RUSA Permanent #2684 -- Gilderoy Lockhart Populaire

• Distance: 108K
• Elevation: 3551 feet according to RideWithGPS
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You want hills? Have some hills.

Well... at least "hills", by Yakima standards, organized into a relatively easy-to-navigate route -- it's certainly no De Ronde. I could add another thousand or so feet with zigs and zags here and there, but reading cue sheets is never the best part of bike riding.

Starting once again on West Nob Hill, your ride starts going straight west out Summitview, then onto Cowiche Mill Rd to the first info control at mile 13. It's a somewhat major road closer to Yakima, but always has a nice shoulder and gets quieter and prettier as you leave town.

From there, dart back down to the little town of Naches, and grab some mini-mart fare if you're in need. The way out of town brings by far the worst climb of the day -- starting in the middle of mile 22, you'll run into a couple of switchbacks up the hillside at about 8-10% grade. Nasty stuff, but less than a mile in total length.

After a little descent with beautiful high desert views, you resume climbing at a much more mild pace, heading up North Wenas Rd (the same stretch of road used for the more fun way to Ellensburg). Instead of attacking some gravel and crossing the boundary into Kittitas County, though, you just take a U-turn after an info control and enjoy nearly 20 miles of gradual descent towards Selah.

You'll finish up on some back roads to the west of Selah, which add a few final small climbs before taking you back south of the Naches River over Powerhouse Rd. From there, it's all city roads and a little MUP to wrap up your adventure.

Permanent #2675 -- Dobby (A Free Elf) Populaire

• Distance: 103K
• Elevation: 1300 feet according to RideWithGPS
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A couple of weeks ago, I rode out from my house in Yakima to meet the great folks from Desert River Randonneurs in the middle of their customary "Flat Yak" 200K -- a great recurring ride that starts and ends in Richland. I plotted my route to join up with theirs, successfully met a trio of riders near Toppenish, then headed home and went to work on a Yakima-based permanent based on what I rode that day.

This is the end result, of course; Tri-Cities-based riders will perhaps be happy to know that it only overlaps with "Flat Yak" for about five miles of the course, so you can come to Yakima and experience a nice amount of new, pleasant riding.

You start, fittingly, at the Safeway near my house in West Yakima. Nob Hill Boulevard becomes WA-21, then you go onto back roads south of Moxee to Konnowac Pass Rd. Don't let the name frighten you, though, the climbing only amounts to about 350 feet.

At the end of that, you begin 15 miles on the fairly quiet Yakima Valley Highway to the mid-ride control at Granger. From there, WA-223 connects to Track Rd, and guess what -- you parallel some railroad tracks, making a nearly as-the-crow-flies beeline towards the next stop in Wapato.

Cross a bridge over the Yakima River and take an underpass under I-82 and you'll reconnect to the north end of the Yakima Valley Highway. That follows both the river and the highway for a few miles before becoming Thorp Road heading back slightly east, rejoining the same roads you use for the first seven miles of the day.

It's a flat and fast route. No truly breathtaking views but a lot of pleasant country roads, with generally low traffic aside from the first and last five miles of the day in Yakima.

Permanent #2600 -- Fred Weasley Populaire

• Distance: 122K
• Elevation: 2600 feet according to RideWithGPS
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If you have time to do one day of biking in or around Yakima, this might be your best bet -- WA-821 a.k.a. Canyon Road offers some of the best riding and scenery in the area.

It's a simple out-and-back, through Selah to the turnaround in Ellensburg. The 821 follows the Yakima River for most of its 25-mile duration and is generally flat, with one hill near the southern end of the route that climbs up about 350 feet.

The canyon has several parks/campsites/rec areas, though as far as I know there's no drinking water available at any of them. In the summer, it'll be quite hot, and you'll quickly go through two bottles' worth of water -- a lesson I learned the hard way the first time I traveled this stretch in near triple-degree heat. So, leave Ellensburg with an extra little bottle of water in the summer, and you'll be totally fine.

While it's not at all drinkable, the Yakima River does provide some great cooling spots. Most of the parks along the river have boat launches, so you can bike right down to the river and dip your toes... ankles... knees... well, as much cooling as you'd want.

The worst traffic is from around the truck stop/fast food options for your turnaround in Ellensburg. The canyon itself is generally great for riding -- hardly silent or remote, but with plenty of shoulder space and a light mix of commercial traffic, local travelers, and all sorts of recreational visitors (fishers, birdwatchers, boaters, campers, and more!)

Permanent #2579 -- Minerva McGonagall Populaire

• Distance: 100K
• Elevation: 2600 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Several months later, a new permanent in Yakima!

This is exactly a 100K, starting and ending on Nob Hill Blvd in the west part of town (near my home, obviously). Goes further west to the boundary of the Ahtanum State Forest, on a gradual climb up to 3,000 feet elevation.

I rode the route (or at least the general area) a couple times shortly after moving here in the fall, then checked it out again last week during a surprising warm spell. The weather now is back down to mid 30s at best, so the road conditions are certainly iffy -- but the roads aren't permanently closed in winter or anything, so it's technically a route that's open year-round... so long as you can find a period of nice weather.

This 100K certainly has the potential to be a fast one. There's maybe four or five intersections with a stoplight or sign and, while you do go up from a starting 1100ft to nearly 3200ft elevation, the climbs are all super gradual. Back in August, for reference, I did the full course (way before submitting it as a permanent, so no card or credit) in 3:33 elapsed time... about 50 minutes faster than any other 100K I've ever done.

I can't promise you the same results, of course, but it's a fun and easy one that's waiting for you next time you're in central Washington!

Permanent #1893 -- Stan Shunpike

• Distance: 133K
• Elevation: 6,050 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Sometimes a 100K is too short of a ride, but a 200K is too long. Oh no!

Thanks to years of hard science research, I've unearthed a solution -- an in-between distance!

This one is 133K, or 82 miles. About 35 of them are on the Springwater Corridor, so if you do this ride on a sunny weekend afternoon, expect a variety of dogs, bikes, and walkers as company.

The real heart of it, though, comes from two hilly loops east of Estacada and south of Sandy. The first takes you out on Wildcat Mountain Rd -- a lovely road which continues into the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness south of Mt Hood -- on mostly sustained medium-low grades until a final little 10% kicker gets you to the info control at 452nd Ave.

From there, you get to rip down the Kitzmiller Rd descent into Eagle Fern Park. Southeast of there you make a loop of George / Clausen Rd, with a 1300-foot climb in about seven miles.

Once you leave Boring, the route is minimally serviced -- Eagle Fern Park should have running water, although I've been bitten too many times by unreliable parks dept. maintenance.

Permanent #1650 -- Cuthbert Binns

• Distance: 110K
• Elevation: 1,200 feet (according to RideWithGPS)
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On the opposite end of the terrain spectrum from Horace Slughorn 100K, there's this ride. 68 miles, and the highest point of elevation is the 9th Ave pedestrian crossing over Powell Blvd. Thank you, Sauvie Island!

It's a rather ridiculously simple route -- out Highway 30, onto Sauvie, over to an info control out-and-back on the island, then another info control out-and-back, then back onto 30 and home.

Any semi-fast rider could easily find themselves up against the minimum time limit (3h40m); or, you could take a two-hour picnic on Sauvie and still finish in time without feeling rushed at all. Me, I'll probably use this as a training route of sorts, a nice way to get more comfortable keeping up an 18mph pace for several consecutive hours.

Permanent #1648 -- Aberforth Dumbledore

• Distance: 110K
• Elevation: 4,609 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Another inland one of sorts (you can't exactly make a route that goes west from Netarts... unless RUSA allows the use of pedal-boats), this time checking out the towns of Pacific City, Hebo, and Beaver in that order.

Starts south via the awesome Netarts Bay road before heading over Cape Lookout and into Pacific City where you'll have plenty of nice food options. The "focus" of the ride is a 20-mile stretch on 131 and then 22 -- a pair of great, shady, scenic, and low-traffic highways. After rejoining the 101 in Hebo, take it back towards Sandlake then over Cape Lookout again for the ride's conclusion.

Two passes over Lookout makes this one a little more challenging, but nothing terrible at all. Pleasantly, each direction of climbing has a very different feel as you're riding, so it's by no means dull and you can decide for yourself which direction you prefer. The 130-to-22 stretch goes gradually up to about 550 feet, almost all of which is gained on very mild grades. The only downside is that there's about 10 miles of unpleasant northbound 101 riding between Hebo and Sandlake, but even that is not so bad if you go at the right time/day/season.

Permanent #1586 -- Cornelius Fudge

• Distance: 130K
• Elevation: 5,418 feet according to RideWithGPS
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If the previous Flitwick route takes a meandering path towards the coast, this one is about as direct as possible. Same startpoint at Holgate, but you'll tackle the west hills on Cornell/Thompson rather than through the zoo, then quickly turn off Skyline to take some boring but reliable suburban roads (Laidlaw, West Union) towards North Plains. After a control stop there, it's straight west again on some backroads that dump you onto Gales Creek Road before it meets up with Highway 6.

You'll take Highway 6 for basically its entirety. Because it's the most convenient coast route out of Portland, it's well-traveled by bike campers and tourers, and it has a decent (not amazing) shoulder. Traffic is moderate (not amazing), including some commercial trucks and vacationing RVs. It does get drastically worse on three warm-weather holidays -- Labor Day, 4th of July, Memorial Day -- so I wouldn't recommend taking it by bike on any of those weekends. Otherwise, should be fine.

This one ends in Tillamook rather than Netarts, and I forget why I decided that. The highest pass on Highway 6 comes just nine miles or so after you join it, then you can cruise at a good pace for the rest of the way into Tillamook. If you can time it right so traffic is low, the road is absolutely gorgeous, and definitely worth traveling at least once.

Both permanents are reversible, but I haven't yet written up cue sheets for anyone who wants to use them going in the opposite direction. There is a bus service from Portland to Tillamook -- leaves Tillamook at 8:10 a.m. and 12:25 pm, or leaves Portland (from the train station) at 10:35 a.m. or 3:15 p.m.

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 #1649 -- Horace Slughorn

• Distance: 100K
• Elevation: 6,043 feet according to RideWithGPS
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I had a nice present waiting in my inbox after this weekend's 600K (report forthcoming) -- two new permanent approvals.

It's a shame that I'm in no shape to ride more than a few miles today, though, because this one in particular looks like an awesome one -- lots of dirt and gravel and climbs and descents and the other good things that make for great bike rides.

This covers the entire length of both Leif Erickson trail and Saltzman Road as they cut through Forest Park. Each stretch is very frequently used by roadies and is certainly "doable" on 23mm tires, but would probably be more enjoyable with extra cushioning. Bring a decent set of brakes, too -- particularly for the easternmost segment of Saltzman after it crosses Leif.

The rest of the route (which, as a first for me, comes in at a neat and perfectly even 100km) sends you on a few of the somewhat "hidden", lesser-used roads of deep northwest: Old Germantown, Kaiser, Moreland, and Pederson.

One downside of this rather circuitous route is that it needs seven info control stops, but there's certainly enough climbing so you won't mind being forced to briefly stop in a few spots. If you need to pick up food or water, the best bet is probably the store at the intersection of Skyline and Cornelius Pass, which you'll pass at mile 24 & 43. They even have a water spigot in front of their building which is open to cyclists, but be sure to make an actual snack purchase every now and then to show a little appreciation.

Permanent #1614 -- Crookshanks

So I already have a pair of permanents that will get you from Portland to Tillamook and/or Netarts... but what are you going to do once you get there?

Well, snack and drink beer and walk on the beach and go to the lighthouse and check out the octopus tree and have campfires and read books and play board games.

Aside from that, though, I thought it would be nice to have some coast-based riding options. So, voilà, one of two new permanents.

• Distance: 104K
• Elevation: 4,260 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Instead of doing the one of the more obvious coast-based riding options, this one takes you inland for a great stretch of riding on Trask River Road. When you first join the road, there's a warning sign for high truck traffic, but when I did the ride on a late Tuesday morning I saw maybe a half-dozen total commercial trucks in the 20 miles I spent there, plus sparse car traffic from the various park/campground/boat launch options.

Oh, and I also saw a cow giving birth in the field. How cool is that? I stopped to gawk at it for a while from the roadside, but then the sow seemed to get stressed out by my presence lurking a few feet from its newborn, so I rode on.

The turnaround point is at Trask River County Campground. They have drinking water available, but it's highly sulfuric and reeks of rotten eggs.

The rest of the route is pretty straightforward -- starting over Cape Meares (I much prefer approaching it from the south, where you pass the best views on a slow climb rather than a scorching descent), connecting back to Highway 101 via backroads behind the Tillamook air museum/airport, then taking Sandlake Road to Cape Lookout.

Throwing in the two capes puts the elevation up around 4K feet (with the usual disclaimer that my preferred online mapping program tends to wildly exaggerate this number), but it feels like a pretty relaxed ride. I rode with no sense of urgency at all and finished in five and a half hours, or a full ninety minutes ahead of the maximum cutoff.

I can't promise a live cow birth to future riders, though.

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!]

Permanent #1595 -- Pomona Sprout

• Distance: 101K
• Elevation: 4,339 feet according to RideWithGPS
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This... is a fairly hard one. The raw mileage/elevation doesn't really do it justice -- the vast majority of elevation is crammed into the middle 35 miles, and the course has a nasty habit of punching you in the stomach with a series of damn steep ramps.

I did an inaugural ride of the route yesterday with David Parsons, who as usual has a nice set of photos available here.

The start point is again right near my house on SE Holgate, and the first ten miles are easy enough -- over the Bybee rail bridge and onto Springwater Corridor. From there, you have a somewhat unpleasant stretch on Foster and Tillstrom (moderate traffic, minimal shoulder), but they're a necessary evil to find the start of Borges Road.

The fact that Borges -- if you have no idea how to pronounce Spanish -- rhymes with gorgeous is quite apt. This is a wonderfully remote and shaded stretch of three miles, and you'll completely forget about all the greater Portland area suburban sprawl just a few miles away in any direction.

Of course, Borges is also the first climb of the day -- the peak is actually the ride's highest point, but it's relatively moderate and pleasant. Or, perhaps it just felt that way since I had relatively fresh legs. As a bonus, I stopped halfway up to gawk at a trio of turkey vultures which had just landed in the branches above our heads.

Speaking of apt names, Sunshine Valley Road is next. It's still nice and quiet, a little lumpy but never gaining or losing more than 150 feet of elevation at a time.

After a quick stop in Boring, you're back familiar OR Rando territory by taking Richey Rd to Kelso and then Amisigger, which drops you down to the Clackamas River via an awesome 2-mile descent. No shoulder, but the pavement is even and the turns are gradual so you'll have no problem hitting 35 and taking the full lane.

Take Bakers Ferry Road over the river, then a left onto Eaden for four more awesome quiet countryside miles... followed by a short stretch of 10% grade before ending up on Fischers Mill, followed by a fairly mild stretch through Redland which connects you to...

Maplelane Road! It's a great short, lazy s-shaped sweeping descent, followed by a hellish half-mile climb that's 12% at its worst spot. Oh, and there's a camel at roadside, too.

Thankfully, once you turn off Maplelane, there's only one notable climb left for the last 25 miles. You drop down almost all the way into Oregon City, but back out again via Holcomb and then onto Front Ave. Front becomes Forsythe, then -- unsurprisingly -- goes up, up, up. On paper, it's nothing too serious, but you will almost certainly be feeling the ill effects of the day's previous hills at this point.

You're rewarded, though, with a fantastic descent on Gronlund, back down to the banks of the Clackamas to turn back west for Oregon City, then River Road through Milwaukie and back into SE Portland.

David and I finished in 5:38, including about a 20-minute Taco Bell visit with nine miles remaining but no other significant on-course stops. Could probably do a 4:45ish finish on another day, with no Taco Bell and a more masochistic approach to the hills... or I could pack some more snacks and take the full 6:44 maximum time limit. It'd be a great ride either way.

Permanent #1549 -- Luna Lovegood

#1549 -- Luna Lovegood Populaire

• Distance: 105K
• Elevation: 3,269 ft according to RideWithGPS 
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A straight shot north over the I-5 bridge, then out of downtown Vancouver on Lakeshore Drive, with some nice little rolling hills along the way. Heads towards Ridgefield, but crosses over the I-5 for a halfway control in lovely La Center. Leaves La Center going east, then comes back into Vancouver and then Portland via 72nd Ave & St Johns Road.