Portland, Oregon to the coast
 

Hello I am looking for some advice on a good way to get to the coast from Portland. Maybe to Tillimock or somewhere in that direction.

That would be Route 6 to Tillimook...........probably safer -- less traffic -- than Route 26.

If you are starting from downtown and goal number 1 is to minimize use of busy roads - then I would get the 94 bus to Sherwood and then pretty much head due west through the lanes to Yamhill, then south to Carlton, then due west again on NW Meadow Lake Rd. which becomes NW Nestucca Access Rd. which becomes Nestucca River Rd. which becomes Upper Nestucca River Rd. which becomes National Forest Dev Rd 85, which becomes Blaine Rd which takes you all the way to Beaver and 101, then it is a choice of either North or South depending upon which beach you prefer.

I took Highway 30. It wasn't bad, although I remember a bit of narrow shoulder on the way into Astoria. I got a motel room in Rainier, Oregon - about 46 miles. The next day I rode to Fort Stevens State Park, which has some nice hiker/biker sites. That was 57 miles. I hadn't trained sufficiently so I took a rest day there before resuming my trip.

The only grocery store I could find in Astoria was Safeway, which was on the east side of town. On the way to Fort Stevens there's a Fred Meyer right after you turn right off of 101 onto E. Harbor Street (Warrenton-Astoria Highway).

This website has a few options:

http://www.portlandonline.com/transp...ex.cfm?c=36638

I'd suggest either the green or the purple route.

Can you expand a little bit on the Sherwood to Yamhill leg? I'm not sure what you mean by "through the lanes". Do you mean 99W to 240?

99W and 240 are not "lanes".

The 94 bus goes to NW Washington between NW 1st Street and SW Railroad Street.

Take SW Railroad Street and head south onto SW Main St. Head due south across SW Sunset Blvd onto SW Ladd Hill Rd. Go about 800 ft and turn right onto SW Brookman Rd. Stay on SW Brookman Rd (mostly due west) all the way to and across 99W onto SW Chapman Rd. Follow SW Chapman Rd until it becomes Chapman Rd (without the SW) and where it turns due North, you turn left (and south) onto NE Leander Dr. head south and turn right onto NE Bell Rd.

NE Bell Rd goes due west all the way to 219 (north edge of McMinville). Cross 219 and onto NE North Valley Rd (continuing due west). NE Bell Rd gets you to within a mile of Yamhill and you have a choice of a mile on 240 or if (like me) you prefer the lanes, turn right onto NE North Valley Rd and head north a half mile and turn left onto NE Laughin Rd and at this point you have joined the "purple route" suggested above by diamond.

Would you also like a shoulder rub and a bottle of wine from Penner-Ash Wine Cellars?

I didn't know that "lanes" had a cycling-specific definition. I found the route you described on google maps.

not sure if he meant to be sarcastic or mean about the lanes comment- maybe just came across that way a bit?

I've ridden to the coast two different ways and both were great and avoided busy highways like 26 and 30.

Twice I've gone this route: from Portland took the blue line MAX train to Hillsboro- from there road to Forest Grove then down to Carlton. From Carlton rode to Blaine eventually meeting with the 101 at Beaver. I really like this route but there is a good solid 15 miles of steep low gear climbing not too far out of Carlton. Bring water! Otherwise it's an awesome low use road with three different campgrounds just over the summit.

Recent;y I rode to Astoria by taking the MAX to Hillsboro and from there meeting with the rails to trails to Vernonia and then hwy 47 through Mist, Jewell and Onley. We camped at Big Eddy park. This is a nice route and is actually much easier I think than heading through Blaine. Less hills but it more depends on your destination at the beach.

Both these routes are great and fairly traffic free!

I did not think he (or she) was being sarcastic. It simply crossed my mind that this might be someone playing games and asking for a detailed route that they really are not interested in - and just wanted to see if I will go to the trouble of listing a set of detailed directions.

After reading the subsequent reply above, it then occurred to me that my use of the term "lanes" is a British thing (I'm a Brit). In the UK if you said "take to the lanes", most people, drivers and cyclists alike, would know you meant small roads, in the countryside, typically paved (tarmac for Brits) but lacking any kind of lane markings and are often not wide enough for two vehicles traveling in opposite directions to pass. These lanes often have turn-outs at regular intervals and high hedges on either side of the road - and only an insane fool drives fast on them given the high risk of a head-on collision. Speed limits are typically 25 to 30 mph.

I guess in the USA, the default interpretation of lane is restricted to a lane on a highway. Hence the question of whether I meant 99W. I will chalk this up to a cultural misunderstanding.

Some of the people I cycled with in the UK are like walking maps - once you got more than 10 miles out of town, you really did not want to get dropped off the back. Luckily the policy on most rides was to make sure someone that knew the route would follow at the back. That was all a long time ago, long before portable GPS, or in fact any kind of GPS.

Here are a couple of photos of quintessential countryside lanes in France:

Attachment 154334 Attachment 154335 Attachment 154336

Houston, I sincerely apologize about my comment. I live in Sherwood, and although I commute, I want to get into more recreational riding. Getting out of Sherwood in most directions is difficult due to hills and narrow roads, so I really am interested in rides I can take from home without "car-topping". I see people cycling between Sherwood and Newberg on 99W quite a bit, and I reasoned that it was the best way to get west of Newberg.

I'm headed out of town this weekend, but I'll check out your route as soon as I get a chance.

Again, my apologies for the misunderstanding.

Seriously, there is nothing to apologize about. I've been in the USA for more than a decade now and it always amuses me when a subtle cultural difference pops up. On one of my trips back in the 90's I was at a breakfast restaurant in Boulder Colorado with friends and fancied an omelet - I asked the young waitress "do you do mushrooms" and without a blink she replied "occasionally" we all got a laugh out of that one.

I'll be riding to Newberg this weekend from Portland for a friend's solstice party. We've decided to take the max out to Hillsboro then wanser around to a few wineries. All together it won't be more than 45 miles or so but am looking forward to a leisurely ride through wine country. I enjoy riding out there with the rolling hills and all.

Looks like the local weather forecast is for dry, sunny and 80 F - finally we get some real summer weather.