RUSA Permanent #2679 -- Dudley Dursley Populaire

• Distance: 137K
• Elevation: 2736 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Sometimes, a route is too perfectly simply out NOT to go out and ride it.

This permanent, for instance, has exactly one navigation cue between the start and the first control at mile 33, and that cue is "go straight". So, you get a nice two or three hours of riding on Highway 14 -- and as is often the case with mid-size highways, the road gets nicer and nicer the further away from Yakima you ride. It's mostly gradual climbing to about mile 24, then downhill until your control at the Silver Dollar Cafe on the northern end of Highway 214.

241's climb is not nearly as gradual; it's still far from horrible, but does throw just under a thousand feet of elevation at you in about four miles. The south side of the highway's high point is more gradual; you get about eight miles of descent before a right turn onto Independence Rd, towards Zillah.

The next (and last) mid-ride control of the day comes in that small town, just short of 100K into the ride. A little gas station convenience store on the corner of 1st and Cheyne has a bunch of delicious greasy fast food options, or of course small stuff like Gatorade and potato chips if you're in more hurry.

Cheyne connects you to Yakima Valley Highway, another pleasant low traffic stretch since most car traffic uses the parallel freeway. You rejoin 14 at mile 80 -- right at Bale Breaker microbrewery, wink wink -- then have another five miles to get back to the start point.

RUSA Permanent #2667 -- Neville Longbottom Populaire

• Distance: 158K
• Elevation: 3508 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Rimrock Lake is gorgeous!

This is an almost-exactly-100-mile ride that takes you on a loop of it, which means riding a lot of Highway 12 towards White Pass in the Cascades. The peak elevation by the lake is just under 3400 feet, making this a three-season ride in most years.

Highway 12 isn't the most quiet or best maintained stretch of road in the Pacific NW, but it's also far from the worst -- lots of nice views, moderate traffic, and generally adequate shoulder space. It's also graded very nicely on your way up towards the lake, with all of your climbing coming at a gradual 2% grade or so.

Your turn-off for Rimrock Lake comes at mile 36, giving you a full sixteen miles of glorious off-highway biking. It's all smoothly paved, and you'll see some campers, fishers, and boaters in the area on most days. There's an info control at mile 40, then another when you re-join Highway 12.

When you head back down the highway, be aware of one thing -- there's an unlit tunnel at mile 59, so pack a tail light even when you're guaranteed to finish well before sunset. There's no "bike warning" system, either, as you might find in other places (Highway 101 near Cannon Beach comes to mind); so, make yourself seen, ride straight and safely, and you'll be totally fine.

Aside from start/finish, the route has only a pair of info controls -- but there's several options for food/water stops along the route as needed.

Permanent #2678 -- George Weasley Populaire

• Distance: 129K
• Elevation: 1300 feet according to RideWithGPS
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This is a fun one! Well, Fun for me, at least. YMMV.

Like #2600, this is a trip to Ellensburg and back. Unlike that route, though, this one takes a much more interesting way to head north.

You go the same way through Selah, but head northeast onto Wenas Road instead of going along the Yakima River's canyon. This climbs gradually for about eighteen miles, with consistently nice views of desert ridges and one lake that will seem rather inviting on a hot summer day.

At mile 26, there's an info control to make sure you're actually doing this silly ride, then the magic happens: the pavement ends, gravel begins, and the road starts going way the hell upwards.

Or, specifically: it goes up about 900 feet in 3.7 miles. Hardly the highest amount in the world; it's a little tougher in sheer elevation than Cornell Rd in NW Portland from 25th to Skyline. A lot tougher in practice, though, since it's mostly exposed desert roads covered in dirt and loose gravel.

With that said, as the photo indicates, I was able to pass through without too much trouble on 23mm tires back in the early fall. After you summit at about 3100ft, there's a little bit of gravel descending that's mostly straight-ish and not too hairy; then, thankfully, the rest of the downhill back into Ellensburg is on pavement.

Get some fast food (I recommend the cheapo chicken sandwiches at Carl's Jr), then it's back to Yakima via WA-821. It's flat-ish compared to what you did earlier in the day, all on good pavement, and will offer a little cool air coming off the Yakima River in even the hottest weather.

There are two long stretches between services on this ride, so be careful and pack plenty of water especially in summer: from mile ~20 (a RV park with small market) to Ellensburg at mile 45, then from there to Selah at mile ~75.

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 #1706 -- Ludo Bagman

After our success -- in some sick sense of the word -- on the 712K two weeks ago, I was resolved to use Foss Road a hell of a lot more, and that led to two new permanent submissions. First, a simple out-and-back ride from Netarts; second, a Portland-to-Netarts commute that goes through Birkenfeld and is my third such one-way perm between those two points, along with a Nestucca River trip and the most direct Highway 6 route.

• Distance: 157K
• Elevation: 5,763 feet according to RideWithGPS
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Foss... it'll definitely keep you on your toes.

On the 700K, we hit this right at sunrise, at mile ~330 on two hours of sleep, and it was like manna from heaven. No drifting off to sleep when you're darting (and, once or twice bunnyhopping) basketball-sized potholes and chunks of dying pavement. Lots of darting up and down 30 or 50 or 100 feet at a time, one nigh unrideable wall that seemed like a 20% grade, then a more mellow stretch to get to Henry Rierson campground, which'll be the turnaround for this 157K.

The campsite has drinkable water and some pit toilets, though I can't 100% guarantee that either will be in service year-round. There's another campground much earlier on Foss -- mile 34 on my cue sheet -- which claims to have drinking water, but I've been burnt before by relying on never-updated county and state park websites, so... I'll assume it's not there 'til I can roll by and inspect in-person.

To get to the awesometastic gravel stretch, it's a really simple route -- Netarts into Tillamook, north on 101, then inland for Miami-Foley Road. Pavement ends right after the recently reopened bridge over the Nehalem River (though the washed-away railroad in the same spot has not been repaired), seven miles after you turn off Miami-Foley.

Bring plenty of snacks and water, some wide-ish tires (David rode this on Nomad 28s and was quite happy), and you'll love it.