Quick & Dirty

5 Star Route / Ridden and Reviewed by Captain ‘O’

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This is a ride that all Bend cyclocross and adventure riders should have in their quiver of rides. It is a great route, close to town, scenic, and can be done in about 2 hours. For those visiting Bend with limited time, we would suggest the Water and Lava or the West Side Tour routes as better choices.

The ride will take you into the Skyline Forest, through the Two Bulls fire area and along the back and east side of Shevlin park. There are two short sections of the ride that can be challenging: a section of deep dust / sand ( ~ 150 yards) and a section with larger rocks (golf ball sized) in the road as you descend to the crossing of Shevlin creek (about .2 miles in length). The route starts in Shevlin Park which means right off the bat, you have a climb. Most people will just ride it from town, tacking on the extra couple of miles.

Ride Notes

As you turn onto Bull Springs road at mile 0.5 there is a sign that states “no bicycles Monday through Friday”. We have checked with Deschutes County and the road is a public use road and bicycle access is not limited. Unfortunately, this sign is on private property and the county does not have jurisdiction to remove it. However, we strongly suggest that you ride single file on Bull Springs road due to the truck traffic.

Adventure / Gravel Route

– Loop: 20 miles / 1300 ft gain

– Gravel (mostly, ~1.5 miles of pavement)

– Course by: Captain “O”

– Location: Bend, OR

– Date Posted: November 2016 (updated September 2018)

Difficulty

For the experienced beginner. Can have some loose and sandy sections.

The Start

At the Shevlin Commons public parking area, just off Skyliner road.

Food / Water

None.

Downloads

Cue Sheet / TCX File

Legend

Red = paved road

Brown = gravel / dirt road

Purple = paved bike path

For help with Ride, GPS files, etc see the “Help with …” page. To learn how to download the routes for free, see “Using Our Routes …” page.