Urban Adventure League

UPDATE:
The URBAN ADVENTURE LEAGUE STILL NEEDS your knowledge of getting around Portland by Bicycle!

We are still in the process of updating the Portland Bicycle Culture Primer for 2006. And we have also extended the deadline a little bit--until Februrary 15th, 2006! In addition to the standard "Who's Who in Bicycles" information, we are also adding a "Useful Bicycle Routes" section! Read all the info below!

Why are we doing this?
Maps are useful resources for bike routing, and Portland has some good ones. But to many people, they are a collection of colored lines on paper. If one has no bicycling experience in the city, they may not know what the best way to get from one part of town to next is. These are the things learned from personal experience, from bicycling around town frequently. We feel it's time for that knowledge to be shared so that people new to Portland or to city cycling will have an easier time. Nothing's more discouraging than not knowing how to get around town effectively.

What are we looking for?
--easy routes from various neighborhoods to Downtown
--getting to the Willamette River Bridges
--crossing Sullivan's Gulch
--scaling the Alameda Ridge
--crosstown routes (i.e. Roseway to Montavilla, St. Johns to Alberta Dist, Albina to Ladd's Addition, etc)
--getting up and over the West Hills into SW and Washington Co. (Beaverton)
--crossing the Columbia River into Vancouver, Wash.
--escape routes out of the city (for fun and adventure!)
--and much more!
The above are examples and should be expanded upon!

What aren't we looking for?
This guide is primary for practical, utilitarian city cycling. It is not geared to recreational rides. There already are numerous sources for recreational rides in and around the city. If we have room, we may include some recreational rides within the city, but we are not interested in "drive-and-bike" rides, i.e. rides outside the city that are typically reached by car. We are interested in practical routes to get out of Portland for recreational rides, however.

Also, even though I do love Tri-Met, please no routes that require using Tri-Met (even for getting across those dreaded West Hills!) These routes are intended for those who want to bike there all the way.

If you are interested in contributing, or need more info, please get in touch! If you have a route you'd like to share, we'll need the following:
--name of route
--detailed directions, indicating all turns
--obstacles (hills, busy streets)
--level of difficulty (is this route for all abilities, or for experienced riders?)
--distance covered (if known)
--a rough map of the route
--your name and contact info (mailing address is required, e-mail if you have it, phone if you want to)

Please send all questions, comments, and contributions to:
Urban Adventure League
P O Box 14185
Portland OR 97293-0185
or email urbanadventureleague@scribble.com

If you would like to get a copy of the current Portland Bicycle Primer, please send one dollar in cash to the above address.

You may also post your stuff in the "comments" section here!

Note: if you post info to the blog, you MUST include all info listed above, INCLUDING SOME WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU. If you don't, YOUR POST WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Deadline: February 15th, 2006

Thanks for your help!