Drove up to Ashland Oregon for some cycling

Did you know that from San Jose, California to Ashland Oregon takes 6+ hours to drive? Well, now you know... I took the week off from work to do some cycling in Oregon as I have never been to that state before. I'll be doing a few mtb rides and one road ride.

On the drive up there, I passed Mt. Shasta in the northern part of California. I passed Shasta lake, but the turn out that I took had every single parking space taken, no where to park... (The lake is beautiful)

While driving up, you can see the mountain rising out from all of the others with the snow cap. There was a sign labeled 'vista point' so I took it. I think it was a far stretch from a vista point view of Mt. Shasta as it is still miles away, it looked closer in person.

When I got into Ashland, I went for a short mtb ride. Good thing the weather was nice at 74*f as the day before had higher tems. I worked up a pretty good sweat on the climb.

GPS data from a Garmin Vivoactive HR. You can see the profile, one big climb and one big descent.

At the top of my climb (it went further...), there was a nice map of the area.

The trail that I wanted to do was named Jabberwocky which is a man made 'flow' trail with large berms and jumps (Which I tend to stay away from)

The trails are above Lithia park which is quite large in size and everywhere you look, it's green with trees and plants.
This is the creek that runs through the park.

So far, I really like Ashland. In town, there are a lot of stores and places to eat! I noticed quite a few cyclists, both road and mtn. People at the park were so relaxed, I saw and heard a few acoustic guitars playing. (I brought mine to pluck around in my spare time).

The cost of living is much lower than the Bay Area, California. It is also much less populated and from what I've heard (from a local), the pay is not that great. So this place may be for those that want to retire in peace and with nature. Or maybe just visit once and a while... =)