I don’t know about you but when I think of Umpquah I think of Chocolate Peanutbutter Ice Cream. Yet the Umpquah river is something to brag about. Miles and miles of water flowing through steep canyons and valleys. The rivers of the west truly are spectacular. Having now lived on a lake and an ocean (as close to an ocean as I’ll ever get) and living in a town with a river, I think I enjoy all three for different reasons, but in this season rivers are speaking to my soul.
Why did we come to Roseburg - a town that like so many others - whose center is quickly dying and being shuttered up. The Mountain Biking. The Umpquah trail is 70 miles of single track, of which you can have your car shuttled from one point to the next, so in theory it’s all down hill. First; that is false. It wasn’t down hill, it was up AND down and very exhausting. We did 15 miles of the trail and boy was I glad it was only 15. We were told by a local to do this particular part of the trail as the fire of 2020 wrecked havoc on the landscape and rest of the trail was unrideable.
Section 2 was incredibly beautiful and a lot of work, even with an electric bike. Interestingly, one would think that riding an electric bike would be simple, but with the added power it can become a little tricky. I was in constant motion of dropping my seat, shifting down, powering down, powering up, shifting up and sometimes when I didn’t do one of those things quick enough it got pretty sketch. Thankfully I didn’t tumble over the handlebars, but there were moments. Regrettably, Balin did take go down as he rides clipped into his pedals. There is a gash and some blood, nevertheless he got upright and mobile quickly.
If you want to see a bit of the ride check out the video here:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Nr2qX0L1BrU?si=kX3xDBswwsMmg_xY
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