River City Touring Club

10/22/2018

The Opposite Of An ‘Adventure’ Tour

One of my favorite things to do on a bike is to go touring. To me, it combines the best parts of biking with the best part of traveling and exploring, in an easy and flexible way. And although there are many ways to bike touring, my favorite is the genteel and civilized way of ‘credit card touring’- staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

I think this is the only way I’ve been able to do so many tours with my daughter throughout her life. She, like her dad, prefers to be COMFORTABLE. Especially if we’re pedaling all day, having sheets on your bed and a warm shower is kinda nice.

Haley is living in Colorado now, so we don’t get a chance to ride like we used to. But she has been visiting for a month or so, and since she has been here, I’ve let her borrow an e-bike to get around on. And she is quite hooked. For both of us, it’s great not having her lack of biking conditioning not even be a factor in our riding together.

While she is here, I’ve wanted to take her on a 2-3 day tour. That’s not a long time; so traveling to somewhere was pretty much out of the question. We have done quite a few rides around Portland such as riding to the Coast, along with out to Ripplebrook and Mt Hood, but she is more comfortable on flat rides than hilly. So I thought of doing the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway, going from Champoeg Park down to Eugene.

About the only parts of the Willamette Valley I have seen much of is I-5, from a car window. Frankly, it’s not so impressive or interesting. But I’ve heard good things about this bikeway, so a few days ago, with glorious weather in the foreseeable future, we headed out from our house at Mt Tabor, her on an e-bike, me on my touring bike.

I was thinking we could make it to the Salem area on the first day, grab a hotel, then make it to Corvallis the next day to visit our buddy Alex and his family, then take a train back from Albany, for a nice easy, comfortable 3-day bike tour.

It took us 30 miles to get to the starting point at Champoeg Park, with a few stops for lunch and snacks. The roads got noticeably quieter after that, with only a few rolling hills and little traffic. I was very surprised by the variety of agriculture – vineyards, hop fields, blueberries, orchards, and, to me the most impressive, grass fields that looked like 1000-acre lawns.

Even though she mostly kept her bike at the lowest power setting barely made it to Keizer before her battery died- about 65 miles. But we did make it, so that was good! We grabbed a hotel, started charging up her bike, and went out for dinner.

The next day, I figured we had maybe 40 miles to go before reaching Corvallis. And what a pretty route it was! Again, mostly quiet roads, and we got to ride the bike paths through Salem, which go right next to the Capitol. The route is very well signed, so it’s tough to get lost. We ended up taking the Buena Vista ferry across the Willamette River, which was fun, but off-course. But it was pretty easy to figure it out from there to get to Corvallis and meet Alex in time for a late lunch.

The last day, we explored Oregon State University, rode out about 8 miles to visit one of Haley’s friends in the country, then rode back to Albany, caught the Coast Starlight Amtrak train back to Portland, and we were home by 9:00 or so.

All in all, it was about a 140 mile ride over 3 days, pretty casual pace, beautiful quiet roads, and just a really nice easy bike tour that is right in our backyards. It was interesting doing a ‘mixed bike’ tour, with her on an e-bike and me on an analog, but it really worked for us! Once again, Oregon did not fail to impress!

06/09/2017

Lost Lake Bike Tour

Like many bike tourists, I’m always looking for close-in two or three-day bike rides that I can do from my house in SE Portland. I like rides that go to unfamiliar places, so I can feel like I’m really getting away. To me, the main thing that defines a great tour is pretty simple- very little car traffic.

This last weekend I found what might be the best short tour yet. What makes this ride special is along with virtually no cars; it takes you through some of the most spectacular countryside in the Portland area, right next to Mt. Hood.

We were invited to a wedding at Lost Lake, and decided to ride there, for a 'no camping' style of bike tour. There are cabins to sleep in, along with yurts, plenty of camping sites and a General Store. I have ridden in that area in the past, when going to Hood River, and knew the roads getting to and going over Lolo Pass were really nice for riding- Dodge Park, Marmot Rd, Barlow Trail, and the back way up Lolo Pass. There is an easy five-mile gravel section at the top of Lolo, but once the road turns back into pavement, it is probably my favorite road ever. (I say that a lot)

We were trying to keep the mileage down, so we took the Max to Gresham. We were also trying to keep the climbing down, so we rode Hgwy 26 up to Sleepy Hollow Rd, which connects to Barlow Trail Road. But if you don’t mind the extra climbing or miles, Dodge Park and Marmot are really nice and quiet.

While I have ridden by the turn-off to Lost Lake, I had never ridden up to the lake before, so was not expecting a six-mile, 1500 ft. climb, right at the end of the 60 mile ride. I made sure we all took it really easy, with plenty of stops to rest and drink water. All of us finished with smiles on our faces.

Lost Lake is amazingly beautiful! It was a pretty challenging ride getting there, with about 65 miles and 6,000 ft. of climbing. But if you start early, and plan on taking all day, it is well worth the effort. Getting back was quite a bit easier, with about 3500 ft. of climbing.

If you are interested in trying this yourself, drop me a note, and I can answer any questions you might have.

Dave

08/14/2016

Lopez Island is as close to perfect touring as you can get. Gentle hills, low traffic, even on a summer weekend, beautiful scenery. Slow and friendly. If you want to show someone the best part of bike touring, this would be a great place to start. -Dave

05/30/2016

Ran into a couple of fellow tourists out by Timothy Lake this morning. Seth, on the left, was riding the most tricked out touring Seven Ti bike we've ever sold. Custom racks, custom electronics including Ham radio, S&S couplers, the list goes on and on. They were doing the same Ripplebrook ride we are on, but in reverse. This has been an amazing trip!

05/24/2016

Equipping yourself for the Ripplebrook tour
The bike! Here, just about anything will work, as long as it is in good condition with stout tires and wheels, and low gears. It should be able to take a rack, and preferably fenders. Nowadays, people do ‘bikepacking’ type touring, with soft packs attached to the bike instead of a rack, so there are other options than the classic rack and panniers. I always use a front handlebar bag to help balance the weight between the front and back of the bike.
You will need a sleeping bag, pad, and a tent. Many options here as well, but most people like to go as small and light as they can get away with. You will need to carry all of this somehow; most people strap it on top of a rear rack.
You will need a couple of days of clothes, to cover a variety of conditions. This being Oregon, even if it says clear with no rain, are you really going to believe that? I always try to bring clothes that work in a variety of conditions, such as tights that I can ride in as well as use at night when it gets cool. You really want to bring the absolute minimum, and just use what you have.
You will need a couple days of food. We will be camping in Ripplebrook, but there is a small store at the ranger station, so you could get away with minimal here as well. The next night we will be by Government Camp, which has plenty of options. But since this is the ‘gas in the tank’, make sure you bring enough for snacks as well as lunches, or plan to buy along the way.
Make sure you bring spare tubes, and other bits and pieces to fix your bike. I will be there, and many times I will have a whole bunch of small parts, but you never know what you might need. The last time we did this trip, I had to fix someone’s handlebar bag with a borrowed zip tie.
Bring a level of conditioning that allows you to slowly ride 50 miles a day for three days in a row, and a positive attitude! And that’s about it!

05/23/2016

Ok Touring Club peeps, it's coming down to it!
This weekend, we will be leaving on Saturday morning and riding to Ripplebrook on the Clackamas River, camping right next to the river, then waking up and after breakfast riding up to Government Camp, either camping by Trillium Lake or maybe camping in a hotel, then riding back to Portland along the original Barlow Trail stage route. We will be accompanied by Joe Kurmaskie and members of his family.
We will be limiting this to 20 people. So far we have about 8-10 that have expressed interest, if you would like to join us, now is the time to speak up!
Dave

04/23/2016

We are starting to get a head count for our 3-day Memorial Weekend bike tour with Joe Kurmaskie. If you have interest, please send us a message, and we can talk about the route, and what you may need to bring. We may also do a day long shake down ride in the next couple of weeks for those who are interested. -Dave

04/15/2016

And here it is! As of now, we don't have super official dates for the trips as we'd like to plan around the best weather possible, but here's essentially what we've been thinking:

May: Ripplebrook (~3 days, tentatively over Memorial Day)

June: Skamania (~2 days, tentatively staying at the lodge)

July: Lost Lake (more info coming soon)

August: Galloping Goose/ Hurricane Ridge (taking the train up to Seattle, Ferry into BC/ riding for several days)

We will try to fill everyone in at least two weeks in advance with these trips, and they'll likely be toward the end of the month.

Start sorting your gear/ bike out!

04/14/2016

Schedule posted very soon!

This is "Joe Kurmaskie- Metal Cowboy" by lharvs on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

03/22/2016

We're getting the band back together again!

Woo hoo! This is going to be the year of the bike tour! We are in the process of planning out the bike touring season, and have some great ideas. Basically, we will be doing an overview of some great tours within a few days ride of Portland.

Folks, we are lucky to be living in an amazing area for biking. River City Touring Club will be honored to show you how easy it is to do, how little equipment you really need, and how much fun touring is, even if you're not in what is considered 'prime physical condition'.

We will be launching our summer tour series very soon, with excursions heading north into Washington, east towards Mt Hood, south into the Willamette Valley, and west towards the coast.

Touring is a very inclusive biking activity. Almost anyone should be capable. These will be geared towards novice riders and curious but inexperienced tourers. We will embrace flexability. We will be doing mostly camping, unless we change our minds and decide to stay at a hotel. We will shoot for a particular weekend, but if the weather looks horrible, postpone until a later weekend- no point in unnecessary suffering!

We will be shooting for milage in the 50 miles a day range. This should not be a problem if we have all day to accomplish it. And there will usually be options for people to extend the milage if desired- remember, bike touring is about exploration.

I look forward to seeing and riding with many of our friends out there on these trips. To me, bike touring is the essence of riding- going wherever you want, doing whatever you want to do, and going at whatever speed you want to ride at.

-Dave

07/28/2015

OK, making plans for an August tour. This will be a weekend ride, a Saturday-Sunday overnight. We will shoot for 40-50 miles, and will probably take the Max out of town so we can get somewhere interesting a little quicker. Maybe Aug. 8+9?
I would like to do a series of these kinds of weekend tours through August, then maybe invite the club to go to the San Juan Islands with Haley and myself for the week after Labor day. If you have not been to this area, you're really missing out, especially in that time of the year. Most of the tourists are gone, there's even less traffic than usual, and the weather is beautiful!
So if anyone is interested in really learning how to do your own self-supported tour, this is a great opportunity to do so!
Dave, your fearless touring club leader