Andrew and Monika are New England natives, most recently calling the Upper Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire home. After Monika graduated from medical school, she and Andrew threw their bikes on the back of their car, packed up their cat, and drove across the country to Oregon so that Monika could begin her rural family medicine residency in Klamath Falls. Andrew, on the other hand, is a software engineer for a startup that does dementia research, and uses his lunch breaks to bike, run, and stare longingly at maps of local forest roads, stringing together future rides.

During their free time, Andrew and Monika spend as much time as possible gravel riding throughout the Klamath Basin, the east Cascades, and just about any dirt road that looks even mildly appealing (and boy, there sure are a lot of them down here!). The Klamath Basin is jaw-droppingly beautiful and about as underrated as it gets—a rare convergence of vast high desert, dense pine forests, ancient volcanoes, and huge wetlands world famous for their bird migrations. Upper Klamath Lake and its surrounding watershed are home to abundant wildlife, including the largest wintering concentration of bald eagles in the Lower 48, one of the only areas of known wolf activity in southern Oregon, and, most recently, the return of Chinook salmon after being absent from the Basin for over 100 years due to dams. This region is shaped by rich natural, social, and cultural history, and we are privileged to live alongside the indigenous stewards of the Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, and Shasta tribes who led the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, freeing the Klamath River and working to heal land and waterways of this remarkable place. (Btw, the Topsy Grade DFH ride is an unbelievable route along the now freely flowing river!).

All that being said, their favorite DFH route is the High Lakes – Brown Mountain loop—it’s the ride they did shortly after moving to Klamath Falls that made them say, “I can’t believe we get to live here.” The day is best capped off with a quick dip in Lake of the Woods, followed by a beer and a slice of tomapeño pizza at Rodeo’s downtown.