Originally Posted by
surak
Tiger is actually where I last rode to.
Originally Posted by
surak
I'm sure you have an excellent suggestion that I will have to ride.
Whether I have the means to ride it depends on the tires and gearing that I'd need. The max clearance on any of my single bikes is 35mm and came with 33mm nubbed Schwalbe X-Ones that I've never used, with CX gearing, 40-36 lowest gear. I'm fine riding it up Tiger, as a point of reference. And I have survived a misadventure riding single-track in the hills above Snoqualmie on my Roubaix with 25mm Corsa G 2.0s, which was a bit beyond what that bike could handle without losing traction and falling a couple times.
The best off-road bike in my stable is my Santana 26" tandem, which I'm running with 1.75" Marathon Plus Tour tires, but it comes with a stoker who isn't fond of hills.
I have a friend who rides out to do Tiger regularly from Lake City. It's the only cat 1 climb I could think of in riding distance.
I've only got one bike, and I use tires that measure out to 33 mm. I'm not about to recommend you anything I haven't been able to ride like this, so you're golden. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me, though. I won't be offended if you have better sense than I do and don't want to spend half your day driving.
We have this breathtaking fall color on the eastern slope, trees that look like evergreens, but the needles turn a brilliant gold in October, and then fall. On a nice day, when the sun shines through those golden needles, it's pretty special. They only grow at higher elevations, so they tend to come with nice views. The more accessible ones should peak around the 3rd weekend in October. It's impressive enough that I spend pretty much all my free time every October hiking and riding with them.
Here's an all pavement route that will get you two mountain passes and a lot of larches. 97 is a fairly busy highway, with wide shoulders.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/43037660
Here's a similar loop with some hard packed dirt, and less 97. This one has better views. Also two passes, more climbing this way.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/43038043
It's about 2 hours drive, each way, from downtown.
This is from the gravel version, just off the road, the road itself is much better than the ground in this pic, but I needed something to hold the bike up for a pic.
