Mount Bachelor looks like a volcano drawn by a child: a clean, symmetrical cone that rises to just over nine thousand feet above the lava plains and pine forests of central Oregon. It is a young volcano, built in the last twenty thousand years or so, and sits at the northern end of a chain of cinder cones and lava flows that run along the eastern flank of the Cascades. Behind it, the Three Sisters and Broken Top fill the skyline with older, sharper, glaciated peaks.
The road that brings you here is Century Drive, the first stretch of the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, which climbs west out of Bend through ponderosa pine and then into denser forest of fir and hemlock. The gradient is steady and the bends are open and flowing, the sort of corners that let a bike lean and settle. The surface is generally good, and in the early morning the light comes slanting through the trees with a smell of warm resin. Mule deer wander near the edges, and in the evening you must keep a careful eye for them.
The mountain is mostly known for its ski area, which runs lifts for much of the winter and even into early summer. The byway beyond the resort is usually closed by snow from late autumn until late spring, so the best time to ride it is from June to October. At the base the ski lodge has food and a few shops, and a chairlift runs in summer for views from the upper slopes. Even without it, the pull-offs along the road are good for a look at the cone, with its dark cinders and lingering snowfields.
Do not expect fuel on the mountain or on the byway beyond. Bend, to the east, is the place to fill the tank, and Sunriver, a resort community to the south-east, has some supplies. Deschutes River Woods is the nearest larger town on the map, though it is more suburb than service hub. Weather changes fast at this elevation, and a clear morning can turn to cold rain by afternoon. A warm layer is not a luxury, and a visor that is fogging up is a sign to slow down.