Bob on Cycle Oregon 2009

Day 1 Route

“Ride for the Border”
"Cycle Oregon makes its first foray across the southern border. But first we make our way through quintessential Southern Oregon orchards and valleys before climbing out of Ashland on the Old Siskiyou Highway past Emigrant Lake and to the summit. (Be sure to look back at the beauty and bounty of Oregon!) Then we roll down into our neighbor state, through open hills with Mt. Shasta in the distance, finally crossing the Klamath River and arriving in Yreka".

We left Medford at 7:50. The weather was sunny and cool. The route was fairly level as we passed Harry and David pear orchards with a backdrop of the Siskiyou Mountain to the south. Our plan was to call Connie so that she and Chloe could meet us at Lithia Park, the first rest stop in Ashland, so that they could see all of the color and the Cycle Oregon riders. The plan didn't work our because I forgot to bring my cell phone with me. Jeff stopped by his house, though, and woke up Chloe. He met me back at the rest stop where we had some snacks and then took off with our Valley Spokesmen friends.

The first climb of CO22 started southeast of Ashland after we passed Emigrant Lake on old HWY 99. It was a 3,000 foot ascent in 15 miles with a rest area at Calahan's Siskiyou Lodge. It was a gradual climb in a fairly wooded slope. We passed lots of riders and were passed by others. At one point we were joined by a large friendly dog. It was beginning to get hot so the iced mocha and cold melon hit the spot at Calahan's.

After reaching the summit of Siskyou Pass, we started the downhill still riding on the old highway. The road had a few holes in it as well as some gravel sections. We took it easy until we merged onto I5. This downhill section was fast. We rode on the wide shoulder as semis, RVs and cars sped past us at 70 mph plus. There were short slits on the pavement running the same direction as we were going. We had to avoid them or else have a chance of going out of control.

The road leveled out as we passed the California agricultural inspection station. Soon after that we left the freeway and headed south on a secondary road. The road was good through Hornbrook, then grooved and checker-boarded for a mile or more. Some stimulous money was being spent to repave this section and prep work was being done. Bikes sounded like they would fall apart in that section. Headwinds started as we turned off of the bumpy road and crossed the Klamath river. We then had rolling and moderate climbs to our lunch stop at Willow Creek School in the middle of nowhere. It was along this stretch were we bagan to have nice views of Mt. Shasta.

Climbing was not over as we left the lunch stop. We had a few long rollers and lots of strong headwinds. There was a nice downhill into Yreka but we couldn't get much speed because of the winds.

As part of the CO stimulous package, our route to the campground took us on a scenic route through town. The purpose was to show the riders what Yreka looked like and to lure us into shops. We didn't bite. We were ready for camp and rest.

We began our daily after-ride routine - shower, beer garden, dinner, announcements and entertainment.

Please visit Day 1 slide show from BikePortland.

You can take a simulated tour of today's route by clicking here.