The promotion of bikepacking in Oregon just went up another notch.
Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company — the eighth largest brewery in America — now offers a $300, three-day ride through rural, unpaved backroads of eastern Oregon. The Oregon Ramble (June 8-11) is one of three “Ramble Rides” the company offers (along with title sponsor Blackburn, a maker of racks, bags and other accessories).
Here’s the teaser from New Belgium’s website:
“Kick Off The Ramble Ride Trio With A Three-day Cruise Through Central Oregon. A fun and challenging fully-supported bikepacking adventure through Central Oregon’s scenic Ochoco mountains and the Painted Hills.
With snow in the higher elevations, we’re choosing a stunning route through Central Oregon. Following the Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer route pioneered by Sarah Swallow. We’ll be starting in Prineville, OR and looping over three days through 150 miles of the Ochoco Mountains and the John Day River Basin.”
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You can learn all the details at Bikepacking.com. You’ll note that the route shares a few miles with the Oregon Outback route outside of Prineville. But what the Ramble doesn’t share with the Outback is the need to carry all your own stuff. This is a fully supported ride — meaning you don’t have to schlep everything. That’s likely to please some and irk purists.
The whole ride is fully catered and camp is “fully stocked thanks to New Belgium Brewing.” Also note the ride is limited to 50 people. You can learn more and register here.
With the massive success and popularity of the Oregon Outback and the soon-to-be legendary Oregon Timber Trail on the horizon (with detailed GPS route map likely to be released in May), and numerous other routes and rides, Oregon is becoming one of the premier bikepacking destinations in country.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Another little detail: Looks like tubeless tires are a requirement.
But they ride sponsors are bringing tubes?… This makes no sense.
…the…
Presumably they bring tubes for cases when the sealant in the tubeless tires doesn’t seal the puncture.
“A tubeless system is recommended” That’s not a requirement.
Not sure where your quote is from, but http://newbelgiumramble.com/product/oregonramble/ says: “Tubeless tires are demanded due to goat heads along sections of the route. We will have sealant to carry and extra tubes, but COME PREPARED.”
The Bikepacking page says “Tubeless tires are recommended…”
“Demanded” is an ambiguous choice of words. It’s not exactly “require.” It could be “demanding conditions.”
Just a guess but they probably won’t turn away paying clients who run tubes. I bet the sag wagon driver doesn’t see as many green valve caps (Slime) as black.
You don’t have to ride tubeless, but it is strongly recommended for all the rides. Oregon because of a section with goat heads, the others because of long rocky sections. Sealant is available for those who want to put some in their tubes, top up tires or carry along and we have tires and tubes available for emergencies. The fact is, all the rides go through remote areas and some areas only accessible by bike or extreme 4wd. There is an aspect of self sufficiency and we try to give you those tools as you roll out. Last year on the Steamboat ride we went through 6 tires and 25 tubes in 3 days and 52 riders. We don’t ask how tires got cut, nor how they get into the state of needing to be replaced. We just offer this to make sure the riders keep rolling and not have a trip ruined because of tire issues.
I wonder if ride organizers could work with sponsors to demo some tubeless tires for participants. I’m definitely weighing signing up for this trip, but don’t currently have tubeless and recently invested in glued tires so am not totally eager to buy some. That said, if I had the option to demo/ rent and put the cost toward purchase post-ride that would be pretty nifty.
Tubeless tires are dumb. Get a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Pluses instead. 😉
I put Schwalbe One 30mm tubeless on my bike and I will never go back.
You have never ridden them, so why comment?