Just moved to the PNW

[jesvetmed]

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!
You will definitely discover our wet culture here! It has been a dry winter all-in-all, believe it or not! But you are living in an amazingly beautiful area, and when the sun is shining, you'll discover why we all stay and put up with the grey, rainy days. Welcome to our little slice of heaven!

As for your questions, I don't live NEAR you at all... but there are a lot of people in the Oregon area on this forum... you should hear from someone!

[GLC1968]

Welcome!

Yes, you are out in the country! It looks like you are almost directly south of me (by about an hour?). I have not been down that way, but I would imagine that it looks a lot like the area I live in (I'm in the country just west of Portland).

I'm not a big mountain biking fan myself. I'm not sure why because I've enjoyed it every time I've done it (almost). I guess road biking is just easier where I live because there are roads everywhere and I'd have to travel somewhere to get to good mountain biking trails. That might be different for you.

For bikes, I think that ideal would be something like a touring or cyclocross bike that can handle slightly larger tires. We have discovered that a lot of the roads around us have parts that are not paved. That may be the case near you, too. And driving to find good places to ride is totally acceptable, too. My road is scary as hell during rush hour, but on the weekends, it's a HUGE favorite of cyclists in the area. I've never ridden down near you, but you'll eventually get a feel for what roads are best when.

For gear, my favorite are my wool knickers (good even when wet!) or my Amfib tights (repel water on the front, breathe on the back) on the bottom and a wool jersey with my Shower's Pass jacket on top. Oh, and fenders - you'll definitely want fenders!

You do get used to the rain eventually (or, most people do). And honestly, come summer, you'll forget all about it! Last year, I don't think it rained even once between July 1st and August 31st! We usually have one 'heat wave' per year (temps near or just over 100 for a couple of days) and the rest of the summer is classicly perfect (80's and dry in the day, 55-60 and clear at night).

Welcome to the PNW and to TE!

(and did you know that TE's headquarters are in our area? They are located in Hillsboro - so you definitely came to the right place to ask about good riding!)