Permanent #1877 -- Viktor Krum

• Distance: 405K
• Elevation: 15,835 feet according to RideWithGPS
• Route
• Cue Sheet
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On the opposite spectrum of hilliness from my PDX-Bremerton route, this one starts and ends in roughly the same area, but goes up and over Mt St Helens rather than the flat Washington coastline.

Wind River Rd and NF-25 provide the most gorgeous (and challenging) portions of the ride, cutting through Gifford Pinchot forest as you ride between Carson and Randle. These roads aren't maintained for winter riding -- which, depending on the year, might delay its opening all the way until June or even July.

When they are open, though, it's gorgeous... and hard. I'll spare details from the elevation profile and just say there's a big volcano there, and you ride up and over it.

The latter half of the ride is a bit more relaxed, but you still have some pleasant roads (and a bit of climbing) after Randle, going up towards Orting. The last forty or so miles uses the Interurban Trail then a variation of the official STP route to wrap up the ride in the University District.

This, of course, is also available to be used in the opposite direction (and again, no cue sheet for that way yet). There's two or three campgrounds with drinking water available as you ride through Gifford Pinchot, and a not-entirely-reliable grocery store near Swift Reservoir. For the northernmost parts -- the ones you'll likely face in the middle of the night if you started in PDX -- I'm not sure of many 24-hour food options, so pack plenty of snacks and probably a third water bottle.

I'm toying with making a Cyclos Montagnards-esque unofficial medal for Oregon or Seattle randonneurs who complete both #1876 and #1877 in a span of a couple of days, with a brevet or permanent in the middle -- maybe call it the lazy man's 1000+K. Check back later.

Permanent #1875 -- The Bloody Baron

#1875 -- The Bloody Baron

• Distance: 172K
• Elevation: 8,261 feet according to RideWithGPS
• Route
• Cue Sheet
• Registration

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.