Bend Spoke Tour
Bend is well-known as a mountain biking destination, but one of its best-kept secrets is its awesome road riding. Our Bend Spoke Tour is designed to maximize a long weekend by venturing from, and returning to, the same base camp every day. Especially if your base camp happens to be low-key luxurious. Bend, Oregon, is a deceptively small western town that combines sophistication with a laid-back attitude. There is no shortage of upscale restaurants, coffee houses and, of course, award-winning craft breweries. Best of all, in Bend, no one blinks an eye when you walk in wearing Lycra and cleats.
There are amazing rides in every direction out of Bend. Hence, the “spoke” tour. We’ll ride from our hub of Bend toward the Cascade Mountains exploring lush, old-growth forests laden with ferns, around the Mt. Bachelor ski resort, which is surrounded by pristine alpine lakes, and east, where we’ll head into big sky country that will make you feel like John Wayne. On a bike.
Bend Spoke Tour Itinerary
Day 1 (Thursday): Arrive in Bend at your convenience. We’ll pick you up at the airport in Redmond and bring you to our hotel for check-in. We’ll get your bike in order while you relax, and then we’ll have dinner in downtown Bend. If there is time for a little spin before dinner, we’ll do it. There will most likely be hundreds of other cyclists on the road, why not us?
Day 2 (Friday): We’ll head right for the meat and potatoes of this tour with a ride up and over the famed McKenzie Pass. After a short 20-minute drive, we’ll leave Sisters on bikes for a 76-mile epic ride with approximately 6,700 feet of climbing. Bring your camera, we’ll bring your lunch. If there is one thing we can guarantee, it is this: McKenzie Pass will be your favorite cycling road ever. The ripping 20 mile descent, the climbs, and of course, the views. You’ll have earned a dinner at one of Bend’s premier restaurants, as well as a wine or beer tasting.
Day 3 (Saturday): Used for the Cascade Cycling Classic and other national-caliber cycling events, the loop around Mt. Bachelor is beautiful and challenging, with about 6,000 feet of climbing and a total of 90 miles. There is no shortage of exceptionally fine dinning in Bend and tonight, dinner is at one of Bend’s hidden gems.
Day 4 (Sunday): We’ll head northeast of Bend for our last day of riding in beautiful big sky country and have lunch at Smith Rock. This relatively flat route is a popular training ride for Cyclocross star Ryan Trebon. And it will be very popular with you too, because as great as the mountain riding is in Bend, these small farm roads are awesome for cycling. We’ll have your tired legs back to the hotel in early afternoon, so you can do a little more hanging out in Bend before we take you the airport for your early evening flight.
Bend Spoke Tour Available Dates