Oakridge-Westfir volunteers raise $2,000 setting up camp at city park for 280 Gravel Grinder cyclists

By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — Nearly 300 mountain bikers pedaled into Oakridge on Thursday after a day of grinding over gravel roads of the Willamette National Forest.

They came 59.2 miles from McKenzie Bridge on Day Two of this year’s Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, a major organized mountain-biking competition that is organized a lot like Cycle Oregon, only on a smaller scale.

A fleet of trucks arrived in Oakridge earlier in the day Thursday, carrying tons of tents, food, beverages and footlockers filled with sleeping bags and other gear for the cyclists who would arrive hours later. Volunteers from Oakridge and Westfir met the trucks at Greenwaters Park and helped set up a tent city where the participants would spend the first of two nights in Oakridge.

“The people of Oakridge really came through for us,” said Anne Codding, the event’s volunteer director. “We are getting help from members of the Oakridge Art Council, the Alpine Trail Stewards and the Keg & Cask Festival. They helped us set up today (Thursday) and they’ll help with the take-down when we depart on Saturday.”

The last time the Gravel Grinder came to Oakridge, in 2019, the event relied on high school students, who raised $2,000 by volunteering for the set-up and take-down, Codding said. This year, because of COVID-19 concerns, the kids couldn’t participate, so she put out a call for other community volunteers. The three groups will split the $2,000 this time, she said.

A Portland catering company is traveling with the Grinder riders during their five-day, 350-mile excursion that began and will end in Sisters. After one night at McKenzie Bridge and two in Oakridge, the throng will spend their fourth and final night camped near Gilchrist.

On Friday, the competitors will ride a 53-mile loop on mostly gravel roads around Hills Creek Reservoir and the Upper Willamette headwaters basin, returning to Oakridge for the night. Saturday morning, the tents will come down and the cyclists will head back to the high Cascades on their way to their next base camp at Gilchrist.

On Sunday, June 27, the throng will finish up back where it all began, in Sisters.

Sponsors of the Grinder — Breakaway Productions of Redmond — estimates that 70 to 80 percent of the challenging ride is over gravel. The total elevation to be gained over the 350-mile course is estimated at 30,000 feet.

The scene at Greenwaters Parks looked a bit like a festival Thursday evening — but with tents, dozens and dozens of them for the 280 riders. Besides a lavish buffett provided by Spin Events and Catering of Portland, they were treated to a beer and whisky bar, an iced espresso stand and a massage station, all covered by the $1,500 entry fee. Bike mechanics and medics are provided, too.

A few of the weary cyclists ventured into town Thursday evening, but most stayed at the park, resting up for Friday’s grueling third day of the Gravel Grinder.