Todd Dye
If you're going to ride it from the McKenzie River side, safest place to
park is at the McKenzie Ranger Station (just outside of McKenzie Bridge) if
you want to ride all of 242. It's about 2 miles on Hwy 126 (good
shoulder) to the 242 turn off, then a nice gentle grade to warm up on for
about 10 miles, before the climb gets steep a shortly before the gate where
the road is closed to auto traffic.
The round trip from McKenzie ranger station to Sisters and back is about 75
miles with close to 6K ft of climbing, and Sisters makes a great mid-ride
lunch stop.
If you want to shorten it, there are ample parking opportunites along 242
before/near the gate as well. I can't remember if the gate is closest to
Proxy falls trailhead or Alder Springs Campground, but either way, just
drive to the gate then turn around and grab the parking spot that suits you
best. This will shorten the round trip by 20-25 miles, and you miss out on
about 1500 ft of elevation gain, although it's the most gentle grade of the
whole route.
As for the weather, plan on it being at quite a bit colder at the top (~5200
ft) due to both the temperature drop that comes with elevation gain and wind
chill. It's refreshing if it's 90 down below, but if it's 60-70 degrees
down along the McKenzie, plan on adding layers up top, because you're likely
going to be sweaty by the time you hit the summit, and once you're out in
the lava fields, the wind can really howl through there.
Also, plan on carrying enough water for the ride you plan, since there
aren't any places along the route to get water this time of year that I'm
aware of, short of melting snow or filtering out of a creek.
If you like to camp and want to make a weekend of it, there are plenty of
campgrounds in that area. Paradise campground is a good jump off spot for
riding McKenzie pass, the Aufderhyde (~140 mi roundtrip to oakridge),
McKenzie River trail, and other trails in the area.
On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 11:30 AM, John Fortes wrote:
> Any recommendations on where to park the car so I can ride this?
>
> On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 10:57 AM, wrote:
>
>> Some good photos and a video of the pass before they plowed it, at
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION4/McKenzie_Pass_Project/McKenzie_Pass_Project.shtml
>>
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Billy Ramsey
>> To: obra@list.obra.org
>> Sent: Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:38:47 -0000 (UTC)
>> Subject: [OBRA Chat] McKenzie Pass Highway
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> it is time to ride the pass before the motors have it
>>
>>
>> http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION4/docs/news_releases/2011/McKenzieHwy-open-to-bikes-peds.pdf?ga=t
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> John P. Fortes
>
> Racing for a cure: http://www.active.com/donate/cycle11national/JFortes
>
>
>
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