Very few bike brands make women’s fat bikes. While many mountain bike and road bike manufactures make women-specific bicycles, it’s more rare to find fat tire bikes for women – that is specifically marketed as such, for a few reasons. First, fat bikes are still a newer bike category. Second, for fat bikes it’s more about geometry of the bike, weight, and size. While many of the first…
October in Portland is the start of our rainy season. But there are always a few weekends of sunny warm weather still. One weekend you might be camping in 70 degree weather and the next it pours an inch of rain with fierce winds. You just never know what you’re going to get with the weather in October. So most of my October plans are a bit more…
There are so many amazing viewpoints in Portland to catch surprise mountain views and stunning city skylines. From Portland’s highest lookout points to parks with city views, sunsets, and scenic overlooks, here are the best views in Portland, Oregon. There are nice Portland viewpoints that require very little work, and then there are a few more challenging ones, that are worth the reward! Best Portland skyline view: Pittock…
Portland in September can be one of the hardest months to plan for! September can be one of the best months to visit Portland. Because the shoulder season of good weather and less crowds. In the last five years though, almost every September has been marked by wildfire season. 2020 being the worst so far, causing the most devastation throughout the state in recent history. And air quality…
August in Portland is the busiest and hottest month of the year. Locals and tourists are out making use of every spare second of nice weather. Hiking, biking, patio dining and drinks – everything moves outside in summer in Portland. August can also bring some too hot weather. Most daily highs average in the low 80s though, but there are always 90-100s days sprinkled throughout the month. So…
July in Portland is peak summer! It’s one of the best months of the year, for good reason. Summer is in full swing, berry season is here, and the rivers, lakes, and hikes are calling our names. And it’s usually before the heatwave and smoky season of August and September. Ah, the sweet spot of summer! The weather in Portland in July has an average high temp of…
This week marks the official start to summer! As the weather heats up – yes, it gets into the 100s in Portland – city folk run for the Oregon coast and the nearest rivers. It’s time to river float Portland! If you’ve been dreaming of a leisurely day on the water, here’s everything you need to know to get out on one of our many rivers. TL;DR –…
June in Portland is one of my favorite months of the year! Summer is just starting, roses are blooming, berry season is on the way. And we’re already counting down how to best use our 91 days of summer. So June holds a lot of promise and long-awaited summer weather. No pressure, June! Plus, since most of June is still technically spring (summer solstice is June 21, 2022),…
Portland is home to amazing breweries and quite a few annual beer festivals. While summer is prime beer festival season, you can find a beer festival almost any month in Portland, Oregon! Here’s the full list of Portland beer festivals and a few other notable Oregon beer festivals, by month for 2022. Beer Festivals in Portland, Oregon by Month The following list includes current Portland beer festivals and…
May in Portland can feel downright summery and great shoulder season, travel-wise. Depending on the year, it feels like a summer preview with way less spring rain and growing daylight hours. The average high temperature in May is 68°, but there are always a few 80° days scattered throughout the month. But be warned, it can still drop down to freezing at night! May is a month to…
Planning out backpacking meals often starts as a simple process. “What do I want to eat?!” But by the time you’re packing up, suddenly you’re looking for extra space to stuff food and wondering if you’re bringing too much or too little. I keep a backpacking meal planner spreadsheet with ideas of what I’ve brought in the past. It’s part of my Backpacking Gear List spreadsheet, and it…
Last summer, I did a weekend bikepacking trip with a friend to four Mt Hood Forest lakes. There is a very thorough run down of the route on Bikepacking.com and RidewithGPS, designed by Molly Sugar. So here’s how we rode the route, some changes we made, where we stayed, and of course pictures! Our route ended up being 46 miles total with 3290′ elevation gain. (32 miles the…