River is just one of the many scenic
roads in store for Portland Century
riders.
(Photo © J. Maus)
The third-annual Portland Century is set for this Sunday and organizers expect well over 1,000 riders to take part.
Organizer Ayleen Crotty says this year’s event offers loops of 25, 50 or 100 miles and includes “some amazing roads… especially the outlying areas around Sandy.”
Her description has me wanting to get out there myself:
“There are roads so lushly lined with ferns that the ferns are nearly creeping into the road, glimpses of tree farms, mountain views and miles and miles without more than a car or two.”
Riders that opt for the full century route will get to pedal to points as far east as the mountains around Bull Run (where Portland’s water comes from) and all the way west to Smith and Bybee Lakes in North Portland.
It’s not too late to be part of the fun. Check out PortlandCentury.com for more information.
I\’m doing the full century, my first! Last big ride before CO.
Let\’s go Jonathan. Join Tony and I.
Same as Lazlo here. I\’ve always wanted to do a century and figured it\’d be longer than any day of my first Cycle Oregon coming up and would be a good test of my endurance. I can\’t wait (though I\’m bummed to miss the Kruger\’s Kermesse as I think it\’ll be a super fun easy intro to the cross season).
Don\’t forget the pre-ride party at Madison\’s tomorrow
Cheers
Come on Jonathan!
For those of you doing your first century, good luck on Kitzmiller Road and Gordon Creek Road. Those are some non-trivial climbs, and I like climbing.
The 25 mile route allegedly goes on the I-205 path from the Springwater to Prescott. Does Ayleen know something at I don\’t, vis a vis the green line construction?
We can\’t make the ride this year but those roads south and north of Sandy are very scenic. I used the century route to train for last month\’s Seattle to Portland ride. Even though a lot of the area has nearly zero shoulders, the traffic is very low and most drivers are very kind and give cyclists very wide berths. Everybody remember to eat and drink constantly throughout the ride. Never allow yourself to get hungry or thirsty and you\’ve gotten most of the monster licked to begin with! Have fun!
\”For those of you doing your first century, good luck on Kitzmiller Road and Gordon Creek Road. Those are some non-trivial climbs, and I like climbing.\”
How would they compare to say, Rocky Pt Rd or Newberry Rd off Hwy 30? I know I can handle those.
The PDX Century is a great ride. The hills out in Clackamas Co. are steep but short. Stand up and climb! There are plenty of rest stops with some great food. The most difficult part of the ride last year was the path along the Columbia R. near the airport. There was a nasty headwind and at that point your 80 something miles in. It zapped all my energy. Once that was over though, the coast back to U of P was great.
This is going to be a great ride. Forecast is perfect and those hills by Sandy are part of what makes it so cool – who wants a flat 100 miles anyway? I\’m also bummed to miss the 1st kermesse, but isn\’t it great to have to make these kinds of decisions?
My first as well. Looking forward to ride, climb and rub shoulders with fellow riders.
Don\’t forget the almighty century in Humboldt county, CA. On mothers day weekend. You won\’t be disappointed by the side show of pictures, but you better be able to climb if you do it….
http://www.tuccycle.org/photoalbum/index.html
woo +1 century right here.
i\’m not feeling up to doing the full century, but i\’m going to do the half. i can\’t wait!
I was thinking of trying the 1/4 with my son on his tag along. It would be the farthest we have ridden together. Any thoughts or advise?
I helped mark the 25-mile course today, and the I-205 bike path is indeed closed between the Springwater trail and Division. The detour is well-marked, but it has some stretches along 92nd that aren\’t as nice as the trail would have been.
Did the Century today and had a great time. Weather was perfect with the slight exception of the Marine Drive cross wind.
I really enjoyed getting to know some new roads, except for the Tour de Suburb in Sandy.
Food was really good. I have never seen people whip pizzas together so fast! I had just finished pounding down a few slices, a couple of puddings, cookies and few fruit bars when I overheard a few of the old salts give warnings of over eating. I survived.
The best part was the non-existent beer line at the end.
Cheers everyone
There was a lot to be impressed on regarding this ride. The century route was absolutely suburb (assuming you like to climb). It was all on low-traffic roads with lots of amazing scenery. We rode through Boring, Barton, Eagle Creek, Sandy, Corbett, Springdale, Troutdale, and back to North Portland. There was plenty of support, lots of delicious food (and pretty ladies passing it out).
The Good Sport folks really do an amazing amount of work for these events.
I agree with Aaron. Great Job by Ayleen and her crew. Also, a big \”thank you\” to all the volunteers and sponsors. I did the Century 2 years ago, and while I didn\’t think it was a horrible as many folks, this years was significantly better.
Thanks!
Overall I thought it was really good, except for a few things. Having that many riders on the Springwater was kind of crazy. I felt sorry for the people trying to walk their dogs on a Sunday morning. And 2 porta-potties at the first rest stop? The course was very well marked except for the unmarked turn over the Sandy River bridge to Troutdale. The rest stops were well placed, with plenty of water and some good food. Great dinner and free beer at the end, even a string quartet.
This was my thrid century this year, plus STP snd some shorter supported rides, and I thought this was the best organized and best supported overall. By far the best rest stop food. Very scenic, albeit somewhat hilly, rout. I can see doing this again next year.
Good job to the organizers and volunteers.
I did the 1/2 century. I spend a fair amount of time on the weekends riding East of Gresham, and really wanted to make the Bull Run loop yesterday. I missed the best scenery, but really enjoyed the company I was with. Great support on the ride. Hot Lips and Madison\’s rule.
I rode around on Mt Tabor on the way home and looped back out to Mt Hood CC before returning home to clock 84 miles. Maybe I\’ll do the scenic half of the century next weekend.
I did my first \”Portland century\” in 1960 on my cool 3-speed with racing bars.
Multnomah to Ross Island Bridge, out Powell/26 to Sandy, to Estacada, 211 to Canby, Wilsonville, then back to Multnomah…107 miles as I recall. I packed my own lunch, and am not sure I told my folks where I was going; I turned 14 that summer.
My older brother insisted that I be able to do 100 miles in one day before I could join him on a bike trip to California. That is another story. I still ride my brother\’s old Continental 10-speed.