Most road surfaces in Oregon are “chip-seal” pavement. A chip seal is an application of a binder (hot liquid asphalt) in the form of an emulsion or hot spray and an application of an aggregate (small stones) as close to single size as possible. Chip Seals protect and preserve, and extend pavement life. This results in a pavement that is better to drive on, look at and will cost less in the long run. However, it is not much fun to rollerski on. The vibration is uncomfortable on the feet and legs and rolling resistance is considerably greater than a “hot-top” smooth pavement. Generally new housing developments have smoother pavement. The more expensive the houses, the smoother the pavement will be. br /br /Wherever you choose to ski, pick a time when the amount of traffic will be lowest. Often, early mornings before commuter time, or early evening after commuter time are good times to roll. Roads outside city limits are often pretty quiet after 6:30 PM. Early Saturday and especially Sunday are great choices.br /br /br /Corvallis Oregon : has stellar roller skiing. Oak Creek Dr. Several miles round trip. Nice pavement. Wide shoulder. The bike path to Philomath. Perhaps 15 miles round trip. Lots of good, paved farm roads. Rob Rootbr /Bend: Bend is the place to ski! Amazing hill climbing up 9th street to Awbrey Butte, although the descent will put hair on your chest and take skin off everything else. Or, you can ski up to Mt. Bachelor. It’s best to do early in the morning as the road gets way hot later ( at least in the summer ). The total distance is 22 miles, but there are lots of places that make for great natural stopping points. You do need a shuttle, unless you want to ski down which means real screamers. br /Submitted by Stuart Craigbr /br /Near the Central Oregon city of Bend is another good place, although a little short. It is the Skyliner Ranch/Tetherow road system. Access this west of Bend from Skyliner Drive. There are nice wide, smooth roads and with the current slow housing market, very few houses. There is a little construction traffic during the day, but early evenings are nearly devoid of cars. There may be more walkers, some with dogs, and bycycles than cars. The terrain is not exactly beginner friendly. There are significant ups and downs so your “snowplowing” skills should be sound. Be sure to not ski through the few gates that are closed. Gates that are open are fine and provide enough distance and variety to get a good workout. Starting at Summit High School it is easy to cover the whole road system in 80-90 minutes. The hills would be excellent for short, uphill intervals. br /Submitted by Bert Hinkleybr /br /East of the city of Bend, near the airport, is another low traffic area in which to roll. If you drive north, out Powell Butte Hwy, turn right on Larsen Rd, then park on a dirt island just south of the airport complex. You can ski out Nelson Rd, turn right or left on Waugh, go up and down it, then go right or left on McGrath, up and down it. Follow it out as it turns to Stenkamp. Cross Alfalfa Mkt where it turns to Bennett. Turn around at the Stop sign, or brave the rough chip-seal part of Bear Creek until you get to smooth, new pavement south of Hwy 20. But then you are far from where you started. br /Submitted by Hilary Garrettbr /br /About 18-20 miles east of Bend, north of Hwy 20 is George Millican Rd. To find this venue drive east on Alfalfa Mkt Rd to the junction with Millican Rd. It runs north through the desert with awesome views to the west of the Cascades. The pavement is new and pretty smooth. From the junction you can go south or north for an out and back workout. br /Bert Hinkley againbr /br /One of the best routes near Bend is the Sunriver Road, also known as Road #45. Start just west of the resort community of Sunriver and roll west and north toward Mt Bachelor. The road has a wide shoulder and is quite smooth. Views of the surrounding buttes and Mt. Bachelor are great and the traffic is fairly thin. Early morning is best for the traffic and the sun. Most of this road is out in the sun. From the junction of Rd #40 to Edison Butte sno-park it takes about an hour at a moderate pace on skate rollerskis. From Edison Butte to the Mt. Bachelor Rd takes another 40 minutes. If you are feeling more ambitious you could continue on up to Mt. Bachelor. It is about 2.5 miles from the junction Sunriver Rd and Mt. Bachelor highway up to Dutchman’s Sno-park. The whole route is uphill. br /br /If you know of other good rollerski routes in Oregon, or any place, drop me a note. Happy rolling!! bert@webskis.comdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-5249334519910037453?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div
