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f I ever needed to dispose of a dead body, I know exactly where I’d dump it: somewhere in the bowels of Oregon’s Coast Range. While it lies within spitting distance of large metropolitan areas like Portland, Salem, and Eugene, the Coast Range is a wild place, crisscrossed by unmapped dirt logging roads, full of wild beasts, where a Sasquatch sighting is not out of the question. Riding in the Coast Range is a love/hate experience. Although the range is not particularly high, its elevations peaking just above 3,000 feet, the climbing is relentless. It’s hard to find routes without consistent grades above 10%, usually with a spot or two above 20%. Walking is commonplace, especially when loaded down with a full bikepacking rig. Even though you will suffer here more than anyplace you’ve likely ever ridden, it’s hard to leave without being impressed with the rugged beauty. That’s what draws a small handful of us back year after year to explore new areas, get lost, and find hidden dirt routes to the Oregon coast. Besides the relentless grades, the thing most people notice while riding in the range is logging. Logging rules, and every road that still exists, exists because it was cut to access timber. As an outsider and city person, it’s easy to dismiss logging as unsustainable and environmentally degrading. However, it has long been a way of life in Oregon, to the extent you have the opportunity to ride in the Coast Range; it is logging that gives you that privilege. Even today, much of the land is still private, with several of the larger logging companies graciously allowing access on foot and bike. Oregon is rich with history and the Coast Range is no exception. Its remoteness and valuable timber creates a mostly one-sided history of logging camps, massive fires, and record boardfeet, but there is more to the region than just the ubiquitous clear cuts. In addition to riding through extinct logging camps like Timbuktu, one can also trace its history by bike on the Trask Toll Road, the first stagecoach crossing the Coast Range in the late 1800s. Back then, rough roads and steep grades made for a hellish trip through true wilderness, where passengers were required to get out and help the horses by pushing the stagecoach up the steepest hills. Bunyan Velo 82