Falls City to the Coast - Mountain Bike Style

Mountain Bike Riders, Unite!


The Journey

We'll meet at the house at 9:30 on Saturday morning, to put gear in the truck, and make any last-minute preparations for the ride out to Falls City. We will leave my house by 10:00. For the bike ride, you will need to bring the following;

• Sunglasses
• Chap stick
• Sun screen
• Bug repellent
• Something to carry gear in (paniers, handle bar carrying case, case attached to seat post,
• day pack, etc.). Walmart has handlebar-style bags for $10.00
• Cycling gloves (optional, but recommended)
• Small flashlight (probably won't need it for the ride, but better safe than sorry!)
• Pocket knife (see comment about flashlight above)
• Water bottles (64 oz total)
• Compass
• Whistle
• Topo map
• GPS (if you've got one handy)
• Helmet (VERY Important!)
• Bike shorts
• Windbreaker/rain gear (bring at least a light poncho or full bike gear, if you have it)
• Cell phone (reception is spotty/nonexistent in the mountains)
• Small first aid kit and additional band aids (for blisters that you will develop on hands, feet, etc. during the ride)
• Aspirin / Ibuprofen
• Money, for Saturday lunch and Sunday dinner
• Medical instructions, if you have any special medical needs

Bike equipment

• Saddle Bag
  Flat repair kit (spare tube?)
  Pump
  Water bottle + cage (two?)
  Chain tool + extra chain links
  Spoke tool
  Allen wrenches appropriate for your bike (or multi-tool)
  Rear fender? (in case you don't want a stripe up your back)
  Oil (tri-flow?)

I know that the list seems long. Keep the consumables to very small quantities. It should all fit in a fairly small pack that attaches to your bike frame, or fits easily on your back.

Day 1 is not a long bike ride by any means - the first day will be approximately 20 miles from our house to Valsetz. The road is a nice downhill from the house, on to gravel roads, and then surface streets and more gravel roads to Falls City. We should arrive in Falls City at around 12:00, possibly earlier. In Falls City we will eat lunch (either pack your own, or plan on buying food at the Falls City convenience store).

At no later than 1:00 we will strike out for the motherland (Valsetz, anyway). The road runs straight out of the teaming metropolis of Falls City, with about a mile of pavement that quickly turns into a gravel logging road. The first half of Day 1 is going to be a pretty grueling ride with steep climbing in several spots. Be prepared to punish your body. Once we get over the pass, the road meanders down into Valsetz, with mostly downhill or level riding. The elevation of Valsetz is 1500 feet.

I need a volunteer to drive the truck up to meet us in Valsetz, where we will meet up with the truck, unpack our overnight gear, eat and then camp for the night. For dinner on Saturday night we should plan to eat at around 6:30, give or take an hour. Everyone should plan on bringing sleeping gear, including tent, sleeping bag, ground cover, etc. There are wild, scary animals in the wild, so be prepared to fend off a huge mountain lion, or a mother bear that just came out of hibernation. Here is what to bring for the night out in the wild, wild wilderness:

• Tent
• Tarp (ground cover)
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad (optional)
• Warm clothes for sleeping (it may get cold!)
• Fleece liner for inside of sleeping bag (more insurance against the cold)
• Camping eating utensils (plate, fork, spoon, coffee cup)
• Warm hat/gloves
• Ear plugs (for guard against the snoring folks and the large black bears!)
• Toothbrush/toothpaste/toilet paper/wash cloth
• Backpack - if you have one, it is really convenient to be able to pack all of your gear and have it in one self-contained place.

I will bring everything necessary to cook and eat the food. This includes:
Stove

• Cookware
• Plastic forks, knives, spoons, plates and cups
• Matches/Lighter
• Lantern
• Water purification kit (for emergency only)
• Food / Drink (for Saturday snack, dinner, Sunday breakfast, lunch and snack)
• Additional water for dinner/breakfast/refills
• Fuel for stoves

On Sunday morning, we'll wake up (assuming we survive the wild animals) to French toast, bacon, sausage, coffee and eggs. Just the right combination of fiber, fat and cholesterol to keep us going. We'll pack up our day packs for lunch, snacks and money and then pack the overnight gear into the truck. The volunteer driver (plus Paul) will head back down the mountain, leaving the truck and gear at our house.

Our schedule should put us on the road Sunday morning by no later than 8:00 am. I'm gauging that the Day 2 distance is approximately 20 - 25 miles. It starts off level and downhill, and then probably will include some up and down as we move across the coast range and down into Lincoln City.

To start the day, we'll follow Valsetz road down to the T and then follow the Plum Creek operations logging road heading South, following the Siletz River. When we get to the Elk Creek logging road, we'll turn West, and then follow a tangle of logging roads over to Devil's Lake, which is just outside of Lincoln City. Everyone should bring their topo map, a whistle and a compass (see list for more gear to bring). Plan on riding together, so that we can jointly make decisions about which turn to take, so that we don't leave a trail of riders (and tears) strung across the Pacific Coast Range.

My wife (or the volunteer, if one so chooses) will unload the gear out of the truck, and meet us at Devil's lake in the later afternoon/early evening. Along with the truck, we'll need two more drivers to pick up the worn and weary mountain bikers. One way or another we should be able to load all of the bikes into the back of my truck for the 1 hour ride back to my house. Assuming 12 riders, there will be 5 seats in the truck, and we'll need 7 more empty seats (9 total, including drivers) for the trip back.

We will leave Lincoln City at around 7:30 pm, and will be back at my place by 8:30, where we can all grab our bikes, gear and cars, and head on home. Since the 26th is Memorial Day, we'll all have one day to nurse your sore muscles before heading back into work on Tuesday!

Below is the meal plan for the trip:

Saturday Lunch (on your own)

• Either pack a lunch, or plan on spending a few coins at the Falls City convenience store
  

Saturday afternoon snack

• Energy bars
• Nuts
• Fruit
  

Saturday dinner

• Ka-bobs (beef, with vegetables)
• Coffee/Hot Chocolate/Tea
• Dinner rolls
• Potato chips
• Fruit (grapes, watermelon, honeydew, or ???)

Sunday Breakfast

• French Toast w/ jam/whipping cream/butter and/or syrup
• Bacon & Sausage
• Coffee
• Fruit

Sunday Lunch

• Sandwiches
• Nuts
• Chocolate bar
• Fruit

Sunday snack

• Trail mix
• Raisins
• Granola bars

Dinner (on your own)

• Pizza, hamburgers, or whatever is close by
  

That's all for now. Please post comments if there are any questions/comments, and I'll update the body of the post as we get closer to take-off.