The Tour of Two Rivers

It was time to get back in the saddle. A winter had passed, and a spring. It had been a winter of dark days in a cozy new home, a place where they would watch the storms from their couch as it crossed the mountain. Spring brought new beginnings, cherished visitors, new life, and loss. Their trusty steeds hung patiently in their hooks, holding memories of all the places they’d gone before. Atlantic salt may still cling to the chainstays, remnants of Maine’s lobster and forested Mt. Desert Island, placeholders of triumph and culmination. It was time they dusted off their cycling shoes and hit the road.

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Mary and Bill showed us around the top of Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, ID

Life altering travel can act sometimes like a life-altering relationship. Without knowing it, even, we compare all other travel to “the one time I backpacked Europe” or “when I took the ferry to Alaska” or “when my boyfriend and I bicycled across America for 5,400 miles without breaking up.” I get flashbacks all the time to our “bicycle trip of a lifetime.” Throughout the day, an image will suddenly emerge without warning: the smile of a Warm Showers host, a conversation with a stranger at a gas station, or a road sign indicating miles left to ride. Oftentimes I’ll let this flashback play out a bit, like a spool of film, reveling in the memory and what came next. Othertimes, like déjà vu, I will have a quick feeling of memory and then it will melt away.

A couple of weeks ago, we finally got back out there. We were aiming for a two-night loop from our front door in Ashland – something fairly flat to take pity on our winter legs, a loop with relatively low mileage, and we needed places to camp along the way. So I constructed a 100-mile loop from Ashland along Bear Creek to the Rogue River, west to the Applegate River, south along the Applegate to Jacksonville, then back to the Bear Creek valley to home.

Hwy 20 between Mazama and Winthrop, WA in the Methow Valley. See below for direct comparison!

On our “Tour of Two Rivers,” as I’m calling it, that feeling of déjà vu resurfaced again and again. The arresting, sparkling water and dramatic mountains of the Applegate Valley reminded me of the wide Methow Valley in Washington. The farms nestled in riverbeds reminded me of meandering the White River Valley in Vermont. And the insistent rollers of Southern Oregon’s back roads reminded me of cycling through rural Northern Missouri. I’ve created a Google Map of our trip, complete with cue sheet, so that any curious cyclist can replicate what we found. Sometimes Google Maps can lead one astray, but in this case, we actually found some gems.

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Sunset from Valley of the Rogue State Park

Day One saw us leaving home later in the afternoon that we’d have liked, but early enough that we knew we’d have light. We left our house and whizzed down the hill to the Bear Creek Greenway one mile away, our watershed’s 20-mile trail spanning from Ashland to Central Point. It was a muggy and warm day, but down by the creek we were treated to cool breezes, shade, and a beautiful flat trail to cruise. Within two hours, we had ridden through four municipalities including our own and we had reached the end of the trail.

The hope, in coming years, is to continue the trail along the Rogue River here all the way to Grants Pass. The trail will be called the Rogue River Greenway, and it is already being built in sections. But, for now, we had to take to the roads. So Jeff and I merged onto Hwy 99 and took it up and down, over oak chapparal hillsides and their small summits, past wineries and through the small town of Gold Hill. We turned next onto the shady N River Road for 3 miles straight into Valley of the Rogue State Park. Here, the Rogue River Greenway is a reality, spanning two miles between the state park and the town of Rogue River.

The Fruidale Creek-Hamilton Lane Trail just south of Grants Pass

We woke up on Day Two to the drone of I-5 within 100 feet of our tent. This is the one downside of this route: though Valley of the Rogue SP is an easy ride from Ashland (the only campground within a flat day’s ride of town), it is located right along I-5 where it follows the riffling Rogue River to Grant’s Pass. We had a leisurely morning complete with oatmeal and hot drinks before packing up our minimal load and exploring the Rogue River Greenway for its meandering two miles of pavement to the town of Rogue River. Here, we didn’t waste any time, merging onto Highway 99 for 6 miles before turning south towards the Applegate Valley. Away from the mind-numbing buzz of heavy traffic on freeways that had accompanied us for most of our trip thusfar, to turn off onto residential streets was a relief. We rode beneath the far-reaching canopies of broadleaved trees and were even surprised by a mile-or-so of paved trail on our route that took us off busy Cloverlawn Drive.

N Applegate Rd near Murphy, OR. Does it look familiar?

Up and down, up and down, the backroads of rural Oregon are always a welcome challenge for cyclist legs. With Madrone trees hanging out into the road and views of nearby mountains peeking through on a downhill, they are a delight. Thanks to these meandering bits of pavement, we only had to ride on the shoulder of Hwy 238 for 1 mile before turning off onto N Applegate Road. However, in our case, we stopped in the town of Murphy (1 mile past N Applegate Rd) to eat lunch and resupply at the Hidden Valley Market. Bellies full and spirits reignited, we enjoyed approximately 12 miles meandering one of the best stretches of road I have had the pleasure of riding. N Applegate Road is fairly flat and shaded, low traffic, and boasts stunning views of tree-covered mountains that rise dramatically from the valley floor. The Applegate River sparkles between grape vines and fields of waving grain, a constant companion on our journey. The miles melted away, and after only 6 more miles of highway riding, we reached Cantrall Buckley County Park, our home for the night.

Our trusty steeds resting for the night at Cantrall-Buckley County Park in the Applegate Valley

The campground itself is located on the top of a hill, with a small dirt loop weaving amongst Canyon Liveoak and Madrone Trees, shaded and quiet. A few other campers were set up when we got there, but we definitely had our pick of spots. We walked down to the Applegate River for a dip in early evening and dried off on warm rocks watching river otters glide past us, somersaulting in the water downstream. Pesto pasta and salad filling our bellies, we drifted to a quiet sleep, giving our legs a rest at last.

We began Day Three with the only serious climb of the trip. Hwy 238 steadily climbs to the Jacksonville Hill just north of Ruch. The highway is windy with minimal shoulder, but only a 7-mile incline to the summit. Here we turned off the highway for a less-busy and stressful descent into Jacksonville on Cady Rd. I couldn’t get the Google Map to accept this change (turn off Hwy 238 onto Cady Rd) or our preferred route home from Jacksonville (East on S Stage Rd out of town, R Griffin Creek Rd, L S Stage Rd, cross Hwy 99 near the Rogue Rock Gym and directly onto the Bear Creek Greenway back to Ashland).

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They say that getting reacquainted with an old skill is as easy as riding a bike. In our case, literally. It takes some muscle memory to re-learn old habits of mind and body. Like what it feels like to be clipped in or how to haul 30 pounds of gear throughout the course of a day. Or what to do first when getting to camp, how to prevent saddle sores, or how to persevere up a hill. All these things we must relearn again after time away. But to slip into old skin again, one I have inhabited before, is a gift and a revelation. This process of remembering, of déjà vu, can also bring about feelings of relief: “If I’ve done this before, I can surely do it now too!” To reacquaint ourselves with past versions of ourselves – stronger, more connected selves – is joyous.

Home Sweet Home. Cantrall-Buckley Park