It wasn’t just the spectacular views that Dan Shryock remembers from his time riding all 18 of Oregon’s Scenic Bikeways — it’s the stories he collected along the way.
The Salem-based travel writer set out to write a book about Oregon’s “best of the best” road biking routes, but what really struck him were the people he met and the experiences his group of riders came across.
Those stories, like the time he watched asphalt literally boil, or the time he met the 102-year-old “mayor” of a ghost town in eastern Oregon, make up the most flavorful parts of his book “Cycling Across Oregon.”
In the latest edition of the Explore Oregon Podcast, Shryock talked about his favorite moments and his favorite rides on the Oregon Coast, Cascade Mountains and in southern and eastern Oregon.
This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. To listen to the full interview, go to tinyurl.com/34wkz3yz
Zach Urness: What exactly is an ‘Oregon Scenic Bikeway’?
Dan Shryock: There are 18 official scenic bikeways that are sanctioned through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. They’ve been vetted and tested for safety and for quality for different values. That sounds real fancy, but the bottom line is they’re just great places to ride a bike and they’re representative of 18 really good rides around the state. Overall they’ve done a really good job of avoiding traffic or minimizing the amount of exposure you have.
Urness: You said they’re representative. What are they representing?
Shryock: They represent both the geographic and the geologic diversity of Oregon, but they also do a real good job of showing rural Oregon. I like to think that this was an exploration of rural Oregon. I found places in the state I had never been and I don’t know I ever would’ve gotten there without being on a bicycle.
Urness: What made it good for a book. And is this a guidebook?
Dan Shryock is author of the book “Cycling Across Oregon.”
Shryock: It is not a guidebook. There are no directions that say, “Go 3 miles and turn right at the 7-Eleven.” That’s all online and cyclists know where to find that. This is an exploration of rural Oregon, the surprises and discoveries along the route. It was fascinating pulling back the curtain on real Oregon and see people in places that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Urness: What are some examples of those surprises or highlights you came across?
Shryock: Bob Bennett, 102 years old, owner and resident of the ghost town of Pondosa, north of Baker City. Bob and his daughter, Lori, and her husband and son live there. They bought this abandoned timber mill that all but burned down in the 1950s and they own all the land. They live in the old boarding house and it’s their ghost town. As you’re riding along on your bike and you come around a bend there’s a sign that says “cold drinks ahead,” you’re going to stop and there you meet Bob. We met him when he was about 98, but now he’s 102 and he’s still roaming his timberland out there.
Urness: The mayor of a ghost town! So was capturing the beauty of the rides, and capturing the local flavor, what you were shooting for?
Shryock: Exactly. Maybe there’s a historic sign about someone who donated this parcel of land as a county park 90 years ago. Who is that person? I met a guy who was riding the TransAmerica Bike Trail across the United States. I was in awe, but also I thought he was crazy, but it was a great conversation. There was the day we were riding our bikes across the boiling asphalt. It was a hundred degrees. We shouldn’t have been out there, but now I know asphalt can boil.
Cathedral Rock is a showcase on eastern Oregon’s Old West Scenic Bikeway.
Urness: What does asphalt look like when it boils?
Shryock: Air bubbles come up through the chip seal and they rise to the surface and your tires pop all the little bubbles and you hear this pop, pop, pop, pop noise. I mean if you get a flat you’re only going to hear one pop, but it kept repeating. What is this? I learned that it was air escaping chip seal.
Urness: Are Scenic Bikeways only for serious riders, or can kind of anyone with a decent bike ride them?
Shryock: For the most it’s for serious distance riders, but there are some that can be done in a day. There are some really great places for casual beginning riders, e-bike riders who are just getting their wheels under them, even families. The Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway includes the Row River Trail around Dorena Lake. It’s beautiful, easy and flat. Now at one point it turns off and it goes up in the hills, but at that point you can just turn around. The very popular Banks-Vernonia State Trail is the last part of the Tualatin Valley Scenic Bikeway. That’s very popular and very doable. There is something for everyone but there are also a lot that are long-distance rides over 100 miles.
Urness: Road bikes are expensive. Would you recommend renting them from the bike shops to save some money if you were just getting started?
Shryock: Renting a bike is a good option. Eurosports in Sisters is a great place for that. But finding rentals is hard. There aren’t a lot of stores that do rent. If you’re thinking about getting a bike, buy a used bike, see if you like it, and then determine how much you really want to spend.
Urness: We’re recording this podcast at the start of rainy season. But you like the idea of talking about it this time of year. Why is that?
Shryock: It’s my theory that bicyclists do not read or research during the summer. They’re too busy riding their bikes. They’re now sitting in front of their laptops or phones because they can’t be out on the road. So this is the research season.
Dan Shryock is author of the book “Cycling Across Oregon.”
Urness: Given it’s research season, why don’t you tell us about your favorite rides?
McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: People ask me what’s my favorite route and I always go with McKenzie Pass. It’s one of the hardest routes in the state, but it is also arguably one of the most beautiful. It stretches between Belknap Hot Springs on the western side of the Cascades and goes over to Sisters. You’ve got climb up over the mountains, you have to go over the Cascade Range. That’s not easy, but if you have the skillset to do it, it’s one of the most beautiful rides you’ll ever find.
The McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway is a popular route for bikers.
Urness: It’s my sense that it’s a easier to start in Sisters and then finish up soaking in the hot springs at Belknap on the west side.
Shryock: It is easier from the east side but I’ve gone both ways.
Urness: I just can’t imagine not soaking in the hot springs at Belnap after a ride like that. It’s such a carrot at the end of the ride.
Shryock: Absolutely. I did do the ride once without a soak, and it was a mistake.
Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: This past summer we rode Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway, Oakridge to Rainbow. It’s such a beautiful route because the traffic is low almost all the way. It’s through the Willamette National Forest. It is a gradual climb most of the way. There’s a little bit of steepness in the middle, but no matter whether you go south to north or north to south, you climb until you get to the top and then it’s basically all downhill the rest of the way.
Urness: That’s another one with hot springs! You could stop at Terwilliger right there at Cougar Reservoir toward the end.
The Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway showcases the Office Covered Bridge in Westfir.
Wild Rivers Coast Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: The Wild Rivers bikeway is two entirely different ecosystems, two entirely different experiences in one ride. You ride north out of Port Orford just a few miles on Highway 101. The shoulders are wide enough to be an additional lane, so I’m never fearful about riding on Highway 101 down there.
You go up a few miles, you turn east and go in on Elk River Road for the prescribed number of miles. It takes you into another national forest and the road narrows and it gets real grassy, woodsy and beautiful. The river is very small at that point. It’s rippling by you. Then you turn around, you come back out, you cross 101 and you ride out to Cape Blanco State Park and Lighthouse, another very quiet road. And then you come back out and you glide back down to Port Orford. So it’s two entirely different experiences in one ride. It’s wonderful. It’s easy. It’s 60 miles or you can choose to just a segment of it. You can only do Elk River if you want.
Views of the Wild Coast Rivers Scenic Bikeway on the south coast of Oregon.
Urness: So kind of an Oregon Coast and an Elk River experience? For people who haven’t seen it, describe the Elk River a little bit.
Shryock: It’s just gorgeous and quiet except for the water itself and maybe the wind in the trees. It’s more creek than river at that point, it pools, it’s got small little waterfalls, it’s aquamarine. Stunning.
Painted Hills Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: This one I call an octopus. Some people have likened it to a bike wheel with a hub and spokes because you’ve got a loop in the middle and then different extensions, different roads off in three different directions. It’s hard if you’ve picked the wrong time of year or don’t get an early enough start. It’s hot. The whole route is 160 miles, 12,000 feet of climb. So you don’t do this in one day, but you pick your segments and you enjoy each piece.
We started day one at the Clarno unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. We rode our 60 miles and called it good for the day and then drove down to Mitchell where we stayed at the Spoke’n Hostel, the best little bike hostel you’d ever find. But then the next day we’d do a different segment. And then the third day we started out at the Painted Hills unit and then rode from the Painted Hills back and all the way out to Kimberly. There’s such a variety of geography. You’ve got tree lined areas, you’ve got open space, you’ve got the Painted Hills themselves. I’m shocked by the number of Oregonians that haven’t been to the Painted Hills.
Urness: I bet you get a really good feel for a place that most people just blast past in their car.
Shryock: We saw three people total, including a cowboy with 10 head of cattle and two people on e-bikes. But we saw wildlife everywhere.
Urness: Speaking of which, how do e-bikes fit into this story?
Shryock: They fit in perfectly. This is not a competition. This is exploring Oregon. And if you want to do it on an e-bike, go for it. Actually, you won’t be as tired as I will be and you’ll have the same experience. So I applaud anybody who does that.
Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: We talked about how this was a wonderful family route near Cottage Grove. The part that follows the Row River Trail goes around Dorena Lake. It’s beautiful, easy and no cars allowed. There’s a lot of history out on that route. Movie fans will know that part of the movie was filmed out there like “Stand By Me.” And of course Cottage Grove, that’s the final homecoming scene of “Animal House.” If you want something a little more difficult, I think at about mile 14, you veer off and you go off onto some back roads and it’s accessible.
Cascade-Siskiyou Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: This one goes from Ashland, up into the hills and back. I’ll just say it right up front. It’s brutal, very difficult. But it’s really cool to get up in the hills and out to Hyatt Lake and up to Green Springs. It’s a fun ride, but a lot of effort.
Oregon Outback Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: This one is challenging by distance. It’s a long ride — it’s a 90 miles from Lakeview out on what we call a lollipop route. It goes over one small pass and then it loops out and you go out to Plush and Adel. I like this route in its simplicity, in its starkness. It’s a part of Oregon that most people don’t ever see, and it’s just so unique that I really enjoy it.
Cathedral Rock is a showcase on eastern Oregon’s Old West Scenic Bikeway.
Cascading Rivers Scenic Bikeway
Shryock: I’ve got one more with hot springs for you. This one stretches between Estacada and Detroit (on Highways/Roads 224 and 46) and Breitenbush Hot Springs is right there. This route was really important to me. It’s a lot like Aufderheide in that you’re either climbing up or going down. But it’s longer and it’s harder and it’s not as beautiful (because of the 2020 Labor Day Fires).
Urness: How does this area look post-wildfire?
Shryock: The bottom two thirds didn’t open until June of 2023. So they opened it on a Monday in June, and we were there on a Tuesday the very next day, and we did it. And what I remember most distinctly was riding along the Clackamas River through wonderful forests on beautiful road, no fire at all. It was pristine, everything about it. I thought this is perhaps one of the best 10 mile stretches of the entire scenic bikeway system. Then we’re riding along and we get on the down slope toward Detroit, and you were in another world. One side had green trees, the next foot, it was stark devastation. They had done some salvage logging and they were all piled up on the side of the road. It was just unbelievable how bad the fire was. And that was kind of the story all the way down to Detroit. But there’s still a lot of beauty.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon’s 18 best road biking routes showcase beauty, fun stories