delilo

Fenders needed for a week long trip in Sept on the OR coast?
what say ye?

alan s 

Maybe I’ll run into you. Planning a trip at the same time. It is the PNW, so fenders will go in my S&S case, to be installed or not based on the forecast.

fietsbob

I live here .. you will perhaps get things on the bike dirty with wheel sprayed wet dirt,, you may wash it off ...
from the occasional puddle or year round ground water run off springs, running across the roadway..


By September, if like past years , wishing it would start raining again, to quench the many forest fires, by then,

because the smoke from even the ones burning in Canada, is causing respiratory irritation..

may be the situation..







...

spinnaker

I did it in September. No fenders were needed. We were warned of fog in the morning but our weather was perfect. Nice bright and sunny every morning and through the day.

We were a bit unnerved by all of the fire trucks across the CA border. Saw some smoke but no fire.

Where are you starting on the coast?

delilo

Lived and commuted in Seattle for a number of years, so know the weather for the most part, hoping to leave the fenders off, with it being Sept and for such a short trip, still undecided if I will put them on.

Will start from Portland, ride to Astoria and down to SF

spinnaker

You could split the difference and just mount the rear., I did that last year and it worked out. Doing the sam this year.

If you want to cut the trip a bit short, that ride to Rose Lodge then Lincoln City is really nice.

alan s 

In a week? That’s around 900 miles, which isn’t exactly flat along the coast. According to Google Maps, it’s around 41,000’ of climbing.

delilo

A week for the OR section

delilo

16 days planned for Portland to SF

spinnaker

The hostel down by the waterfront in San Fransisco is very good.

Check out Arguello Market for turkey sandwich. I think I would ride that 900 miles just to get one.

https://www.bing.com/maps?&ty=18&q=A...58168&v=2&sV=1

markjenn

I'd vote to skip the fenders. Sept is typically a fairly dry month, especially early Sept which is usually just a continuation of a bone-dry Aug. And it usually is drier the further S you go. It might rain, but odds heavily favor dry weather. Once into Oct, things start changing to wet..... fast.

- Mark

Rick

I live in CA and leave fenders on all of the time. Fenders help you stay clean from road grime even when it is not raining.

fietsbob

Been here 21 years .. only advantage to not fitting mudguards is you don't have to pack them in the box ...

Doug64

I've ridden the coast quite a few times. The only time that we did not get rain was from San Francisco to San Diego. you might get away without the fenders, but I'd pack rain gear.

Astoria, September 5th.


Vancouver, BC, August.


Just south of the California/Oregon border in August


About a half hour later.

delilo

Thanks for all the comments
Especially food recommendations.

Hondo Gravel

I was just there last week and I miss the cool weather. Stayed at the Highway 101 motel in Gold Beach. I saw many touring cyclists on the road. When a bike is in one of the tunnels there are flashing lights letting motorists know there is a bike cruising in there. I noticed that Highway 101 makes an effort to make travel safe for touring cyclists.

Doug64

What is the issue with fenders? They probably add less than 2 lbs. to the bike. The only disadvantage besides the weight, is interfering with using the bike racks on most buses.

DropBarFan

I vote for fenders unless it would be a big problem. I'm actually a bit surprised that Portland, for instance, is fairly dry in September but who knows what the weather will bring. Fenders are pretty light; even if rains only once they help keep rider & bike a lot cleaner.

CliffordK

I ride fenderless year around, mostly.

I'd probably skip the fenders, but bring my lightest of rain gear.

The 10 day weather forecasts are pretty good.

3speed

The only way you could possibly know the answer to this is to look up the weather a few days before your trip. It's just too close to the start of rain season. It's not a difficult thing to add or ditch the fenders in 30 minutes, Max, so no big deal either way. On the plus side, if it hasn't started raining, it likely won't if the forecast says it won't. Yay for decent weather consistency in the PNW.

spinnaker

But in some cases sort of like throwing chum in the water.

I entered one of the tunnels. A pickup with tires taller than my bike entered after me. He passed me with no issues but then proceeded to coal me as he exited the tunnel.

spinnaker

OP does not leave till September.

I am trying to decide if I want to leave the tights and long sleeve jersey next week. Looks like the 10 day forecast is looking good for me. Even up on Mt Hood. It is going to be in the 50s up there when I leave. Maybe I will just take the tights and leave the jersey at home. I like having something on my legs below 65F or so,

CliffordK

True...
The forecasts are now up to 15 days. But, one can always consider the possibility of rain, but check the forecast before making final plans.

The coast is often slightly cooler than one might otherwise expect, so a good slicker that doubles as a wind breaker is a good idea.Mt. Hood is one of the places that has year-around sking... so you can try a July ski trip.

A little leg protection might be nice, but it could be fun to hit the slopes in swim trunks.

Oh, and LOTS OF SUNSCREEN.

Chilly at night? Hot during the day?

spinnaker

Don't ski so that is not a problem. If I went skiing I would be coming back in a full body cast.

staehpj1

I saw some sporadic rain there in September. Not all that large a percentage of the time, but half at most and usually much less of the day a few days.

The answer to the fenders question is likely to run more along the lines of whether the respondent likes fenders or not than whether the weather will be wet. Personally, I'd skip them regardless of the weather, but know folks who'd take them regardless of the weather. I didn't have them and didn't wish I did.

Basically, if you are a fenders fan you may want them, but most likely it won't be a huge deal if you don't have them. If you, like me, aren't a fenders fan you'd probably be annoyed by them.