Best of Bend, Breweries & Bicycling in Central Oregon

† Explanation of BAC Ride Fee – This fee is not included in the Estimated Cost and is non-refundable once submitted. The Ride Fee for US and Canada is $85 and $100 for all other countries, both are per participant.

Ride Description

OVERVIEW:

Join us for a 12 day loop ride in the ultra-scenic central Oregon Cascades. We will be spending three nights in each of the following cities:  Redmond, Sisters, Bend and Sunriver, Oregon with Redmond as the start and end point.  This is a modified version of a BAC tour hosted in 2012 by Mary Schmidgall and Rick Hill.

Routes include extended climbs; exhilarating descents; stunning mountain and lake scenery; open sage-scented, high desert roads; and visits to a world-renowned rock-climbing site, a high desert museum and expansive lava flows. You will see the mysterious origins of the Metolius River as it emerges from underground, and have lunch atop beautiful Mt. Bachelor, home of one of the West's finest ski resorts. Climbs include the historic McKenzie Pass, the ascent of Newberry Crater to Paulina Lake Lodge, two large mountain lakes, an ancient lava flow and several rides on and around the slopes of Mt. Bachelor on lightly trafficked forest service roads through the Deschutes National Forest. After cycling activities, enjoy sampling Oregon's best craft beers at several local brew pubs. If you prefer to explore central Oregon's other offerings such as golfing, fly-fishing, river rafting, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, shopping or just relaxing, you can do that as well.

We will start and end the tour in Redmond, Oregon.  In addition to a regional airport, you’ll find a vibrant downtown, great restaurants, craft beer and outdoor adventure in Redmond.  Nearby is Smith Rock State Park where you can enjoy scenic views of deep river canyons and miles of hiking trails. Along your trip through the canyon, you might see golden eagles, prairie falcons, mule deer, river otter and beaver. 

Next, we’ll ride our bikes to the "artsy" western town of Sisters.  The town of Sisters derives its name from the three prominent Cascade peaks that grace the southwestern skyline, collectively known as the Three Sisters (North, Middle and South, individually).  Our bike rides will include a ride to the Metolius River/Camp Sherman as well as McKenzie Pass.

Our journey takes us next to Bend, a gem of Central Oregon.  Bend has a myriad of attractions including craft breweries, hiking trails, coffee shops, local events, creative restaurants, stunning scenery, and much more.  We’ll provide a variety of rides and activities for our three days stay including tickets to visit the renowned High Desert Museum.

Our next destination is the famous Sunriver Resort. a year-round outdoor enthusiast's dream with 4 golf courses, a spa, over 40 miles of paved trails for biking and hiking, tennis, year-round swimming, horseback riding, canoeing and fly fishing. Our bike ride to Sunriver will include a climb up to Mt Bachelor, with a ride to Newberry Crater and Paulina Lake on an optional ride day. 

Finally, we’ll ride back to Redmond from Sunriver for a final dinner together as we recall the many wonderful sights and adventures from our tour.

COVID Requirements: 

All participants must be fully vaccinated and be prepared to present vaccination documentation for viewing by the Ride Leader if requested. If we still have a Covid risk, we will follow all the necessary rules and change activities as needed to remain Covid compliant and keep the tour as safe as possible.

RIDE RATING: 

The tour is rated a 2B! with four required ride days and the rest being days where participants can choose their destinations. The majority of rides are on established bike routes popular with riders in Central Oregon. The tour will start with two required rides that are 37 and 30 miles respectively with approximately 1100 feet elevation gain.  The challenging rides are later in the tour with a route from Bend to Sunriver (via Mt Bachelor) which is 43 miles and 3200 feet elevation gain (a shorter route is available that bypasses Mt. Bachelor), and then from Sunriver to Redmond which is 57 miles and 2800 ft elevation gain.  Ride participants will need to be able to manage these distances and elevation gain.  There will be optional rides provided throughout the tour which will vary from short/easy to long/difficult.  Although there will be sustained elevation gains on some required rides, no climbs exceed a 10% grade.  Electronic RWGPS versions of maps and route sheets will be emailed and participants are expected to bring their own copies.  Additional routes will be available on RWGPS for the optional ride days.  You can also print out cue sheets if you wish prior to the tour.

WEATHER: 

The geographical climate for Central Oregon is predominately High Desert. Average temperatures in the Bend area for September are 74 degrees for a high and 40 degrees for a low.  Please remember this is an average and it could be much warmer (or colder).  The potential for rain is slight, but rain gear is always good to have on hand.  In the past few years, Central Oregon has been known to have air quality issues during the summer months due to forest fires in the area.  By scheduling the tour in mid to late September, we hope to avoid this problem.

LODGING, MEALS and SPECIAL EVENTS: 

We will be staying at three and four star hotel and lodge locations.  This is a loop type tour with multi-night stays at four locations.  We’ll start and end the tour in Redmond, Oregon, home to the Redmond Airport (RDM), which has 30 direct flights to cities all over the West Coast and beyond. From there we will ride to Sisters, Bend, Sunriver and then back to Redmond.  Five group dinners, six breakfasts and one lunch will be provided along with happy hours each evening.  At happy hours, we’ll provide beer, wine, soft drinks and light snacks.  Some happy hours may be held at local breweries/pubs for beer sampling and tasting.  During our stay in Bend, we’ll be providing tickets to the High Desert Museum for those who are interested.  https://highdesertmuseum.org/

Links to each of the hotels:

Redmond:  SCP Hotel:  https://scphotel.com/redmond/

Sisters:  Grand Stay Hotel and Suites:  https://www.grandstayhospitality.com/

Bend: McMenamin’s Old St. Francis School:  https://www.mcmenamins.com/old-st-francis-school

Sunriver Resort: https://www.sunriverresort.com/

LOGISTICS: 

The tour starts on Monday, September 11, 2023 and ends on Saturday, September 23, 2023 in Redmond, Oregon.  We recommend flying into Redmond Airport (RDM) although you may need to schedule a connecting flight to RDM from Portland (PDX) or Seattle (SEA).  The SCP hotel in Redmond is 2 miles from the airport, just a short taxi or Uber ride away.  For those driving to Redmond, you will be able to park your vehicle at the hotel or a nearby city lot.  Bike boxes will be stored in Redmond during the tour.  A van will be available to transport luggage and supplies.  Participants are expected to complete the required rides as the van will not serve as a sag vehicle.  However, the van will be available to assist with emergencies or to accommodate riders who are sick or injured.  Participants planning to use an E-bike or tandem should contact the Ride Leader.   These bikes are acceptable on the tour, however bike storage will be in the hotel rooms each night which may provide some complications.

COST AND ADMINISTRATION: 

The estimated cost of this bike tour is $2900 per person double occupancy for 12 nights, 12 happy hours, 6 breakfasts, 3 dinners and 1 lunch.  There is an initial deposit of $2000 with an additional payment of $900 due on May 1st, 2023.

SINGLES AND SOLOS POLICY:

Singles are a great addition to a ride and we welcome them.  However, on this tour we can only accommodate a limited number of singles who will share a room with a roommate. We recommend that singles find their own roommate prior to signing up.  Ride Directors will introduce and assist singles to find roommates, but singles must make their own rooming decision. The solo supplement is $1646 which is due on May 1, 2023. Please contact the Ride Director if you want to be solo, since extra rooms may be difficult to reserve.  Solo supplement payments need to be sent to the BAC office. Checks should be made out to “BAC” with a notation of the tour name included on the check.  They should be mailed to:  Bicycle Adventure Club, PO Box 23998, San Diego, CA 92193.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

The BAC ride registration fee and payment processing fee is not refundable unless the entire tour is cancelled due to participation below stated minimum requirements.  Refunds of ride payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and costs that can be recouped.  The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations.  If the cancelling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time.  If the cancelling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report are completed.  If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the cancelling roommate may also be liable for the solo supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour.  BAC encourages members to purchase trip cancellation insurance.

RIDE PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY:  

Please remember that BAC Ride Directors are volunteers, and that successful tours depend on participants providing much of their own support.  Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using a well-maintained bicycle.  All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable tour.  We encourage you to read the ride description carefully and respond to requests from the Ride Director.  While on the ride, support your Ride Director with offers to help with various tasks such as happy hour preparation and clean-up.  Please do not interfere with the ride by inviting non-participants onto any portion of the ride or tour.  Please keep the Ride Director informed of any special request you may have and respect the Ride Leader’s decisions.

Before participating in any BAC tour, members should review their medical coverage and consider additional travel medical coverage.  BAC maintains a policy that provides limited coverage for medical expenses associated with accidents incurred by USA residents when on tours within the USA.  The policy does not cover costs associated with self-quarantines that may be government mandated. Members should also ensure that vaccinations are up to date (e.g., annual influenza, tetanus, etc.). If traveling outside your home country you may wish to consult with a travel physician or nurse to ensure that the appropriate vaccinations are up to date.

SIGN UP:

To register for this ride use the sign-up links just above the Ride Description. After preliminary acceptance, you will be moved to the pending list and receive an email requesting you to go back to the BAC site to digitally accept the Release of Liability (ROL), and pay the non-refundable BAC fee ($50) and tour deposit ($2,000) by credit card. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. The final payment of $900 will be due May 1, 2023. BAC members with questions may contact the Ride Director by "clicking" the name at the top of this Ride Description.