Road Cycling outside Portland
 

My husband and i are thinking about taking our road bikes to Portland this summer to do some riding. We would stay in Portland and ride from our hotel or rental. We would be there about 10 days. We have heard there are great paved trails also. We can ride on paved trails and on roads. . What part of Portland would be a good place to call home base? Also we could use the name of a good bike shop. thanks so much

I lived in Portland for 20 years. Its a great place to bike, some of favorite:
Grand loop- OMSI out springwater to 205 to Marine Drive to St John then along the ridge (Willamette Blvd? by University of Portland to Steel Bridge to whatever food your heart desires.

Also loved the Clinton bike path out to 52nd then up Mt Tabor- from there you can head north to Alberta St or West towards... well wherever you want to go.

I guess I'm too new to post urls....

Google "River City Bicycles" - there are tons of great shops in town, this just happens to be my favorite. I'm sure others will post theirs.
Google "Portland Oregon Bike Map" and go to the w w w portlandoregon-dot-gov side to download lots of good route info. Also most LBS will have weather resistant copies of these maps for a few bucks.

Enjoy your visit.

Nate

Thank you everyone

Second River City Bicycles. Portland has many good shops. If Trek/Shimano is your thing, Bike Gallery is hard to beat. For an all around bike shop, River River City it. There are other shops that specialize in tandems, recumbents, E-bikes, fix gear/singe speed, women, MTB ...

West of Portland and the Wilamette River, there is a lot of good riding. Few paths or bike lanes but lots of good roads in Washington County and northwestern Multnomah County. Want hills? The Portland west hills. The Chehalems of southern Washington County and northern Yamhill County. The Coast range for a 2 day ride. If you hotel near Max transit, you can take you bike to HIllsboro to get a head start west, (And come back again in a few years when the Salmon trail is completed and get a spectacular ride to the coast.)

I live just outside southwest Portland. It's an 8 mile easy ride to the good roads and past very good espresso stops either way I go. After that, it is miles of roads and choices, all good.

Ben

What area of town would it be best to stay in?

Mrs. Base2 & myself usually find ourselves at or near the Holladay Park Motel 6. Admittedly, it is not the best hotel in the world, but it has light rail across the street & it's way better than anything in the (dirty) International District. There is also a giant (good) hotel accross the street from Holladay Park as well if Motel 6 isn't your thing.

Voodoo Too is also a few minutes walk.

Anything within about a mile or so of is where I'd look. The rest of town is easily accessible by personal bike, or the seedier theft prone parts by BIKETOWN rental bikes.

My wife has relatives in Beaverton (west of PDX) and I have enjoyed some really nice riding SW of there. I believe that's Washington and Tualatin County. Once you get past the edge of the suburbs, it's rolling farm land and quiet country roads (at least it was 5 years ago).

If I were to go to Portland as a visitor I would get an air bnb in inner SE near the Clinton Neighborhood. lots to do and see there, lots of bikeways, easy access to downtown/Springwater corridor. Waterfront.

Someone else mentioned SW. As an "Eastsider" I am admittedly biased but SW is STEEP in a lot of places. Depends on your legs how much you will like that. SE has some hills for sure but you can also go along way following the river too. Search for the Portland Bike Map online its a great resource.

Only if you go into the Chehalems, the west hills or the coast range. Plenty of near flat, beautiful riding south and west of Beaveron and Hillsboro. There are roads into the west hills and over the Chehelems that are not steep. Nobody has to ride up Logie Trail or Brynwood.

I admitted my bias. When I got remarried people were less surprised by our age difference (13 years) than the fact that she lived in Tigard~:D

Hi I'm Nate and I'm an eastsider (...."Hi Nate...")... I

As to where to stay - it depends on the % of time you expect to be riding, vs dining / shopping / etc. If mostly riding with base nutrition in between then the West or South Suburbs get you closer to the rural rolling areas and into the countryside. On the other hand if 50/50 cycle and eat unusual and/or exceptional food from all around the world, maybe catch a movie in a brewpup, or walk around and shop then closer in SE or NE.

You can get to the shops from the burbs (or from the burbs to shopping and dining) in < 1hr.

I thought of another link that you might find useful (although I still can't post URLS....) Try (www dot) vbc-usa/com then click on "Calendar" - If you are in town between April and Sept there will be one or more fun club charity ride almost every weekend.

Here are 3 rides that encompass North/South/East. Absolutely wicked hills. 50 miles is at least equivalent to a "century". You can download the GPS and follow the lions painted on the roads any time you wish.

RondePDX

As far as summer activities, also check out PedalPalooza every summer in Portland. Currently scheduled for the entire month of June, 2020. Events will pop up on the calendar from now through the Spring and early summer.

As far as riding "outside" of Portland.

The Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway is a wonderful ride through rural roads, and past many of the valley cities. Generally flat for 134 miles, you can bop down to Salem and back in a day if you wish. The Eugene end is pretty good, but getting from Champoeg to Portland is a bit of a pain, but certainly doable.

There is also a good bike path/route (both on and dedicated path) along the Columbia Gorge which you definitely should consider. I've only ridden parts of it, but hopefully will spend a few days exploring in the future.

There is also the Banks Vernonia trail to the West. I haven't been on it, but it would make a great day trip.

The Springwater Trail is an excellent path cutting through the middle of East Portland. And, great for connecting one place to another. But, overall, Portland has quite a few bike lanes/trails, and paths.

Forest Park is a wonderful "wild" area in the northwest part of Portland. Excellent hiking/jogging paths/trails. I think everything is unpaved, or at least it was, but at least parts are open for bikes.

You didn't say where you are coming from. The Oregon Coast is also very popular for riding, although the main highway can be busy. If time is short though, perhaps do a park and ride day.

Unfortunately, it seems like everything I can think of is in the opposite corner of Portland. Nonetheless, if you start thinking of where you want to make your home base, there are plenty of places you can ride from the doorstep.

Portland is BIG (at least for those of us from smaller communities), but what is it, maybe 10 or 20 miles from the center to any point in the main metro area (excluding Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and other outlying communities).

OK its kind of a trek (Trek? depends on what bike you own) but since I moved down here I have some to love:
https://www.cottagegrove.org/communi...scenic-bikeway

That is a wonderful trail around Dorena Lake.

Pretty flat, but if you want hills, the cutover from Culp Creek to Steamboat didn't seem like much, but it really kicked my fanny with my loaded touring a couple of years ago. Anyway, even riding light, it would be a good climb.

It is also a good place to test your brakes & Carbon rims. :eek:

I didn't realize there were so many covered bridges around Dorena. I've been meaning to try to do a tour of Lane County covered bridges, but the ones I know of would take me on at least a 200 mile loop.

You can also go down Mosby Creek Rd to Garoutte Rd then over the hill to Shoreview Rd. I think its only 500 feet but its STEEP.. Then continue up shorview till it hits Row River Rd by the Dorena Bridge.
There is also a covered bridge at Mosby Creek and Garoutte Rd. thats kind of hidden away.

Bring an industrial locking device and don't let your bike out of your sight for even a second! Stay in Beaverton and take your bikes on the Max rail to the end of the line in Hillsboro, then ride west from there. From Hillsboro you can ride to the Banks to Vernonia bike trail, beautiful. Also rides south and west from Beaverton are nice.

There are an almost endless number of rides outside P-town. Gotta do the whole Springwater. Gotta do the Gorge--lots of different ways to do this. See some waterfalls. There is a great route up Cornell and Thompson fro NW Portland to Skyline and then out over the rolling hills, which can be as long as you want it to be. Not sure how much you like climbing, but Mt. Scott is a pretty darn good climb. Council Crest. Sauvie Island is fantastic. Super cool. On and on.

Have fun!!!!