(Photo by Kristin Dahl/Travel Oregon)
Now that’s a headline we don’t get to write every day.
Russ Roca of the bike-adventure media organization Path Less Pedaled, which works with tourism agency Travel Oregon to show off the state’s scenic bikeways, just shared this terrific opportunity for people interested in bike travel over the next three months.
If you’ve got a bike, gear and a yen to see our state at human speed, Travel Oregon and Path Less Pedaled invite you to apply invite you to apply to be featured in a one- to two-minute video like the one below. The production will cover the subjects’ meals and lodging, plus possible transportation.
Roca and his partner and collaborator, Laura Crawford, are looking for riders of various ages, sizes, shapes, colors and backgrounds, and encouraging all riders to apply.
“This is marketing, but it is also an advocacy tool, because we’re attracting new people to bike travel,” Roca says. “We have an opportunity to not only help build tourism in rural communities, but to inspire people from diverse backgrounds to ride a bike on their next vacation and travel to Oregon.”
Here’s Roca’s rundown of their summer and fall agenda:
- August 17-18: Tualatin Valley. Looking for: 4-6 cyclists, age: 20s. One full day of filming plus one camping overnight. 50 miles.
- September 3-5: Grande Tour. Looking for: 4 cyclists, age: 50s/60s. Two full days of filming plus two overnights (one camping, one hotel). 30 miles per day. Some van support and shuttle will be provided back to start. Must have own transportation to start in La Grande.
- September 14-15: Sisters to Smith Rock. Looking for: 4 women, age: 20s/30s. Camping in Sisters the night before, one full day of filming, camping at Smith Rock at the end. Shuttle will be provided back to start. 40 miles.
- October 12-13: Twin Bridges. Looking for: a couple, 50s. One full day of filming (riding plus activities in Bend), plus one overnight in Bend. Road bikes, 40 miles.
Update: Despair not, 40-somethings! See the comments below.
Roca said it’s a perfect getaway for city-centric bike lovers.
“You can only ride the West Hills or up Larch Mountain so many times,” he wrote. “The scenic bikeways provide great cycling vacation opportunities in some of the most beautiful parts of Oregon, and they create bike-friendly places outside of the metro area.”
Interested? Contact Roca and Crawford at pathlesspedaled@gmail.com, including a photo of yourself.
Sounds like a fantastic role! Please contact my agent.
Dammit. Why are they discriminating against us 40 year olds? (I kid!)
*sniff!* me, too! 20s, 30s (barely), and 50s. 40 year olds have disposable income, too, Travel Oregon!
What a cool idea! Yea, my girlfriend and I are in our 40’s. We are going to do a wine country tour in September…hint hint…LOL!
Thanks for all the interest. We are not purposefully excluding people in their 40s, but were creating rough narratives for the videos. SO, if you are 40 and like bikes and want to be involved, then go on ahead and contact us.
Do you need to be set up to carry your own camping gear, or will it be shuttled?
Daisy,
It depends on the shoot. If it is a day ride then no. If it is a ride that depicits touring then yes. We are a 2 person production company and we carry all the video gear by bike.
R
You ride your bikes to do the filming? That’s fantastic!
This is probably a dumb question. But interested folk would be responsible for the cost and whatnot of getting themselves and their bike to/from Oregon if we aren’t local?
Yes. We are crazy like that.
http://pathlesspedaled.com/2013/05/behind-the-scenes-filming-the-mckenzie-pass-scenic-bikeway/
R
Sign me up for sisters with my best girls! Such a wonderful idea and sounds like a blast!
Tracking Pull away shot revealing riders in natural beauty ( it is not raining in this sequence) Close ups of people of various skin colors round the campfire. Woman is wearing a knit cap and smiling, nodding. Young man has 3 days of beard growth. Riders pass identifyable Oregon icons and businesses. The gravel sections are well packed, the pick-up trucks are courteous. The riders are clearly self sufficient-but not so much that they don’t spend a stack of money along the way.
And your point is Suburban?
Suburban. Oregon? Various skin colors? Ha ha ha ha
I would love to do this, I could easily do the sisters to smith rock section I’m a women in my early 30’s and have family in Bend to stay with, as well as all my own touring gear. please contact me with more information about how to take advantage of this offer!
My husband and I would love to be a part of this! I am in my 50’s and he is in his 60’s…does that rule us out? We love to ride and we have friends in Oregon.It also falls into the timeline of his retirement and what an awesome way to start retirement!!!