Allegiant service to Oakland, Calif.

Booking begins: today
Flights begin: April 26
Frequency: Twice weekly, Thursdays and Sundays

Allegiant will launch new air service from Redmond to Oakland, Calif., as part of the company’s ongoing effort to reach leisure travelers in markets where it sees growth potential.

“We are adding a new route because we believe the community understands the value we bring,” said Brian Davis, spokesman for Allegiant Travel Co.

Beginning April 26, the company will offer nonstop air service from Redmond Airport to Oakland International Airport, Davis said. Flights are scheduled to run twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, but Davis said the schedule could change.

“We adjust our capacity throughout the year in order to meet customer demand,” he said. “A lot of our destinations are seasonal. We’ll adjust the schedule based on what we see from customers.”

Representatives from Allegiant, Redmond Airport, the Central Oregon Visitors Association and others are scheduled today to announce the flights to the Bay Area, Allegiant’s third destination for nonstop air service from Redmond.

Customers can begin booking Allegiant flights to the Bay Area today. An introductory fare starting as low as $29.99, excluding taxes and fees, will be available for flights purchased by Feb. 7 for travel through Aug. 14., Davis said.

Unlike the major commercial air carriers, Allegiant offers flights from smaller cities to major leisure or recreation destinations, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It also offers package deals containing flights, lodging and rental car. But it typically does not offer daily service like the major commercial airlines.

While flights to the Bay Area are available through other airlines, Davis said Allegiant’s service is a different product. He said most legacy airlines target business travelers, while Allegiant focuses on leisure travelers who book flights in advance.

“We’re targeting folks looking to get away to the Bay Area,” Davis said. “Allegiant’s service is built with a price point that allows those folks to go because it is affordable.”

Central Oregon tourism officials see the new air service as a tool to bring Californians to Central Oregon.

More than 20 percent of visitors to Central Oregon come from the Golden State, according to Alana Hughson, COVA president and CEO.

The Bay Area and Northern California have been identified by the agency as the regions providing the greatest opportunity to increase awareness of Central Oregon and generate visitors to the region, she said.

COVA will invest more than $250,000 in a marketing campaign designed to reach more than 80 percent of the Bay Area market, encouraging its residents to choose Central Oregon for spring break and summer vacations.

“The Allegiant flights from (Oakland International Airport) help expand our accessibility from the Bay Area and offer value-oriented flights, which are so critical to leisure travelers,” she said. “The additional option to fly to Central Oregon from either (Oakland airport) or (San Francisco International) is a tremendous benefit to position Central Oregon as an easy, affordable destination for Bay Area travelers.”

Davis said Oakland International Airport was strategically selected not only to offer service to Redmond and other areas, but as a new base for Allegiant.

The company selected Oakland airport, instead of San Francisco International or another in the region, because its terminal is easier for customers to navigate, it has fewer fog delays, it’s geographically closer to downtown San Francisco and costs less to operate from for Allegiant.

In addition to Oakland, Allegiant also flies from Redmond to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona.

If consumers continue to fly Allegiant out of Redmond, more destinations may be offered in the future, said Davis, and Andrew Levy, president of Allegiant Travel Co., said the company believes the region will support it.

“Allegiant continues to grow our offerings as the community embraces our convenient nonstop service,” Levy said in a news release. “We are confident Central Oregon residents will continue to support the Allegiant brand of affordable travel and take advantage of our low pricing when bundling their air, hotel and car rental package.”

Mexico Singletrack, Los Barriles in Southern Baja

Los Barriles, Southern Baja. Home of amazing singletrack, but also the home of amazing fish tacos. On the flight home from Baja I was trying to decide which I would miss more. I finally gave up and decided I just need to go back soon to enjoy both again.

My business partner Lev and I have been working on ways to extend our mountain bike season (personally and also business wise). Living in Bend, there are options for winter riding, but they all include bootie covers and many layers.

Luckily for us, a few Cog guides have been spending their winters in

Los Barriles, 45 miles NE from Cabo, building singletrack while wind surf guiding their winters away. With over 40 miles of trail now ready to ride, taking our guide’s word that the hotel they were working through is a great place, we put together tour packages for mountain biking in Los Barriles. But we needed to see it ourselves before bringing guests down, so I convinced my husband to travel with me to check it out.

The “highway” enters Los Barriles along the beach, but higher up allowing a great view of town. A long ribbon of beautiful white beach and bright blue ocean greet you as you enter the small town. Men with big smiles are selling fresh shrimp on the side of the main road, foreigners are driving the streets in quads, and kids are skipping home from school with backpacks on. It was a friendly place, full of color and much to look at. It also had a very relaxed feel, the perfect place for a vacation of mountain biking.

We were hungry, so after saying hello to our Cog guide, Todd, and checking out the hotel right on the beach, we headed down the road to his favorite taco spot. El Viejo was full with both locals and gringos (which also many are locals) and we eagerly ordered fish and shrimp tacos. After an amazing meal, we rolled ourselves back down to the hotel to lay on lounge chairs at the pool and relax the rest of the afternoon away (until it was time for margaritas, a fabulous dinner and an evening stroll through town). Tomorrow was a riding day and we were very excited!

One of the best things about the hotel, after the fact that they have a pool, a bar at the pool overlooking the beach, stand up paddle boards and kayaks for guests to use, a restaurant and super friendly staff is that they also have a full fleet of full suspension 2012 Specialized mountain bikes for guests to use. That means we did not have to travel with a bike and still have a great bike to use.

We started the next morning with breakfast at the hotel and then meet Todd to ride. We were able to ride right from the hotel, going South along the beach until we came to a really cool overlook. From here we traveled inland, riding up a few hills on fireroads, passing a few donkeys and also enjoying singletrack that carved through the landscape. Arriving at another awesome overlook that looked south along the coast, we enjoyed a ripping, technical downhill (video coming soon!) past cactus (watch out!) and other desert trees all the way back towards town. We were really impressed – Baja has some serious singletrack! The trail wasn’t sandy, but packed dirt with fabulous views, fun short climbs and lots of fun downhill!! And the best part: we rode in shorts and t-shirts, enjoying the breeze as we flew down the trail and finishing the ride with a dive into the pool – or my other favorite, a beer and some fish tacos. Ahh, life is good!!

The Cog tour will include four full days of singletrack, all different routes. Working

with Todd, we came up with the plan – two days of riding straight from the hotel, one shuttle day and one full day awesome adventure. Of course we had to drive the adventure route to make sure the mileage was not too much, which it wasn’t, but it also not really fit for a 4×4 vehicle, much better on bike!

There is a ton to do in Los Barriles once everyone gets back from the ride. You can take the stand up paddle boards out, or use the hotels snorkeling gear and check out the fish life or even go fishing. Walking around town is fun too, there is shopping, photos to take and of course many restaurants and bars to enjoy. The hotel includes three meals a day, with with the town full of great restaurants, we ate some of our meals out and are pretty sure you will want to as well.

We were able to ride a few days, stand up paddle, snorkel, visit surrounding towns, lounge at the pool and meet lots of great people. The town was super safe, even at night when we would wander in the dark to walk off our dinner. I am very excited that we will be offering tours in Los Barriles and look forward to coming here every year to ride and have a great time!