# What's your top 5 organized rides in the northwest?



## MarvinK (Feb 12, 2002)

If you had to pick your 5 favorite organized rides to recommend to people new to the area, which ones would they be? They can be in Washington, Oregon or North Idaho.


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## PomPilot (May 17, 2006)

Okay, I'll play, a bit.

The Umpqua wine ride in September. The Monster Cookie Metric Century in May. The Cycle Oregon Weekend in July (IF you can snag a spot). And any of the Pedalpalooza rides in Portland, during June. If the subject is truly new to the state, the Pedalpalooza rides (see the SHIFT! calendar), have activities for almost any taste. These range from evening rides that stop at food cart scattered around Portland to the World Naked Bike Ride to more social get togethers of semi-serious riders. As a resident of the south end of the state, I almost always take a bike with me when traveling to Portland, and can find an organized ride while there.


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## ACree (Feb 5, 2006)

Two that come to mind are the Alpine Century just outside of Monroe OR, and the Ephrata Gran Fondo. Totally different terrain and scenery, but great courses. The Strawberry Century is good too.


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## tenkerman (Feb 16, 2012)

Tour de Lab; Reach the Beach.


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## MarvinK (Feb 12, 2002)

Or even rides in British Columbia... any good ones?


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## Apothe (Apr 17, 2007)

The Monster Cookie Metric Century in Oregon is always a good time.
Last year Cycle the Lakes in Cottage, Grove Oregon was great. It was the inaugural ride and they did a nice job.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

MarvinK said:


> If you had to pick your 5 favorite organized rides to recommend to people new to the area, which ones would they be? They can be in Washington, Oregon or North Idaho.


More specifics would be good.

There are a ton of organized events in all the areas you list...it's just a matter of how far you want to ride, how much you want to climb and what type of terrain you want to see.

I've seen the Monster Cookie ride mentioned several times...I've done it a couple times and it is well organized, but it's a little short, very flat and has a lot of people on the road...so it doesn't take long to complete and there really isn't a lot to see on the route. The last time I did it, we basically did it as a team time trial and finished it right at 2.5 hours.

Cycle Oregon is an awesome event...if you can get in, and it covers several days.

Seattle to Portland is a fun event that you can do in either one or two days. It's well supported and a good opportunity to complete a double century (if you decide on the single day ride) if you want since there usually is a tail wind most of the way.

Reach the Beach is fun in Oregon, has some good terrain to see and you end up at the beach (though you need to arrange for a ride home).

Multiple centuries in the area...lots of organized wine tours and other events in Oregon to look at...as well as the other areas you mention.

Just depends on what "You" are looking for.


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## viciouscycle (Aug 22, 2009)

Crater Lake Century, Oregon
Gran Fondo Ephrata WA, both as far apart as possible on scenery as possible while still being gorgeous rides and they both can really hurt!


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

I did the Harvest Century in October last year, which I really enjoyed. Started/Ended in urban Hillsboro, but 95% of the ride was in rolling farmland, with light to no traffic. It was my first century, and I spent most of the ride by myself and had quite a good day in the saddle. Rest stops were placed well, with good support (saw lots of support cars driving around, never needed them though). I'd recommend that one to anyone looking for a good ride, and they had different length options as well (I think the standard 30/50/100mi segments).


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Flying Wheels century that starts in Redmond, WA. A nice course with varying terrain and good support. I use it as a final century before STP. 

Peninsula Century, two starting points, Gig Harbor or Southworth Ferry Terminal, very deceptive course that is around 103 miles with almost 8K of climbing in short steep segments.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

*BC Fondos*



MarvinK said:


> Or even rides in British Columbia... any good ones?


There is the Whistler Gran Fondo - Vancouver to Whistler. Beautiful ride, but overall kind of a dangerous experience because the organizer uses cones to keep traffic to the left of the cyclists. Bikes and cones don't mix, and it is doubtful I will do this event again after having done it the first 2 years. The first year was in the Giro (race) category, a P/1/2 race event that starts before the Fondo, and it was quite safe. Last year I did the Fondo class and rode at the front and found it dodgy, too many people riding to the left of the cones on the descents when things bunched up and eventually they had to cross back in and subsequently hit cones.

Also, the Gran Fondo Axel Merckx in Penticton, BC. Nice route around the South Okanagan Valley. Terrain is a mix of flat/rolling with a couple of decent climbs of 3-4 km length. Another Fondo in Kelowna put on by the Whistler group, have not ridden it but a friend of mine did it last year and said it was good. Has a long climb with a dirt/gravel section.

There are a couple of new Fondos starting up for 2012 in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver. One out of Fort Langley and one out of Mission. These roads are my regular training grounds and offer rolling terrain with some steep short climbs.

Finally, no one has mentioned Ride 542 - the climb from Glacier to Mount Baker in WA. This is an organized race/ride in September. I have not done it but I have ridden from Sumas to Mt Baker and bakc many times and it is a beauty.


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## MarvinK (Feb 12, 2002)

I'm thinking of centuries or double centuries, not races. Well organized and supported rides, but not the total zoo that the STP (although it's not bad if you're doing 1 day). Anyone done any of the ones out of Spokane or Eastern Washington? 

The Ephrata Grand Fondo sounds interesting to me, but probably not to those looking for something like the STP. Has anyone done the Apple Century or others out of Wenatchee or that general area?


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## jayteepee (Jun 11, 2011)

The Harvest Century is a good one, although some years it can be pretty lousy, weather wise. Still, the scenery is generally nice, and the sprint to the top of the hill coming off of the Canby Ferry is always the high point, for me at least. 

The Ride Around Clark County, start/finish at Clark College in Vancouver is a favorite, the one that usually kicks off the season for me. Mostly rural route, and a surprising amount of climbing. It's also the only ride I've been on where a companion had a flat caused by a fishhook. After that, I gave her a Leatherman Squirt for her seat bag. Weather can be an issue with this one as well. There was a point during one ride, where I was desperately wishing for more hills so I could warm up. 

Reach the Beach was the first century I ever did, and I think it's probably worth riding once. There are some largely sucky stretches of road, though. Very unpleasant riding alongside all of the traffic flying down OR18. The beach finish is nice, but as someone mentioned, there's the logistics of getting back home. 

The Pioneer Century was an eye opener for me. Starting out of Canby, it heads through some very scenic countryside to the south/southwest of Portland. Nice finish line feed.

I've ridden the Portland Century every year since it's inception, and last year was the best, when they reversed the route so that you weren't bucking a severe headwind on Marine Drive. The best parts of the ride are south of Troutdale, down through the Bull Run area, on into Sandy, and down into Eagle Fern Park. I think there's like about 6000 feet of elevation gain, with some killer descents. The major downside is having to ride on the Springwater Trail. I'll take some crap for this, but it's not all that it's been made out to be. Stretches through some decidedly ugly industrial areas, and just way too many stops. The finish line feed at the start/finish line at the Park Blocks near PSU is absolutely the best. They're pretty generous with the Widmer, and on the earlier rides, I found myself having to be ferried home after overdoing it just a bit. 

My all time favorite remains the one day STP. I still get that giddy feeling at the start line when the clock hits 4:45 AM, and that well earned beer at the finish in Holladay Park always tastes especially good. Oooops. That makes six rides.


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## dfltroll (Nov 27, 2006)

While not an organized ride like Reach the Beach, the 3 Capes 300k put on by Oregon Randonneurs is my favorite organized(ish) ride. You should definitely check out ORR if you're into long rides. There's gonna be a summer series this year with brevets starting in Portland proper. Check it out:

OR Randonneurs


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

On the "Non-Organized" .... but "Kind of" side of things...

There is the De Ronde that takes place in early April. Basically about 47 miles with 5500 - 7500 feet of climbing (depends on who's computer you look at). It covers all the steepest climbs in the Portland area and usually has around 300-500 people show up for a "Bunch of friends going out for a group ride" 

It's got to the point that there are people on the route that put out tables with food on them and you see the occasional "Port-a-Potty" that open for use along the route.

It's marked off with gold lions painted on the street...and some of the 25% grades are "KILLER".

Anyway...it's a great 3-5 hour ride for those interested...keep an eye out for the date/time in the next month or so.

Last year was my first time doing it...3.5 hours and only got lost once


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## dfltroll (Nov 27, 2006)

Yes, forgot about the Rhonde which I've actually never done. Seems like it always conflicts with work or randonneuring. Here's a link about the 2012 Rhonde which doesn't appear to be happening yet appears to be happening.

I'm signed up for the Cascade 1200k but may bow out. I'm excited about the ride but just negotiating the time off with work and summer plans with my wife are becoming too difficult.

Some other good rides in the PNW are the Velodirt rides--http://velodirt.com/.

Oh, and it looks like The Big Lebowski 600k is gonna happen. I've ridden most of the route bike touring. It's gonna be rough...

The Kramer Blog: Has the whole world gone crazy?
Info on the Big Lebowski from when it was last run in 2006--http://www.orrandonneurs.org/brevets/2006_BigLebowski_Info.html


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## maximum7 (Apr 24, 2008)

My favorites are: 

1. The Monster. 
Yes it's short, but still a good warm up for the year if you haven't ridden alot during the rain..ooops, I mean winter. 

2. The RACC. 
My club puts this one on. Yes it's been pretty wet the last few years, but it's a pretty scenic route and some good climbing on the 65 and 100 routes. 
I'll be working a corner again this year. Say hi if you do it. If the weather is good, you won't be sorry. 

3. Pioneer.
Not the best roads, but still pretty good. Sucks that there are different length loops that bring you back to the start. Kinda hard to get motivated to go back out. 

4. Tour De Blast. 
Hard to beat this one. Really nice and wide shoulders the whole way. Usually the weather is bad. 

My club usually will do this privately with support, a few weeks after the official one, as the weather is much better. Can't beat the scenery. 84 milles, over 6,000' of climbing. 

5. The Peach.
This is my favorite for some reason. I love the route. 

6. The Harvest. 
Great way to end the year. Pretty good route, and as mentioned before, it's fun to see people trying to get up the hill after the Ferry ride. 

Here's a link to a pretty good list of events. 

http://orbike.com/events/


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

maximum7 said:


> My favorites are:
> 
> 
> 6. The Harvest.
> Great way to end the year. Pretty good route, and as mentioned before, it's fun to see people trying to get up the hill after the Ferry ride.


Heh, funny you mention that hill.

When I did the ride last fall, I saw people get off the ferry then try to get started... on a steep incline. 

I just remounted my bike on the ferry and rode off, and suffered up the hill just fine. I also saw someone tip over half way up the hill.


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## jmess (Aug 24, 2006)

5/26/12 Umpqua Ultimate, Sutherland, is nice. (Purple Foot Gang - Events in the Umpqua Valley)
6/02/12 Oregon Gran Fondo, Cottage Grove, looks like a nice ride.
6/23/12 Mountain Lakes Challenge, Ashland, has a really fun 9 mile downhill run.
6/30/12 Mount Adams Tour is worth the trip to Trout Lake.


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