Washington rides

[campy man]

Looking to combine a little vacation time with some riding this summer. Two rides I'm considering are Seattle to Portland and Seattle to Vancouver.

I have done the Solvang Century a bunch of times as a reference. Any and all feedback on the Seattle rides would be appreciated. The STP would be done in 2 days ... no need to rush :no:

[krhea]

Looking to combine a little vacation time with some riding this summer. Two rides I'm considering are Seattle to Portland and Seattle to Vancouver.

I have done the Solvang Century a bunch of times as a reference. Any and all feedback on the Seattle rides would be appreciated. The STP would be done in 2 days ... no need to rush :no:

STV for the scenery as well as 1500 riders as opposed to 10k. STP can be a zoo although it's become a "rite of passage" for 1000s of cyclists here in the NW. For others it's a "one and done" event OR not at all due to the horde, the crashes, the 50 person speeding paceline "trains" and the route.
STV has amazing scenery especially the first day up to Bellingham, is much more intimate or as "intimate" as a 1500 rider ride can be and ends in a city as cool as Portland, Vancouver BC...and this is from a Portland resident.
If I had to choose between one or the other I'd go STV!

[tiretrax]

One of my friends did both. He preferred the Vancouver ride, as well. He also thought he could have riddent STP in one day, but he was a younger man at the time.

[KidWok]

STP is a great scalp in your belt...but it's not particularly scenic and always mobbed. I hear great things about RSVP from my riding buddies.

Hit me up if you're in town. We can get out for a ride and some drinks.

Tai

[David Tollefson]

RSVP, Cannonball, RAMROD, various gravel fondos (check Vicious Cycle (http://rideviciouscycle.com/)), and I'm putting on a two-day mixed/gravel ride in Rochester (https://www.facebook.com/events/310965525752268/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) on July 25-26 (based at the Lucky Eagle Casino).

[jlwdm]

One of my friends did both. He preferred the Vancouver ride, as well. He also thought he could have riddent STP in one day, but he was a younger man at the time.

How young? STP is an easy ride for the distance. I rode the one day at 41 and 61 and plan to ride it at 81.

RAMROD is a great ride - difficulty is getting in.

Jeff

[k-mac]

Lake Chelan Century - 9,600 ft. of climbing. My dad lives there and I've been thinking of doing it for years, but being in Ohio, I just haven't made the logistics effort to do it yet.
http://centuryride.com/

[dan682]

+1 for Chelan century and the vicious cycles gran fondos. Awesome rides and very well run and supported.

Lots of other great rides other than the supported events - Olympic peninsula, mt rainier, north cascades highway, mountain loop highway, san juan islands. Let me know if you want strava routes.

[rwsaunders]

There are quite a few PNW folks on here and VSalon that can chime in on this, but this group folks post some decent routes.

http://seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=4

[rcnute]

Both STP and RSVP sell out quick, FYI. STP not all that great as a one day ride (did it 2-3 times), but it's fun if you camp/pitch a sleeping bag.

Ryan

[David Tollefson]

I was informed that my FB link to the July two-day in Rochester on July 25-26, wasn't working. I'll post in the Events section, but for those who can't wait, search for Lucky Deuce Gravel Crusher on FB.

[john903]

In my opinion there are so many great rides here and if this summer is like last summer the weather will be fantastic. One resource to look at is Seattle International Randonneurs web site for some ideas on rides. As far as STP way to many people for me I actually rode it three weeks after the official ride and it was still just ok. RSVP is a much better choice as far as scenery and less people. I would suggest as you nail down some dates keep us pacific north westerners informed and we can help you out even more. As far as my area I live on the Olympic Peninsula in a very small town between Port Townsend and Port Angeles. If you like to climb, from my house to Hurricane ridge and back is 70 miles round trip and 5200' feet or so. The area is very accessible from downtown Seattle via Ferry to Bainbridge Isl to the peninsula.

Have fun planing your trip to me that's half the fun.

[notsew]

I did STP last year and I'm not sure I would do it again. It is a lot of people and most of it isn't to spectacular. My favorite part was riding through Seattle at sunrise with thousands of other bikes. The novelty of the crowd wore off pretty quickly though. I did it as the 'rite of passage' others have talked about. Check!

I live up in the Northwest corner of the state in Bellingham and will concur that we have a lot of nice roads around here. I haven't done RSVP but it looks like it hits some good spots. And bellingham is a good place to drink a couple beers after a day of riding:). I guess between the two, I'd vote for RSVP

I'm learning about a bunch of rides here, that Chelan century looks like fun.

Forrest

[PSC]

Never ridden STP, but I live in Tacoma and have been on the road at the same time as the ride and what a zoo. Not a ride I would like to do. If you have a chance, Hurricane Ridge is definitely worth it, 19 1/2 mile climb with 5200 ft. elevation gain and incredible scenery.

Here is a good website with lots of different routes:

http://permanents.seattlerando.org/

Good luck and have fun!

[jlwdm]

...

As far as my area I live on the Olympic Peninsula in a very small town between Port Townsend and Port Angeles.

...

Hi John,

I was born in Port Angeles, but moved to Olympia at age 9 many, many years ago.

Jeff

[one60]

There are two routes to get up to Windy Ridge & Spirit Lake to look at Mt St Helens...actually on a clear day you can see three volcanoes from one spot.

The High Pass Challenge route is one. The other is a Forest Service road which is a nearly unused, 95% paved road. Can't for the life of me remember the FS# but PM & I will find it. This route is like a bike lane up through the woods.

[northbend]

If you're planning on July or August, you've picked the best time to ride. What type of riding are you interested in? Challenging stuff with lots of climbing? Gravel? Or more on the mellow touring end of things?

I wouldn't get hung up on limiting yourself to organized rides, there are so many great choices you can do on your own:

Mountains: Stay in Packwood for a few days and ride the High Pass Challenge route to Windy Ridge (Mt St Helens) or ride around the Tatoosh Range (RATROD) through Mt Rainier National Park in a great 70 mile loop or simply get the very best Mt rainier has to offer - all in one day is very challenging or you can split it up into separate advenures on different days: Ride up to paradise, descend through stevens canyon and up cayuse pass then down to the white river entrance and go up Sunrise road. If you have energy left to spare go up Chinook Pass when you're at the top of Cayuse..

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1040141_zpsa0eb03b5.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1040141_zpsa0eb03b5.jpg.html)
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1020552.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1020552.jpg.html)

If you drive up to Bellingham, go east and stop in Glacier then ride up Mt Baker. the view of Mt Shuksan is amazing.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1050206.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1050206.jpg.html)

Drive over to Winthrop and spend a few days rambling around there. Best of all is the climb up and descent down Washington Pass

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1020653_zpsd62dd30b.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1020653_zpsd62dd30b.jpg.html)

If mountains aren’t your idea of fun then tour the Islands. You can stay right in Downtown Seattle and hop on Ferries to either Vashon or Bainbridge Island.
Both are rural, scenic with great routes for bikes.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1000305.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1000305.jpg.html)

Go a little farther north to Anacortes and take the ferry to the San Juan islands. Stay in Friday Harbour for your home base
and explore the test of the Islands by bike (San Juan and Lopez are the best..)
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/P1020930.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/user/northbend/media/P1020930.jpg.html)

[JLP]

People covered STP and RSVP. Seattle Randonneurs has all sorts of brevets scheduled all year. If you just want some cue sheets and GPS routes, this link will lead you to everything you might want beginning at 100K.

http://permanents.seattlerando.org

Click on the "Route Selector" pull down.

Enjoy. Joe

[campy man]

Based on the feedback STP would not be a good fit ... sounds too much like Rosarito/Ensenada down here. I'm not a climber but understand mountains are part of riding. A smaller organized ride or a some routes that offer a balance of flats, rollers and a mountain(s) would be ideal.

Liking some the routes suggested and thinking the weather will be nice in July. I appreciate the links for routes and rides. :banana:

[mjb266]

If you're afraid of the climbs, hit the San Juans. Shoot for early rides midweek and you'll have the roads to yourself. Weekends that time of year can get hectic.

[pjmsj21]

Northwest Rides: I have done most of the event rides out of Seattle over the years including STP (one day and two days), Seattle to Vancouver, Ramrod (twice) High Pass Challenge and REDSPOKE (Redmond to Spokane).

My two favorites are Ramrod and Seattle to Vancouver. Ramrod is a tough, challenging, beautiful ride that I wouldn't do every year assuming you could get in every year. But if you are looking for a real challenge it is a great ride.

Seattle to Vancouver is much less challenging but still represents two back to back centuries or thereabouts. Great scenery as well and a lot of fun.

As others have said, STP is something you do to say you have done it but there are just too many cyclists and some of them are not the most experienced and thus a fair amount of mishaps.

Pat Mc