Last Saturday [9/24/2022] I did the “Ride The Rogue” bicycle event in Rogue River, OR.

One of the great things about the event is there are several ride options so everyone who has a bike can enter, or borrow your neighbor’s bike. There are support people along the routes to help if your bike gets a flat or something else. The ride options are: 19.6, 37, 67 mile. If you didn’t go to the event you missed out BIG TIME!

I did the 19.6 miles because I hadn’t been on my road bike for 20 years and my mt. bike in 8 years. I rode my mt. bike with the knobby tires, which I wouldn’t recommend as this is much harder work than regular street tires. Next year I will put on street tires. It took me less than two hours to do my ride and with clear skies and just the right temperature the ride was over too soon.

As I pulled in to Palmerton Park I could hear a live kind of rock/blues band playing and I could smell bar-b-que’d chicken. There was also pasta, home-made beans, salad, and pie or cake. Beer was extra and the fresh water was free. It would be worth paying for the ride and just sitting in the park and eating; just kidding. The ride was smooth and all the riders so friendly and up-beat. Next year I will do the 37 miles and the year after the 67. Lots to look forward to.

The Ride the Rogue bicycling event is an event for all ages (I am 77). There were kids by themselves, younger kids with parents, and old people like me that have a lust for life. Make a note to yourself for next year’s event or even better go to their web site ( www.ridetherogue.com) and sign up for 2023, that way you don’t have to think; they just send you an email when the event is coming up and when to sign up. Honestly, this event is the best thing happening — a Southern Oregon Cycling Adventure in September and this is a fund raiser for the Rogue River Recreational Corridor and Greenway projects.

Jim from Ashland