Outside

Bend’s elite cyclists are poised to capture some of the most prized titles in cycling over the course of the next week—or coming weeks if we’re talking about Chris Horner. From multi-day endurance slogs, to short and sweet gravity events, to the Tour de France, we have mountain bikers and road racers fighting for glory at the biggest bike races of the year. Here’s a look at who’s doing what, and where they’re doing it. Keep in mind that these guys aren’t just pack fodder; they all have a legitimate shot at the podium or first place in their respective races.

It’s easy to miss the Fisher King’s fly shop in the postage stamp-sized town of Paisley just beyond Summer Lake.
The small shop is tucked into the corner of a self-storage business on the side of Highway 31 in the heart of the Oregon Outback. In fact, I blew right past it on my way to Lakeview, turning around only after I thought better of trying to navigate the back roads of the Winema-Freemont forest without the benefit of local knowledge. So I whipped a U-turn just outside of Paisley and backtracked.
I’m glad I did.

Ten years ago during an interview at an outdoor industry trade show, a kayak manufacturing company president somewhat sheepishly admitted that, while a high percentage of his company’s ad budget went to promoting whitewater kayaking, for every one whitewater boat the company sold his company moved another 40 recreational kayaks. Today, that ratio is probably more like 200 to 1. Recreational “rec” kayaks and their longer and faster brethren (day touring and ocean/touring kayaks) seem to be everywhere from lakes, to lazy rivers, to bays, marshes and estuaries.

Innovations are often born out of frustration. You think Henry Ford was psyched about riding around in a horse and buggy? Hell no.
And so it was with Erik Eastland and his now famous beer-drenched bike party, Blitz to the Barrel, an invite only point-to-point bike race that this year carried a $20,000 prize purse.
Eastland, frustrated by the boringness of traditional bike races, sought to bring the party to Bend’s favorite past time.

If you think you have to travel outside the city limits to recreate, well, think again, sucka! Look around! We live in Bend for a reason! Aside from dog parks and breweries, we are also lucky to have impressively close and convenient opportunities for outdoor entertainment. Sure, we’ve got Smith Rock, the Upper Deschutes and hundreds of miles of top-notch singletrack accessible from just outside town, but you needn’t even go that far to find shred-able terrain.
Not convinced? To get your kicks locally, you need to get creative and think outside the box, in order to have fun within the box—the imaginary line around Bend known as the urban growth boundary.

Here Comes the Sun, do do loo do
The end of May brings with it the unofficial close of winter season on the Cascade Lakes Highway. Even though snow still covers much of the trails and Mount Bachelor, as the days get longer and warmer, Bendites can’t help but think ahead towards warm-weather fun.
I’ve always enjoyed the symbolic nature of the Nordic/bike transition of the Pole Pedal Paddle. It helps my own transition from skiing to biking. The winter reveling under the watchful eyes of the Three Sisters kept me sane through the season of low light. But, now it’s time to keep the tires pressurized and chain greased. With another great season in the snow, it’s important to recognize the organizations that work to make Central Oregon a world-class winter destination.

If you were looking for a free hotdog and beer last week, you could have done far worse than swing by the Great Outdoors parking lot off Century Drive, where professional skier Chris Davenport had splayed his 44-foot-long RV across six parking spots and fired up the grill. Inside the jet-black beast—a Ford emblazoned with Audi stickers—Bend’s mustachioed mountain guide David Marchi and Jonas Tarlen, who runs Three Sisters Backcountry, Inc., sat on couches and talked about big days in the mountains.
“It’s supposed to be really nice out there tomorrow,” Davenport offered, having consulted a customized weather sheet a Boulder-based snow guru has been sending him daily. “His reports are amazingly accurate.”