Team Sundress ready to hit Trask River Road (after an hour-long ride on the MAX).
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

While the kids are away the moms will play.

For me that means riding my bike much farther while carrying a bit less stuff than when I have the kiddos in tow. And ideally with a mom friend at my side. My friend Elle of Tiny Helmets Big Bikes came up from Sacramento, tasking me to find us a multi-day bike trip. I decided we’d take Trask River Road to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.

Here’s the scoop on the route via Oregon Bikepacking:

While not technically easy, this the most straightforward, easiest dirt route to the coast from Portland. Starting from the end of the MAX line in Hillsboro, we route you through the least pavement possible to Mount Richmond and then on gravel up to the Barney Reservoir and along the North Fork of the Trask River directly into Tillamook.[Read more…]

Fresh new singletrack to be ridden on the southern coast!
(Photos: Whiskey Run MTB Fest)

Register now to save your spot on June 9th.

[This post is part of a paid promotional partnership.]

You probably don’t know there are 11 miles of new, professionally-built singletrack trails open and ready to ride on Oregon’s southern coast just north of Bandon. And that’s why the Whiskey Run MTB Festival exists: to help you discover one of Oregon’s best-kept riding secrets. That’s also why we’ve teamed up with local businesses and tourism promoters to help spread the word about it.

The inaugural event is on June 9th and consists of a ride in the morning (three routes to choose from) and a big afterparty celebration at Bandon Brewing Company. The rides are lead by members of the Wild Rivers Coast Mountain Bicycling Association.
[Read more…]

Lush green forest canopy was a constant companion along East Buck Creek Road.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

The sixth annual Oregon Triple Crown kicked off in Waldport on Saturday in nothing short of ideal conditions for a day in the saddle.
[Read more…]

This could be you!
(Photo: Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival)

*This post is part of a paid promotional partnership.*

If you’re looking for something fun to do on a bike this weekend, consider the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival.

The Oregon Coast is a perfect place to ride a fat bike. And Cannon Beach — just 80 miles west of Portland on Highway 26 — is the closest place to do it.

I first heard about the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival from our friend Daniella Crowder at Oregon Rides & Events — who also happen to be the owners of Bike Newport, a shop that won the Adventure Cycling Bicycle Travel Award in 2010. Wanting to get more people on bikes on the coast, Daniella and her crew worked with the Cannon Beach Tourism & Arts Commission on a three-day event full of rides and activities.

[Read more…]

(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

As we reported back in January, the Oregon Department of Transportation is currently working on a much-needed update to the Coast Bike Route plan.

“With the changes in bicycle infrastructure standards, and the growth of bike tourism destinations and travel options both nationally and along U.S. 101,” an ODOT spokesperson told us in January, “the time was right to closely examine and identify opportunities to increase safety, accessibility and enjoyment for both local community members and travelers on the Oregon Coast Bike Route.”

As part of that work they have released a survey. If you’ve ridden the route — or if you’ve wanted to but are just too afraid (something I hear from a lot of people) — please take a few minutes and do the survey.
[Read more…]

It’s a world famous route that deserves more attention and resources.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Oregon Department of Transportation is about to launch a new planning effort that will be the first significant update to the Oregon Coast Bike Route in over ten years.

According to an ODOT spokesperson, the official map will also get an update for the first time since 2010.
[Read more…]

We love getting emails like this.

In Oregon, we’re fortunate that our official tourism commission intimately understands not just how valuable cycling is to our economy, but that it is simply an awesome, fun, and healthy way to experience our state.

We’ve covered Travel Oregon’s efforts to promote and enhance bike tourism for many years and I’m happy to see that their interest hasn’t waned. They recently put out a “Bicycle Tourism Update” email and it was so full of cool stuff I wanted to give it more attention.

Here are the things they’re supporting and working on:
[Read more…]

Nestucca River Road is a fantastic way to get from Portland to the coast.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Riding to the coast from the city is something of a rite of passage for many Portlanders. Getting there via Nestucca River Road is a privilege.

This past Sunday I was lucky enough to try it for the first time as part of the Dirty Sellwood ride. The ride was the fifth annual epic ride collaboration between two great bike shops and their owners: Erik Tonkin of Sellwood Cycle Repair in Portland and Mitchell Buck of Dirty Fingers Bikes in Hood River.
[Read more…]

The Salmonberry Trail would connect Banks
to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.
(Map by Oregon State Parks & Rec)

The proposed Salmonberry Trail, a path that would connect Washington County to the Pacific coast through the forest along a defunct rail line, has an official name and is about to get a full-time executive director.

Previously referred to as the “Salmonberry Corridor,” the trail also has an 11-member decision-making body with formal power to start raising the unknown millions that’d be required for the 86-mile proposal.

The Salmonberry Coalition will celebrate those milestones at its annual meeting next month. The public event is 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Oct. 9, at Stub Stewart State Park.

[Read more…]

Curry County DA convicted driver of
reckless driving and assault.

A man has been convicted on assault and reckless driving charges for driving his car into two women as they rode their bicycles on the Oregon Coast Bike Route last fall. The collision occurred on October 3rd, about 11 miles north of Gold Beach on Highway 101.

30-year-old Martha McClean and 26-year old Essya Nabbali were on a bike tour of the Oregon Coast and were pedaling southbound on a very narrow part of the highway known as Ophir Dike, when 62-year-old Neal Lawson struck them from behind with his PT Cruiser traveling at about 55 mph.
[Read more…]