Touring - 8-10 Day Tour in NW, Which Destination?

Okay, I need to make a decision at some point.

I have 8-10 days set aside at the end of July, beginning of August for my first loaded tour in seven years. I've done cross-state tours in Maryland, and Seattle to California border, and it's time to ride loaded again.

The three contestents are:

1) Oregon Grand Basin: Starts in Sun River, goes down to Crater Lake, comes back on Century Drive. 9 Days. I've done parts of Century Drive before on bike, but I've never seen Crater Lake.

2) Oregon Coast: Second time (loved it seven years ago): Start in Seattle, and go as far South as possible in 9 days. Hard to argue with the scenery, camping and fun ad hoc companions of the route.

3) Going to the Sun: 7-9 Days in Flathead Lake and West Glacier, including the Going to the Sun Highway. Obviously a "must do," and I'd rather do it on my own than with a group, but when?

Over time, I'd like to do all three. The hard part is deciding which first. The Coast would be the safest and easiest, followed by the Basin, and Glacier would be the most challenging. I'm tempted to go for Basin right off the bat, though, because I'm building a decent base this year with commuting and weekend riding, and the desert is calling me. Others may say to go straight to Glacier, with the natural beauty and the challenge.

Any advice? For the first or third, I'd be using the book Bicycling the Great Northwest: 20 Tours that I like quite a bit. The routes are clear and make sense.

Thanks!

Wow, I think any one of those would be remarkable rides. I'm planning on the Oregon Coast this summer, but now that you mentioned the desert I'm thinking maybe the Steens Mountains. I guess that would mean a lot of driving to get there, though. I'll say go with the Grand Basin, so you can let us know how it is.
:)

Like gonesh9 sez, these all sound good. For me the first choice would be tour I had not done at all, which in your case sounds like it would be (3) Glacier. However the Grand Basin would probably have the fewest amount of people which also would appeal to me.

I've ridden both Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier and the Oregon Coast. I can highly recommend both trips - but I have a bias toward Glacier since it's one of my favorite parks. Tack on a jaunt into Waterton Lakes and you have a wonderful trip.

You can read about my trips if you're interested -
http://denise1998rockies.crazyguyonabike.com is the trip journal from my 1998 tour starting in Idaho, going north through Montana (through Glacier), up into Alberta and BC, pretty much following the spine of the Rockies up to Jasper.

http://denise1999nw.crazyguyonabike.com is the trip journal from my 1999 tour that did a loop in eastern Washington, a drive across the state with a quick stop at Grand Coulee Dam and at Mt. Rainier, and then a bike tour from Bellingham, WA to Crescent City, CA.

I loved both trips!

I did Oregon Coast 2 years ago and have decided I must go this summer! It's so easy and beautiful

Denise,

I read your tour reports some weeks ago when I was considering one of the Adventure Cyclist tours in the area. Good pictures and narratives-- you gave me a good idea of the beauty of the area. Also, I was impressed that you rode on your own.

All three tours would likely be fun. A few weekends ago I got in 60 miles of riding on the Northern Oregon coast (Manzanita, Nehalem, Wheeler, Rockaway, Bar View, Garibaldi, Miami River), and it felt better than ever. I might even enjoy the coast more the second time than the first. I've also cycled the coast of Maine, which has fabulous terrain and fantastic islands to hop to, but the traffic and development were more difficult to deal with. On the southern Oregon coast especially, you get the sense of getting away from too much of everything.

That said, the Grand Basin is still my primary target. I remember vividly the time my wife and I rode from Bend up to Mt. Bachelor, and beauty and challenge and overall environment were facinating. It's just the type of mind suspension/renewal I could use right now. The open, dry terrain reminds me of tv shows about Austrailia, but less severe.

Thanks for everyone's comments. I hope we'll hear some ride reports from this year's tours as/after they happen.

Call me biased, but I vote for Crater Lake. I manned its Mt. Scott fire lookout in 1961 and ever since have wished to do that 33-mile rim loop by bike. I can see camping there and doing it daily for a week or more. The only real cycling difficulty would be that it'd hard to stay on the bike with a photo op around each bend. And at day's end, there's huckleberry pie at Becky's in Union Creek. Doesn't get much better.
(Hitch a ride in a car for that, though.)

The other day downtown at Powell's Bookstore, I saw a entire book about how to rent or use Fire Lookout stations for vacations. I could imagine a great week-long vacation based at some of the fire lookouts I've hiked to in Oregon. Of course, getting in sixty miles of riding each day could be a challenge.

I'm definitely looking forward to cycling around Crater Lake. I was there as a toddler but don't remember a thing (other than maybe riding on the transmission hump of the International Harvester my parents had back then).

I've cycled most of the routes you mentioned - but I'd do Glacier this year since 1) The time you are going is just perfect and 2) Going-to-the-Sun Road is going to be under massive reconstruction starting next year for about 5 years. Now is the time to do it. Double check with the park, but my guess is that - given the federal deficit - they sure won't get expedited funding to start ahead of time.

You can do a loop starting in Kalispell that goes thru the Swan Valley to Lincoln, then over to the east side - high plains - the road thru Augusta and Choteau is fabulous - albeit windy at times. The east side views are far better than west side - i.e. more open - -thus the wind.
The tribal museum at Browning is a must. I'd do the GTTS Road from east to west - despite what folks say - - why - because you get the morning sun behind you as you are slowly climbing into the most rugged sections rather than in front of you - makes for better viewing and pictures, too.

The loop is definitely doable - west side gives you time to acclimate to touring and altitude - very gradual climbs. East side is hillier - the park has the BIG climb - but then it's the dessert, too. Also gives you time for hiking in park.

Start Kalispell -

(You can ship your bike to a bike shop for about the same cost as additional air freight - UPS guarantees delivery date to a business)

Day 1 - Swan Lake - short ride
Day 2 - Seeley Lake
Day 3 - Rogers Pass
Day 4 - Choteau
Day 5 - Browning
Day 6 - 8 - Glacier

Drop me a line either thru the forum or at johnegan@vcn.com

Buen viaje!

The other day downtown at Powell's Bookstore, I saw a entire book about how to rent or use Fire Lookout stations for vacations....).

Crater Lake was making their lookouts available--The Watchman and Mt. Scott--but check first: Watchman was under renovation in 2002 and Mt. Scott was reported damaged by snow and out of commission back then. If they're back in service, tourists flock to The Watchman but few make it to Mt. Scott (a 2.5-mile hike each way), so prospective tenants, whether loquacious or laconic, are equally served.

Jamawani,

Thanks for noting the impending road destruction-- I hadn't heard of it, and you may be right that this is the year for Going to the Sun. Let me do some research on your recommended route (comparing with the info. about routes I have in the area), and then I might get back to you with questions.

That's for the post-- I'd hate to have to wait years for the opportunity of doing that ride.

you can get some nice route ideas from www.cycleoregon.com

It's an annual organized ride in September that has coveredalot of Oregon. Many of their past routes are posted. It turns out that CO is headed toward Crater Lake this year, but well after you'd be there.