For the PNW Folks

[fourflys]

Ok, so as my family and I get closer to the move up North (still have about two years), I wanted to query the audience..

We are considering a few different areas, one we've lived in, but I wasn't really riding at that time of my life..

For the following areas, I'd love to hear your thoughts on general riding, weather (I know it will be wet, but how wet and what do you usually wear for riding), and general cycling support (shops, etc). The areas we are considering, in no particular order are:

1. Salem/Independence/Monmouth, OR (maybe Corvallis area as well)
2. Canby/Oregon City, OR
3. Vancouver/Battle Ground, WA (somewhat close to each other)
4. Olympia, WA
5. Tacoma (big maybe on this one)
6. Kitsap County, WA (Bremerton, Silverdale, Port Orchard) we lived here 2018-2021, but I wasn't really riding so..

So what are your experiences?

Thanks!

[edgerat]

You know my thoughts, I vote for Oregon. HUGE no to Tacoma that is for certain!

[lorenbike]

Corvallis has some of the best out the door riding of anywhere I've lived. Tons of MTB trails and gravel for days within a few miles from town. I rarely did any road riding there except Marys Peak, and even then you can ride gravel roads pretty much to the top. Very bike friendly in town too for commuting.

Corvallis IMO has probably the most riding options of the places you mentioned above. Yes, further from Portland area riding but closer to the coast, Alsea Falls, Oakridge, and the Mac Dunn and Marys Peak are in your backyard. Nice, but somewhat sleepy collegtown if that's your thing.

And yes pretty wet and gray for probably half the year. I rode a lot of MTB during the winter at night with headlights. Gravel you just layer up and accept that you will be damp but the woods are really quite nice in the winter. Like I wrote above, not sure my idea of fun is to be out on a road ride much in the winter getting spray blasted by cars.

Ultimately I don't think the gray winter is for me so not sure I'd move back there but was glad to try it out for a few years. Good luck!

[mjb266]

Look at Bellingham. A massive bike scene.

[bigbill]

I lived in Poulsbo 87-92, 96-00, and 07-12. I saw a lot of changes in those years. Silverdale had a single blinking yellow light in 87. I enjoyed the riding, I could go in any direction and find good routes. One of my favorite routes was to ride across the Hood Canal Bridge and do the "ports" loop. I could ride from my house to Bainbridge and catch a ferry to ride the Seattle waterfront. I could ride out towards Seabeck and take some roads to end up in Shelton. You know what you're getting with the weather, build up a rain bike with long mudflaps.

[commonguy001]

I’ve been in the Vancouver Battle Ground area for 5 years.
Riding from home is mostly state and national forest gravel or mountain bike but road is doable if you’re creative with routes.
The MTBing that’s close ranges from rowdy XC, flow, technical chunk and full on DH jump lines. Lots of climbing as well if that’s your thing. There are also a few bike packing routes that run through here including the dark divide 300.

You’re right it can be wet from November through June but IMO we get enough dry it’s usually not bad for riding. The MTB trails run well in the rain as well.

Bike shops on this side of the river are really lacking but there is one shop that supports the big team in Vancouver called Dialed Cycling Lab. They’re solid guys and the club does a lot of racing and rides. In PDX there is a ton, I really like BiketiresDirect and Universal Cycles. For MTB fat tire farm is great.

[robt57]

I am OC close to Canby since 2011.

Wet wise, I'd say it is much different from when we got here. After 2016 the continual wet for 5 months is no more. We still get 4-5 rainy days in a row, you could ride 1/2 of them without getting too wet.

I have had 300 mile January bike month, cold... yep. But blue skis 1/2 the days some years Jan.

Here is a google maps screen cap with biking layer showing the digs.

And a link local bike club should be informative. Hit the ride calendar, peruse que sheets.
Also hot mapmyride and do some searches. 07045 is O_City

[edgerat]

40deg raining days will require: top is thick base layer>thick long-sleeve jersey>water/windproof jacket(thin gore or the like not a shower's pass user)>waterproof "winter" gloves>soft shell cap under helmet that covers ears, bottom layer consists of winter full length bibs with fleece backing and windproof materials and neoprene booties with thin wool socks. Full disclosure, I have yet to find bottoms that work well enough to keep my legs from turning magenta at the end of a 30-mile ride.

PDX has all the bitchin'est shops, our two favorite, Lakeside Bicycles, River City Bikes.

[vertr]

Originally Posted by mjb266

Look at Bellingham. A massive bike scene.

I'm originally from the ham but live in Seattle now. Bellingham is mostly about MTB, there are some roadies around but not like King county. They are close enough together that you can double dip and get the best of both worlds though.

The biggest issue with Bellingham is lack of corporate and good paying jobs. A lot of people with remote jobs moved there over the pandemic and there is some tension culturally about that regarding housing prices etc. I'm not sure I could ever get myself to move back there, but I like visiting my friends and family and hitting the trails.

For MTB the Seattle area has Tiger, Olallie, Raging River, and lift service at Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie pass. Not to mention 20+ road teams, lots of clubs, and a great bike shop scene.

[fourflys]

FWIW- probably not going north of Seattle and not going to Seattle based on price.. the areas I listed were listed specifically for cost of living (as much as I can tell).. I will need to buy a house and I don't want to have to have a 30yr mortgage, I want to pay it off within 15yrs.. which cancels out Portland, Seattle and surrounding area, and certainly Bainbridge and most of Poulsbo..

I would like to hear more of what folks wear when they ride in the wet as I wasn't really riding when I was up there.. I have a nice Shower's Pass jacket and pants set, but they seemed aimed more at commuting.. and yes, fenders will be a must I think, on at least one bike..
** I should add that I'm not talking about riding in a downpour, but the general "spitting" wet day..

[lorenbike]

Originally Posted by fourflys

FWIW- probably not going north of Seattle and not going to Seattle based on price.. the areas I listed were listed specifically for cost of living (as much as I can tell).. I will need to buy a house and I don't want to have to have a 30yr mortgage, I want to pay it off within 15yrs.. which cancels out Portland, Seattle and surrounding area, and certainly Bainbridge and most of Poulsbo..

I would like to hear more of what folks wear when they ride in the wet as I wasn't really riding when I was up there.. I have a nice Shower's Pass jacket and pants set, but they seemed aimed more at commuting.. and yes, fenders will be a must I think, on at least one bike..
** I should add that I'm not talking about riding in a downpour, but the general "spitting" wet day..

I mean you ask 5 people this and you will get 5 different responses. Expensive coats are not really worth it because either you get soaked from the outside (cheap coat), or get soaked with sweat from the inside (expensive coat). Legs are almost always cold from my experience.

All I can really add is that living in OR was the first time I had heard of 'waterproof socks'. And yes worth it, more so than any sort of waterproof shoe.

I should probably add that I was there in the mid 2010s, so can't comment on how much worse the rain was 30yrs ago. On the other end of the spectrum fire season in the Willamette is pretty awful during bad summers (of which I was there for).

[bigbill]

I commuted for many years in the Kitsap County area. I have a Showers Pass Elite jacket and I'd use the pit zips to regulate the temps inside the jacket. I had two pair of rain pants cut off knicker length. Winter shoes with a neoprene cuff and low socks. No point in tall socks because they'll just wick more water to your feet. The best investment is a rain bike with fenders and long flaps since most of the water that hits you comes from the road. I rode on garden hose tires (Armadillo, Gatorskin) but I would use some 30mm tubeless now. Most of the punctures will come from debris on the shoulders which tubeless should handle while still giving a good ride.

Showers Pass makes some nice waterproof gloves that are warm. I like mine.

[72gmc]

Places I'd explore:
1. A halo around the Portland area ... but not really Oregon City for me, I've been visiting family there all my life and feel lukewarm about it (despite the people I love).
2. Corvallis
3. Kitsap Peninsula (bigbill is an expert)

I know many lovely people who live in the Tacoma area but I consider it a "visit" rather than "live" place.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by mjb266

Look at Bellingham. A massive bike scene.

Say more. How’s the road riding?

[notsew]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Say more. How’s the road riding?

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nothing to see here!
Kidding (kinda)

We have an epic mountain bike scene anchored by Galbraith Mountain (you can check it on Trailforks) and local manufacturers like Transition, Evil and the former bike company, Kona.

There is a pretty active little gravel scene with folks that want to ride bikes, but don't want to be roadies. However, gravel comes in two varieties here, up and down. Don't come expecting miles of serene midwestern farm roads. These are roads for logging, and sometimes they let us ride them.

We are lucky enough to have a local CX series. It is very chill -- the uber competitive peeps skip it for Seattle's huge scene, but it sure is nice to be able to race CX all winter without spending 3 hours in the car.

The roadie scene is honestly a bit on life support. Gravel seems to have really sucked the life out of it. There are a handful of group rides, but they are petering out a little bit, a sunny day in the summer used to draw 50, now it's more like 20. There are dozens of us! Dozens!

I think the road riding is nice, and I do it a lot, but there are limited roads. If you want to ride 30-40 miles roundtrip from home, there are maybe 6-7 routes, realistically. On the plus side, a few of the roads around here are amazing (google chuckanut drive, Mt. Baker hillclimb) and for the most part drivers are very conscientious. I always feel pretty safe out on the road. Nobody is throwing batteries or cursing you out.

Most of the terrain is rolling hills. You have to work pretty hard to not have at least 1500 ft of elevation on a ride. Most of the roads are in pretty good shape. County roads are chipseal, that seems like less of an issue with bikes these days. Here is a ****ty, somewhat broken website I built that shows a smattering of routes: https://ridebham.com/category/road/road-routes/

Also there are no jobs, the houses cost a fortune, and the weather is cold, wet and windy 40% of the year. Summer is glorious.

To the main question of the thread. I commute by bike every day. Good gear is critical, but mostly you are talking cold and drizzle. Rare to have downpours. Other than that I mostly ride my bike inside Nov-March. I don't like to be cold. I spend most of the winter fantasizing about moving to California, it always feels shocking to me when people come the other way.