cyclezealot

Found out we are going to be in the Medford/Ashland/Grants Pass/Klamath Falls/Crater Lake area at the end of July...
Anyone familiar with touring in this area...How are the roads from Klamath Falls to Medford...Gonna take the train up to Klamath Falls with our bikes and then we are on our own...Is there a better road to take between Klamath Falls and Medford....One that is better so logging trucks don't blow bikes off the road..?
thanks...

Shifty

Here is your source for information, cycling club in Medford. In the upper left of the website is a link to their forum, I'm sure they will have the best information to get you where you want to go, and help you when you get there too. Have fun, don't miss the Britt Festival, always the best entertainment!
https://www.siskiyouvelo.org/crla.html

cyclezealot

Shifty...I did not find any convenient site to purchase bike maps for Klamath/Jackson county..I have contacted the Medford area bike club for their suggestion...See what advice I get..
appreciate your ideas..

meanderthal

If you travel via 62 to Union Creek, don't miss Becky's, a legendary little cafe with PIE! Stay overnight if you have to, but don't miss having pie at Becky's, even if it's for breakfast. And there's a great overlook into the raging Rogue River adjacent to the restaurant.

cyclezealot

Meanderthal...I suspect after a day on the train pie and a little down time would be in order...Good idea..See a little of the sites too....
So you are saying route 62 is the better way to go...Logger trucks and cyclists are fairly well seperated on Hwy. 62? Bike lanes exist...
Pie...Probably Becky's has more exotic pie but cherry is my favorite...Does not Oregon grow more exotic fruit like Marionberries, etc.your favorite is...?and I recall seeing the Rogue River once ..Impressive...
Much of the time, we will be staying in the Medford area and using it as a base towards Crater Lake and Grants' Pass.

Shifty

Let me know if you don't get what you need, I can usually find things here too, or dig it up for you. That same train also stops in Eugene, if you come further north let me know I'll take you on a few of my favorite rides.

meanderthal

Cyclezealot - I'm not saying Rte 62 is the best way. My data is "dated" on that matter. I manned the Mt. Scott fire lookout at Crater Lake in 1961 (the year Nat'l Geographic did the spread on the park--see the July 62 issue). I was just suggesting that IF you choose that route, then don't miss Becky's.

Becky's signature pie is huckleberry, but they're all good. We've been back from time to time--2002 was the last visit, when we found the old place still standing, though no longer with Becky herself presiding. I've encountered people all over the nation who know the cafe, and even some who've never heard of Wall Drug (SD, if anyone here has yet to see their ubiquitous signs that dot the West).

I do remember the section of 62 connecting Union Creek to Crater Lake as a nice, lonely road. I don't remember truck traffic there, but may have been lucky. I, myself, would choose 62 if I were embarking from Medford, even without research, if only to pass through Union Creek and my own memory land.

cyclezealot

Shifty..Maybe we might make it to Eugene..See how the time goes....The ride down the Willamette sounds like some good exploring. Not more than two days to Medford? great idea.. sooner or later, will still get a chance to cross the Cascades..
ps...I have an email sent to the bike club officier in Medford whose speciality is touring..

Shifty

The Oregon Dept of Transportation publishes a free map for cyclists, just call 503-986-3556 to order the Oregon Bicycle Guide and they'll send it to you. It color codes roads by traffic volume, indicates roads with shoulders and marks direction and rate of climbs. This map suggests SR 66 between K Falls and Ashland/Medford. The map will help you plan as well as any thing else because it shows some nice off highway paved roads to take too. Keep me posted if you think you'll be coming north!

cyclezealot

Shifty...I heard from the Medford Bike club...he suggests either 140 or 66...both equal...said both have shoulders....thanks..
I would like to see as much of Oregon on bike as possible...If I can get a couple extra days off...earlier in the month, my wife wants to go to Molokai and Oahu..think it all doable.Hawaii for just four days...wants to see Polynesian cultural center.

jamawani 

Howdy -

My favorite ride in the area is Sprague River Road from Chiloquin to Beatty - it's a great paved county road with very little traffic and small farms and ranches characteristic of the high desert. Hwy 140 from Beatty to Lakeview is a nice high desert route with light to moderate traffic.

If you are getting off the train at Kalmath Falls you can go any direction from there. Consider doing a loop that includes Crater Lake and points east. Don't know how long you have - but Medford is awfully hot in late July. Are you riding on mountain bikes? Or can you do some dirt? The road on the east side of the Warner Mountains in NE Calif is super - you could head down to Cedarville and then across the mountains back to Alturas. Hwy 139 back towards Klamath is rather dull - it goes through lava flats - fairly level - with thick forest. The back road thru Lava Beds NM and Tule Lake NWR is nice.

The mountains are great in late summer but you may have forest fire problems given the drought that southern Oregon is facing. Hwy 140 is steep and quite busy, Hwy 66 is better, Hwy 62 is a nice run along the Upper Rogue until you get close to Medford when the traffic really picks up. Hwy 138 is really sweet - you can stop for a swim at Diamond Lake where the top two inches of water are warm by early August.

Oregon DOT doesn't have the bike map on line - also they aren't printing as many given the budget crisis.
Here's a website with traffic volumes - next best thing - big file, though.

https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TDATA/...flowst2003.pdf

Best - J