Tour of Flanders, Portland-style
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on March 30th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Yesterday I received an anonymous email about a mysterious, "penniless, suffering, pirate ride" coming to Portland next week (4/7).
The flyer (below) proclaims it will be:
"a test of 18 (or so) nasty climbs of West Portland in honor of De Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders)."
Sounds like a suffer-fest. Here's the route, and you've got to love the flyer:
Download larger version (PDF, 113kb)I have no idea who is putting this together, but I'm tempted to do it and "collapse at Council Crest Park" with whoever else shows up.
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March 30th, 2007 08:33
Dude--I'm there. This looks way better than that "other" Flanders ride. Can I bring my friend Paolo?
March 30th, 2007 08:38
Looks fun - when I tried to pull up the route my computer crashed, tho'
March 30th, 2007 08:45
Damn! It appears that I picked the wrong weekend to go to Seattle. Jonathan - I look forward to your ride report on this one.
March 30th, 2007 08:45
I'll be there, for one more shot at glory in the Rhonde!!!
March 30th, 2007 10:25
brutal route. brynwood lane from Miller to skyline is a complete bastard. if there is a steeper climb around, i have not seen it.
March 30th, 2007 10:26
By the way, there are no fewer than 8 "Alleycat " races this month alone.....
While this is not one of them, you know where to look to find info about the others........
2 this weekend alone....
Some of them are not to be missed......
Can you say "Logan's Run"?
Run, Runner!!!
March 30th, 2007 10:28
That looks like an incredible ride. Hmmm...I wonder what the gross elevation climbed would be...
March 30th, 2007 10:48
I agree w/ Nate on Brynwood. It puts the "gross" in gross elevation. I am a hill climber by nature and I can't make it up that hill . .
March 30th, 2007 12:13
Assassins, spake Octave Lapize.
March 30th, 2007 12:27
Bah, I'm sitting this one out waiting for the "Paris Roubaix of Portland" flat edition...
March 30th, 2007 14:00
brynwood is doable, barely
guy from multnomah county told me its approx 24%
make sure you have your hill gears you will need them
March 30th, 2007 14:48
The one time I rode brynwood, I had a 42-26 and I made it halfway up and had to stop in someones driveway to collect myself. I hung out for a couple of minutes and then finished it off. People were hollaring and shouting encouragements from their cars as they passed me.
March 30th, 2007 15:21
my inclinometer on my bike computer maxed at 28% when I last rode Brynwoood! And I believe the ride stats are 8000 feet of climbing in 42 miles.....
March 30th, 2007 15:49
Jonathan, maybe this is crazy, but can you post a higher resolution version of that flyer -- it is a work of art, and I've love to print one out to hang by my desk.
I'll definitely be there to give the ride a try.
Cheers,
Ron
March 30th, 2007 15:53
sure. here it is:
De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia flyer (113kb)
March 30th, 2007 16:18
Sweet, just put on my 27! Now if only I could find my climbing legs...I'm there anyway - sounds great.
March 30th, 2007 20:26
"my inclinometer on my bike computer maxed at 28% when I last rode Brynwoood!"
What was your heart rate, tho?
March 30th, 2007 23:24
Oh sweet! I'm doing this one fixed. Auker? Thud? Porter? Who else is there to throw up along side me?
March 31st, 2007 07:55
Tour of Flanders, Portland-style...
Jonathan Maus from bikeportland.org recieved an anonymous tip that a mysterious “penniless, suffering, pirate ride” will be coming to portland next week. Hit the link to check out the route and flyer. See yah there!...
March 31st, 2007 08:57
Ciao Tom,
Io vengo in bianco ci vediamo alle 10.
Paolo
March 31st, 2007 09:49
A few of us did the route last Sunday... took us four hours. I had to walk the top 30 meters of Brynwood. Didn't make it all the way up College, either.
A new 13-28 cogset is on order.
March 31st, 2007 17:43
For some reason I can't see all of the route. Could someone fill me in.
Where's Brynwood? Haven't heard of that climb.
Thanks.
March 31st, 2007 19:06
Hmmm...good thing I have 34x17 on my singlespeed/fixed MTB. Does "varied terrain" mean some dirt? Should I put on some slicks or keep the knobblies?
March 31st, 2007 19:52
Fixed-gear here...think my 42x18 can do most of this...but Brynwoood is a walker, m'fraid! Love SPD sandals (it WILL be warm and sunny, won't it?).
April 1st, 2007 07:38
Brynwood is off Miller Road just south of Cornell on the west side of the hill. It's a bugger. 42X18? Auker is going to wear his sandals out.
April 1st, 2007 08:58
College St will be both climbed and descended...just hope you don't run into a TriMet bus on the way down! (Not a bus route...the least of your worries!)
April 1st, 2007 09:24
Okay, I still can't view the cue sheet. Could someone please post the route here? THANKS!
April 1st, 2007 09:41
Look up at the top of this page...link is at "Here’s the route." It's a Gmap Pedometer map.
April 1st, 2007 09:49
I've tried that multiple times and every time I try to click on something from that page it won't work.
I will try it again.
April 1st, 2007 13:15
I just came back from the homeland.
Rode some "flat land" trails.
Left with the "Klassiekers" (Classics pre-season) in full bloom.
Thank you for bringing a little Belgian flavor to Portland.
Now let me go find my climbing legs!!
April 1st, 2007 15:50
I think I am just going to plant myself at the top of Brynwood with a six-pack and a camera . . . .
April 1st, 2007 20:57
Did Salzman and a couple of others today, good to go on road bike with slicks. Now is a triple cheating?
Some are way too steep for my middle ring.
April 2nd, 2007 11:48
Brynwood....OUCH! Had to try it after hearing so much about it, holy crap that is steep! Did it in a 34-27 but had to pull into a few driveways for a sec. or two... also had to unclip a couple of times to keep from falling over :O Had to stand the whole way leaning over the front tire just to keep from flipping over backwards.
April 2nd, 2007 13:29
Looks intriguing but it's missing some West Hills classics: Taylor, Bartholomew/Pinnacle & Seblar to name a few. So many great climbs guess it's impossible to fit 'em all in... or is it:-)
April 2nd, 2007 15:46
Is taking my feet off the pedals when going downhill cheating?
April 2nd, 2007 15:52
if anyone can successfully see the entire route, could you please export it to PDF and post it somewhere? I'm having the same Gmaps Pedometer problems that everyone else seems to be having. I can see the last few blocks of the route, but everything hangs when I try to back out and see the entire route.
April 2nd, 2007 16:15
I've been seeing yellow Lions painted on the route...
Hmmm. More intrigue!
April 2nd, 2007 20:23
Gmaps hangs up on me, too, sometimes. Works OK to just scroll it with the directional keys. Maybe try a different browser?
April 2nd, 2007 21:48
Try http://www.routeslip.com/routes/29390
April 2nd, 2007 22:37
I can't believe some fool is going to ride this fixed with those stupid SPD sandals.
Nothing can be more dangerous, but of course, you will be using a front brake.... so what does it matter? You would not be riding those hills without a front brake....
Sandals and bikes are a dumb combination......
Bitch at me all you want, I am right...
April 2nd, 2007 23:35
Fairview Blvd. a little drunk in the dark fixed no handbrake.....I had a light and a helmet though.
The bike I am using for the hillclimb has cantis on both ends.
April 5th, 2007 21:30
Would love to see the route but it crashed my Safari browser repeatedly
April 6th, 2007 14:07
I'm with Cecil, six pack and lawnchair on Brynwood is the way to go.
April 6th, 2007 19:46
Hey, bArbaroo, can you take over that duty then? I've decided to ride out to Stevenson and back, instead, but I really, really would love to see a visual record of the riders topping that last pitch from the turn on Brynwood to the top.
April 8th, 2007 00:05
this was AWESOME
thanks for putting it on
April 8th, 2007 05:59
friction shift thinks it was awesome.
I'm curious to hear what the others thought? ...or are they still collapsed at the finish? They'd better get up soon, there's going to be little feet running around looking for hidden Easter eggs soon!
April 8th, 2007 11:19
Nicely done! Perfect Flanders day! Only thing missing was sleet and pig manure. Incredible sight to see 100+ riders together at the base of Saltzman. Needless to say, the bunch broke up rather quickly.
My new cogset didnt arrive in time so it was 39X25 all the way. Had to hoof it the last 30 meters of Brynwood (again). But I finished in 3:40 (20 minutes down???). What was the fastest time?
I'll be back next year!
April 8th, 2007 11:21
Any photos???
April 8th, 2007 16:30
Great ride. Thank you very much to whoever put this on.
I'm looking forward to the Liege-Bastogne- Liege version!!
Thank you
Eric D.
April 11th, 2007 10:01
I just want to give major props to those who made this ride happen. This is such a good thing for cycling anywhere and it was an absolute blast. There aren't many places in the country where you can string together that kind of route over such a small expanse of land and it was amazing to see that many riders out there. It was, by far, one of the hardest days I have had in the saddle and I have had plenty. Great fun, lots of suffering and a wonderful time. Thanks everyone!
April 18th, 2007 18:57
man, I have never felt so left out of something fun in my life ! that looks like such a blast ! maybe next year !
September 4th, 2007 10:01
Ouch. Just road it this weekend. I can't imagine getting enough tracking on to ride up some of those hills in the rain.
March 30th, 2008 15:13
[...] those of you considering the Portland De Ronde take heed. A buddy of mine wanted to preview the course and seeing as how I’m am going to [...]