- Cycle the rim of Crater Lake Oregon.crater lake, oregon image by Carbonbrain from Fotolia.com
With scenery ranging from high desert junipers to rain forest undergrowth, Oregon is one of the most diversified cycling environments anywhere in the world. For day trips or overnight trips of 200 miles or more, there's is a ride for just about everyone. - Start your two-day trip in the scenic town of Astoria. Leave at daybreak and head south on Highway 101. Let the wind push you down the blacktop to the tourist town of Seaside, about 15 miles. Grab some breakfast, ride the Promenade along the beach and get back on Highway 101. Ride along white beaches alternating with cedar undergrowth for the rest of the day. Stop at Tillamook for the night; you've ridden about 60 miles. Start early the next day riding through rolling countryside until you get to Lincoln City and get back on the beach. Grab some lunch in a quaint cafe by the ocean and head south again. The rest of the trip is cliffs and beaches. Stop at Newport, visit the aquarium and stop at sea lion caves. Finish at Florence, visit old town and congratulate yourself. You rode 175 miles in two days.
- Plan to spend the day on the rim of this ancient volcano. Breathtaking viewpoints of sky-blue Crater Lake are at every turn as you ride a roller coaster, often going faster than the cars. There is no support on the rim, so take an energy bar and make sure your water bottle is full before leaving the historic Crater Lake Lodge. Take your camera, too. You don't want to miss the haunting phantom rock, Wizard Island and the mysterious "old man of the lake." This ride is for the physically fit The total distance is about 30 miles but it will feel farther.
- Spend the night in the historic Geiser Grand Hotel, where Clint Eastwood stayed while making "Paint your Wagon" in the 1970s. Get up have eggs and hash browns at the truck stop and head north on the Medical Springs highway. Climb through sagebrush and juniper to cross the old Oregon Trail before dropping into the Pondosa general store for a soda and snack. Ride through what's left of the historic Medical Hot Springs, then climb into the mountains. Ride the long downhill past Catherine Creek State Park to the historic village of Union. Grab some lunch at the drive-inn, visit the Victorian hotel, then head back toward Baker City via Piles Canyon. Ride through gigantic windmills at the Antelope Ridge Wind Farm before cruising back into Baker City via Hanes and the best steakhouse in the west. The total trip is about 75 miles.
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