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The Urbanists: Urbanist Bike Shops | Bike Courier Meghan Mack
The Muddy: Rides and Shops | Cyclocross Pro Molly Cameron
The Speedsters: Rides and Shops | Track Champ Zak Kovalcik | Hardest Bike Ride in PDX
The Weirdkeepers: Rides and Shops | The Unipiper
The Longhaulers: Rides and Shops | Cycling Tourist Ellee Thalheimer | Bikepacking to the Coast
BMX: Rides and shops | Goods BMX's Shad Johnson
Portland Bike Gear | PDX Airport Carpet Wear | Full Bike Shop Directory
SHOP
Next Adventure
426 SE Grand Ave., 233-0706, nextadventure.net. 10 am-7 pm Monday-Friday, 10 am-6 pm Saturday and 11 am-5 pm Sunday.
Your pit stop for all the camping supplies you'll need once you're out of the saddle. This huge Southeast Grand Avenue shop is locally owned and budget-minded, with crazy closeout deals and a bargain basement stocked with used gear. From high-end, super lightweight tents built by Mountain Hardwear to wool socks at cotton prices, Next Adventure has the hookup.
RIDE
Cycle Wild
A nonprofit that leads bike camping trips around Portland, Cycle Wild maintains an online trove of touring information. Find gear lists and trip reports, as well as cue sheets for several routes all within Portland's "rideshed"—in other words, the distance that you can travel from Portland, with a loaded bike, in one day. The emphasis is on low-cost trips, geared toward people who'd rather stay in a tent than at a cozy B&B, but they're not off-puttingly hardcore and definitely not speed-obsessed. Sign up for the email list to be notified about organized trips, which tend to fill up quickly. Cycle Wild's Shawn Granton also puts out a petite but super useful Cycle Touring Primer for $3.
Cycling Sojourner
Guidebooks to Oregon and Washington, cyclingsojourner.com.
Ellee Thalheimer (see profile, page 32) knows bike touring in the Pacific Northwest better than almost anyone, and her buoyantly written guidebooks to multiday bike tours in Oregon and Washington take all the hell and hassle out of route planning. From detailed maps and cue sheets to tips about where to eat pie, sip pinot or take a yoga class, Thalheimer offers trips both easy and epic. She's particularly tuned into options for those on a budget.
STAY
Friendly Bike Guesthouse
4039 N Williams Ave., 799-2615, friendlybikeguesthouse.com.
If you're an out-of-towner pedaling through Portland, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to stay than this hostel, located along uber-bikey North Williams Avenue. Located inside a gutted and converted 1888 duplex whose walls have been lined with framed bike art, it's got 10 beds, indoor bike lockup and shop space with mechanic stands and tools, and often hosts students taking classes in mechanics or frame-building at the nearby United Bicycle Institute.
Out on the road
Where to go once you're out of Portland? In Newport, check out Bike Newport (150 NW 6th St., 541-265-9917, bikenewport.net), which caters to bike tourists and has a shower, laundry facilities and a comfy lounge with wifi. Down in Eugene, Arriving by Bike (2705 Willamette St., 541-484-5410, arrivingbybike.com) offers top-notch repairs, a big inventory of apparel and accessories (and other fun stuff like jewelry and greeting cards), and staff knowledgeable about touring in the area. Hood River's Discover Bicycles (210 State St., 541-386-4820, discoverbicycles.com) is a full-service shop that also offers rentals and riding clinics. In Bend, Crow's Feet Commons (875 NW Brooks St., 541-728-0066, crowsfeetcommons.com) has beer, coffee and lots of organized rides, and the all-purpose shop also rents fat bikes for taking into the snow.
WWeek 2015