Quartzville Road Back Country Byway

Well, what is the next scenic bike ride in store for the oregon pass hunter? How about a ride up the 50 mile Quartzville Road Back Country Byway...

planning begins with some web research...

Quartzville Road Back Country Byway - This Type 1, 50 mile byway meanders along the emerald depths of Green Peter Reservoir and the clear, cool waters of Quartzville Creek National Wild and Scenic River. Discover a corridor of old-growth and maturing forest, accented by rock outcroppings, huckleberry patches, wildflowers, and vivid fall colors. For more information, contact the Salem District Office.

http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/byways.php

from an old news article:

ONLY THE SOUND of a cool, light breeze accompanied the magnificent view of Mount Jefferson glistening in the morning sun just a few miles to the east as cyclists on last year's Oregon Bicycle Ride paused to soak in the grand views from the Quartzville Back Country Byway.
The wonderfully scenic Quartzville Road - also known as FS (for Forest Service) 11 - winds its way west through 50 miles of remote territory between Marion Forks and Sweet Home.
Starting at Oregon Highway 22 south of Marion Forks, the Quartzville Road angles ...

Memorial Day on Mary's Peak, Oregon Coast Range

Well, I made it up Mary's Peak. Not too bad of a climb if you are not in a big hurry. I heard one entire Dave Mathews concert during my climb. Beautiful day for it, warm enough to climb in short sleeves, cold enough to pull on all the extra clothes for the quick trip back down the 9 mile descent. There is a WWII memorial at the top which I had never noticed before.

More photos here, http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbeilby/MarySPeakMemorialDay2007

The road has one lane closed off due to an immense landslide

Pass Hunter plans to woo Mary

Some call her Chintimini, some call her Timanwa, but she's Mary to me.

Tomorrow will be the first summit attempt, I'll take the Tsakanikas with compact double and 8sp rear end. 34X32 will have to do.

here's an excerpt from the Suislaw Forest link:

"Mary's Peak, at 4,097 feet, is the highest point in Oregon’s Coast Range and the most prominent peak viewed westward from Corvallis. On a clear day one can see both the Pacific Ocean to the west and many of the Cascade peaks to the east across the Willamette Valley. There are also several areas of historical, botanical and geological interest."

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/recreation/tripplanning/maryspeak/index.shtml

here's the unavoidable wikipedia link, many good links on this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marys_Peak

here are some of the other peaks in the Coast range, I'm not sure how many of them are ridable.
http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=1222

here's a link to the peaks of Oregon
http://www.peaklist.org/USlists/ORP2000.html

Old Mackenzie Pass Rocks

We rode it today, it is simply awesome, you must ride it soon, it should be bicycle only until June 15 when it closes for construction.
Start at the ranger station on 126, up and over to sisters for lunch, get the turkey, pepper jelly on whole wheat with a bottle of Cascade Ale at the Depot Cafe and you'll be ready for the return trip. It's about 80 miles roundtrip, 80 miles of bicycle nirvana.

there are many photos here, http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbeilby/MackenziePass

here's a link to an article on Bike Bend http://bikebend.wordpress.com/2007/05/12/classic-ride-old-mckenzie-pass-before-cars-are-allowed/

OR Randonneurs 400k Covered Bridges Brevet

come ride some of the finest roads in the northwest with some of the best bike people you'll ever meet.

some photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbeilby/Orrandonneurs400kCoveredBridgesMay2007?pli=1

Covered Bridges 400k Ride Report
5/21/2007
Eric Ahlvin's ride report is posted here http://randonneuring.blogspot.com/2007/05/covered-bridges-400k-ride-report.html

OR Randonneurs Dart to Centralia

big trains, little trains, bikes and no automobiles

more photos here

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbeilby/OrRandoDart2007

Eric Ahlvin's ride report is here
http://randonneuring.blogspot.com/

OR Randonneurs 200k Birkie Brevet

this was my first brevet of the year, a bit wet, a bit too fast, but a Grand start of the season

too many photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbeilby/OrRandoBirkie200k2007

Eric Ahlvin's ride report is here
http://randonneuring.blogspot.com/