Love to hear some recommendations for good rides starting from the Portland/Vancouver area.
Skyline is an OK lunch-hour ride, especially between Cornelius Pass and Rocky Point Rds. Throwing in a lap of Sauvie Island can be cool too.
Did a great loop of Mt. Hood last year. East on WA 14 to the Dalles, south on OR 197 to Tygh Valley, then to Wamic and Forest Rd. 48 up to 35 at White River, then back to Portland on 26 (there are some nice backroads between ZigZag and Damascus).
Last month, I rode WA 4 from Longview to Long Beach - on the way back, it was dinner time and I saw ZERO cars between the Ilwaco turnoff and Cathlamet, totally rocked! The stretch of 101 along Willapa Bay is epic!
Anyone ridden out the Clackamas River Road recently? Thinking I might take a weekday off and ride it, but I haven't been out that way in a few years.
I was out CRR a few weeks ago, nothing much has changed.
Have you tried the Cougar run?
Hwy 224 east of Estacada is a nice ride.
You can take that to Ripplebrook ranger station, then turn south at the junction. Goes all the way to Detroit Lake. Take Santiam Hwy back toward Salem, peel off on your favorite backroad and head north instead of slabbing it up I-5 (going up through Silverton and coming in the back way to Oregon City is nice).
Another ride in WA:
SR-14 to the Cook-Underwood Rd turnoff, take the Cook-Underwood loop (which returns you to SR-14 near White Salmon). Continue out SR-14 to Centerville Hwy (Lyle, WA). Enjoy the twisties on Centerville Hwy, then continue through windmill country to Hwy 97, turn south, take 97 back down toward the Columbia River. Then peel off on SR-14 and return through Maryhill, Dallesport, Lyle, Bingen, etc on your way home.
I'll leave the Cougar Run description for krolik. [thumbsup]
Head down 30 and take Apiary to Vernonia... and then loop over to 26 on the way back... a bit bumpy in some of those twisties but very fun. Lots of side roads back there you can learn and decide to head down to alter the route. Did this one with Chuck the other day, although some of the twisties are a bit rougher than I recall. Bounce out of my seat a couple times... could just be that I am a sally though.
Has anyone done either of these?
Ridden north on 141 from White Salmon, then up FR23 to FR90 and back down to Cougar? There's some gravel (~1/4 mi) up on 90 past where you'd go on a normal Cougar run . . . no idea what 23 is like. Those seasonal forest roads are paved and I like the ADVrider vibe, but you're likely to find a sink-hole right on your line through a blind corner . . .
Or ridden north on 141 from White Salmon to Glenwood and back down to 142 and Klickatat? Or even over to White Swan and back?
And it begs the question: How much gravel is too much gravel to do an otherwise great loop?
I-84 up the Gorge is always a great trip then cross over Bridge of the Gods to HWY 14 in WA. ($.50 toll). also HWY 30 the old columbia river highway is nice, but look out for pot holes and cracks in the road. Saw someone almost go down after hitting a piece os elevated road.
FR23 is a great ride. Bumpy as hell last time I went. It's not/wasn't a "fast" ride. More of a cruising speed kinda ride.