Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Questions about rides out of Portland OR

I recently moved to Portland and I have been wondering about rides to the coast and to Mt. Hood National Forest. Would it be alright to ride a fixed gear to these places or would the elevation change make it suck too much? If anyone here has done these rides, what are the best routes? Thanks.

It depends on how much you like pain. Personally I would not do any of those on a fixed gear because mashing up a 1000+ ft climb is not fun for me. I like not have to take advil every day.

i've ridden in a car with friends to the coast and there is an incredibly large climb/descent that you would have to deal with.
like, stupid large. takes over an hour to drive up OR down it. in a car. going 70.

f u c k that.

maybe there is a different route though.

Ah alright then, thanks anyways. I have a road bike here too but it can't handle the 32mm tires that I prefer to use, especially since I would need to carry camping stuff. Plus the two bike routes to the coast that I have found both have some un-paved sections. Oh well. Maybe I can sell the road bike and get a touring bike.

It's not really a bad climb through the Coast Range.... maybe a little more than going up Council Crest in Portland. On Highway 30 to Astoria. there is a big hill (elev. 775 ft.) between Rainier and Clatskanie and another smaller climb (elev. 675 ft.) west of Westport. Other than that, It's just some rolling hills.

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/66325072.jpg

and

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/66325070.jpg

The total distance is about 95 miles from Portland. Further south, from Springfield to Florence, the distance is shorter (66 mi.) but there are a couple of slightly higher and steeper climbs (max elev. 985 ft) and the rest is rolling hills.

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/66325071.jpg

Going by way of Highway 18 and 22 would be similar terrain. This is the approximate route of the "Reach the Beach" ride in May.

I forget the route that Hood to Coast takes, but there are a couple 1000+ foot ascents in there that really suck ass. Good luck.

how do you get to council crest from downtown? i'd like to experience the view sometime before the nights get too terribly cold.

There are many ways.

The most generally straightforward is to just take Vista Ave off of burnside. When that finally hits Broadway, take a right then the immediate left on Greenway and follow that road all the way up to the park (the park will be on your right). I have only ever gone up from behind OHSU but going down that way wasn't bad as far as traffic is concerned. It's a big hill.

i like hills. and i like the views from them. not always the biggest fan of going back down, them, though.

i think my next bike will have a flip flop hub.