A mountain biker gets some air over rocks on the Upper Tyler’s Traverse Trail in the Wanoga Trail Complex southwest of Bend.

Even after 12 years of riding nearly every inch of singletrack in Central Oregon, I can still be enthralled by a well-designed strip of dirt cutting through the Deschutes National Forest.

That’s because of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance.

In the new Wanoga trail network southwest of Bend, COTA keeps building and building some of the most state-of-the-art trails in the country.

The group this past Saturday held its annual fall trail work party — COTA officials billed it as the “Event Formerly Known as Biketober Fest” — at which folks gave their time to build and maintain more trails, further enhancing our mountain biking mecca.

Some newer trails in the Wanoga system, south of Century Drive, include the upper section of Tyler’s Traverse and a lollipop offshoot called Duodenum. I set out last week to ride those trails as part of a 20-mile loop.

I started out at the small parking area where the Storm King trail crosses Century Drive. The plan was to climb up the Funner trail, then link to the Tiddlywinks and Kiwa Butte trails to reach the east end of Tyler’s Traverse.

The climb up Funner was not easy, and I required about an hour to reach the intersection with Tiddlywinks near Wanoga Sno-park. From there the climbing only continued. (I should note here that shuttling the Tyler’s Traverse trail is an option, by parking a vehicle at Conklin Road near the west end of the trail and then driving another vehicle to Wanoga Sno-park.)

The forest became deeper and darker as the trail got steeper. Finally, I arrived at the junction with Kiwa Butte, recently designated a state scenic trail because of the sprawling views of Cascade peaks it provides.

The trail topped out at a spot where I could see South Sister and Broken Top in the distance, then it became a fast downhill to the junction with Tyler’s Traverse and Dinah-Moe-Humm (Junction 41).

At the junction, some signs read “Do not enter,” while others read “One way.” COTA has done a remarkable job of implementing its new directional trail system with signs that are clear and unmistakable. While most singletrack mountain bike trails in Central Oregon remain open to two-way travel, a select few this past spring were designated as uphill or downhill only.

Tyler’s Traverse includes both uphill and downhill routes. I turned onto the downhill path and soon arrived at a section of trail that took me over an array of bumps and rises and around swooping banked corners.

The sustained downhill seemed to last forever as I caught a bit of air over several jumps and cruised around the berms. While Tyler’s Traverse can be classified as more of a freeride trail, its features are modest enough that intermediate riders — and riders who prefer strictly cross-country trails — should feel comfortable on it. The trail is not as intimidating as, say, the Whoops trail in the Phil’s Trail network just to the north.

After the thrilling descent, I arrived at a junction with a forest road where the trail became two-way riding. The junction with the Duodenum trail was on the right. I turned onto it, and the trail was downhill doubletrack for about half a mile before a sign presented the option of “easier” to the left or “more difficult” to the right.

I chose the easier option and began a long, steep climb up doubletrack, made even more challenging by sandy conditions. Finally, I came to the next junction, where I turned right onto some singletrack. The trail was relatively soft, covered in pine needles, and marked by orange pin flags, so I knew it was new. The section turned out to be a fun descent with numerous switchbacks and banked corners. The condition of the trail will only improve as more and more riders give it a try this fall.

Duodenum took me back to the doubletrack, and then to Tyler’s Traverse. I grooved down the two-way section and then linked up to the Steve Larsen trail, which led to Tiddlywinks, Storm King and, eventually, my car.

The 20-mile ride took more than four hours, and I was pretty taxed by the end. But the effort was worth the pain for another memorable day spent on COTA’s cutting-edge trails.

—Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com

Upper Tyler’s Traverse and Duodenum

Directions: Trails can be accessed from Wanoga Sno-park, about 15 miles southwest of Bend off Century Drive; or from a small parking area where Storm King trail crosses Century Drive, about 10 miles from Bend.

Features: A mix of swooping downhill with moderate technical trail features, including jumps and banked turns.

Distance: Varies depending on loops; ride featured here is about 20 miles.

Rating: Aerobically moderate to strenuous and technically intermediate to advanced.