An Evening Bike Ride up Tumalo Creek

Tumalo Creek, looking upstream

Nine miles up the road and a world away.  One of the great benefits of living in Bend is our proximity to public lands, including the Deschutes National Forest to our west as well as huge swaths of BLM lands to our east.  This time of year, with our long days, I love to grab a bike, either mountain or road, and head out after dinner.  In about half an hour I can be riding in the mountains, which is a glorious thing.  My go to ride is up Skyliner Road to the bridge of Tumalo Creek.  The road turns gravel here so it is a good turnaround spot.  It is also a great spot to pause and admire the waning evening light on the creek and take in sounds and smells of our east side pine forest.  Sometimes a getaway is not that far away.

Evening light on Tumalo Creek