Cycling in Oregon

[franciep10]

Just finalized a deal to buy a house in Beaverton, OR. I'm going to be new to the area, are there any good climbs in the area that I can check out.

 

[sparrow]

Great hills nearby off Skyline. I like NW Thompson road (off Cornell) up to Skyline, about a mile long stretch of fairly steep windy riding. No traffic. Then right on Skyline down to Germantown Rd and wind your way down to Hwy 30 (and back again!). Or, instead of right on Skyline, stay straight on Thompson and loop down to Miller and back up to Skyline. Good climbing, especially for after work rides. This whole area has little traffic and lots of bikers, both road and mt. bikers dropping in/out of Forest Park. Drivers are used to watching out for us in this area so even though there are few shoulders it feels really safe.

Just out of town are all kinds of longer, more brutal hill rides. But the ride above has so many different options and the scenery is suberb with very little traffic. From Beaverton it's just 5 - 10 minutes by car to the Skyline Drive-in which is a good place to park, but you can start on Skyline near Sylvan which is even closer.

Hope this helps!

Chris

 

[franciep10]

Thanks for the info I'll check skyline out

 

[TheDude]

Oh yeah

I never lived in the Beaverton area, but a lot of fine riding in the area. Coastal range for moderate climbs. Mt. Hood, Willamette Valley, and Portland itself all nice for riding. You will need some Gore winter gear for the wet, but it doesn't get too cold.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I personally like Skyline going out past Germantown. There's little shoulder, and the traffic drops off considerably from there out. Once you're past Cornelius Pass, there's almost no traffic and all the roads in that area are superb for riding.

I don't care for going up Cornell, but agree with Sparrow that Thompson is a great ride, up or down.

Check out this video showing the five main climbs leading from Highway 30 up to Skyline.

If you're up for it next year, you could hook up with these guys. Ronde de Portlandia.

Riding out to and around Hagg Lake is nice. Not a climb, but not flat.

Most of the roads up to Council Crest are nice, depending on the time of day. If you can work your way through Sylvan, the same.

Give me time, I'll think of more. The real key is to get out of town. So many great climbs in the Cascades, and foothills. Too many to list.

 

[shouldawouldacoulda]

Former pro Jacob Erker teamed up with local bike Shop River City Cycles to make this website www.RubberToTheRoad.com , it has a ton of great rides around the Portland (Beaverton) area. All the routes were mapped out on a GPS by Erker - and he liked to ride a lot. It's a great resource.