Twickenham Road Ride from Mitchell or Fossil

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Mitchell, OR, US

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Route Overview

Bicycle Rides Northwest

Bicycle tours in the Pacific Northwest on both road and gravel.

87 mi.

8,170 ft.

A beautiful ride that drops through a basalt canyon to Twickenham. The ride can start in either Fossil or Mitchell and can be shortened to about 67 miles by not going the full way to the other town.

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Route Details

While many riders start in @poi[Mitchell](1028790) and ride the loop returning to Mitchell, it can also be started in @poi[Fossil](1028789). It's a challenging and rewarding ride with with some impressive climbs and fantastic descents. @slice[The best part of the ride is the section  on Girds Creek Road as it passses through the basalt canyon](d,21037.23,23921.5). The towns of Mitchell and Fossil are both fun to visit and have shops, reataurants and markets. There is also a small restaurant at Service Creek.

## Route
* The ride shows a start in the town of Mitchell, but it can also be started in the town of Fossil. To ride just the loop, vehicles can be parked at either of the boat ramps on the John Day River.
* To follow the route as mapped, head west on Hwy 26 and turn north on Hwy 207 towards Fossil.
* The route has a fun descent after the turn on Girds Creek Road and then flattens out as in enters Twickenham (not really a town left at the bottom) and crosses the John Day River.
* The road rolls along before climbing Rowe Creek back up to the highway where a turn to the left goes to Fossil and a turn to the right takes a great descent to Service Creek.
* After the turn at Service Creek (there is a restaurant before the turn) the road climbs in a series of swithbacks up to the summit.
* This section of the route is very different in landscape to the Twickenham portion of the ride having more pasture and ranches. 
* All of the route is beautiful and one most serious cyclists in Central Oregon ride often.

## Notes
3 great descents @slice[here](d,11048,27510.98), @slice[here](d,54124.81,68820.8), and @slice[here](d,83863.99,100933.86)

Riding through the @photo[basalt canyon](715306)

Stores and restaurants can be found in Mitchell, Fossil and Service Creek.

Addtional restrooms are located at the boat launches on the John Day River.

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Route Overview

Route Details

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