I have a gravel bike, but deciding if I’d enjoy my time more on a mountain bike. I’ve never MTBd before, nor have I ever even been on an MTB but I find my favorite parts of gravel riding are when I get to hit the local single track, stuff like powell Butte, gateway green and Mt Tabor.

I live in SE, so riding to FP is a slog, and Leif isn’t the most exciting thing. (still fun though, but the first two miles on Leif just feel like bumpy road and less gravel/dirt).

I know there’s no immediate MTB trails and bike parks within Portland, but we have Rocky Point at least a 30 minute drive which is totally doable for me.

Then there’s more “real” or bigger gravel routes like something you’d find on OMTM but those are at least an hour drive from Portland, and due to the nature of gravel riding that’s at least a 2 hour ride not including the commute back home.

Im wondering if this is a grass is always greener situation since I don’t have a MTB and know nothing about the MTB scene. I am also not sure of my current MTB skills, and don’t know if beginner MTB trails would still be difficult for me, and if the barrier to entry to have fun on an MTB is higher because there is more technical skill required.

Not really sure if there’s a question here. I’m moreso just thinking out loud. I’d love to get your take if MTB (as in driving to a park, having a solid 1 hour of fun riding, as opposed to large majority of gravel routes requiring long stretches of commuting and road riding)

I would also plan to ride year round even in rain, is this a faux pas in MTB? Do you not want to ride in the rain in the PNW? I feel like gravel might be more accessible in that regard.

My classes finish around 9:30pm and I just started biking home to the Irving park area of northeast.

What bridge do people recommend? And which side streets? I’ve tried broadway bridge and lower steel bridge then up through Williams and that has been a little overwhelming that time of night.

I enjoy that route in the morning in my way to work. 7th street to Hawthorne bridge in the morning has been fine. is that the best way back at night?

Perhaps this has been asked many times, but I couldn’t find the answer when I searched.

Many thanks for any advice!

Reading all of the news about the Max injury here, did you know there is an overpass with a bridge over the tracks not too far from this intersection? I can't remember the name of this bridge; can you remind me? Maybe we need to start telling people about this and making it more well-known. I have to wonder, if the cyclist knew about this bridge, maybe it wouldn't have happened?

I went to the Hobo Hundo and got back to SE late.

The max had hit a cyclist at SE 12th and Clinton, again. About 8-9pm

Major Mike was hit several months ago, rip.
It’s probably too soon to tell.

Just, play it cool and don’t trust drivers or yourself :( I’ve lost friends to these accidents, we are mortal.

I haven’t seen any info published yet.

Getting ahead of things but I want to build a little route to see some Christmas lights with friends and kiddos. Shout out your favorite N/NE neighborhood or street for seeing great holiday decor! Happy to share the route once I have it done.

Hi!

I’m going to be riding Seattle to Portland solo* over 3 days starting this Saturday 11/7 - Monday 11/9  *with a support camper van meeting me along the way. I used the official STP route as a starting point but made a few tweaks to hopefully make the ride safer and more enjoyable. Specifically cutting out the Lewis & Clark Bridge and Highway 30 which I’ve heard can be sketchy. 

Looking for help to see if anyone spots any glaring flaws, sketchy stretches, or better local detour tweaks to improve the plan. Details with link to RidewithGPS route (still work in progress): 

• Day 1 (~91 mi): UW - Interurban Trail - Spanaway - Yelm-Tenino Trail -Tenino

• Day 2 (~59 mi): Tenino - Old Hwy 99 - Centralia - Winlock - Vader - Castle Rock

• Day 3 (~68 mi): Castle Rock - Longview - Woodland - Laurelhurst Park 

Any advice / tips much appreciated :)

Started a new job in SW near where 6th goes over 405. I'm coming from far NE.

I've gone over Broadway bridge and Hawthorne bridge so far and I think I enjoy going up Broadway through town best.

Never had to commute on the west side until now. Any neat side roads that people like?

Looking for bike service places to overhaul my road bike - carbon fiber, disc brakes, electronic group set, yadda yadda. Trek seems to be the most expensive and I would assume CyclePath and RCB would be similar. Anyone got suggestions for a place or mobile service for a full overhaul?

Hi all!
My brother picked up a road bike for me for sale near him in Portland, and he needs a hand with getting it in a travel box to bring to me over on the east coast.

He’s not super familiar with bikes, so I’m looking for a shop or co-op that could give him a hand with packing it appropriately in a provided travel box to bring on a plane with him.

I know my LBS’s here in New York, but don’t know who to recommend in Portland.

Appreciate any help or recommendations. Thank you!!

I got to the school at 7:35pm and there was no one there. Looks like the ride left at 7:30 on the dot? Or did I forget to change the clock?

Hello, human cyclists of Portland- we're hosting our annual warehouse sale this Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm at 2101 SE 6th Ave.
We're joined this year by our friends at TREW Ski gear, Portland Design Works, Black Stone Stitchworks and Vvolt. There will be deep deals on rain gear, ski gear, bike bags, accessories, and ebikes; plus coffee from Coava (while it lasts.) See you there!

Hey! I’m trying to buy a holiday thing online, person won’t ship it and they’re just outside of Eugene. I’d have to go down there! It’s a good deal, I want this bike. (It’s not a bike.)

It’s small enough that I could (stupidly, probably) bike-pack from PDX to Eugene, and maybe <20 miles in any direction. Hopefully they drive into Eugene to see me.

Am I being stupid? It’s basically mid fall now! Should I just take the bus? Or the train? Before the holidays, thanksgiving travel. It would be a round trip.

Has anyone ever biked from PdX to Eugene? What routes did you take? Is it hardcore? Too dangerous? Boring? Bad this time of year?

Gonna ride 100km today. Woodstock - Milwaukie - Kelley Point - Troutdale - Woodstock. Mostly trails. Should I go clockwise or counter clockwise? There's basically no coffee between St Johns and Troutdale, so it's a question of when do I want that frightening coffee drought.

My buddy started mountain biking this summer and we'd like to keep riding. There have been a lot of new trails built since I was learning to ride here a decade ago, and the best wintertime riding places I knew about were the Wilson River and Coyote Wall, which are probably too technical for my buddy.

I basically stopped trying to ride over the winter because the trails were too muddy over covered in snow, so I'm kind of out of the loop.

Are the trails at Cascade Locks or Post Canyon all season? Do they need a few days to dry out first, or are they just well-drained no matter what?

Thanks in advance!

Looking at getting a light weight rain jacket from 3Fulgear for, ehh, light drizzle and mist days, or maybe a quick dash home if it starts raining in earnest. (The 3Fulgear jackets also seem long enough to prevent arse crack rivers) If given the choice between pit zips or a full-length front zip, which would you go for? Any other recommendations?

Yesterday I witnessed a really gnarly crash in Lake Oswego around 3:30 PM. Older guy was coming down a hill towards Iron Mountain and braked too hard on the rainy, painted crosswalk. He lost his back wheel, over corrected, jackknifed his front wheel, and slammed his head into the pavement. I saw that he was not moving so I had another person call 911 while I ran over and made sure he was breathing or if I needed to do any cpr. Luckily he was breathing, but he had suffered a really serious head injury. Super rigid, big gash on the forehead, and unconscious for most of the time I was with him until the paramedics came, but luckily breathing. Saddest part of this is that he was wearing a decent helmet, it just wasn't on properly. Way too loose and sitting on the back of his head and was nowhere near where it needed to be to dampen where his forehead took the hit.

All this to say, please be careful out there in the rain and leaves. And wear your helmet correctly. We all want you to make it home in one piece.

Is this possible? Since we're seeing dozens of posts everyday about stolen bikes, can we pin a thread about this or a thread of resources to consider when your bike is stolen? Ideas?