Riding Rowena: A mini Gorge Roubaix gallery

Racers ascend the Rowena Loops with I-84 and The Dalles in the background.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Today, on the second day of the Gorge Roubaix, we got to ride the Rowena Loops. The loops are a famous stretch of the Historic Columbia River Highway between The Dalles and Mosier. Just looking at the serpentine curves of the road and the spectacular view of the Gorge that lies beyond them is cool enough; but to ride them is a whole other experience.

Today’s course took riders both up and down the loops. I snuck up to the Rowena Crest view point ahead of a few groups of racers to snap photos…

Given how I felt at the top, I was very impressed that this group of Category 4/5 women racers was still smiling!

There was a lot more amazing scenery on today’s route. We rode the Historic Highway all the way into Mosier, then headed south to loop back through Dry Creek Road. Here’s the route on RideWithGPS if you’re interested in trying it out yourself.

— See all of my photos from The Dalles in the gallery.