Rough Ride - cycling blog

Rough Ride

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Riding a bicycle across a meadow in the mountains

Equestrian trail & Coyle Butte

We started riding the gravel roads in the Ochoco mountains for a flavor of the region. Today we explored some of the in-between paths near Walton Lake. Some of the paths are double track, and indeed we finally saw one OHV on the trail, and some are equestrian paths. We

bicycle on gravel road in front of a meadow

Vowel Trail

Type of rides: Popsicle loop, gravel road climbs, double track descent, car camping base out of Ochoco Divide Campground Date ridden: Summer Solstice, July 5, 2025 Distance logged: 46 km Elevation Gain: 920 meters We set out from Ochoco Divide campground to explore east of the Bailey burn. After a

Clouds with virga in the mountains with conifers

Adventure cycling

Cougar Creek

Ochoco Mountains, Oregon Trail #835 Swami said, don't miss Cougar Creek. We stopped at Good Bike Co in Prineville and changed our plans after his advice and he's right, this is a scenic, flowing descent not to miss. We rode Cougar Creek trail west, all downhill

Girl on bicycle descending a trai

Exploration

Exploring the Ochoco mountains by bicycle Thinking about where to explore next, we picked a new mountain range, the Ochoco mountains. Well, they truly are a very old mountain range, but we personally had not explored the range. Somehow we had ridden other, perhaps more well known and well traveled

Amy with her bicycle on the crest of the Ochoco mountains

Ochoco Ridge

We spent a four-day early June weekend in the Ochoco Divide campground. At 1430 m elevation, the air was pleasantly cool while much of Oregon suffered in heat. June turns out to be an ideal time to visit. Nights were sweater cool while the days were short-sleeve. Trails and roads

Amy and James Thomas riding Shafer Road in Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Welcome

This is Rough Ride, musings and cycling adventures shared by James and Amy Thomas. We ride frequently and our destinations are world wide, but we focus on two areas. We love exploring the Pacific Northwest, mostly Oregon and Washington state. We also bring our bicycles to the meetings I, James,

Criterion Crest BLM ride - the back door

Criterion Crest BLM ride - the back door

Exploring the east side BLM land along the Deschutes river to the missing town of Criterion Ride: January 31, 2021 Above and beyond the closed gate Several years ago I rode up the Deschutes River Access Road from Maupin, trying to trace the old rail line that parallels the river.

Circumnavigating the Badger

Circumnavigating the Badger

Cycling trip around the Badger Creek Wilderness in Oregon's Cascades Ride: June 25-26, 2020 There is a Wilderness area lying between the heavily used Rt. 35, Hood River Highway and the 1960’s era Rt. 197, The Dalles-California Highway. It contains some spectacular, high elevation dirt and gravel