Good Ride at Detroit Lake

We went camping at Detroit Lake this weekend, and I brought my single speed cyclocross bike along to explore some forest roads in the area.

I had a nice little route mapped out, totaling maybe 20 miles. I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere, because it ended up being twice that, about 41 miles.  That's not a big deal for a road ride, but I spent the majority of my ride time climbing up steep gravel roads, and it was a killer. I must have spent at least an hour standing up, hunched over to keep my rear wheel from slipping on the rocks. It was beautiful, but I hurt everywhere today.

Forest Development Road 10 (mostly gravel) has an amazing climb leading up to Forest Development Road 11 (paved). The intersection of FD 10 and 11 is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, as you can see in the map below.

A motorcycle club (think Harleys) was out for a day trip from McMinville, and decided to regroup at this intersection.  They were chatting, taking pictures, and generally enjoying being in seclusion when I came clawing up FD 10 and into view.  Everyone was immediately silent as all heads turned to the tall skinny guy in lycra covered in dust and sweat.

I rode up and said hello to this very friendly group of people.  The first question asked was where the HELL did you come from?  Followed by did you actually ride your bike out here?

I explained I probably got off course, and wanted to get back to Detroit lake.  They kind of chuckled and pointed me in the right direction, and headed off that way themselves for a late lunch.  It took a while to get back to camp, but it wasn't a hard ride from that point on, since it was all paved, and mostly flat or even down hill.

So if you're ever looking for a ride near Detroit lake, give this one a look. I recommend a bike with gears and burly tires: