Our company specializes in giving tour participants real and current cultural experiences. Visitors from Iowa today got to experience the vibrant winter PSU Farmers market to collect seasonal greens for a tangy Northwestern salad. Clear skies awarded us with great views of Mt. Hood and cityscape reflections on the calm surface of the Willamette river. What would a weekend in Portland be without a landslide of local events, including the infamous spectacle that is “Santacon”, a group of surly Santas pub-crawling their way all over town trying to scare the average adult, but not their children. It’s hard to explain why 100 or so Santas are smoking and drinking on the sidewalk outside of a downtown pub at 1 pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but we’ve gotten better with practice. “Santa works really hard”, I tell people. “He needs to cut loose”.  Today there was also a local march to support the rights of immigrant workers in Oregon and we just so happen to visit their path to see some community action in action. The Saturday Market is Oregon’s oldest and largest open air craft market and makes a great stop for some locally crafted gifts for the season. It wouldn’t be Portland without passing by a few new food carts, or a random brass band playing in an alley on the Park Blocks, the pleasant surprises just keep rolling in. Let’s finish off with a stop in Old Town, we hit both Voodoo Doughnuts and Stumptown Coffee at the same time! Thanks again to Today’s tour group and remember what the local’s say – “Put a Bird on It!”

Roadies rejoice! In September, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department announced five new scenic bikeways.

The 132-mile Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway, which was the first in the state (and in the nation, no less) is now joined by five more: Sisters to Smith Rock Scenic Bikeway, Metolius River Loops Scenic Bikeway, McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway, Old West Scenic Bikeway, and Blue Mountain Century Scenic Bikeway.

Sisters to Smith Rock Scenic Bikeway covers a 36-mile high desert route from Sisters to Smith Rock State Park near the town of Terrebonne. The rolling ride includes views of the beautiful Deschutes River and Smith’s breathtaking red rock spires.

Metolius River Loops Scenic Bikeway is a series of loops that starts and ends at the historic Camp Sherman Store and Fly Shop. These family-friendly rides follow paved Forest Service roads along the scenic Metolius River and range from three to 22 miles.

The McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway covers 35 miles between Sisters and the Limberlost Forest Service Campground. The route includes a challenging climb, amazing views of Mt. Washington and the McKenzie River and a fast descent through dense forests.

The Old West Scenic Bikeway, a 178-mile loop, starts in John Day and travels in a counter clockwise loop through Austin Junction, along the Middle Fork of the John Day River, through Monument and the John Day Fossil Beds.

The 108-mile Blue Mountain Century Scenic Bikeway starts in Heppner and heads south to Ukiah, north to Nye Junction and back to Heppner. The route travels through forest, rangeland and eastern Oregon’s rolling hills.

The routes highlight the dramatic and varied natural beauty of Oregon. Route descriptions are available on the Oregon Parks and Recreation website, and signage is currently being installed along the routes.

The program is a partnership between Cycle Oregon, Travel Oregon, the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

For more information on cycling in Oregon, visit rideoregonride.com

http://www.OnBicycles.com

 I heard about this new Cycling book and thought I would pass it along.

Join us on a fully supported epic adventure to soak up the sun in Death Valley this February 5th-14th. Now taking reservations/ deposits for the 10 day trip that visits four National Parks, several Hot Springs, and is on a low to no-traffic roads!  Weather predictions include sunny skies and an average temp of 72 degrees. What a great time of year to visit this beautiful desert landscape! Participants are in charge of supplying their own bikes, and transportation to the starting point. For a full list of trip details and expenses please contact us for an info packet. Thanks for your interest in this years Death Valley Tour and have a great day.

Thanks to those who joined us this Last Thursday for an awesome Tour of Bike Culture Events. We celebrated in style and visited the ARTCRANK Poster show for a few microbrews and some Poster viewing. Fantastic artwork this year, I got a new piece for the office and was happy to support the fundraising event. Next up we rolled over to the Museum of Contemporary Craft to see the Oregon Manifest Constructors design Challenge finalists, beautiful bikes. Growing in size, our group descended upon the foodcarts as we reached the Lizard Lounge Street Party. And thanks to bikeportland.org for this sweet invite they put together.

Oregon Manifest