Portland, Gorge area visit

[DebW]

I'm heading to Portland for a business conference Oct 25-29 (Oregon Convention Center), and plan to take an extra 3 days to enjoy the area. I've gotten some maps and guidebooks from a friend who used to live there. My big question now is: Is it worth bringing my bike along? It's an extra 50 lbs to lug in a big (but airline-legal without excess baggage charges) suitcase. [The bike doesn't weigh 50 lb, but with all the padding, shoes, helmet, tools, etc, thrown in it almost does.] I might possibly use the bike in the city a bit during the conference, but mostly during my 3 extra days, to tour the city, and possible venture out to the Gorge area for a couple of days. Biking and hiking are on my agenda. I could just rent a car for a couple days to visit the Gorge and hike. I hear that late October/early November is the rainy season. Does that mean pouring rain every day so I won't want to bike, or part-time drizzle?

[jelee1311]

In the thread about portland bike rentals there is some excellent info on bike rentals. The gorge is amazing & my fave place to hike,there are plenty of places to go depending on how fit and how long you want to go. Its well worth it you can PM me if you want specifics.There are some great nice rides on Sauvies Island and even Vancouver Lake for flat and the west hills for a more challenging ride. I don't know if you are a ccx fan but the cross crusades are big here and a blast. The weather is always a surprise,super rainy last weekend but 65 and sunny all week. So who knows what it will be like when you are here. But this year its been a nice fall so far,even when its raining its been 60. The leaves are changing all over so its a beautiful time to ride or do anything here.

[Ered_Lithui]

It's too bad your visit wasn't a week earlier! This week's weather has been nicer than a lot of the summer was. I wouldn't expect any downpours next week, but this time of year "rain" tends to mean light on-and-off showers for half the day, meaning rain gear will be key. The gorge is a lovely place to ride. Multnomah Falls is about 25-30 miles from Portland, and it's a beautiful day ride out and back -- even in the rain. (Make sure you have good lights for being seen on the winding road.) Cyclocross races (in costume on Halloween) will be in Astoria (2 hours west of Portland) the 30th and 31st.

If you go hiking in the Gorge, I love the Angel's Rest hike. It's a few miles west of Multnomah Falls, with a great view once you get to the top.

If you'd like to borrow a clunkyish but not-at-all-attractive-to-thieves bike for riding in the city, I'd be happy to lend you mine for the duration of your visit (whether or not you choose to bring your own bike). Send me a PM if you're interested!

[jdubble]

Oh I missed this until today. If you want to rent a bike, there are plenty of places. If you want one to explore the city, Clever Cycles (http://clevercycles.com/) rents city bikes, complete with fenders so you'll be ok in the rain. If you want a road bike, I'd try Veloce (http://www.velocebicycles.com/) or Pedal Bike Tours (http://www.pedalbiketours.com/bike-rentals/). Might be fun to do one of their tours too - I did one once as part of Pedalpalooza and it was well done.

Check out Rubber to the Road (http://www.rubbertotheroad.com/) for some good routes if you want to do some rides outside of town. Riding to Multnomah Falls is something I really want to do one of these days. It's more like 65-75 miles round trip - 65 if you start at Mt. Tabor, so tack on some extra mileage if you're starting from downtown, though you could knock some off by taking the MAX out to Gresham first and starting from there. I've ridden the Columbia Scenic Highway out to the Vista House, but never all the way to the Falls. Someday!

Hope you have a great trip and enjoy your time here! :)

[Ered_Lithui]

Oops. Yes, listen to jdubble. I live near Mt. Tabor and rounded down on the distance to Multnomah Falls. Taking the MAX east would cut down on the distance.

[DebW]

I've been to Oregon and come back. Didn't do any biking, but did rent a car for 3 days and drive to Mt. Hood and the Gorge. Hiked up Dog Mountain and to a number of waterfalls (Eagle Creek Trail was nice). Had rain on 2 of my 3 days. Thanks all for your ideas. It was a nice vacation.