Four days from now, hundreds of cyclists will begin arriving in Southern Oregon for five days of riding through Rogue River country, the Siskiyou foothills and the vineyards and rural backroads of the Applegate Valley as the 2026 Cycle Oregon Rally makes Grants Pass and Jacksonville its home.
The statewide cycling event begins Friday, August 28, and continues through September 2, establishing dual basecamps in Grants Pass and Jacksonville while sending riders onto a changing collection of paved country roads and gravel routes throughout the surrounding region. The format combines long days of cycling with meals, entertainment and evening activities at camp, bringing together riders, volunteers, event staff and the communities through which the routes travel.
For residents accustomed to seeing bicycles along Southern Oregon’s rural highways and backroads, Rally will bring considerably more activity than the typical late-summer ride. The event is expected to attract hundreds of cyclists, with participants departing from the two basecamp communities and traveling routes selected to showcase the region’s rivers, foothills, agricultural areas and vineyard country.
This is not a race, and there will be no sprint for a finish-line trophy. Rally is organized as a noncompetitive bicycle tour, giving participants multiple daily route choices and allowing them to travel at their own pace. Some routes will follow paved country lanes, while others will take riders onto gravel backroads, creating different experiences across the five days.
The landscape itself is a major part of the itinerary. Cycle Oregon says the 2026 routes will wind through the Siskiyou foothills, quiet river corridors and rolling vineyards of the Applegate Valley. Riders are encouraged to spend time in the communities along the routes, visit local businesses and experience the places they are traveling through rather than treating them simply as mileage between the morning departure and evening return.
“Every ride we design is rooted in a bigger purpose: connecting cyclists directly to the culture, history, and people of Oregon’s unique towns,” Cycle Oregon Event Director Ashley Lance said. “Bringing Rally 2026 to both Grants Pass and Jacksonville gives our riders an incredible dual-basecamp experience, from the banks of the Rogue River to the historic charm of the Applegate Valley.”
Keeping hundreds of cyclists moving across multiple routes requires an operation extending well beyond the bicycles themselves. Cycle Oregon will provide full on-course support throughout Rally, backed by staff members and volunteers. Catered meals and live entertainment are included in the event, while the basecamps provide central gathering places where participants can return after completing their daily routes.
The choice of Grants Pass and Jacksonville gives Rally two communities with distinctly different settings while keeping participants within the broader Rogue and Applegate valleys. Between them are stretches of Southern Oregon characterized by river country, farms, vineyards, forested foothills and rural roads that can change dramatically within a relatively short distance.
Those surroundings will provide the backdrop for an event with roots extending back nearly four decades.
Cycle Oregon held its inaugural ride in 1988 and has since developed cycling events around a broader nonprofit mission involving bicycle access, youth education and community investment. The organization reports that 397 community grants totaling more than $3.6 million have been awarded during its history. The Cycle Oregon Foundation now directs the philanthropic portion of that work, supporting youth bicycle education, infrastructure and community projects around the state.
“Our work goes far beyond the bike ride this week. Through youth bike education, statewide advocacy, and direct community grants, Cycle Oregon exists to reinvest in the places that welcome us,” Executive Director Steve Schulz said. “There’s so much exciting momentum for cycling across Southern Oregon right now, and we’re honored to be a part of it.”
The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and describes its broader work as expanding access to bicycles, supporting youth education and funding local projects. Its signature events provide the most visible portion of that mission, bringing groups of cyclists into different regions of Oregon and building routes around the landscapes and communities found there.
Beginning Friday, that statewide tradition will be centered squarely in Southern Oregon.
For five days, riders will move between river corridors, vineyard country and foothill roads before returning to the Rally basecamps. Grants Pass and Jacksonville will become the anchors for an event designed to put cyclists directly into the communities and landscapes they came to experience.
By September 2, participants will have covered miles of Southern Oregon pavement and gravel without a race clock determining the winner. Rally is built around something different: five days, two Southern Oregon basecamps and hundreds of bicycles traveling through one of the most geographically varied corners of the state.