Go Two'sDay! Paul and Jackie Smith from Washington State get among the ponderosa pine.
We have 2 spots on the tour as a Super Prize Giveaway: write a story, no more that 2 letter sized pages, about the most compelling thing you've done on a Friday. It can be a tour, a tootle, perhaps your livelihood or your experience on a previous Cycle Oregon. You must include at least one photograph of yourself and your Bike Friday. The winners will be selected by us and the Cycle Oregon tour cost will be free. Each month leading up to the tour, we'll award a prize from the inner sanctum of Bike Friday Inventory for the best entry. We reserve the right to publish all submitted entries unless you'd really prefer we didn't. Email it with subject line "Homecoming Story Contest", to Lynette Chiang, lynettec@bikefriday.com.
Need Inspiration?
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FALL may seem a double century away, but several Friday folk have already leapt into the saddle and signed up for the 2007 Bike Friday Homecoming. Start planning now - more than 1000 riders have already registered for this milestone year: the 20th Anniversary of 'The Best Bike Ride in America'. Cycle Oregon are expecting a big show of small wheels from the Friday fraternity - we've even got our own special link on the CO website. Here's a whiff of that rarified Oregon air to get you in motion:
This year is our 20th Anniversary, and we're going all out. The Cycle Oregon 2007 course is an amazing Cascades loop that takes in wide-open high desert, primeval old-growth forest, pristine blue lakes, bubbling mountain streams and even moonscapes of lava rock. We'll ride on roads that cars don't even know about. Your week on wheels will capture the true essence of Oregon - including the small-town hospitality we're famous for.
From the Cycle Oregon Website.
The long and unwinding road ...
So get writing! In case you were out riding when we first announced this event, here it is again ...
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"HEY BUDDY, you gonna do all Cycle Oregon on that little bike?"
You sure did! 80+ 'little' Fridays rode the sox off two thousand other riders at the Cycle Oregon/Bike Friday Homecoming 2003. They got to huff and puff the crisp, clean air where salmon run, old growth stands tall and Bike Fridays flourish in the rich, non-GMO soil ... that's Oregon.
We researched many places to host our next Homecoming, but we kept coming back home.
So once again, you and your trusty traveling companion are invited to saddle up and join us on 'The Best Bike Ride in America': Cycle Oregon, for biennial Bike Friday Homecoming 2007.
Manfred Schwoch challenges a Hutch's big-wheeler on his Campy Chorus 9 Pocket Rocket Pro. Michel Braud sneaks up center lane ... oui oui, petit velo!
The Finest, Fittest Way to Tour Oregon
Now in it's 19th year, Cycle Oregon started out in 1987 as an Ashland innkeeper's dream, and since has grown into one of the best-run, scenic bicycle tours in America with a dedicated following.
Imagine being part of a moving mini-city of around 2000 riders, living, pedaling and carousing together for 7 days. You'll cover 500 scenic miles of wooded climbs, averaging 67 miles a day of dramatic descents, quaint once-were logging towns, maybe the odd deer nosing its way into camp. You'll eat three nutritionally balanced meals a day, with quality ingredients sourced within Oregon wher possible. Your bags and camping gear will be transported each day by modern chuck wagon from place to place, and professional bike mechanics will keep you rolling. In the afternoons there'll be options like yoga, massage, and cycling booths to shop before you drop. At nights, there's entertainment on stage, a beer garden and local towns to explore. The actual route will remain a secret until Feb 13, at a public kick-off party in Portland, Oregon.
All for just $799 per person. It's a greal deal!
The tour starts and ends in artsy Sisters, surrounded by ponderosa pine, swirling streams, man's best friends ... evocatively by local Sisters artist Paul Allen Bennett. From the High Desert Gallery, Sisters.
A VIP Bike Friday'bivouac'
Jerry Norquist, Executive Director of Cycle Oregon, just happens to be a long time Bike Friday adopter. He's arranged a special VIP Bike Friday camping spot for us each night, so you can roll in, set up your tent and talk story with other Friday folk. Feeling like some luxury? You can pay extra for a 'Tent and Porter' service which will set up and take down a Cycle Oregon tent for you each day. See the Cycle Oregon website for more details.
Who from Bike Friday is going? Staff from the Bike Friday factory will be riding on the tour - a great to chance to meet the people who made your 'little bike'. Hob nob with luminaries like Human Powered Vehicle world champion and recent addition to the Bike Friday team, Rob English, co-founder of Bike Friday Alan Scholz, Torch Meister Peter Kaspar and Bike Friday Customer Evangelist the Galfromdownunder.
There'll be Bike Friday-centric travel talks, technical talks and movie presentations, and if you've always wanted to test ride a different Friday there'll be ample opportunity for that too.
Do you have an entertaining Travel story by Friday to tell? Let us know by emailing Lynette, lynettec@bikefriday.com.
Last year we had a 'show and tell' where folks shared their most useful travel tip or tool.
Start thinking about your tip or rummaging for that tool now!
A special VIP factory for all Cycle Oregon riders who want to tour the Bike Friday factory during the tour.
Visit the Home of Bike Friday.
Like to visit Bike Friday factory? On the night closest to Eugene, a bus to take you there and back for an optional guided tour. Although we may carry some clothing and accessories on the tour, you can go on a spree and save on shipping - or have them shipped.
"I can't believe how those little bikes GO!" Bike Friday Club of Santa Cruz, CA leader Dan Fallorina leads a paceline - sheer bliss on a Friday, "you can draft closer". It never fails to create an impression in the passing lane.
Is this something me and my Friday can do?
With distances ranging between 60 and 100 sometimes hilly miles a day, Cycle Oregon is not a beginner tour. It's considered a challenge - a scenic and social one. Having said that, in 2003 we had single, tandem and recumbent riders, some aged in their 70's and even 80's climbing and careening with the best of them. In fact, very few Friday folk used the sag wagon on one very wet and cold hill in '03. And we never stop getting compliments about our riders from admiring Cycle Oregon veterans.
The tour is suitable for all Bike Friday models, although being largely on paved roads, you can don't need slow and heavy nobbies. Carry less and enjoy it more!
For all riders great and small: 5' nothing Lynette discusses a potential Bike Friday with a 7'1" prospect. This little yellow one should fit just dandy.
Cycling with a Conscience: No ordinary tour
Cycle Oregon is no ordinary touring company. A non-profit organization dedicated to helping 'preserve and protect the special places of Oregon', it donates thousands of dollars to support community projects in the towns the tour passes through. Thanks to thousands of riders over the years, Many Oregon towns enjoy things like lighted football fields, better running tracks, a new roof on the community health clinic, a dishwasher at the Grange Hall and numerous new park facilities and equipment. Read more about Cycle Oregon's Mission
The Bike Friday's expanded mission is to help make a lighter tire mark on the planet - by encouraging people to ride more, drive less. You can do that and more with a Friday! Read more about Bike Fridays's Mission
So flip your calendar to September 2007 and register!
Last thing heard in the passing lane on Cycle Oregon: Wow, I can't believe how those little bikes GO ... "
Bernie Crosby is another quite tall Friday rider, seen enjoying a moment of solitude on Cycle Oregon 2003.
* Read about The Bike Friday Homecoming/Cycle Oregon 2003 with photos, movie clips, more! www.bikefriday.com/cycleoregon
by The Galfromdownunder
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Get $150 towards any accessories of your choice.