In January, the OTTA offered a fundraising raffle with the prize being a deluxe bikepacking weekend with guidance from OTTA president and experienced bikepacker, Heather Rose. Mark Leary was our raffle winner. Joined by Ara Greenfield, they all rode from Oakridge to camp at Indigo Springs this past weekend.

Mark Leary

Heather met us At the Oakridge Bike Shop with hugs and smiles, directing us to the big topo map on the wall; showing us our route for the next two days, orienting us within the landscape, pointing out the legendary trails in the area, and – since we didn’t need bike rentals (part of the raffle prize) – the shop set us up with an Ultralight Steripen!

Ara and I headed over to our Airbnb, courtesy of Kirin and CogWild. It was the perfect spot to land after that drive and had everything we needed to settle in, unwind, and get our bikes packed up – including an awesome view of the forest all around us. We tootled around town, headed down to Westfir, checked out the covered bridge, and watched the river.

Friday night, we met Heather at The 3 Legged Crane Pub and Brewhouse right on 1st Street in Oakridge, where all the small-town charm became apparent: It was lovely seeing Heather chatting it up with this and that table, server, and passerby. Over some good food, we got to talking about lives, our paths, purpose, meaning, bikepacking adventures, careers, transparency, neuroscience, the state of politics … you name it. This was going to be a super weekend no matter what was to come.

Saturday a.m., we met at Greenwaters Park, and Heather checked our bike setups, sharing her gear insights, ideas, hacks, and experiences (as she did so seamlessly and humbly throughout the weekend). Then we were off.

Heather had given me the “homework” of loading the route (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43164191) on my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, so that I could learn how to navigate (for my five previous trips, I just used Strava on my phone, which was clunky and not very user friendly). Heather put me in the lead and asked me to use my navigation to get us on the right path. I rode us in circles around the park until Heather invited me to look up, reminding me that we were looking for a bridge to get across the river. Of course, said bridge was staring us right in the face. A good life lesson, and a good bikepacking one, too: get your head out of your electronics once in a while to see what’s actually in front of you.

Once we crossed the bridge, we embarked on a few hours of gentle incline across dirt, gravel, and paved roads. We logged just over 37 miles on day one, with plenty of stops to hydrate, get some wisdom bites from Heather, and some actual bites of food; with the insight to try to always keep ahead of the hydration and calorie curve; too late is, well, too late.

We camped at Indigo Springs, where there was apparently a National Mosquito Convention underway. A few quick sprays of repellant and we came to a quick and easy truce with their legions. Tents up, water refilled from Indigo Creek, we decided to explore a bit of the OTT by foot. Everything about that afternoon hike was special. The conversation, the silence, the rush of water, the old-growth trees, the smells, the chirp of birds, so many butterflies, the pops of color, rhododendron, greens of every hue, and dirt and pine needles and leaves and trickling streams and huge walls of rock and mossy boulders and elaborate roots underfoot. We hiked up to Chuckle Springs, where intimate little waterfalls and features dotted the trailside.

On the way back down to camp, we talked about diversity, inclusion, and equity, Juneteenth, the vision of the OTTA, and everything in between. Hearing about Heather’s ventures in Tasmania, New Zealand, Baja, across the U.S., et al, was inspiring, and her desire to check out places like Croatia showed her zest for two-wheel travel to still be burning bright. Read about Heather’s latest adventures on her site!

Back at camp, we cranked up our various stoves, talked about bikepacking “kitchen” gear, food options – both store-bought and DIY, the paths we take in life that are often unexpected, presence, and the beauty of turning in early when camping.

Tucked in our tents, we read, stretched, slept…and, wow, those stars. Pinpricks over towering trees, dark and shadowy, like the entire universe was stretched out overhead, passing by at warp speed.

Sunday, we were greeted by a light rain, just in time to make our tents extra…um…foresty as we packed them up. Warm oatmeal and coffee and tea under Douglas fir were the perfect way to fuel up. With camp packed up, Heather explained our options (riding the trail, bouncing back and forth between trail and road, etc.) and we headed out, bundled up against the cold and rain.

The weather was having fun with us, rain breaks turning to sun turning to wind turning to rain turning to sun, so rain and warmth gear was on, then off, then on, then off.

A few miles down the road, we decided to turn onto the trail itself. Ara hasn’t done a ton of mountain biking, and definitely not on a loaded-up bike. She has a very good sense of her limits, and was sufficiently cautious – learning how her pack bike responded, as well as navigating roots, river rocks, little creek crossings, snappy ups and downs, and tight turns. As Heather noted in her sharing, Ara took it all in, and by the time we were exiting the trail a few miles later, Ara wasn’t hesitating as she rolled over roots, bounced off rocks, finding her cadence as she pedaled up the little rollers. It was cool to see applied learning in action in such a non-judgmental space.

Back on the road, we rolled the remaining 20 or so miles down into town, said our quick goodbyes, washed up back at CogWild’s Airbnb, and headed toward Portland.

Amazing how the weekend adventure just shy of 75 miles could already feel like a distant memory; but it’s cool to know that it *is* a memory and not just something we’d hope to do some day; it’s something we *did* do, and from it, a new friend, gleaning new ways of learning and riding and being in this world. Massive thank yous to Heather, CogWild, Oakridge Bike Shop, the Oregon Timber Trail Association, and the trails themselves. What a gift! Thank you!”

Ara Greenfield

“Thank you for sharing your kind words - all day today I kept thinking about my Sesame Street reflection about "today's ride is brought to you by the letter C, for CONFIDENCE", and it made me smile a lot. 

I felt like a kid again this weekend - such a gift.

Thanks again for your patience, ease and encouragement!”

From Heather Rose

“When I offered up a bikepacking trip as the Oregon Timber Trail's fall fundraiser I definitely didn't expect to make two new great friends out of the offer (though maybe I should have)! As Mark said, there's something about pedaling bikes together and being out in nature that always hits the fast-forward button on a friendship. I love sharing my experiences, and Mark and Ara are voracious students of life, and bikepacking in particular. I was especially impressed with Ara -- she does not have much technical riding experience and had never been bikepacking -- but by the bottom of the Lower Middlefork she had found her groove and was cruising and smiling. Ara has an infectious desire to learn and it was a delightful pleasure to share the weekend with Mark and Ara.  I look forward to connecting with more members of the OTTA family soon!”