McKenzie Pass

My friend Russell and I rode McKenzie Pass yesterday. I can't recall how many times I have over but it must be close to a hundred as the first time a rode it was 37 years ago. Back then I probably knew all of the Bend riders who would ride it regularly. We used to do a loop, over Santiam and then return via McKenzie. 86 miles, it was a highlight of the year. I've raced it, toured it, ridden in the snow, the rain and the blazing sun. I've been there close to tragedy ( a rider on a ride I was supporting crashed and died of his injuries), humor, a tourist fully loaded stayed with a break during the Cascade Classic for a mile or so, feeling strong and feeling weak.
As Bend has become a cycling Mecca, McKenzie Pass has become one of the to do rides in our area. The state keeps the road closed well into the summer so cyclists can enjoy it car free. Not many do the loop as the traffic on Santiam is quite busy, and why would one not go out and back on a road closed to cars. I don't know everyone who rides it anymore, but there are many hundreds every weekend while it is closed to cars.
We rode early leaving Sisters close to 8 am. We saw two tourists going cross country, one women in a  dress, a group of hikers and half a dozen recreational cyclists. It was a cold morning so the majority of rides would have waited for the temperatures to warm.
It's a very fun ride, I didn't get up there last year so it was nice to reacquaint myself with road, the scenery and of course the climbing.
I had a couple of different bicycle technologies to try out. One disc brakes. They are as awesome on a road bike as a mountain bike. Two a dropper seat post (yes a dropper on my road bike). It also performed better than I expected. This blog won't get into details but I will in a later post.
One of my issues with McKenzie Pass w/o cars is the behavior of the cyclists. Many seem to think it's ok to ride on the left when there are no cars. Of course there are other cyclists coming down so I don't really understand the thought process here. I only saw two cyclists on the left. That comes to almost 20% of the total. Please be careful out there fellow riders and stay to the right (except my U.K. friends you stay to the left).
Thanks for reading
Don

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