{"id":161592,"date":"2020-08-03T14:58:06","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T21:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=161592"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T04:08:08","slug":"rei-presents-pedal-through","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/rei-presents-pedal-through","title":{"rendered":"REI Presents: Pedal Through"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following article was originally published by Travel Oregon. Available to read here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Analise Cleopatra had never ridden a mountain bike before. The 29-year-old Portland filmmaker had never gone camping, either, and she suffers from long-term anxiety. Yet in September 2019, she embarked on a major adventure to push herself out of her comfort zone: She went bikepacking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a combination of biking and backpacking, meaning riders carry all their camping gear on their bikes as they ride. In this case, it wa<\/span>s 15 to 30 miles fo<\/span>r six days in a row, over gravel and dirt trails through Oregon\u2019s Willamette Valley and Central Oregon. She was up for the challenge. \u201cI want people who have never biked or never camped before to see how healing it could be,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Voice for Young Artists<\/b><\/h4>\n

Cleopatra, a Miami native, moved to Portland in 2013 to become a sneaker designer after a short trip to Portland for Design Week. During her classes at Pensole Design Academy, her love for sneaker design turned into a desire to create her own visuals. \u201cI spent a lot of time interrogating the [school\u2019s] production crew about how things worked and why they were doing this and that, and felt like there was an opportunity there to tell my own stories too,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cleopatra realized she wanted to be a voice for young Black artists, but she soon found she could serve that mission better as a filmmaker. For her, there were a lot of untold Black stories, and she wanted to fill in those gaps and contribute to sharing them with the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when 37-year-old Portland-based filmmaker and photographer Aly Nicklas came into the picture. They crossed paths when Cleopatra served as voice talent for a project Nicklas was working on. As their relationship grew, they decided to apply for an <\/span>Oregon Made Creative Foundation<\/b><\/a> grant in partnership with Travel Oregon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicklas\u2014an avid cyclist, runner, snow-sport adventurer and all-around outdoorsperson\u2014had come up with the idea to feature Cleopatra\u2019s journey as a beginner on a weeklong, 323-mile bikepacking trail through Oregon\u2019s backcountry. They had no expectation that they\u2019d win the grant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a great opportunity. I don\u2019t know anything about this, but I\u2019d try and do my best,\u201d Cleopatra recalls. While Nicklas had five years of mountain biking under her belt, she helped show Cleopatra the ropes. But her cycling skills were the least of her problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Channeling the Fear<\/b><\/h4>\n

Cleopatra has been dealing with anxiety since high school and started seeing a counselor in college, but she didn\u2019t find the relief she needed until years later. After seeing a therapist in Portland, she started taking medication for ADHD, which helped her anxiety. She says medication is not something therapists recommend for everyone, but it was helpful with regulating her moods.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the thought of being around strangers, not having any privacy and riding<\/span> 15 to 30 <\/span>miles a day during a bikepacking trip, she naturally had a lot of worries. \u201cI think I was very anxious, because for me, when I\u2019m entering a new space, I generally like to hang back and observe how people move in that space, so I kind of know what to expect,\u201d she says. \u201cSince that wasn\u2019t something I could do here, I just had to dive in and be open about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Without time to adjust or medication to use at the time, Cleopatra had to filter between anxiety and reality on the trip\u2014despite the company of her friend,<\/span> fellow beginner Dejuanae Toliver, and professional mountain biker and social media influencer Brooklyn Bell. <\/span>\u201cI just had so many what-ifs, and I just wasn\u2019t sure what was a reasonable fear or not, and it was just something you had to do, to learn and not to be scared,\u201d Cleopatra says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding Peace in Nature<\/b><\/h4>\n

As it turned out, bikepacking and being out in nature is what brought her peace and allowed her to move at a slower pace. She says the COVID quarantine has provided the perfect opportunity to reimagine recreation and create a path for people\u2014specifically from diverse backgrounds\u2014to try something new.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, the bikepacking group of women rode <\/span>132 <\/span>miles in their soul-searching expedition. Cleopatra says she\u2019s the strongest and healthiest she\u2019s ever felt. \u201cI\u2019m so much less anxious because of the things that I now know that I can do with my body,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s something I would love every person to experience. It feels like flying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her advice to outdoor adventurers just getting started? Be scared, and do it anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

If You Go:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re interested in tackling <\/span>beginner-friendly and challenging terrain on a daylong adventure<\/span>, here are some popular mountain biking hot spots along Cleopatra\u2019s bikepacking route in Oregon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salem<\/b><\/h4>\n

A bit east of Salem, <\/span>Silver Falls State Park<\/b><\/a> provides moderate uphill trail rides starting with the<\/span> Catamount Trail Loop<\/b><\/a>. This 12.3-mile singletrack loop climbs up 1,391 feet and has riders experiencing some rough, rocky sections as they capture beautiful views of the state park.<\/span><\/p>\n

McKenzie River Trail\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

The <\/span>McKenzie River Trail<\/b><\/a> is known as one of the best trails on the West Coast, the perfect ride to catch a glimpse of the crystal-clear blue pools in the Willamette National Forest. Starting at Clear Lake, ride downhill to the town of Rainbow, ending with a soak at <\/span>Belknap Hot Springs<\/b><\/a>. It\u2019s part of the larger <\/span>Three Sisters Three Rivers<\/b><\/a> trail, of which the group rode about one-third.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oakridge<\/b><\/h4>\n

Not only is Oakridge famous for having the longest covered bridge in Oregon, but it\u2019s also home to a popular <\/span>Lower Alpine Trail<\/b><\/a>. This easy, downhill-only trail is the original backcountry ride that put Oakridge on the map. Spend 9 miles in deep forests riding on narrow singletrack before riding 14 miles back to town for a craft beer on the patio at <\/span>3 Legged Crane Pub and Brewhouse<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following article was originally published by Travel Oregon. Available to read here. Analise Cleopatra had never ridden a mountain bike before. The 29-year-old Portland filmmaker had never gone camping, either, and she suffers from long-term anxiety. Yet in September 2019, she embarked on a major adventure to push herself out of her comfort zone: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10765,"featured_media":161593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[733],"internal-tag":[1494],"class_list":["post-161592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-co-op-cinema","post_format-post-format-video","internal-tag-co-op-studios"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/rei-presents-pedal-through","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"REI Presents: Pedal Through","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/rei-presents-pedal-through","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/rei-presents-pedal-through"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/PedalThrough_PhotographerAlyNicklas-9.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/PedalThrough_PhotographerAlyNicklas-9.jpg?fit=6720%2C4480"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hanna Boyd"}],"creator":["Hanna Boyd"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["co-op cinema"],"dateCreated":"2020-08-03T21:58:06Z","datePublished":"2020-08-03T21:58:06Z","dateModified":"2025-11-21T04:08:08Z"},"rendered":"