bridg.bikr: NW Portland to St Johns bike loop

bridg.bikr

6.24.2006

NW Portland to St Johns bike loop

I made loop from my apartment over the St. Johns Bridge and back south through North Portland on Willamette Blvd. I think it was about 14 miles.

Here's a 100 year-old map from a webpage called Structural Materials in Parts of Oregon and Washington of Portland showing (roughly) my ride [click it for a better view].

Look at the lake and bottom lands that are now all residential and industrial. Portland was a giant wetland between two great rivers. Now we've removed the sedges and planted yuppies; holy shit!

I took NW Nikolai to Front Ave at the bottom is a coffee warehouse that might be the best smelling place in town. Front is squeezed between the railroad and the docks on the west side of the Willamette. The 2 miles or so I rode had plenty of room on the road for me and traffic, which there is very little of. I saw a late '70's Monte Carlo with flames and the Terminator painted on the hood. Sweet.

A left of Klickitak takes one over the tracks to Saint Helens Rd and views of industrial NW Portland in front of downtown building and Mt Hood. Saint Helens Rd. has a good bike lane if you don't mind endless semis passing a couple feet from you at highway speeds. Taking a left to the Germantown Road and access the Saint Johns Bridge was the scairiest part of the ride. I waited for the left turn light and the northbound traffic to pass before scrambling across 4 lanes. Up the hill to the bridge; I rode on the sidewalk and beat the trucks stuck in slow afternoon traffic.

Fucking great bridge with views of 3 volcanoes, the Fremont Bridge, and very distant-looking downtown Portland. The arch motif and the double spires on it's towers give the bridge a very sanctified demeanor; and the railing has detail no longer wasted on our hyper-industrialized public public infrastructure.

This bridge is stately and shows its builders' faith in the divine.

There's an nice park under the bridge on the St. Johns side from which one can take Willamette Ave. which follows the edge of a long bench over the riverbottom full of warehouses, train yards, and industrial lots.

Views look across the river to the Port of Portland and massive ocean freighters at Gunderson. This is why this town's called Portland.

Willamette Bvld. descends in a joyous hill to N Interstate Ave at the east side of the Fremont Bridge and cruises under a tangle of interstate ramps that are the pearly gates leading to Widmer Brewery where I sat by myself at the bar for a Belgian Wit and an Alt.

After attaining a sort of beer and sweat induced enlightenment I rode up Interstate as strong smells of boiling mash from Widmer wafted by on the breeze behind me. Actually THIS might be the best smelling spot in town.

I rode home over the Broadway Bridge that looks back on the other side of the Fremont; up Glisan to NW 21st and I'm back. Not bad.

posted by Bridger @ 3:58 PM

1 Comments:

At 12:22 PM, Andy said…

Looks like a nice ride. I've been wanting to do the 40 mile loop in its entirety but haven't had the chance yet. The only part I've not done is the St. John's portion. Looks like a good ride.

Oh - and I think you're right about the Widmer effect. I love riding by there. It was before my time, but I've heard many a remembrance of "how it used to smell" when Blitz-Wienhard was downtown.