Corridor Trail during Sunday’s Portland
Century ride.
(Photo: Bob Crispin)
In just its third year, the Portland Century seems to have found its sweet spot.
Ride organizer Ayleen Crotty with Good Sport Promotion says they’re still going through the paperwork from Sunday’s ride but initial estimates put the number of participants at 1,700.
Some early reports from commenters include lots of compliments on the ride’s support, organization and route. Crotty says that, “People were applauding Portland, cheering for the beer, and loving every minute of the ride. Riders who had not ridden since the 1st year were back and very impressed.”
Crotty mentions the first year because back in 2006, not everyone was happy. There were many reports of poor signage and route selection, a lack of ride support, and some people who felt they were defrauded when organizers ran out of promised food and drinks at the finish line.
Fortunately, the folks behind the Portland Century have listened and learned and the result is an event that will continue to grow into an eagerly anticipated yearly tradition.
$60 to $80 seems like a lot for even a supported ride. Can someone who has participated give an idea of what you get for that?
What you get for that is all listed in detail at portlandcentury.com I haven\’t done every ride out there, but I haven\’t heard of too many organized rides offering the quality of food (strawberry shortcake, fresh baked-on-site pizza–and that\’s just the rest stops!) that is standard on GSP organized events. I worked the Seattle Century last month and even cold (I got in late escorting the last rider in), the finish line salmon dinner was SCRUMPTIOUS.
If the price is too steep, there are volunteer positions that allow you to ride for free.
$60 does seem like a lot of money. With a discount, I paid $55.
the route: someone goes out and places a fair amount of signage that not only tells you where to go, but also warns drivers of the presence of a large number of bikes. Once I figureed out that they switch from street signs to symbols painted on the street, this was really nice. As a result I have a much better feel for riding East of Portland.
The food: I don\’t think I got $60 worth of value out of the food, but that was my choice. I chose to skip a couple of the rest stops and did not want to wait in the LONG line for dinner. I felt strong enough, but if I had been riding with my wife, we would have probalby stopped at each rest stop and taken advantage of it. $60 is a good value for someone who might not do it otherwise.
The support: having mechanic stations, roving mechanics and sag wagons, again is an enaballing convienance. This encouraged more people to ride who might not otherwise get out. It kept people riding who\’s bike condition might have been less than top notch. Having the security of a ride to the next station no matter what give piece of mind.
Final analysis. For all the services $60 ($55) was a good deal. Sure, to someone who rides alot and 50 or 100 mi is not a big deal, it probably was not a great value. To people who rides less frequently, this probably was a great value. All in the eye of the beholder.
My wife this due to pregnancy, but next year we\’ll both be back.
Cheers
According to my wife, they did run out of Gatorade on the 100 mile route.
She still made it though. I\’m proud of her.
Besides what YOU get, the community gets something. Although Good Sports is a business they do donate a good chunk of the proceeds to local charities. Hands on Portland is the beneficiary of the Portland Century. On other rides the BTA and CCC benefit. I get to ride on a marked course, eat lots, drink free beer, enjoy seeing 1700 other riders having fun AND make a donation to a charity – I think that\’s a good deal.
That does sound like a good deal.
It was a great ride. Signage was better than almost any ride I\’ve ever done except for one very key intersection (road to Troutdale).
I stopped at every stop and ate, since I didn\’t know if I\’d have enough energy to finish otherwise and found the food selection pretty good, especially the pizza around mile 73.
I felt like I got my $60 worth and the ride compared well against something like Reach The Beach in terms of signage, food/drink provided, but they had mechanics at every stop whereas the Portland Century only seemed to have two out of five stops (also Reach The Beach costs $100 minimum with donations).
Overall I had a great time on my first century, though it would have been nice to be warned that the full ride had around 5,000 feet of climbing in it. I seem to recall some elevation profiles were shown but no simple total was ever shared.
I had a great time (except I left my ass somewhere around mile 75. If someone finds it, please return it…).
The signage was excellent, and the food offered at the stops was top-notch. I had some mechanical difficulties and without the mechanics at the Fireside Retreat Rest Stop probably would not have been able to finish (thanks guys!).
I heard a lot of people complaining about the vertical, but it really wasn\’t so bad. After all, you get to go downhill after you go up! And the downhills were a blast. Flat rides are boring.
The dinner at the end of the ride was delicious (the line may have looked long, but it moved pretty quick), and so was the beer (all I could think or say for the last 15 miles was, \”beer…beer…\”).
A big THANK YOU to all of the volunteers.
Other than the smelly part near the wastewater treatment plant, it was a fun ride. I saw a sheep! Downhills were awesome!
The cost was a bit steep but I felt like the bike mechanics and plethora of food made up for it. (I think I ate more during the ride than during my whole weekend!)
The price did seem a bit steep but it was a good way to introduce a visiting friend to big stretches of the city he\’d never seen. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee playing softball the day before and couldn\’t ride, but since I\’d paid, I went ahead with my first Portland century (actually quarter century) and met a couple of really nice new people along the way and at the delicious dinner. I appreciated the rest stop snacks and Widmer\’s unlimited beer with dinner. (There were other take-home goodies — fruit, bottles of beer, granola, coffee samples, coupons, etc.)
I liked: cool overcast weather till the showers hit at the end; less crowded than bridge pedal or hottest day ride; excellent signage (except for one place just before the I 205 path detour where a sign vanished and several riders I know of got briefly confoozled before finding their way back. I noticed a couple other signs obscured by leaves or blown awry by wind but for the most part, good signage job by the organizers for the 25 miler.
I was biking around PSU from the Beavers game at 5, and then to a movie at the art museum at 7 and each time saw clusters of Century riders still coming in — some drenched from the late afternoon shower. I guess the last groups missed the dinner but good on \’em for staying the course! Someday I hope my creaky knees will let me do the full 100. Overall a fun and well organized biking and social experience.
Ah, man, I missed it!
I was hoping to do it this year, but with one thing or another, it was probably good that I didn\’t.
My knees, I\’m sure, will thank me. 🙂
I did get to go for a 28-miler on Saturday, so that was good…. and I got a bunch of chores done on Sunday, so that\’s good too.
I always loved the freebies and the food at the end was really good. I\’m really looking forward to next year; maybe they could do a 3/4 century route for those of us too chicken to do the full century? 🙂
All in all an excellent ride.
I would like to say a special thanks to all the riders (about 80%, from what I saw) who think the stop signs are completely optional and do not even deserve a slow-down-and-look. Especially the guy who rear-ended me at one and snapped the cam on my rear brake. It was done with style and grace, sir, and I commend you. Next year perhaps I will move over, and you can demonstrate your ability to bunny hop a Mercedes without getting out of the aerobars.
Don\’t let Ayleen\’s innocent description of the ride fool you Jonathan, the hills around Bull Run were murder, as beautiful as the ride was. I\’d still recommend it, did you ride?
Dave, there is a 25 mile and 50 mile option.
I am one of the people who rode the inaugural ride and was disappointed for reasons that don\’t need to be repeated.
This year made up for that and then some. Signage was great. I told the volunteer at the Bybee lake rest stop about a missing sign and she was on the phone within 30 seconds.
For those who question the cost, the dinner is top notch and an awesome means to congratulate yourself and your friends. Add in \’free\’ beer and you have the makings of a great annual party with likeminded friends. We didn\’t leave until they closed the place!
I\’ve done the Honolulu Century the last 15 years. This was my first Portland Century. I was in town visiting my son for our annual Crater Lake Rim ride and we decided to do the Century as well. It was is second, but first full 100. We got it done, had fun, although I at was non-functional at the end. It was definitely more challenging than Honolulu, because of the climbs. They kicked my butt. My 16th Honolulu Century next month will be easier.
As for the value, I figured it was the price of admission; I chose to pay. All the goodies, all the support, were a bonus. The cost was about double Honolulu, but the food offered was/is considerably better. The signage was good, comparable to Honolulu. The rest stops were at similar intervals. The support was comparable. The volunteers were great.
I think your give-back to the community is better than in Honolulu, and for something only three years old, you\’ve got your act together.
Well done.
I did the full century and had a great time. By registering ahead of time at Bike Gallery it was $50, and with the signage, the support, the food at the rest stops, the very yummy dinner at the end, and the beer (as much as you wanted as far as I could tell) I feel like I got my money\’s worth. And I came home with an REI Nalgene bottle (Gresham rest stop), a bunch of Gorge delight bars and mini Clif bars, 2 Widmer beers, Nossa familia coffee, and maybe some other stuff (glad I was able to stash a pack at the finish!) The other reasons to do a ride like this occasionally are: the great treats at the rest stops (cookies, strawberry shortcake, pizza, energy drinks, Deli meats on Dave\’s killer bread, etc.), the well-marked route, but for me, most of all the great company. It\’s not often you get to ride 100 miles in the company of so many fun and happy folks. It made the haul up from Bull Run (almost) enjoyable. I love riding alone as much as anyone, but sometimes a big organized ride is a great experience too.
A couple other observations. The string quartet at the end was a nice respite from the usual event canned rock music – made unwinding – and having a conversation – much easier.
My wife did the 25-mile ride and we compared notes. Frankly, she feels a little gipped. They only had one rest stop, and it sounds like it didn\’t have near the level of goody-ness I got on my ride. I know the organizers really welcome input so here\’s my 2-cents worth. For those who opt for the short route, pull out all the stops for their single rest stop. Either that, or don\’t charge them the same as the 100-milers.
That was my first Century and at 50 cents a mile a real bargain. Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts. Top that off with free beer and great company, support and friendly volunteers, fresh air, a great workout and great views. I think you can\’t beat that. A day in town would cost you a lot more.
Well done Portland.
Did anyone track the elevation gain. I kept looking at my altimeter and felt like the elevations were off from the profile on the booklet. For example, the Sandy rest stop was supposedly at app. 700 ft and officially the elevation is 1000 ft. Was the Kitzmiller climb 825 ft? Was Bull Run about 900 ft?
My Suunto registered about 4,850\’ of total climbing. About 4,000\’ came in the first 60 miles, which is a RAMROD-esque ratio.
Redhippie, here\’s the output from my Garmin 705 plotted on the training center app that comes with it.
http://images.metafilter.com/pdx100
The tick marks along the x-axis are about every 12 miles, so you can gauge where the rest stops where in absolute elevation.
I put together a little online survey for participants. If you rode, we\’d love to hear your feedback.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=qe_2bmqslxcSIXNa_2bE2DRvgA_3d_3d
Anyone who complains about a $60 dollar entry for an event of this magnitude is whacked. A round of golf at even the shittiest course in town is close to that and you\’ll have to pay $10 for your first beer at the 19th whole.
OR Bike puts on kick ass events at a bargain price. If you have a problem with the cost, just think about how much you spent on your last dinner out which lasted ninety minutes.
Fabulous ride, amd the value can\’t be beat once you consider all the food, gifts and freebies from all the stops.
I was fortunate enough to ride for free – I volunteered to remove the course signage on Monday, and rode another 51 miles on Monday removing the signage from Gresham City Park out to Smith & Bybee Lakes. I tell you, you don\’t fully appreciate how WELL signed this route is until you have to take the signs down and cart them back in a bike trailer.
I was happy to help out, and to finally ride this wonderful route.
Good ride, but yeah, the signage could have been a little better. The signs were torn down at the end of the marine drive trail, and yeah, no sign at the turn into troutdale. I think more dan henry\’s were needed. People can\’t tear them down. As for the price, I\’ve never had better food at a ride, not to mention all the beer you can drink! Absolutely worth it.