Register! Just not all at once.

The servers handling registration for the 2013 Cycle Oregon ride collapsed shortly after people started signing up on Wednesday. Now the organization is still digging out of the snafu and they hope to have everything cleaned up by Monday.

Cycle Oregon went to online-only registration in 2012 and people clamored to sign up. They filled a record 2,000 spots in just 31 minutes. With that in mind, people wanted to make sure they didn't get left out. Cycle Oregon used a new registration vendor this year (PreRace.com), and it seems they couldn't handle the ride's popularity.

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You know an event ride is a big deal when 1,000 people show up — for the route announcement. As per tradition last night at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Cycle Oregon unveiled their 2013 route with a full-blown party, expo, and all the fanfare we've come to expect from what many consider "The best bike ride in America." The theme of this year's ride is "Saddle Up."

The 26th edition of the Cycle Oregon will head to eastern Oregon and will begin and end in the small town of John Day. Here's more from a Cycle Oregon press release:

"Along the way riders will pedal through the Strawberry Mountains, bisect the Bear and Silvies valleys, cross one of the busiest avian flyways in the world at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and explore the western edge of The Great Basin... Besides John Day, the route includes overnight stays in Burns, Diamond, Crane and Seneca. Riders will have the option to ride a loop on Day 4 from Diamond south past Frenchglen and back, skirting Steens Mountain."

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Cycle Oregon has just posted a new documentary, Beyond the Ride, that chronicles the history and the power behind their annual week-long ride. The documentary was created by the biking film crew at Path Less Pedaled.

Watch the video below and learn how Cycle Oregon is far more than just a bike ride... (more...)

Bart Simpson and a shark fin adorn
two SAG vans in Ashland, Oregon.
(Photos by Will Vanlue)

Last month I spent a week volunteering on Cycle Oregon in one of their SAG vans. I get a lot of questions about what exactly a “SAG” is and what we do to support the ride, so I figured I'd share a bit more about my experience.

Even some people who have ridden Cycle Oregon for years, who’ve been lucky enough to avoid mechanical programs and fatigue and so haven’t needed a ride, have asked me how the SAGs work. And while the logistical details are interesting, there's a whole other reason why I choose to volunteer in a SAG van year after year.

First, a little background on SAG vans and Cycle Oregon. (more...)

Inspired by Cycle Oregon's visit, the
owner of Turtle Time Glass works
on a glass bike frame.
(Photos: Will Vanlue)

[BikePortland contributor Will Vanlue was a volunteer on the Cycle Oregon ride last week. This is his latest dispatch.]

Most days on Cycle Oregon riders travel from one community to another, spending just one evening in each town. But one day during each ride there's a two-day layover that gives people a full day to explore the host community.

This year that layover day fell in Ashland, a town with vibrant and varied local businesses eager to welcome Cycle Oregon riders. Since many people chose to spend the whole day in Ashland, fewer people were out on course and fewer volunteers were needed to support them. That gave me a chance to explore a bit on my own.
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[BikePortland contributor Will Vanlue is on the Cycle Oregon ride this week. This is his latest dispatch.]

Plenty of cones help keep
things safe as Cycle Oregon riders
roll down Highway 97.
(Photos by Will Vanlue)

Cycle Oregon's mission of helping the economies of Oregon's rural communities keeps the route, for the most part, on quiet back roads with little motor vehicle traffic. However, there are occasions when there is only one road leading between communities giving people no other choice than to share the road with a large volume of motor vehicles.

There was one such situation this year when the route turned on to Highway 97, a major north-south corridor between Oregon and California, which regularly has traffic traveling in excess of 65 MPH.

Normally it's a harrowing stretch to ride on a bicycle but for a few hours during the ride the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon State Police were able to turn it into a safe, pleasant, and -by some estimations- fun place for people to travel on bicycles.
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One of the many bikes rolled out by residents of Bly, Oregon
to welcome Cycle Oregon riders. The 25th anniversary of the ride starts today.
(Photos by Will Vanlue)

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Riders gather in the Tiger Woods Center
before the route announcement.
(Photo: Will Vanlue/BikePortland)

This evening a group of roughly 700 people joined Cycle Oregon staff and volunteers at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike campus in Beaverton to hear where the two Cycle Oregon rides are headed in 2012.

Everyone was excited to hear this year's routes (for both the weekend and week rides) but the real surprise was an announcement by Cycle Oregon co-founder Jonathan Nicholas about a really big idea the organization has been working on.

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Cycle Oregon fans swarm the
sign-up table at the 2008
route announcement party.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

One week from today Cycle Oregon will kick off 2012 by unveiling the routes for their week and weekend rides with a big event out at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton.

In the past, the route announcement was followed by a crush of eager Cycle Oregon fans signing up at the event. But this year, organizers won't allow those sign-ups. Instead they've opted for an online-only system to make grabbing a slot on the legendary event a bit more fair.

Last year's week-long ride sold out just two days after the kick-off party, and with this year being the 25th annual edition, organizers anticipate record interest. To help level the sign-up playing field, registration for this year's ride will begin on the Cycle Oregon website at 9:00 pm (PST) on February 7th.
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Cycle Oregon's Executive Director
Jerry Norquist addressed
volunteers and staff last night.
(Photos: Will Vanlue/BikePortland)

Volunteers and staff gathered in the World Forestry Center over the weekend to toast the past year and look ahead to the 25th annual Cycle Oregon.

At the front of everyone's minds was Mark Bosworth, the Metro employee and Portland resident who disappeared from Riddle, Oregon in September of last year while volunteering on the week-long bike ride.

Each year hundreds of people volunteer for Cycle Oregon and most volunteers have worked together for many years. Their is a strong sense of community among them and for many, Bosworth's disappearance feels like losing a member of the family. (more...)