So, this week was basically “mellow” by my standards.  Did some recovering from last weekend’s race on Monday and Tuesday and then a couple good rides exploring the local area and some alternative commute options for riding home after work.

Turns out I can turn my 9 mile commute into almost twice that (17ish) if I throw in a bunch of the bike path’s and walking trails between Beaverton, Aloha and Hillsboro.  Most of the reroute uses the Powerline Trail(s), that once complete should offer some fun urban hiking or a nice long run.

I also completed my first century since moving to Oregon last year.  It’s actually my first century in two+ years, which makes me really feel like a schmuck.  I think the last time I rode over 100 miles may have been D2R2.  That was awhile ago!

Anyways.  I spent the first 15 miles and the last 20ish miles knowing where I was, everything else was all new to me.  I headed west towards Forest Grove, then South along Old Highway 47.  Got onto Patton Valley Road which turned to gravel at one point so I turned around since I was on my road bike, reconnected with Old Highway 47 and rode through Cherry Grove, Gaston, Yamhill, Carlton, and onto Newburg.  This route put me in the heart of wine country and I saw too many wineries to name.  I’ll have to get Mia out this way and make a day of it traveling around to different wineries.  It’s a huge bicycle tourism draw and now I know why.

The route was relatively flat with a couple rollers and then I climbed out of Newburg over Chehalem Mountain, topping out at 1,272 feet.  It was a nice 5ish mile climb, followed by a kick-ass descent into Hillsboro.  I ended back in Hillsboro about 4 miles from home with 80 miles, so I added a loop out into North Plains to top the ride off.

Minus the Patton Valley road and nixing the final 20 miles, this would easily be a 65-70 mile loop to whip out on a weekend.  I saw parts of Oregon unknown to me until Saturday.  Much of the Yamhill and Carlton area looked very similar to parts of Vermont I have ridden in.  Rolling fields, trees, horses, cows, farms, etc.  A wonderful lack of traffic for long stretches also made this a very nice route.

I’m working up to a couple overnight bike trips and hopefully at least one, two night, adventure before Fall.  After reading this post this afternoon, it just has me itching to get out on some bikepacking trips.

Thanks for reading.

-Pete