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Ride on
Prime time to ride the Deschutes River Trail
By David Jasper / The Bulletin
Published: November 05. 2009 4:00AM PST
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Jeremy Dickman, 31, of Bend, pedals north along the Deschutes River on Saturday. Fall makes for great riding conditions with Central Oregon's infamous “moon dust” less likely to kick up.
Photos by David Jasper / The Bulletin
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There are all kinds of adages and aphorisms that essentially say the same thing: Make hay while the sun shines. Strike while the iron is hot. There's no time like the present.
Get while the getting is good.
In Central Oregon, you don't have to be a mountain biker to know that the slightly damper weather of autumn — the seasonal sliver between the “moon dust” of summer and the frigid snowfalls of winter — means it's time to affix your bike to the rack of your choice, click on that helmet and go for a ride.
I'm not really much of a mountain biker, so I'm not sure what the saying might be — “Make tracks while there's mud”? — but the point is as clear as the Deschutes River above Benham Falls: The weather is cool, the ground is firm, and you won't come home with black lung after a morning's trail ride through miniature dust clouds kicked up by spinning wheels.
As Deschutes National Forest trails specialist Chris Sabo told The Bulletin last week, low-elevation trails such as the Deschutes River Trail and Phil's Trail are in prime form. In short: You don't really have an excuse not to ride.
Heck, I went riding, and I don't even know what kind of mountain bike I own. I'll look when I go home tonight, but here's what I can recall: I bought it from a friend for $10 four years ago, it's forest green, the tires hold air, the gears don't slip and that's about that.
On Saturday, Bend rider Jeremy Dickman and I loaded our bikes onto his giant blue FJ Cruiser and headed south of Bend on U.S. Highway 97 toward Benham Falls by way of Lava Butte.
Don't have $5 or a Northwest Forest Pass? Good news: Fees have been suspended for the winter. Dogs don't have to be on leashes this time of year, but Sabo urges trail users be ready to clip one on “if there are folks approaching and their dog isn't the best behaved.”
The temperature reportedly was going to reach into the 50s, but the sun came out only intermittently, and it took about half the ride for the chill to wear off.
It's always beautiful along the Deschutes River, but the brisk temperatures, the sound of rushing water, the sights of river and lava flow, the fragrant manzanita-scented air are part of the attraction this time of year. The foliage out there still holds some fall color, but most of the aspens that dot sections of the Deschutes' banks have already peaked and lost their leafy cover.
It's about four miles from Benham to Dillon Falls, and as Dickman later pointed out, it would have been a wiser choice to start at Dillon Falls and ride mostly uphill toward Benham, and then back downhill. Oh well. Live and learn.
Fortunately, even going downhill first and then up, this is what most would consider an easy ride. Except, that is, for a couple of steep ascents and some sections where you may find yourself perched on a bicycle along a precipice above a cold, rock-strewn river and briefly thanking goodness for your ability to balance. Then you'll go right back to taking balance for granted and roll right along.
There are a couple of stretches where more technically capable riders can enjoy jumping a series of moguls, or just roll up and over for the roller coaster effect, as this wimpy mountain biking imposter did. Either way, it's fun.
I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't ridden my bike any significant distance for at least a month, and so, I'm embarrassed to admit, I may have gotten off and walked one teensy little portion where the trail climbs steeply just below Benham Falls. But I don't think my cohort saw me because he was several dozen yards ahead of me.
After a short break soaking in the scenery at the Benham Falls viewpoint, we rode — yes, rode, not walked — up the switchbacks toward the parking area, then back down the wide, half-mile stretch to the Benham East parking area, to use Sabo and the Forest Service's parlance.
Benham Falls isn't your only option for trail access. From Forest Road 41, riders can also park and unload at Lava Island, Dillon Falls, Slough and Big Eddy. Around Dillon on north, there are three trails designated for biking, hiking and horseback riding, notes Sabo, but none are exclusive to any one activity.
Between Dillon and Benham, the river trail is shared. Riders will want to watch for hikers and runners, and don't be surprised to find yourself swerving around horse manure as much as roots and rocks, also something to keep an eye out for.
“This is the time of the year you're going to see more (riders) at these lower elevation trails — closer to town, shorter days, colder — than you will in the backcountry,” Sabo says. “Beautiful weather for it.”
David Jasper can be reached at 541-383-0349 or at djasper@bendbulletin.com.
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