Cycle Oregon announces 2010 route: Giddy-up!

Ride poster. Very nice.

This year’s Cycle Oregon ride (which will be the 23rd annual), will take place from September 11-18 and it will have a “Round-Up” theme highlighted by a layover in Pendleton during the 100th Anniversary Pendleton Round-Up rodeo.

As per usual, the announcement came during a gala event at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton. I didn’t make it out to the kickoff party this year, but thankfully the Cycle Oregon website has all the details. Check the full details at CycleOregon.com or read the brief description below:

“It’s the Round-Up Ride – a two-state ramble through the canyons, wheat fields, vineyards and forests of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington that includes a two-day stop in Pendleton during the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up (and we’ve reserved 2,000 tickets!). Starting and ending in the historic host town of Elgin, the route includes stops in Enterprise, OR; Clarkston, WA; Waitsburg, WA; and Pendleton, OR.”

Cycle Oregon day 1 into Heppner

The face of Cycle Oregon,
Jonathan Nicholas in 2006.
I hope he still has
this shirt!
(Photo © J. Maus)

Wow. Real cowboys and cowgirls rubbing shoulders with spandex-clad cyclists. The shared love of the open range and a saddle to see it on. I love it! I’m dreaming of the photo-ops already! This sounds like yet another classic Cycle Oregon that you won’t want to miss. If you want to go, you’d be well-advised to register ASAP, as this ride (which takes about 2,200 participants) tends to sell out in just a few weeks. Registration is $850 for an all-inclusive week of extraordinary rides and hospitality.

I can’t believe they’ve reserved 2,000 tickets to the Round-Up. This is going to be an epic ride in many ways. I’ve done Cycle Oregon three times now (2006, 2007 and 2009) and it’s always been memorable.

Are you doing it this year? What do you think of the 2010 route?

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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bikieboy
bikieboy
14 years ago

Intriguing route!

MeghanH
MeghanH
14 years ago

If only I didn’t have a job that forbids taking long vacations in September — one of these years I’ll be able to make it work.

Mr DeJerk
14 years ago

Way to go, Justa, for the original t-shirt design!

gabriel amadeus
14 years ago

Man, I hope Justa is getting royalties on that shirt design…

carlos
carlos
14 years ago

Would someone please explain to me why Cycle Oregon costs so much and has so few spaces available. I’ve done other state rides and the cost are a fraction of Cycle Oregon and the ride participation is much higher. I understand they probably want to keep the numbers down to have better crowd control, but to me, the whole thing seems elitist. Again just my opinion.

Thom
Thom
14 years ago

@ Carlos- I’ve done CO once, and felt it was worth the cost. Three good meals a day, plus at least two snack stops, SAG support, mechanical support, nightly entertainment in camp, portable bathrooms and showers for 2,0000, that is what comes to mind immediatly. I have not done other state’s big organized rides, but of the websites I have looked at, the support is not at nearly the level you get at CO. Plus their is the community developemnt done by the Cycle Oregon Foundation. Everyone has their own idea of value, but to me it is worth it, and I will do CO again.

Ryan
Ryan
14 years ago

carlos (#5) – I haven’t done other state rides so I can’t comment on the difference between Cycle Oregon and those. I think you are right about limiting numbers for crowd and ride control.

The cost is pretty high, but the level of support on the ride is amazing. The only thing you have to worry about is riding through gorgeous scenery and setting up a tent at the end of the day. They also do a great job of bringing entertainment to camp every evening.

As for being elitist…I guess it depends on your defintion. It is “limited” to around 2,000 riders, and when you’re in line for food or searching for a camp spot, that can feel like a lot of folks. As long as there are spaces open, they don’t turn away anyone that has $850, a bike, and a helmet. It doesn’t exactly feel like you are riding with a small group of GOP base supporters.

If having a huge number of riders is the main goal, Cycle Oregon falls short. I think with C.O., it is more about creating a nice ride with a high level of support and services.

I guess ANY vacation that charges a fee and limits the number of people that can visit is in some way elitist. But that is my take on it, and I completely respect yours too 🙂

Matt Picio
14 years ago

carlos (#5) – echoing Thom, no other ride in Oregon has this level of support. The main reason it’s limited to 2,000 is that the footprint of this event is immense – it requires 500 volunteers plus the CO staff, involves at least a dozen full-size tractor-trailer trucks, and provides 3 meals a day while setting up and breaking down the kitchens, seating, tents and gear in new locations daily for a week. At that level of support, it’s going to cost about $125 a day, which is about twice the cost of a century ride (which has only a fraction of the support). For a fully-supported ride at this level, Cycle Oregon is actually pretty reasonable.

That said, it’s definitely elitist in terms of what the average Joe can afford, and the limited size. That’s one of the reasons why I created Cycle Wild, to try to educate people on how little they actually need to start bike touring. Mostly by not calling it “bike touring”, which sounds like it needs a lot of gear and experience, but “bike camping”, which sounds cheaper, friendlier, and like other people are going to go. (which is true – Cycle Wild’s events typically have 6-12 people on each overnight trip)

That’s really the main issue – if you’re self-supported, you have to do all the work, and there’s a lot fewer people. If you’re ride-supported, you pay the cost. For a weeklong ride, CO does the job better than anyone in Oregon, and you get the benefit of some of the best ride maps in the world, tons of planning, impeccable logistics, friendly volunteers – everything you could want, brought to you courtesy of back-breaking planning and attention to detail from the staff and volunteers of what ultimately is not a large organization.

And any money beyond the cost of the ride ultimately ends up in the communities through Cycle Oregon’s grant program. Hard to argue with that.

Psyfalcon
Psyfalcon
14 years ago

It is expensive, which could keep a lot of people who want to try it out on the sidelines- but there seems to be no shortage of people who want to go.

It is unfortunate though, that it costs about the same as a pretty good bike, even a touring bike for less (Novara has a few, that are often on sale). I guess I’m the type of person that would rather buy the hardware and haul it around myself though.

CycloFuture
CycloFuture
14 years ago

I live in Idaho, can I come and ride with you guys in Oregon?

Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson
14 years ago

Where’s the streetcar rail causing the endo? ;o)

Hells Canyon Visitor Bureau

We are SO excited to see these riders in Clarkston, WA, near Hells Canyon!!! To learn more about our area before you get here, please feel free to connect with us on http://www.facebook.com/HellsCanyonVisitorBureau and http://www.twitter.com/HellsCanyon and get to know us 🙂

@HellsCanyon

James
James
14 years ago

Cycle oregon is simply a vacation. Show me a week long, expenses paid vacation that costs less than $850 Matt Picio. Elitist? I think not.

lacorota
lacorota
14 years ago

I have to agree with the former’s comment comparing to week-long vacations. I’ve spent far more and gotten much less. I’ve only done one CO (last year), and although I got sick on the last day, the memory of the week is superb! I’d never consider taking a week, and motoring such a route, seeing some of those outlying places in our backyard. The more humane pace of a bicycle and excellent company allows that.

k.
k.
14 years ago

I’ve done CO twice and am doing it again this year. It’s a fantastic experience and once you see the level of support and amenities it doesn’t take much math in your head to realize that $850 each doesn’t even begin to pay for the thing. It’s a good thing they have lots of corporate support. Over for what you get, I wouldn’t call it expensive at all.

rev
14 years ago

i had hopped i would be the 1st to say hi to justa. man was i slow… even tiago beat me to it and he is in Brazil!

matt picio
13 years ago

James (#13) – “Expenses Paid”? That’s not Cycle Oregon. Tent & Porter – extra. Transportation to and from the event – extra. “Vacations” in the traditional sense are somewhat elitist as well. Many people can’t spare $850 on a weeklong vacation. And by no means are all vacations that expensive – you can camp in the national forest for a week for $90 or less, and spend maybe $100-150 on food. $250 is a LOT less than $850.

Cycle Wild will be doing a self-supported weeklong trip in September, and it will likely cost about $120 for lodging and half that will be staying at Breitenbush. Add the food costs and it’s still pretty reasonable. Granted, our event will be about 8-12 people, not 2,200 – and we won’t have a rodeo. 🙂

And the “elitist” tag aside, I think if you re-read my post, you’ll see I was not slamming on CO at all – CO is a great ride if you can afford it. I did it 2-1/2 years ago and it was a great experience.