Well, after deliberating for about a month and going back and forth with the comments here, I decided to go with the Portland for the style. The tour and mountain elite were very tempting, but I don't normally ride in the rain unless I'm heading to work. I think I'll be happier when I get to work with this jacket when I have to walk around with it on. I have the feeling I will be able to wear it more than just when biking, and depending on how I layer it we'll see how cold I can go with it. Since none of the SP jackets come with a hood, I just decided to see how much rain bugs me without one and I'll get a helmet cover if I need it. And with two people giving links to MEC, I'll surely be paying attention to their gear.

Thanks for all the posts. I never heard of a brevet before, it sounds awesome. I've done the hotter'n'hell 100 and my favorite ride I've done several times is the 100K Flint Hills Death Ride. I think I should try something that takes a few days. A multi-day mountain bike ride would be really great. Of course, then I'll wish I had the mountain elite. If I was doing 400K and sleeping in mud, I probably would go with a different jacket, maybe when I do that I'll have to think about another one.

I have more questions about gloves in the rain, layering with actual work clothes and not specialized bike gear, shoe covers, etc. Maybe I'll start a new thread for all of that?