Guest article by John Barker
Tour de Dreams. Or Tour de Fronds, if you’re a local.
Time for some daydreaming: you’re riding on a paved Forest Service road along a quiet creek, then up a climb to a ridge, out a few miles and down a steep five-mile grade. You take a right and start a long gradual climb to another ridge, then head back to the small town of Powers – it’s time for a post-ride dinner.
The sky is blue, the people at the rest stops are wonderful and – now for the best part – maybe you see as many as ten vehicles along the 117-mile Cruiser Loop. Yes, 117 is long, but there are also routes of 30-43-61-76 miles, plus two gravel routes. You certainly have options.
Oh but wait, there is more to this magical place. There are many locations along the routes where you can stop and not hear a humanly created sound (no cars, no trucks, no skateboarders, not even a jet overhead). Of course, you may have to hold your panting breath for a split second to achieve total silence, but it’s worth it.
Several years ago I fell in love with this ride and the residents of Powers who make it so fabulous event.
Don’t just take my word for it – ask those who spent a night in Powers on Cycle Oregon XXIV. Many have returned.
Sure, it’s a long drive for most of us in Oregon (and beyond). But you know what? It takes some effort to get to cycling Heaven.
Tour de Fronds is hands down my no. 1 favorite ride of the year.
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June 20
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John Barker is a 68-year-old retired cyclists. Since turning 60, he has ridden RAMROD, the California Death Ride, lots of centuries and many, many local rides, but, he says, he loves Tour de Fronds the most. “I Live in Portland and think the long drive to Powers is worth every gallon of gas.”