2008 Polar Plunge

The 2008 Polar Plunge is happening this Friday the 29th just south of the Colorado Street bridge in the Old Mill. The forecast is for temperatures in the mid to high 50's on Friday, but I imagine the water is still going to be pretty cold. There is going to be live music along with a costume contest and of course the plunge. Music and check-in starts at 4:30pm, with the ceremonies starting at 6:30pm.

Check out the Polar Plunge website for more info: http://www.soor.org/plunge/

Horse Ridge

If you aren’t a fan of winter sports and insist on cycling year round, Horse Ridge located about 20 miles east of Bend off Highway 20 is one of the best options. The flat high desert plains give way to quite a few buttes with Horse Ridge being one of the bigger ones. A nice singletrack runs through the scrub brush and lava rocks with small elevation gains and losses. You have a few options if the trails are relatively dry. I call them the lower loop, medium loop, and upper loop. Your best bet would be to grab a map from a local bike shop. The views from the highest part of the trail are outstanding and on most days the Cascade Mountain Range dances on the horizon. The Badlands loom off in the distance and Pine Mtn Observatory tops the ridge behind you.

This past Sunday my husband and I rode out there and while conditions on the middle and upper loop were muddy, the lower loop was pretty decent. That didn’t stop us from climbing up the old Highway to the start of the higher loop. Hey, climbing is fun!!

For more recreation pictures visit TheBendGuide.com

Webcyclery bike movie night

For the cyclists out there or anyone else interested in bike culture, Monday February 18th is the next installment of Webcyclery's bike movie night at McMenamin' s Old St.Francis Theater. The movie this month is Pedal which is a documentary about the NYC bike messenger scene. As usual the movie starts at 9pm and cost $5. The money from the movie goes to support the Central Oregon Trail Alliance build and maintain our fantasic trail system around Bend.

For more info go to Webcyclery.com

Winterfest

For those that missed it, Winterfest was a blast. The weather turned out to be nice, though a little cold at night. There were some really good bands playing including The Blakes and Helles Belles, the snowboarding and skiing at the Rail Jam was impressive, and the nice warm tent at the expo area was a nice touch.

Check out our photo gallery at TheBendGuide.com.

Winterfest

The Bend Winterfest is coming up this weekend. One of the things I like about Bend is the amount of festivals and concert type events we have. Most of the events are during the summer, so winter does get a little dull sometimes, but not this weekend. Winterfest has something for everyone. There are craft booths to browse through, concerts, cross-country ski expos and racing, the Rail Jam snowboard expo, ice sculpture carving, and a beer garden and wine walk. If you are in town you definitely need to check it out.

For the event schedule and more info check out the Winterfest website: http://www.bendwinterfest.com/