Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Mark Reimer]

Hi friends,

So I've mentioned in other posts that I plan to ride the Oregon Outback this year, May 22-24. As luck would have it, I've managed to secure the full week prior off from work, as well as a day or two after. So now I'm looking to fly out to Portland on May 16th, and leave on the 26th. That's lots of time for riding!

My friends will be landing in Portland on May 20th and plan to take the train to Klamath Falls on the 21st, which I'll accompany them on. We'll ride the O.O., then ride from the finish back to Portland on the 25th and fly home the next morning. 

So that leaves me with May 16th (afternoon) to the evening of May 20 to do some touring. 

For those in Oregon, what would you suggest I ride with five days? 

For what it's worth, I would love to be able to...:

- See/camp by the ocean. I live in the dead centre of the continent. The ocean is a real treat for me.

- Get at least a couple nice climbs in. Again, it's flat here. I'd like to see some elevation (but not 'too' much hah, I'm a prairie boy)

- Spend as much time as possible off the major highways. I'll be on the Atlantis with 2.1" tires and a light setup. Gravel, trails, fire roads, whatever. I'm game for all of that. I'll have a GPS with me.

- I also love bridges and ferries. Always take the opportunity to ride a ferry if you can. It just adds that 'certain something' to a trip in my opinion.

I've considered riding to Astoria and doing a Northern loop. Also thought about taking the train South on the 16th, riding closer to Klamath and meeting the guys there instead. It's all open to discussion. Thanks!

[Shawn Granton]

Hey Mark-

Welcome to Oregon! But I noticed that your plans don't seem to give any time for, y'know, exploring Portland itself. I can tell you from experience that Portland is slightly different than Winnipeg. ;-)

Anyways, I think that a North Coast Loop would be good option to get ocean and climbs. Though you'll have to use US 101 on the coast itself for a good part which would go against your wish for avoiding the busy. But the scenery makes up for it! This would be a mostly paved route. There are gravel options over the Coast Range, but they can/will be steep and a GPS unit is needed as most of those roads are un/poorly marked timber company roads.

It could look something like this:

• Sat May 16: Get into PDX, take MAX light rail to Hillsboro, ride 20ish miles to Stub Stewart State Park.
• Sun May 17: Ride Banks/Vernonia Trail, OR 47 and OR 202 to Astoria (80 miles.) No camping in Astoria but hotels/motels, closest camping would be at Ft. Stevens, another 10 miles away.
• Mon May 18: Ride 101 and some alternates to Nehalem Bay State Park (40 miles)
• Tues May 19: Ride 101 and some alternates to Cape Lookout State park (40 miles)
• Wed May 20: Back to Hillsboro MAX via Nestucca River Road (a smidge of gravel) (80 miles)

It's a bit ambitious, esp. with the coast range climbs, but you can shorten/ease it by taking a bus on one of the portions, either the Point bus that goes out to Astoria, or the Tillamook Wave bus back from Lookout-ish to Portland.

As for bridge/ferry, there is the Westport Ferry west of Astoria that crosses the Columbia. Then you'd have to get back to Astoria via the Astoria/Megler Bridge. At 4.1 miles (6.6 km) long, it's not everyone's cup o' tea. And it would also increase the overall length of this tour by a significant margin, maybe another 40 miles or so.

Hope this helps!

yours,

Shawn

[Mark Reimer]

Thanks so much! That is very helpful. 

I should have mentioned, I've been to Portland before. Just once. I was on a motorcycle tour and stopped at a friends house. I stayed for the day and he took me around. It's a lovely place, definitely need to visit for longer some time!

Your route seems pretty good. Distances are varied and never too long. I don't mind riding the 101 - it is a beautiful road and I can deal with pavement when the ocean is right beside me :)

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[Mark Reimer]

I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and riding to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route, 525km over four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there are ways to trim that down. 

[Jim Bronson]

131.25km/81.5mi per day does not seem too ambitious in my line of thinking, but not everyone may agree.

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Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down!

[Chris Chen]

it's a gorgeous way you've chosen (in principle) we might have a few suggestions for side roads. Note you're traversing the coast range twice.

"I want the kind of six pack you can't drink." -- Micah

[Eric Norris]

Not sure where you’re initial starting point is, but you might want to consider taking the Amtrak Cascades train from Portland to Seattle. It’s a beautiful train ride, and the Amtrak trains have a special place in the baggage car for bicycles. You’ll end up in downtown Seattle at the historic train station there.

I’ve done this several times—once solo and once with a bunch of other riders doing Seattle-to-Portland. The train filled up for the latter ride, and I had to buy a box and put my bike in it. Generally, there’s plenty of space for bikes to hang on padded hooks.

--Eric N
campyo...@me.com
www.CampyOnly.com
Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy
Blog: http://CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com 

[Eric Norris]

P.S. That should have been “your” starting point. Darn autocorrect ...

--Eric N
campyo...@me.com
www.CampyOnly.com
Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy
Blog: http://CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com 

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[Shawn Granton]

Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience with the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm guessing it will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe not even passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in "bicycle" mode to give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in Place may have a little experience here. My only tip right now: rather than ride south from Seattle through suburbia (which, if you stick to the Interurban trail, will be flat), ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to Vashon Island then ferry over to Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot more scenic and different, and you'll get two ferry rides in!

-Shawn

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[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Yeah I wouldn’t go that way in WA at all.  Here’s a link to a Google Map with my preferred route:

https://goo.gl/maps/zVT8U

This has some great riding along Hood Canal, through the woods and small little towns and is pretty much more direct. I’ve done that in two-three days, staying in Shelton (slightly off the route) or camping at Potlatch State park. I’d personally do it over three days staying at Potlatch, then Lake Sylvia and finally Long Beach.

Good luck, lots of great riding on your route.

-Robert

On Feb 25, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Shawn Granton <urbanadven...@gmail.com> wrote:

Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience with the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm guessing it will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe not even passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in "bicycle" mode to give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in Place may have a little experience here. My only tip right now: rather than ride south from Seattle through suburbia (which, if you stick to the Interurban trail, will be flat), ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to Vashon Island then ferry over to Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot more scenic and different, and you'll get two ferry rides in!

-Shawn

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Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185

On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Mark Reimer <markn...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and riding to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route, 525km over four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there are ways to trim that down. <Screen Shot 2015-02-25 at 3.23.37 PM.png>

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Whoops, double checking that map, it looks like it got a bit messed up. THIS is my preferred route from Seattle to the Coast:

https://goo.gl/maps/YAhj0

-RjK

[stevef]

If you can make it work, the ride around Crater Lake is pretty neat...

[shawn m.]

+1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again, especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy reach from Seattle.

[Shawn Granton]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m. <smul...@gmail.com> wrote:

+1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again, especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy reach from Seattle.

+1 to SR 6. Pretty quiet and a very low pass (700 feet?) over the Willapa Hills (Coast Range), almost doesn't feel like you're summiting. There's a state park, Rainbow Falls, about 20 miles outside of Chehalis. Nice park, has a hiker/biker site.

[SpiralCage]

Yeah, personally I'd ride 101 to Cosmpolois (just skirting Aberdeen) and then 105 down to the coast. Some great riding along the coast there and the section into Raymond right above the water is fantastic. Plus you go by the Cranberry Road Winery which also has a new brewpub associated with it.

SR 6 is good times as far as it goes, but then you are in Centralia. I've got a good route from there to Olympia if one was dead set on going to Oly, but I think if I was on the train I'd just stick with it to P-Town.  

So given lesser time constraints this is the route I'd actually take:

https://goo.gl/maps/KhWp8

note on this one I moved a section from my previous route on hwy 12 to a frontage road, which one should do regardless of which of these variations one utilizes.

[Mark Reimer]

Cool, thanks guys!

I've been toying with another idea, which was recommended to me by a local Seattle friend. There is no ocean or ferries, which is really too bad, but it does have some spectacular climbs and gravel roads.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5639292

I'm hoping to finalize my dates and rough route tonight. Thanks for the input!

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Yeah Jan's backdoor is something I've wanted to do as well. However the Seattle to Puyallup bits leave a lot to be desired. Some nice views of Mt. Rainier. May isn't an amazing time, though this year there isn't likely to be any snow. Of course the coast could be plenty wet as well. Could go either way.

Anyway all the routes have a lot of good stuff in it. I would maybe suggest ferry to Vashon Island and on the edge of the sound to Olympia and then cut over to intersect the route. I have a great Vashon to Oly route on my computer at home if you'd want that.

-Robert

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 27, 2015, at 9:15 AM, rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com wrote:

Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

Mark Reimer <markn...@gmail.com>: Feb 27 10:34AM -0600

Cool, thanks guys!   I've been toying with another idea, which was recommended to me by a local Seattle friend. There is no ocean or ferries, which is really too bad, but it does have some spectacular climbs and gravel roads.   http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5639292   I'm hoping to finalize my dates and rough route tonight. Thanks for the input!

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[Chris Chen]

From Raymond to Aberdeen I took the route out to Tokeland and along the coast, back along Gray's Harbor. Far nicer!

On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m. <smul...@gmail.com> wrote:

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