# So I finally dragged my lazy @$$ up to Skyline



## b4_ford (Mar 20, 2010)

I was going to do a fairly flat 60 mile ride to the East of town but I got a late start so instead I went from my home in N. Portland over to NW Lovejoy past the Audubon Society and then right on NW 53rd Drive. The lower part of NW Thompson is closed right now so there were no cars going up to Skyline. I descended on Germantown back to the St. John's Bridge and home from there. I'm going back for more tomorrow but I'm going to add a descent down Springville and back up Old Germantown. Spent part of the afternoon thinking about how I'll miss Portland when I move. Then it started raining buckets again...:mad2:


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

good choice. on thursday i rode the entire length of skyline - started w/a climb up vista to council crest and headed north all the way to rocky pt. road. the descent was fun but sad because of all the logged-out hills to the south.  after that i headed back up on logie trail (slowly as i was fairly tired by that point) and took skyline back to descend g-town and go home (also in nopo)... there are so many great choices for climbs and descents out there and its easy to mix them together for variety. why would you ever leave portland??


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## b4_ford (Mar 20, 2010)

thumbprinter said:


> why would you ever leave portland??


I requested a transfer to Phoenix. More advancement opportunities in that market and my wife can go to diagnostic imaging school. I've lived in Oregon off and on for 40 years, time for some new scenery. 

I started cycling last year. I was 50 pounds overweight and in terrible physical shape. I've built up endurance for longer rides but I've always wimped out on steep hills. Getting up that hill was a personal goal and after taking two weeks off the saddle due to a shoulder injury I just decided to do it. Funny how the road seems much steeper on a bike than in a car.....


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

well i hope the move works out well for you folks...

congrats on making your goal. time to set the bar a little higher now!


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## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

I need to do the same, I live down at the bottom of Sylvan so I generally stay in the neighborhoods to avoid cars which have some decent climbs. I then pop up top of raab road and crossover to hewitt and up to council crest so never make it over to skyline since the portion of skyline which is close to me doesn't really have a bike lane and it has allot of blind corners


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

i find that drivers are generally very courteous on skyline... it helps to ride there on weekday mornings when traffic is minimal.


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## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

thumbprinter said:


> good choice. on thursday i rode the entire length of skyline - started w/a climb up vista to council crest and headed north all the way to rocky pt. road. * the descent was fun but sad because of all the logged-out hills to the south.*  after that i headed back up on logie trail (slowly as i was fairly tired by that point) and took skyline back to descend g-town and go home (also in nopo)... there are so many great choices for climbs and descents out there and its easy to mix them together for variety. why would you ever leave portland??


Jeez. No kidding. I was out at Rocky Point today and was really saddened. That whole green and pretty forested in the 1st 2 miles is gone! That was part of the reason I loved that climb. It was a narrow twisty steep road cutting through some beautiful mossy forest. Now it looks like the north side of Mt St Helens after the blast.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

bismo37 said:


> Jeez. No kidding. I was out at Rocky Point today and was really saddened. That whole green and pretty forested in the 1st 2 miles is gone! That was part of the reason I loved that climb. It was a narrow twisty steep road cutting through some beautiful mossy forest. Now it looks like the north side of Mt St Helens after the blast.


Rocky Point has been losing trees for a while now...though it does have some clear sight lines of the surrounding area now  

For good a good twisty climb/descent...Logie Trail from HWY 30 is the best climb in the west hills.


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

Wookiebiker said:


> Rocky Point has been losing trees for a while now...though it does have some clear sight lines of the surrounding area now
> 
> For good a good twisty climb/descent...Logie Trail from HWY 30 is the best climb in the west hills.


i always hear that about logie trail but i disagree, there are plenty of other great climbs and descents in the area. for descending germantown to the 30 is probably my favorite. mcnamee is a harder (imo) and longer climb with just as beautiful scenery. logie trail from the west side up to skyline is also a good challenge. so are moreland and brooks and old germantown... the list goes on.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

thumbprinter said:


> i always hear that about logie trail but i disagree, there are plenty of other great climbs and descents in the area. for descending germantown to the 30 is probably my favorite. mcnamee is a harder (imo) and longer climb with just as beautiful scenery. logie trail from the west side up to skyline is also a good challenge. so are moreland and brooks and old germantown... the list goes on.


There are lots of climbs/descents for sure and I have my own favorites, Logie Trail not being one of them...but for switchbacks and shear difficulty it's hard to beat the North side of Logie Trail in the west hills. The west side isn't as steep, but is longer with one small section that is very painful with grades in the 14%+ range (really hurts on a single speed).

McNamee is a good climb, but the descent is so-so because it's so shallow at the beginning with only a steep part at the very end.

Newberry is a good climb and decent, but it's not as long as Logie Trail and the top isn't that hard so really only 3/4 of the road is good, hard climbing/descending.

I like to descend both sides of Germantown but there is so much traffic it slows me down a lot of the time. Old Germantown is a great descent and climb with lots of mixes in speed/tempo with some good technical difficulty descending.

Just cruising from one end of Skyline to the other can be a lot of fun due to the number of short VO2 max efforts you can put out on the small climbs. It's a great short interval route with some awesome views


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

Wookiebiker said:


> There are lots of climbs/descents for sure and I have my own favorites, Logie Trail not being one of them...but for switchbacks and shear difficulty it's hard to beat the North side of Logie Trail in the west hills. The west side isn't as steep, but is longer with one small section that is very painful with grades in the 14%+ range (really hurts on a single speed).
> 
> McNamee is a good climb, but the descent is so-so because it's so shallow at the beginning with only a steep part at the very end.
> 
> ...


agreed on all points. i haven't tried going down old g-town, thats a great idea!  

i haven't climbed rocky point for a while but it has a fair number of switchbacks as well (one pretty tight one) and is a longer climb than logie. i didn't think any part of logie between 30 and skyline was particularly steep, even the switchbacks....


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## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

so I'm considering riding sylvan to skyline all the way out to rocky point road tomorrow. Since I want to climb rocky point would I be best off taking skyline out and descend newberry, logie trail or cornelius pass road to get on HWY30 to ride over to rocky point for the climb?


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## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

double post


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## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

I'd avoid Cornelius Pass. Too much traffic, IMO. Lots of big trucks and fast moving cars. Newberry has very little traffic, but it will drop you off just before Sauvie Island on Hwy30 so that you end up needing to bike along Hwy 30 for a few miles before getting to Rocky Pt. (But that may be a nice breather/rest before hitting Rocky Pt.) 

I can't comment on Logie because I haven't tried that road. However, descending Logie will drop you off much nearer to Rocky Point with little time on Hwy 30.

You could also drop down on McNamee which will drop you off a little over a mile past Sauvie.


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## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

So now I finally dragged my @ss up Skyline and cannot believe I waited so long. I havent done any rides over 25 miles the last year and nothing with more then about 2k of climbing. So I decided since it was a nice day to be ambitious and head out to Rocky Point road from my house which is at the bottom of scholls ferry and beaverton hillsdale

So it was an amazing ride with a hiccup..didn't realize there was a point where you need to go right on skyline...I stopped and asked and these guys told me to go left...then even better they told me to head down Philips. Anyways after a pretty big detour I realized I wasn't going to make to rocky point so i just took a few roads one which included a 18% grade climb and found my way back to skyline eventually.

I ended up with 48 miles, 4800 feet of climbing and it was a great day on the bike


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

thumbprinter said:


> ... why would you ever leave portland??


Yeah, well... I hope I don't have to!
Unfortunately, I may have to. Work situation isn't going so well.

Sooo... what's Seattle's cycling scene like?
(Compared to PDX- anybody know?)


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## b4_ford (Mar 20, 2010)

RRRoubaix said:


> Yeah, well... I hope I don't have to!
> Unfortunately, I may have to. Work situation isn't going so well.
> 
> Sooo... what's Seattle's cycling scene like?
> (Compared to PDX- anybody know?)


I never thought that I would leave. I've lived in Oregon for the better part of 40 years. I grew up just south of Portland. My wife has never lived anywhere else. This past winter really got to me weather-wise and I know that I've pretty much peaked in my job here in Portland. I made a call and requested a transfer to our Phoenix branch. 7 weeks later and it's pretty much finalized. I'll be there by mid-June. Much better potential for more challenging work and advancement there. I have friends there and from what I saw on my short trip down there two weeks ago the cycling scene is pretty good. Not going to complain about ditching the rain gear and fenders. Anybody looking to rent a 4 bedroom house in a decent North Portland neighborhood?


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