Last week we shared how the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department was upping the ante on bike-camping facilities at three popular state campgrounds. OPRD has installed fix-it stations, group shelters, covered gear storage, and device charging stations just for people who show up by bike. The state calls these facilities “modern luxuries.”
I haven’t been able to see them myself, but I just got a few photos from OPRD’s Bicycle Recreation Specialist Alex Phillips. Check them out below…
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Gotta’ love Oregon. Thanks OPRD!
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I’d like to see some storage lockers like those around portland. Sometimes you don’t want to drag a big bag inside with you, but you do want to have your rain gear etc along.
I’m a big fan of storage lockers too Bjorn. I actually got New Seasons on Williams to install them in the store and they’ve worked out great as far as I know. I’ve floated the idea to PBOT to put some sort of storage lockers adjacent to existing bicycle parking corrals. Seems like a natural spot. It would also discourage bike prowls (people stealing items off of bikes) — which is a huge problem.
being able to charge your phone/lights via solar while secured in a locker is awesome…
How soon till the solar panels are stolen?
How soon til you bring down an otherwise positive posting on Bike Portland?
That’s funny Jeff. I almost left the same exact comment.
Lester. I actually deleted your comment at first, then reconsidered and let it stand.
Just so you know, I don’t like how so many of your comments are negative. I love different viewpoints, but to me it feels like your sole reason for commenting is to belittle others and/or bring things down. Please consider adding some positive comments to your repertoire or making your negative ones a bit softer around the edges. Thanks!
Jonathan, let’s raise a glass to OPRD. My only suggestion is a flip cap for the chargers to keep out dust and bugs. Please advise riders to be good stewards of these amenities. Use them with care and promptly share feedback with OPRD, especially if something is broken. These facilities can’t be staffed 24/7, so extra eyes and ears are helpful.
i love these options! Doesn’t calling them “luxuries” feed into that “bicycle entitlement” thing, though? I would rather they were called “modern amenities.”
I hear your concern about calling them luxuries eli… But I like it. At some point we must stop living in fear of what the haters will think and start embracing what we love in whatever way we want. When we start tip-toeing around words like this the haters win.
I believe the language we use is important. Other campsites don’t have “luxuries.” They have amenities. I want to normalize and equalize the language.
point taken eli. Just keep in mind that “luxuries” is far from common use in this case. It was merely the word used by OPRD in the headline of their press release so I repeated it in my headline just to have some fun with it. I seriously doubt it become common and I’m know for a fact that it’s not being used in an official capacity by State of Oregon beyond that one headline.
I wonder what we’d learn from comparing the amenities provided as a matter of course to car-specific campers with these, targeted at us. Perhaps that would shed light on eli’s point.
Power, water, electricity, sewage dumping… Although they do pay more than as I as a cyclists and power is nice but I’ve just used the bathroom plugs. Reference I’ve biked from Seattle to Boston… Pavilion’s and free showers are my ‘luxuries’ list. Everything else is cold, hard, camping.
My partner and I recently stayed at Milo McIver State Park and were excited to find the bike sites after our ride. We’ve stayed other places with hiker/biker sites but these were more than just reserved sites in the main area. The sites were set apart from the rest of the campground so it was super quiet; we didn’t have to listen to people’s parties, generators, TVs, etc. We will definitely seek out the other campgrounds with these types of sites!
If you tour down the coast, the majority of hiker/biker sites at state parks/campgrounds along the way are separated from the car/RV sites. I remember there was a particularly well-situated one at Honeyman state park in Florence.
Too bad they can’t swing one or two of those permanent pit toilet outhouses that Nevada and even Oregon uses in the deep dry middle of nowhere.
See Brothers Oasis rest area west of Bend on US-20
(http://goo.gl/maps/S9r5d); better pictures of that area here https://goo.gl/photos/MDNn1WkKz8oZCNEw6
In the middle of nowhere they are better than nothing.
I’d live to see more bike facilities on the Historic Columbia River Highway. There are dozens of waterfalls, but nowhere to lock your bike up to go view them. If they want to market that route as a serious bike tourist destination, there will need to be more facilities!
I guess I should add this to the ‘luxuries’ list. Solid bike lock up locations are big when I travel.
I wouldn’t say “nowhere”. There is a bike rack at Vista House and at Multnomah Falls provided by the Wheelmen, but they aren’t the most practical racks. Better is these racks at Latourell Falls:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/8591918196/in/photolist-e6ePWC-rwF3Vv-mcbMr9-gWQAsn-gWRCvB-gWTmAi-gWQMmC-gWQRwm-gWTpkg-gTGNud-e6vxyB-e6vxUa-e6oMG5-e6fqpX-bxe9Ty
I remember seeing a bike rack at Angel’s Rest and (I think) Bridal Viel, I’ll double check when I ride through there next week.
But yes, there is still a need for more and better bike parking in the Gorge!