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It’s really one of the best biking stories in Oregon that our tourism commission and state have done so much to promote and develop great recreational riding. From the first-of-its-kind State Scenic Bikeways program to Travel Oregon’s big investments in bike marketing over the years, we’ve many great successes thanks to help from our friends in government and policymaking at the highest levels.

That trend continues today with recent news that the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association (OCVA) has funded a three-year run of mountain bike events to encourage folks to come out and try the excellent trail networks that have sprung up in recent years. They’re calling it “Ride the Dirt Wave” and the first event of the summer at Klootchy Creek is right around the corner on June 3rd and 4th.

Back in 2019 Travel Oregon and OCVA teamed up to host a meeting of all the major bike clubs, trail builders, and destination marketing folks on the Coast. The idea was to work together and collaborate on events that would bring people to the Coast to ride bikes. The thing is, the trails in the Coast Range are really, really fun. Epic even. But because they’re far from big cities or major destinations like Mt. Hood, they don’t get a lot of attention. In the past few years, MTB advocates have worked with land managers to carve out some excellent trails and now it’s time more people knew about them! Unfortunately Covid hit and a lot of momentum stalled out.

Now our friends at event promotion company Oregon Rides (Daniella and Elliot Crowder, owners of Bike Newport and legit advocates who’ve spent years supporting cycling in Oregon), are ready to go for it again and they’ve created the Ride the Dirt Wave event series. “We have brought together three bike clubs and three trail systems on the North, Central and South Oregon Coast to put on this awesome event.  It is a large collaboration and everyone is pretty psyched!”

The event at the Klootchy Creek Trails June 3rd and 4th is the first one of the series. And since Klootchy is just 75 miles west of Portland off Highway 26 (map), it’s the closest of the three (the others are in Newport and the Whiskey Run Trails in Coos County).

The Klootchy event starts Saturday with guided rides on the trails led by local bike clubs and the people that actually built the trails! How cool would it be to get that type of inside knowledge?! There are ride options for beginner to advanced riders. And of course there will be food, a beer garden, music and games. Transition Bikes will be there with demos so you don’t even have to show up with your own rig. SRAM will also be on hand offering support and swag including snacks and non-alcoholic drinks for everyone. The event will also celebrate World Bicycle Day (which happens to be June 3rd!) with SRAM’s World Bicycle Relief program that gives bikes to people in Africa.

Then on Sunday, it’s time to see how fast you can ride. The Flow Duro Challenge is sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association and is intended for intermediate to advanced riders who will get two timed runs down a flow trail. Competitors will keep their fastest time and points from the Klootchy event will be combined with upcoming events at Whiskey Run (July 22-23) and Newport (August 12-13) to crown a series champion.

A portion of the proceeds from all the events goes directly to the clubs that build the trails and advocate for these areas. And of course, your attendance also helps spur local economic impacts which are so important to the small towns along the Coast.

So be sure to check out this event and get registered for one or both days. Saturday is just $22 and racing on Sunday is $45. Have fun out there! And remember to tell them your heard about it on BikePortland!

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The sites:

• Ride the Dirt Wave Event Series
• Ride the Dirt Wave – Klootchy Creek
• Registration site