More Bend MTB and Robert's Field

Tuesday it did not rain, so we took an MTB tour with Cog Wild. They run tours, shuttles and stuff in the Bend area. We figured it would be more efficient just to pay someone to show us where to ride, than to suffer through map reading and painful trails. It was money well spent. We did about 8 miles up, and then rode down a trail called Whoops that is just a kick in the pants. It's full of bermed turns, jumps and table tops and is just in perfect condition. I use my brakes on it, but it is still fun. Then there is 5 more miles of mostly down on Phil's trail that is less arduous. After riding with Chris from Cog Wild I was seriously cooked. We did it again today, and it was really fun.
This is a round about where 5 trails intersect.

Somewhere in the Deschutes National Forest.


Jim going up to look at an unsigned trail today. The Forest Service and local mountain bikers are able to work in harmony here and allow the MTBers to build and maintain trails. The local community has been very good about coming out and working on the trails. It's unfortunate that it can't be like this everywhere. Another good thing is that the horses are segregated from the bicyclists, which I really like. I hate riding through horse poop.

Wednesday the weather was awful, so we drove up to Redmond to the only Walgreens in Central Oregon. After leaving the drug store we drove out to Roberts Field, which is the airport in Redmond. Many years ago, Jim was a co-pilot on a DC6 dropping slurry on forest fires, flying from this airport. He was stunned at how much it has grown since then. This is a DC7, the protuberance on the bottom of the plane is for slurry. It was originally delivered to United Airlines in the 1950's and had many owners before ending up here at Butler Aviation in Redmond.

So far we like Bend, especially since the sun has come out. The mountain biking is very good. Road riding is not great, but there aren't that many roads. There is a lot of forest. So, we are glad we have come here. The goal is to develop a circuit for the year so we can minimize moves and maximize good weather and time on a bicycle. Last summer was fun but I don't want to do that again for awhile. Too much time in the truck! I think I like Bend more than Petaluma.

Hope you are all well and happy where you are.