Route from Portland to Hood River?

[sookiesue]

Hi!
I am fairly new to road riding and I'm training for a 150 mile, 2-day ride next month. I want to do a long (60-80 mile) ride this weekend from the Skyline area of Portland out towards Hood River. Can anyone suggest a safe, not-too-busy route for me? I have ridden from here toward Troutdale on the Marine Drive bike path so I can get that far on that route, but after that I could use some help. I know you can go some of the way on the Old Gorge Highway but you have to spend a little time on I-84 and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible, if possible.
Thanks for all the great posts and supportive threads on this forum -- it's amazing!

[radacrider]

here's the Columbia Gorge Bike Map from ODOT:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/HCRH/images/HCRHbikemap.pdf?ga=t

[smilingcat]

Thank you for the link to a map. Printed it out. I'm still bit apprehensive about riding on the historic highway. The parts I drove makes me bit uneasy. Very pretty though.

From my house to stark street bridge is around one mile maybe two miles. Nice downhill going to the bridge but on the way back...

How about Mt Hood Hwy (US26) to Government Camp? Is that safe to ride?

Just fearful of getting clipped by a car.

[radacrider]

It's been many years since I've ridden out in the gorge for any extent.

I-84 has lot's of traffic and back then, was fairly doable (at least the section I typically rode from Cascade Locks back in toward Portland). Much depends on the debris and such. The one really uneasy section was at Bonneville Dam, that on-ramp crossing and shoulder seemed narrower than other sections.

Old Hwy can definitely be unnerving due to minimal to no shoulders and all the summer tourist traffic including motorhomes. Take the lane when riding and if it looks like it is backing up, there are a few spots to pull off and let 'em by.

US26 has some pretty good, wide shoulders for the most part, been a while though since I have been up there and even longer since I have ridden up there. It's good if you are looking for a climbing ride though and it is certainly a lot of fun coming back down. I don't remember what the section around Zigzag looks like shoulder wise. I do see cyclists riding up there though.

Another route for distance I did way back was to ride out the Washington side (fair to medium shoulders) to Cascade Locks and back on I-84. That saved doing an out and back on I-84, and the Washington side is pretty scenic as you go up and down along their cliff sections.

[sookiesue]

Thanks for the map and the input. I didn't think about looking at taking Hwy 14 in Washington instead. Sounds like that could be a nice ride. My family will be picking me up along the way as we are heading to Hood River for the afternoon, so at least I don't have to worry about doing the out-and-back. Here's hoping for a west wind!

[sookiesue]

I ended up riding to Troutdale on the Marine Drive bike path, then took the Historic Columbia River Highway. It was a really nice ride. It wasn't too busy, and I was able to pull over often enough to let cars pass when needed (I am not a fast-downhiller). There is a short bit where you have to ride on 84 which is a little unnerving, but it was over quick. I made it as far as Cascade Locks, 65 miles from home!

[radacrider]

Nice! Glad you found a comfortable route! For the most part, I like the Old Hwy, cuz' it is scenic and the shade and waterfalls are nice on the hot days.

[smilingcat]

We drove out to Multnomah waterfall yesterday via Old Scenic Hwy. Along the way, we stopped at Latourell and Bridal Veil fall, Women's Forum, and Crown Point Scenic Viewpoint. Road was really narrow at times with NO shoulder but the cars were traveling at reasonable speed so that helps if you are a cyclist. We did see quite a number of riders with paniers and such.

If I were to do this ride, I think it would be on a weekday when there is much less traffic. Roundtrip to Multnomah fall was around 30 miles. :D The scary part of the road was from Bridal Veil fall to Multnomah fall. I-84 exit at Bridal Veil dumped a lot of impatient drivers onto the Scenic Hwy and that was bit un-nerving.

[Susan Otcenas]

I ride the Scenic Hwy fairly often and never have any issues. A holiday weekend (like this weekend) can be a little traffic heavy, but speeds are low, so it's never been a problem.