# Ronde Van Oest Portlandia



## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

I'm doing this, I think. 

I'm *so* getting lost. I know I know they paint the little lions but I swear I miss one...


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

i saw some freshly painted lions when i was up around those parts the other day.

it would be great if the weather was like today..... (fingers crossed)

as for getting lost, just go up!


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

thumbprinter said:


> as for getting lost, just go up!


Or....just go down. Before you get to the Willamette, you're bound to hit a brewpub.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

you'll be fine...just follow the other 600 people doing it...
I would suggest at least a 27 on the rear cassette....


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

I'll most likely be out there this Sunday with some teammates...The weather looks great, 60 degrees and sunny...though this is Oregon so expect rain


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

i don't believe any weather report beyond 12 hours out...


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

It says something about a ride when yours truly pulls out the 28, but, I am doing it for this ride.



bahueh said:


> you'll be fine...just follow the other 600 people doing it...
> I would suggest at least a 27 on the rear cassette....


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

the only climbs around here that i really need my granny gear for anymore are college and brynwood but i plan on using it as much as possible on sunday in order to survive.....


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

*dude..*



KWL said:


> Or....just go down. Before you get to the Willamette, you're bound to hit a brewpub.


the ride starts at a brewpub.


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## danielc (Oct 24, 2002)

I'm doing it on an 11-23...woot!


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Wookiebiker said:


> I'll most likely be out there this Sunday with some teammates...The weather looks great, 60 degrees and sunny...though this is Oregon so expect rain


Are you doing it on the 'ol singlespeed?


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## thumbprinter (Jun 8, 2009)

i bet your legs will be 'woot-ing' when you are done!


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## danielc (Oct 24, 2002)

Couple of years ago I was riding it in a 42 x 25 but then my riding buddy got hit by a truck and I abandoned the ride.. lots of crashes that year too.. be careful on the descents.

Even if its sunny Saltzman is going to be muddy for sure..I hate Saltzman..narrow muddy and crowded..and you have stupid gates to go around..


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

mcsqueak said:


> Are you doing it on the 'ol singlespeed?


Thankfully the weather is looking good for Sunday...so no  

However, if it was pouring down rain and I still decided to do it...I'd seriously consider it, even if I'd be walking a fair amount of the route. 

I've never let hills keep me from riding my single speed up them, even steep grades...however I'd rather not do a course like this on it...especially with it's current gearing...I'd really like to keep my knees intact


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

You know for all the time I've spent riding in PDX I've never done that side of Saltzman, or any of the other east-to-west unpaved climbs?

Shows how much of a roadie I am... I only did a couple of the west side ones because I got lost!

Hope the mud doesn't keep the skinnytires down too much...


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Argentius said:


> You know for all the time I've spent riding in PDX I've never done that side of Saltzman, or any of the other east-to-west unpaved climbs?
> 
> Shows how much of a roadie I am... I only did a couple of the west side ones because I got lost!
> 
> Hope the mud doesn't keep the skinnytires down too much...


I've never done it on a road bike, but have on a cross bike...which wasn't bad at all. I'm not sure about the lower half of Saltzman but the upper half usually has some pretty smooth tracks from all the MTB and Cross riders going up and down it...so it's not a bad climb in general.

The question is how muddy will it be with all the rain we have had over the past 4 months (yes, I'm going back that far since it doesn't seem like it's stopped since then :mad2: ).

Needless to say...I'll take my time up that climb, then hit the rest of them pretty hard. Heck...I might even go a little farther down just to avoid the climb up Saltzman so I stay on paved road the whole time (Germantown isn't that much farther down the road  ).


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

danielc said:


> Couple of years ago I was riding it in a 42 x 25 but then my riding buddy got hit by a truck and I abandoned the ride.. lots of crashes that year too.. be careful on the descents.
> 
> Even if its sunny Saltzman is going to be muddy for sure..I hate Saltzman..narrow muddy and crowded..and you have stupid gates to go around..


Funny- I _love_ Saltzman for all the same reasons!! :thumbsup: 
It will be muddy though. We've had way too much rain in the last few days. Well, at least the w/e forecast still looks good.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

That went about as expected, I guess. Saltzman was pretty muddy -- rideable, but hard. JR and another guy gapped me a big, caught up on Skyline, then we hit the stoplight at Miller for quite a spell.

Maybe two dozen together at the base of brynwood, I wasn't walking but I WAS using the 39 x 28.

College sucked and yours truly commutes too much and races too little these days, got tailed off a little again, caught back on again, then somewhere between the first and second descent of Montgomery I didn't missed a lions or didn't understand an arrow or something.

I told you I'd get lost!

Still, ton of fun. 

Expected it to look like the parking lot of a big, big group ride, but it was all carbon race bikes and team kits. Cool to see so many people turning out!


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