited for Dan. Little did I know that he was off his bike and just enjoying the moment. He eventually made his way to where I was and all I heard was 'what….what…..WHAT world are we in? Where are we? What is this?'. After a few more phrases of bewilderment we got to the best part of that section and descended all too quickly.
We got back to Windy Gap and then rode the road to catch Alpine at the next junction. We noticed a new trail that started by Windy Gap and then continued to eyeball as we rode to the next junction to catch Alpine. The trail paralleled the road and was the missing section of trail needed to connect the only road section while descending this iconic trail. We looked at each other, and quickly retraced our pedal strokes uphill so we could ride the new trail. The trail is a nice little connector that takes you sidehilling below the road. As with all new trail, it was a little lumpy but should be just fine once it gets ridden and sits under some snow for a while.
The rest of the descent down Alpine was filled with more phrases of amazement and whoops of delight. We took a bunch of pictures and managed to thoroughly enjoy the day. I have never had a bad ride on Alpine and this day might have just topped them all. The ride never disappoints and it is amazing to be able to ride from the top ands cover the trail that changes characteristics as it descends through different micro-climates.
The cherry on top was that it might be one of the very last opportunities to ride Alpine from its highest point as weather might very quickly close the top sections down.
Pictures to follow - ride statistics below:
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