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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Featured Galleries: April 21, 2007 Cycling through Central Oregon By Peter Sachs The Associated Press SISTERS — The population will more than double here for a few days this September. But it won't be rodeo riders, quilters or artists and crafters surging to town: It will be more than 2,000 bicyclists from across the country. The 20th annual Cycle Oregon ride will start and end in Sisters this year, bringing a rush of riders into town at the beginning and end of the 470-mile, weeklong ride. "It's exciting it's going to be in Sisters," said Robin Buckles, a Sisters resident who will take on the bike ride for a fourth year in a row. "It's really cool that it's going to be here this year and we get to host it." Jerry Norquist, Cycle Oregon's ride director, is quick to point out that the event isn't a race, even though some people may take the routes faster than others. The real purpose is to raise awareness of the economic difficulties faced by many rural parts of Oregon and to expose riders to different parts of the state each year. "We're really a bike ride," Norquist said. "We encourage people to spend time in the communities that we travel through." The event carries an $800 fee for each rider, and some of that money goes back to small communities in the form of grants from Cycle Oregon. All 2,000 spots sold out long ago and there is a waiting list of about 300 more riders, Norquist said. Dozens more people will support the riders by moving equipment each day, serving meals and providing water stops along the way. This year's event will take riders south from Sisters to La Pine on the first day. Most of the riding is done on smaller country roads, though the bicyclists will spend about 10 miles on U.S. Highway 97 that first day. Cycle Oregon coordinates with the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon State Police to put up signs alerting drivers to where the cyclists will be, Norquist said. After leaving Central Oregon, the route winds up to Crater Lake and down the west side of the Cascades to within about 20 miles of Eugene on Interstate 5. In the second half of the week, riders will work their way north and east again through the Cascades back to Sisters, with an altitude change of as much as 4,000 feet on some days. Each day's segment varies in length between about 50 and 100 miles, but there is no time limit for completing the legs. "Every single year has its challenges and every route is different, but it's the most wonderful experience," Buckles said. At 48, she has been cycling seriously for about 10 years and estimates she has already put 600 miles on her road bike this year. This isn't the first time that Cycle Oregon has passed through the region, but it is the first time that a town in Central Oregon has hosted the start and end of the event. In 1989, the second year of the ride, bicyclists passed through Bend and La Pine; the next year, riders came through Madras and Sisters before heading over Santiam Pass. In 1992, the route again passed through the La Pine area. Prineville saw the hordes of riders stop over in 1997. Most recently, Sisters was a stop in 2002. In other years, the routes have passed down the Willamette Valley or through Hells Canyon on the Oregon-Idaho border. For the first several years, routes started and ended in different places; the first full loop came with the 1996 ride. This year's ride will start Sept. 8, with most of the riders coming to Sisters the day before. The event's organizers provide almost everything riders will need for the week: tents, food and water stops, a shower truck, and live entertainment and drinks each night. "If you register for the event and come along on it, you really don't have to bring anything with you," Norquist said. Several 18-wheeler trucks take off each morning with all of the riders' gear, setting up camp at the next stop before everyone arrives in the evening. "We're like a city that moves," Norquist said. And though the massive influx of riders could overwhelm some of the small towns that Cycle Oregon passes through, Norquist and Buckles agree that the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences that some residents might experience for a day. A portion of the $800-per-rider registration fee goes into a fund that doles out about $100,000 to the towns each year. In 2002, Sisters got a grant for a large tent to hold large groups. The town still uses the tent for various community events. "Never once have I talked to anyone who has felt like we weren't welcome to be out there," Buckles said. On the Net: Cycle Oregon: http:www.cycleoregon.com/ Sisters: http:www.sistersoregonguide.com/ Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us