Permanent #1550 -- Cedric Diggory

• Distance: 108km
• Elevation: 1,749 ft according to RideWithGPS
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A scrumptious taste of a handful of Portland-area bike paths and low-traffic roads. Runs past the University of Portland with your first control at Kelley Point Park, then comes back east on the Marine Drive bike path to cross over the I-5 bridge. Has a lovely 12-mile stretch past Vancouver Lake, with a u-turn at the south end of the Ridgefield wildlife refuge. Back into Portland on the I-5 again, rejoins the Marine Drive path to go over to the I-205 path, then takes that all the way to Woodstock then back to my neighborhood near Holgate.

Permanent #1875 -- The Bloody Baron

#1875 -- The Bloody Baron

• Distance: 172K
• Elevation: 8,261 feet according to RideWithGPS
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This one is, at least in parts, positively Rapha-esque. After a straightforward route from SE Portland to Camas, you head north and, though you'll never really be more than 20 miles from the suburbs, you'll feel like you're in the middle of nowhere.

You use L-1000 and Dole Valley Rd to carve a winding path up towards Amboy, in the foothills of Larch Mountain (no, not THAT Larch Mountain, nor the other Larch which you see signs for off OR-6). This route tops out at just under 2,000 feet of elevation, and my favorite, though usually inaccurate, route mapping site guesses there's over 6,000 feet of climbing in the middle fifty miles of this route.

There really isn't much civilization between Camas and Yacolt (the small town just south of the turnaround in Amboy), and with some rather rough gravel roads you should plan accordingly with clothing, food, and tools. I think the only quasi-commercial building you'll pass over a 20-ish mile stretch is a jail, and that's not exactly where you want to pull up to beg to use their phone if you have a mechanical failure.

There's about 15 miles of gravel in each direction -- heading north, they're mostly (but not entirely) downhill (with some rather steep grades in spots); on the return trip, you get, well, the opposite. Different riders will find one or the other to be preferable. I'd recommend riding it with at least 30mm tires, and will be using 40+mm myself, though if you're comfortable and familiar with gravel on a road bike it's doable on anything.

So -- if you've grown tired of Dixie Mountain and Otto Miller, head up over the I-205 bridge and check this one out.

Permanent #1612 -- Nicolas Flamel

• Distance: 103K
• Elevation: 2,370 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Here's a simple, straightforward, and easy one -- a Sandy-and-back populaire, using Marine Drive and the Springwater Corridor for plenty of no-traffic, bike lane fun.

The idea is to use Joe's Donuts as a turnaround, but if you're doing an afternoon start then Sparky's is a great alternative for a huge, delicious $2 slice of cheese (or, plain depending on your regional pizza dialect). Plenty of other options in Sandy, too, like a little Mexican place whose name I can never remember that's a few blocks away from Joe's on 26.

This route is mercifully flat, but that also means you get from Troutdale to Sandy via the relatively dull stretch of 257th/Kane/Orient through Gresham. When the alternative is Bull Run, though, it's sometimes nice to go for a suburban cruise.

After your Sandy snack stop of choice, Kelso Road takes you back towards Boring then onto the east end of the Springwater. Sixteen miles later, you're done!

The Internet suggests this route has about 2K feet of climbing, which is probably a generous number. The only steep section of note is the first mile of 257th out of Troutdale... otherwise, it's all right around a 2% grade taking you up to downtown Sandy's just-under-1000-feet elevation.

All-in-all, a fine way to spend four or five hours on a bike.

[addendum: if you reverse the loop, most of your climbing is done at <1% grades on the Springwater, then you get to zip through the Gresham stretch on a mostly downhill stretch. Fun and faster!]