First of all, if you are reading this article because you want to ride from Gresham to Water Front by Springwater Corridor, please do NOT follow the path we did.
Springwater Corridor is a very nice path, there were also a lot of bikers on it. All the intersections to major road either has Stop signs on the crossing streets, or has a pedestrian crossing button (or horse corssing button that’s 6 feet high). Everything was fine and enjoyable until we realized that the path is not complete, and we were forced to get onto Tacoma Rd, and cross the Willimatte River over Sellwood Bridge. Sellwood Bridge is extremely scary to ride bikes on. The lanes are narrow and there are no bike lanes.
Once we crossed the bridge, we hopped onto the bike path going north along the bank of Willimatte River. I wanted to take some pictures but unfortunately the battery was dead. We passed sailor clubs, rich people condos, industrial parks, OHSU parking lot, and finally, the Waterfront Park. We did mistaken Steel Bridge with Broadway Bridge, which made us wander around in circles (large circles).
We wanted to get to Marine Drive along the Columbia River to head back east, but unfortunately 33rd Dr. was closed for bridge construction work. So we made a (very bad) decision of riding on Lombard St. Eventually we got to Marine Driver, where we ate our lunch (bagels with hummas) and Tim peed for the second time.
Marine Drive is a very pleasant road to ride on, it has a separate bike path with occuational bike paths, but the traffic is relatively low and wasn’t very windy today. It also has a great view of the river.
The biggest mistake is yet to come, somehow we got onto Gresham Road and turned to 257th St. 257th is a pretty steep hill, no dedicated bike path, with tons of cars, and we actually had to walk for half a mile. But it’s all good, what didn’t kill us will make us stronger.
Today’s path was 47 miles long, took us 4 hours and 18 minutes to complete. For most part our average speed was kept at 14 miles per hour, but was ruined by the walking-up-the-hill’s mere 3 mph. Our next big challenge is coming up on the 20th, and will be biking to the beach from Amity - 56 miles.
Google Earth File - (NEW!! Now with enhanced place holders and special notes about the trip)
Special note about GE: Be sure to check out the proposed trip, and the actual trip, to see how bad we got lost.
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