Where's Waldo Lake: Mountain Bike Weekend

One year ago, who would have thought it, but I'm getting pretty good at this mountain biking thing.  I still have a little bit of road-biker mentality when it comes to riding over rocks (avoid at all costs) and bumps (not good), but as I've gotten faster and more used to having suspension in the front (still rocking the hard tail) I find myself starting to believe my friend Marty when she told me "It's easier to ride over the rocks if you are going fast."

Friday night, Erika, Bill, Marsh-dog, and I packed up the car and drove off to Waldo Lake to meet up with Jim and Heather and another couple from the Pacific Power Blue/Sky team.  In total, we had seven adults (if I count in that), one kidlet (two if I don't), four dogs, eight bikes, and three flavors of Pop-tarts.

Saturday morning we broke into a couple of groups, Bill deciding to run the 20-some odd miles around the lake, Erika and Heather planning a couple of hour out-and-back, and Jim and I mountain-biking around the lake.  Right off-the-bat, I took on some bruises when I got the front wheel hung up on a stump.  I went down so hard and so flat-chested that I bruised my ribs a little bit.  But, not wanting to look to foolish in front of the much more technically gifted Jim, I jumped up, dusted myself off, and said "okay.  Now that I got that out of the way, let's ride."

And we did!  I took the lead most of the way as Jim let me test out my skills with a view of the trail (the lead rider invariably kicked up a lot of dust to obscure the trail for the rider back).  He coached me in a little technique, but mostly we just talked about bikes (wouldn't it be cool... if there were some apparatus that could keep the chain continuously lubed?!  We talked about different ways and requirements for a good 30 minutes!), politics, science (he's a chemical engineer), and of course mutual friends and cool people (we were a couple of gossip queens for a bit).

Before, I knew it, we had gone a 1:30 without stopping and only encountered a couple of spots that I had to shuttle... one was a really narrow gravelly bit that I am sure gets a lot of avalanche action into the lake in the winter... totally exposed, and gorgeous:

Yup, like that.

Continuing on, we encountered a few mosquitos (though nothing to swarm home about), a testosteronie mountain biker (who I am sad to admit was correct about the fact that he had right of way, going uphill and all, but the trail was wide enough that I could go around without stopping!  Peace, love, and rim tape, man!).  We were accosted by Marshall before we saw Bill running.  He looked a little worse for wear, having taken a wrong turn, but still truckin'.  The last 3 miles for us were all single-track and downhill and I put on some seriously impressive moves to stay upright over the roots and rocks.  Scott G. would be so proud!

Jim laughing at me as I almost fall backwards taking the picture.

To chill out after the long ride, Erika and I wet-suited up and braved the 60 degree water of the lake for a little swim around shore.  And it was amazing.... the bottom was a good 40 ft below us at some points and it looked like you could reach out and touch the submerged logs, it was that clear.  I bet a SCUBA diver would have 100s of feet of visibility in the lake, and no fish or plant life (except some moss near the shore) to obscure the view.  Rumor has it there is a submerged airplane in the lake... wouldn't it be cool to dive there?  Correction, wouldn't it be freakin' freezing to dive there?!

Next day, we all combined to head out on bikes clockwise on the trail, with Bill, Heather and I continuing on past Betty and Bobby Lake South to the Gold Lake Trail head.  Can you say "10 miles of hair on fire, single track downhill"?  I couldn't quite keep up with Heather, but I was smiling the whole time and fast!  At one point, I almost pitched off the side of the hill when my weight was going the wrong way to avoid a downed tree.  And then there was the creek crossing that I attempted only to hear Heather yell from above "rock!" just as I hit it... oops.  Managed to stay dry and unscathed.  At the bottom we opted for the road, not wanting to slowly climb through the "Gold Lake Bog Preservation Area".  That is code for "mosquito heaven".  Back on the trail, we all took our own pace, being at various stages of bonking, and arrived back to the campsite with enough time to jump in the water again for a swim before heading back to Corvallis.

Erika and I getting ready to freestyle... 

Ricky Bobby (Bill) tarding it up in the background.

Guide: Waldo Lake is SE of Eugene, OR and ~ 2 hours from Corvallis.  Take some strong mosquito repellent.  The trails are all well marked, and with the lake and several topographically well-defined mountains, navigation in the area is a cinch.  One thing we will do next time: bring a kayak/canoe.  Motors are restricted on the lake... maybe why it is still so pristine.  I'm telling you, not even a bit of trash at the bottom of the lake!