[NW-Rider]

Hello, I am new to cycling and would like to start commuting from Beaverton to Portland on the daily for work. Yes I know this is the mountain bike forum but it gets alot more action that roadbike review. I have mountain bike alot but have just started road riding. I live up in the west hills, by Bethany QFC to be exact. To start off I thought I would park by the Beaverton DMV to start off with a shorter ride. I am doing this for 2 reasons, to get more ride time, and cut cost of parking.

Does anyone know of good routes to get me downtown to the 2nd an Alder area near Pioneer Square? Some things I am mostly concerned about is bike friendly wide shoulder if it is a busy road.

Idea's?

So far I consider: http//ww.strava.com/routes/24759

 

[fetad]

I'm not able to see the strava route, but I don't think there is anything that fits your criteria. If you wanted to incorporate some dirt you could cut through Forest Park and avoid the fast roads. There's only so many ways across the Tualatin range and none are beginner friendly.

I just made this route for you to check out. The return route is slightly different and takes advantage of Holman Lane (singletrack; bikes allowed uphill only). It connects with NW 53rd and Thompson which will have much less traffic than Cornell.

Test Commute - Bethany to PDX - Oak Hills, OR

I forgot about the Zoo! Hooking up with the multi-user path along 26 to the zoo is probably your best bet on a paved surface. These are easier grades compared to the first route I linked to, but still challenging.

Bethany - PDX (paved) - Oak Hills, OR

 

[OldHouseMan]

You might consider incorporating the MAX into your bike commute. I've ridden the west hills in the evening after work and it can be a little stressful at times.

 

[Harshmellow]

I spent a few months in Beaverton while commuting to downtown. I would jump on the Max, get off at Washington Park, ride the elevator up, and downhill into town. Brilliant.

 

[SlowJoeCrow]

I've ridden in and out of NW Portland on the highway 26 bike path and it's an OK ride, getting in and out of Washington Park is a little trickier. Either way the MAX is a great tool for bypassing bad traffic or terrain.
Personally I live in south Beaverton and work in Hillsboro so my commute is in reverse and I use the MAX to cover the bulk of the distance.

 

[perrygeo]

I live over on the west side and work in the Pearl District. I feel your pain - there are many creative ways to get over the West Hills but all of them have bad spots.

I've tried them all! This is an Google Earth image with a year of my GPS tracks from my commutes: https://i.imgur.com/F1y942H.jpg

I tend to take one of six general routes:
1. Straight up Cornell rd (fastest but sketchy as hell with traffic)
2. NW Thompson > Leif > Saltzman > descend springville (safe from cars but long and muddy)
3. The "Lanes" - Holman and Firelanes 1-3 > 53rd > Thompson. (fun in summer on a MTB but basically unridable due to mud for half the year)
4. Climb pittock mansion, hit skyline (good if you're up for climbing)
5. Up through Washington park, there a number of nice routes through the rose garden, zoo, hoyt arboretum, etc. that take you to skyline
6. Out on 30, climb saltzman (good for a nice steady climb)

Any way you cut it, you will either deal with sketchy traffic situations and/or mud. The bike infrastructure in West Portland is pathetic, especially for a city that claims to be so bike friendly.