SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2024. WINTHROP, WA
The Lost Weekend: Methow Valley is a collaborative ride experience presented by Rapha, curated by OMTM featuring two days of ultra-premium adventure riding through north-central Washington’s spectacular Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Blurring the lines between gravel and mountain biking, multiple tiers of curated routes present riders of varying skill levels with a spirited mix of gravel, singletrack, and backcountry forest roads. Each day’s ride will feature a treasure hunt with choice gear from select partners & aprés-gravel happy hour! Space is limited to 60 riders to minimize local impact and ensure a superlative ride experience for all.
The Methow Valley is a soft landing in a rugged region – an easygoing realm of rolling shrub-steppe foothills and golden light backdropped by formidable alpine architecture. An idyllic gateway to Okanogan country, the Methow forms a gentle buffer between the North Cascades’ skyline of sawblade peaks and the Okanogan’s bristling highlands and lazy river valleys – a rain shadow that hits all the right beats.
To be clear – this is not a race. Quite the opposite in fact. This is a non-competitive and 100% self-supported adventure ride intended to be ridden at your own pace, however and with whomever you please. This is an opportunity to linger, engage with your surroundings and other riders. Make new friends, stop a lot, snap plenty of photos, share snacks at the pass, take a dip in the river, co-mingle, cross-pollinate and steep in the wonder, majesty and mystery of the Methow Valley.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
To ensure a premium ride experience, we've put together a couple of questions. Space is limited to 60 riders, so we'd like to get to know you – to learn a bit about your riding preferences, experience, and comfort level with challenging terrain in remote backcountry areas. This is so we can get a better understanding of where folks are coming from and tailor things accordingly.
Survey is open through August 21st.
60 riders will be notified the following week via email with a registration link.
While registration is effectively free, we are requiring a donation to Methow Trails in lieu of an entry fee. To furnish proof of donation, simply upload a screenshot of your confirmation when registering. Trails are awesome. Methow Trails do amazing work throughout the region, so we want to highlight and support their efforts and that of their volunteers!
TO RECAP:
Fill out the survey by August 21st.
Riders will receive an email w/ registration link.
Register with screenshot of Methow Trails donation.
Registered riders will receive routes, details and specifics via email.
That’s all there is to it!
The first week of October all routes will be presented publicly so everyone can enjoy!
METHOW TRAILS
Nestled in a high pocket of the North Cascades in north-central Washington, the Methow Trails system includes over 120 miles of singletrack for Nordic skiing, mountain biking, trail running and hiking. Founded in 1977, Methow Trails is committed to the long-term economic sustainability of the community and natural resource protection throughout the Valley. Through collaborative partnerships between USFS, Fish & Wildlife and a patchwork of private landowners, Methow Trails facilitates public access to this extensive network which includes backcountry epics like Angel’s Staircase and Cutthroat Pass to the entire Sun Mountain Trails system to family-friendly community trails connecting the entire Valley.
WINTHROP
In an effort to keep everything free and easy, it will be up to riders to arrange their own accommodations in Winthrop, which is a curious confluence of worlds. It presents like an Old West movie set, all sunbleached boardwalks and swinging saloon doors but with a premium granola-athletic sensibility. Like a Colorado mountain town in the early 80’s, the Methow is ripe with second homes and upscale lodges tucked into the periphery but prefers to lead with uncluttered rolling hills, meandering rivers and lazy pace to its comings and goings.
Old Schoolhouse Brewery serves up a well-rounded slate of craft brew standards with a rotating lineup of dank and hazy seasonals. The downtown Winthrop location is situated in – you guessed it – a cozy, old timey schoolhouse with primo riverside beer garden and patio. They are kind of the only craft brew game in town offering a menu of pub grub, burgers and salads. They now have two additional locations in the valley, a taproom in Twisp and the Mazama Public House.
The Copper Glance is a mixology-grade cocktail bar with a streamlined menu of drinking snacks, charcuterie and thoughtfully procured locavore favorites. I can personally vouch for the burrata di bufala and gruyere mac n’ cheese.
East 20 Pizza serves up a casual balance of high quality post-ride pies, salads and curiously extra-cold brews. Nonchalant ski bum vibes and a well-worn, dog-friendly patio lock in East 20 as a perfect go-to for quick, easy, hassle-free calories and beer.
Though we’ve never had the pleasure, we’ve heard good things about Arrowleaf Bistro. If things like consciously curated seasonal farm-to-table fare get you excited, this may very well be the spot for you. Very popular. Dinner only. Wed-Sunday.
Nine miles southeast of Winthrop in Twisp, Blue Star Coffee Roasters is absolutely 100% worth the trip. Think Coava or Puff Coffee in Portland – which is to say artfully prepared and regionally famous craft espresso, pour-over, drip coffee and pastries along with a full line of brewing gear, aeropress + pour-over kits, filters and accessories. Highly recommended for a mid-ride pick-me-up.
Rocking Horse Bakery does a distinct thing I like to call mountain town espresso, which is to say sometimes it’s less about the coffee and more about convenience, hearty food + grab n’ go options, location or some combination of all of these. Rocking Horse is exactly that. No more, no less.
Methow River Lodge & Cabins gets the job done and then some in a rustic riverside setting close to downtown. All the stuff you need. None of the stuff you don’t with lovely balconies and hammocks right on the river. Perfect economically-inclined or solo option close to all the riding, food and fun.
Chewuch Inn & Cabins are a perfectly convenient option just south of downtown. Think standard-fare country inn with nine cozy private cabins available for rent.
Hotel Rio Vista is right in the thick of things overlooking the river downtown. It seems affordable, popular and again, sort of standard-fare tourist-grade stuff. I will say it is always pretty busy and can be sort of loud being right downtown, so if that’s a concern, consider yourself warned.
Sun Mountain Lodge sits at the apex of the Sun Mountain trail system with singletrack literally out the front door. I’m not going to lie – it’s nice. You’ll find it comfortable, spacious, accommodating and slightly luxurious if you’re looking to splurge a bit. Of course it comes at a price but those North Cascade views from the hillside hot tubs will certainly help take the edge off.
Winthrop KOA is just about what one might expect; the usual spread of tent and RV sites, rustic and deluxe cabins and even some questionable ‘Covered Wagon’ bunking arrangements should you want to kick up your heels a bit.
Camping is a stellar option in and around the Methow. The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest surrounds Winthrop on three of its four sides with literally dozens of established campgrounds north and west of town. Also as folks know, less formal dispersed camping is allowed throughout public National Forest lands, so if you’re looking to post up in the goods, you won’t have to go very far.
TREASURE HUNT
We’ve teamed up with Rapha, Swift Industries, Silca Velo, Austere Manufacturing, HiFi Sound Components and MiiR for a spicy scavenger hunt over the course of both days. Cues + clues will be embedded within the Ride w/ GPS routes as POI (points of interest) but will only go live the morning of each day’s ride. Don’t worry, the basic routes sans clues will be available prior to the weekend, but the clues themselves will not appear within the routes until the morning of.