(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.
How’s your summer riding been going so far? Are you ready for a century ride — or as our friends at OR Bike like to say, a “Hundo“?
Hopefully you’ve done a bit of training because the Portland Century is our marquee event of the weekend. While most of the route isn’t actually in Portland this year, the support and food and drinks you’ll encounter at the rest stops and the finish line party will be decidedly local.
There’s nothing but warm and sunny blue skies in the forecast. Enjoy!
Saturday, August 16th
Dew Tour – All Weekend downtown on SW Broadway between Jefferson and Salmon
This event will feature some cool BMX action. The best riders in the world will show off their skills in “streetstyle” and dirt jump competitions. And the best part is the whole thing is free to watch! If you’re not a BMX fan, consider this a great chance to hang out on a carfree SW Broadway! More info here.
Portland Century – All Day
This fully-supported ride offers three routes — 45, 60, and 100 miles — that explore the bike paths and backroads of Clark County Washington. Along the way (rest stops every 15 miles) you’ll be treated to gourmet local food and drinks and there will be a big party at the finish line. The event benefits the Jackson Hill foundation. More info here.
Mt. Hood Views – 9:00 am at Gresham Main City Park (219 S. Main)
The Portland Wheelmen will lead a ride that will head to the end of the Springwater Trail and beyond — offering views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens. There will be a 35 or 49 mile loop option. More info here.
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Bike Farm Swap Meet and Dance Party – 2:00 pm to midnight at (1810 NE First Ave)
The fine folks at the Bike Farm have a new warehouse space. Stop by to browse or sell used bike parts at the free swap meet, then stay for the beer, food and prizes. The dance party will feature live music from hip-hop group ADDverse Effects. More info here (FB).
Masters Track Championships – 10:00 am (Sunday too) at Alpenrose Dairy (6149 SW Shattuck)
The end of track season is upon us so it’s time to crown the year’s best racers. If you haven’t checked out local track racing action, this is your final chance to see what it’s all about. More info here.
Sunday, August 17th
Parks of Milwaukie – 9:30 am at Milwaukie City Hall (10722 SE Main St.)
Join grassroots advocates from Bike Milwaukie on their monthly ride. This family-friendly ride will be about 10 miles, stopping at a few parks and then looping back City Hall where the Milwaukie Farmer’s Market will be in full swing. More info here.
Group MTB Ride at Post Canyon – 9:00 am at The Lumberyard Indoor Bike Park (2700 NE 82nd)
The NW Trail Alliance is headed to Post Canyon for their weekly group ride. Right outside Hood River, this area boasts a large network of trails that are fun for every skill level. Meet up for carpools at The Lumberyard and expect to return around 6 pm. More info here.
— If we missed anything, feel free to let us know and/or give it a shout-out in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
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The Portland century that’s 90% in Washington. I think someone failed at geography.
I rode the Portland Century and as much as the organizers hyped it up over the last few months (new routes! gourmet food! ample support!) it was totally disappointing.
The 100-mile course was almost all in Washington, with about a third of it on horrible freshly chip-sealed roads. They were super rough and bumpy and it got old real fast. The route often went on high-speed farm roads with no shoulder. There were some bike lanes on the major roads, but it was disconcerting to ride on 50mph roads with no space. There were no volunteers to help with street crossings, as some were across major roads that were kind of dangerous to cross without a flagger.
The “gourmet food” at rest stops was basically whatever someone got at Costco. Super basic bananas, oranges, chips, and plain wheat bread pb&j sandwiches. Lunch was ordinary cold cuts on boring wheat bread (water was halfway up a hill away from the food as well, which was… weird). When I rode this ride in 2009, I got Hot Lips Pizza at one stop with a selection of sodas, so this was disappointing. The latter rest stops ran out of electrolyte powder when it was needed most.
I only saw one sag wagon near the end. Compared to Cycle Oregon or even Salem event rides, I’m used to seeing event support cars all over, and there were almost none on the 100 mile loop. Also near the end, we rode past a guy spray painting direction markers in an industrial park. If we were 5min faster, we would have missed the fresh marker and been lost in the Portland industrial area. I only saw a bike shop mechanic at the first rest stop and the last one, no mechanical support throughout the rest of the ride.
Overall, I had a better time when I last did this in 2009, this year’s was hyped up as something special and it felt barely planned and barely supported and I felt like I made a big mistake paying that much to ride it.