Three Days of Adventure & Rural Hospitality

Friday - Settle in, tours of the area and info plus a welcome reception
Saturday - 4 road routes
Sunday - 3 mixed surface gravel routes

Hundreds of cyclists from across the country will ride through quiet countryside and two national treasures: the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Lava Beds National Monument. Routes explore Southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin along with Northern California’s Tulelake Basin and Butte Valley region.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF RIDE!
Each rest stop highlights what makes the area unique, featuring information on local geology, cultural history, geography and environmental issues.

INCLUDED FEATURES

• Full event support

• Optional camping on site (Adventure van, RV, tent)

• Frequent rest stops with snacks, water and volunteers

• Finish line meal

• Clearly marked courses

• Quiet rural roads

• Friendly volunteer assistance throughout the weekend.

Why We Host This Ride

We live in a special region.

The Art of Survival Century shares our gorgeous landscape and rich heritage. We invite you to explore this historical land and learn why we love it so.

We love meeting cyclists from all over the US and hosting an event focused on health, fitness and fun for the entire family.

This is an inclusive event. All are welcome here and we can’t wait to meet you. Ride with us once, and you are forever part of the Survival Century family.

So About That Name...

The Art of Survival Century Ride brings together cyclists, families, and history keepers to experience the region’s story firsthand - moving through places shaped by both hardship and hope.

Our supported bike ride began as a tribute rooted in the biannual pilgrimage that honors Japanese Americans who were forcibly incarcerated near Newell, California during World War II.

During one pilgrimage, survivor artwork and firsthand stories were displayed publicly for the first time at the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The exhibition was curated by artist Madeleine Graham Blake, who lived between Marin and Siskiyou counties and maintained close relationships with many of the individuals whose experiences shaped the show. She titled the traveling exhibition The Art of Survival, a name that captured both resilience and creative expression.

At the same time, regional momentum was building. The Ford Family Foundation was encouraging civic leadership in Siskiyou County, while Klamath County cultivating outdoor recreation. When Siskiyou County identified bicycle tourism as a growth opportunity, Cycle Siskiyou emerged.

The group selected its first official ride to align with the pilgrimage at Tulelake, connecting visitors to the landscape and layered history that lies. The name Art of Survival extended seamlessly to our ride.

Though this ride, a region once known for a tumultuous and painful past was set on a path toward resilience through healthy activity as we invest our time and resources into our future. This event draws riders from across the West to escape, tune in and experience our two-state rural lands, where nature stretches freely in all directions, and borders fall away.

When you ride with us, you are part of our story.

Our Early Years Brought Us Here

The heart of the ride has always been our informational rest stops, which make this event truly unique. In our very first year, riders paused at the Internment Camp site where Jimmie, an 85-year-old Japanese American who had been incarcerated there, shared his story alongside an NPS Ranger. It was unforgettable. He later joined us to speak at our post-ride gathering.

Other rest stops have featured stories from Captain Jack’s Stronghold, the creation of the nation’s first National Waterfowl Refuge, and firsthand accounts from World War II veterans. We focua on Stewardship Tourism - connecting both visitors and locals to the region’s geography, wildlife, history and rural way of life.

In 2015, the ride was entrusted to the communities of Tulelake, Malin, Merrill and Dorris as a shared fundraising resource. Our partners chose to keep the original name, and it remains fitting: Art of Survival speaks to what it still takes to thrive in rural America - and in everyday life.