Bend Trip Report.

What can you say about Bend....well, I'd go with:  If you like good friends, bicycles, running, and beer, you're probably gonna have a good time!  And if a simple statement isn't enough, here is a picture or two for each of those topics.

Phil's Trail Network trail head.

Rolling out on Ben's Trail.

Evidence it's not wise to take pictures while riding single track.

Words to live by!

The trail system is so large it has roundabouts for bikes and central artwork....here's Bend's infamous flaming chicken (the trail version)

20 miles of riding wasn't enough for the girls....so on Sunday it was off to the Happy Girl 1/2 marathon....the start....

......and the finish!

Once riding and running were accomplished.....it was time for beer.  And if you're in Bend you must stop by Deschutes during your beer escapades!

Eventually we moved on for alternate beers serving locations..... In this case a bike shop that serves beer and decked out custom bikepacking rides!

 So there's a few pics from the trip.  If you enjoy bikes, running, beer, and fun, you might just want to take a trip in the near future!

Already planning for the long, tedious weekend.

What can I say...it's Tuesday morning and I'm starting to mentally dread the weekend.  Some weeks are like that, especially when work is the only thing you want to do.  For me the long weekend plan is to point the car towards Bend, Oregon.  I know, I know, why would anyone go to Bend? 


It's going to be just terrible....first off, wifey is "making" me go because there is a "Happy Girl" half marathon she wants to do.  Horrible to have to spectate at an event with 1500 (?) fit girls running around in spandex shorts and tank tops, but I'm sure I'll manage. 

If just this wasn't enough, I have this friend....the preacher, who lives there.  He'll probably want to drag me out to ride bicycles....maybe even mountain bikes, instead of hanging out at his really nice house where I'll be forced to stay (rather than a hotel).  To top it off they have this trail system called "Phil's trail" (map below) that he'll probably force me to ride.  What's even worse, he'll probably make me ride this lame trail (movie below) that is an easy climb followed by pine needle covered, flowing, single track, with perfectly sculpted jumps along it's entire length!  If you didn't know I hate trails that aren't one rock garden after another!  I mean if I'm not loosening a filling or two while riding it's just not worth it!

AllRide Edit of Whoops Trail in Bend, Or from Kirt Voreis on Vimeo.

After all this, I'll probably be forced to drink beer at one of the many craft breweries that are as common in Bend as casinos are in Reno.  They probably won't even serve warm Budweiser!  So, as you can see, it's pretty much going to be one trial or tribulation after another for 3 days straight.  I'm sure you can understand why I might already be dwelling on it!

So...what will you do with your long weekend?  Are you already planning?  If not you should get started or you'll wind up like me, headed somewhere you don't want to be, with people you just tolerate, doing things that set your teeth on edge.

.....and yeah, sarcasm!!!!

Blitzing Bend, OR (1/2 Marathon, mtn bike, road bike)!

Hope everybody had a great extended weekend.  Wifey and I squeezed every ounce of fun out of ours.  A mid-day departure Friday got us to Bend, OR by around 8pm to meet up with some friends from Olympia, WA.  In classic Bend style we began the evening at local brew pub.  There were a gaggle of people from Reno also in town and some friends who live in Bend so it was quite the organizational nightmare....and in the end Wifey and I just ended up having a relaxing beer with just the two of us.  Perfect way to ease into the weekend.  Growlers were purchased and festivities continued with friends back at the hotel.

The next morning the girls registered for their 1/2 marathon and an we visited McMenamins for some breakfast....with beer!  A good belgian in the morning to start things out right.  The girls then headed out for shopping and my friend and I met up with the Reno / Bend crew to hit some fabled mountain bike trails.  This isn't us but you'll get the idea!  Of course, good beer rounded out the evening (10 Barrels "pray for snow" and there "CDA" were the evening favorites)!




The rest of the trail network might not be quite as flowing and jumping...but the trails were some of the best I've ridden (and remember I was just in Moab).  I think we may have a new spring break destination (if it's not under snow).

The following morning we dropped the girls of for their race and grabbed the road bikes.  This time it was out West Century Drive towards Mt. Bachelor.  Notice the "Mount" in front of the name.  Yep, 2000 ft of climbing in 20 miles.  No warm up and no rest.  My dad would have been proud cause I definitely "built some character" on this one.  So did the poor guys we took with us who had never road biked in his life!  To his credit he rode it well, smiled the whole time, and thanked us for the intro.  Another rider he spoke with told him he might want to get better friends!  I sort of agree!

Once we completed the 40mph+ downhill return we meet up with the girls (who had already found a brewery...shocking) and had another great round of beers and some well deserved dinner.  Some additional shopping occurred because the girls needed jewelry (that involved more $$ than they could carry while running)!  The evening ended way to quickly and Monday morning after a bite to eat it was time to say farewell and head back to Reno.  Unfortunately, I wasn't too good at bringing out the camera, but I'll see if I can't come up with a pic tor two later.