Category : Bike Tours
August 6th, 2009
Riding in the Umpqua National Forest is a treat in itself, sharing it with people who have never been there is the icing on the cake.
Over the past weekend we had the pleasure of guiding 11 eager mountain bikers along the slithering trails that parallel the spectacular Umpqua River. Unfortunately there was a fire in nearby Glide, OR so we were unable to experience some of the lower half, but the infamous Dread and Terror section had the guests whooping for more.
After three days of epic riding, hot springs, bridge jumping, delicious energy food and beautiful scenery, everyone had a weekend to remember!
Allyson and her husband Peter from Napa were ecstatic, especially after Allyson expressed she pushed herself beyond what she thought was possible and is now committed to continuing her mountain biking adventures! Greg, Darren, Darin, Aaron, Kasey, Sherri, Ed, Steve and Billy all expressed their excitement and personal triumphs over the weekend. The North Umpqua Trail is awe-inspiring and leaves most people feeling accomplished and happy. Even the photos will inspire you… enjoy…
 Guide Lindsey Voreis loving the singletrack  Lower trails plagued by smoke...Bummer  Back at Camp, Greg, Darren, Ed and Kasey are happily exhausted after a great day of riding! Sipping delicious Deschutes Brewery beer helps regenerate those legs!!  Top of Dread and Terror! The best day!!!  Ahhh, the weeping wall...  Darren hoisting his bike over the giant fallen tree...  Peter rounds the bend to see the falls directly across from him...  Creek running down the trail...  Allyson, Lindsey and Sherri... Ladies in the house!!
Posted by Cog Wild Guide Crew at 3:20 pm:
3 comments
Although we offer multi-day camping weekends in super scenic locales, our most popular multi-day tour is the Bike & Brew. Guests stay at the Phoenix Inn in downtown Bend, ride all day and visit a different brewery every night.
According the Seth, one of the guides, the Bike & Brew of 7/10-12, 2009 was the best one yet! When asked about the weekend, he said , “We were all so comfortable together that I dressed down this day.” Yeah, we see what you mean, Seth:
The clients agree. Tim, a client on the best yet Bike & Brew, writes; ”The weekend was top shelf. From all of Melanie’s work behind the scenes to Erika’s, Seth’s, and Jackson’s expertise and patience on the trails. Lev has a great crew working with him. Cog Wild deserves a big “thumbs up”= 0 and I recommend them to all.”
Heidi emailed the pictures shown here and wrote; “Loved the “epicness” of Bend. Haven’t done that before and now we know we can. We explored the Newberry Crater area (per your recommendation) on our way south and checked out the trail. Would like to do that with camping. So many doors have opened on this adventure.”
Erika, girl guide extraordinaire,is currently in Whistler B.C. and cannot be reached for comment, although I think she would agree that the tour was the best one yet.
So folks, come on back for more and bring your friends, we’ve got way more adventure in store. Thanks for being a fantastic group.
Group shot at the top of Vista Butte with Mt. Bachelor in the background.
Posted by Cog Wild Guide Crew at 2:41 pm:
1 comment
With the weather over the past week comprised mostly of SEVERE thunderstorms, dust is the least of our worries. For my tour on Friday the worry was, “Hey do you all have jackets?” We got everyone sporting a nice new rain coat and headed out to Funner, skies: Mostly sunny. By the end of the day, and within one mile of Phil’s trailhead the skies opened up and everyone finally knew why I insisted we all have rain jackets. The riding was epic with all the great moisture on the soil but it was better to ride prepared! Nobody would have had any fun without their jackets. Remember, as we say at the BBFT, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” (Such as cotton t-shirts on a rainy day!) Have a great one and stay warm & dry. -Woody
Posted by Cog Wild Guide Crew at 8:41 pm:
3 comments
What a great family, 6 riders in all from 11 year old’s to grandparents and everyone was a trooper. We did 310 up to Whoops and then down Ben’s all the way back to Phil’s trail head. Smiles and stories all around and I have to say it was great from the guide’s perspective to hit the season running with a fun group of guests! Thanks! – Woody
Posted by Cog Wild Guide Crew at 5:23 pm:
2 comments
It is final – Ellsworth and Cog Wild are teaming up to offer a 3 day camping trip outside Bend this summer for 24 riders. Being an Ellsworth rider myself, I am really excited for the trip and being a possee of Ellsworth riders out on the trail.
The details of the trip can be found on our website at www.cogwild.com/ellsworth, check it out and come ride! Just wanted to share the news, here are a few shots of Ellsworths out on the trails here in Bend.
 Local ladies and their Ellsworths!  Terra and bike in action on Funner Trail Recently we were contacted by a woman names Ychiyo from Japan interested in our Sunriver Cycling Tour. We finalized the reservations once she arrive in Central Oregon and spent most of our phone conversation discussing the weather, which was 60% chance of rain on the day she wanted to ride, which was today. We talked again this morning prior to the afternoon tour, both watching it rain while talking. We were having a hard time deciding between trying again tomorrow or be adventurous and attmept to get out and ride today. We chose to be adventurous and I am glad we did – today was a lot of fun!!
Our first stop was Lava Lands Visitor Center. Yesterday they opened a brand new museum and we all really enjoyed it – it was full of facinating info about the lava lands Bend and Central Oregon is surrounded by and had great maps. Then off to the trails we went!
First we had to get ready to ride – helmets, gloves, bike seat heights, go over gears, etc. Yasuko, who was nice enough to be talked into joining us by Ychiyo, had never mountain biked before. Both Yasuko and I realized we did not have the right shoes, I had forgotten my cycling shoes and was in my Dansko clogs and she was wearing Croc slipper-ish shoes. Ychiyo was the smart one in tennis shoes:
Although it has been dumping rain as I drove to pick the women up, it stopped for us for a good portion of the ride. We started our ride checking out Benham Falls and both women could not belive that something so beautiful was not a far drive away in the mountains, but accessable to all the locals and visitors right outside of town. We definately are lucky!
The rest of the ride was great, Yasuko might have realized she is a natural born mountain bikers. We finally waved her on and she took off, with a huge smile obviously enjoying being on a bike. It did rain a little on us, but it was beautiful out on the trail and fire roads, so who can complain!
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