Northwest Loop Epic Tour

Day 1: We begin the tour in Troutdale, Oregon, just 15 miles outside of Portland, Oregon, considered to be one of the most bicycle friendly cities in America. It is full of bike paths and boutique bike-building companies, so you may want to arrive early to explore Portland on your own. We'll start our tour with an orientation at 2:00pm, followed by a bike prep session. There will be an optional fix-a-flat workshop out in the parking lot. In the evening, we'll celebrate our upcoming adventure with an opening banquet. 0 miles.

Days 2-29: We leave Troutdale heading east through the Columbia River Gorge. We’ll continue along the Columbia River Valley and the Snake River Canyon to the Seven Devils Range and the Blue Mountains. Then we’ll hit the Pacific Coast, and head north to our final destination of Portland, Oregon. The route overlaps beautiful sections of the TransAmerica, the Lewis and Clark and the Pacific Coast routes.

Once at our hotel for the evening, our traveling chef prepares a wholesome, home-cooked dinner, and then we get into bed early, ready to rise with the sun and begin anew.

Our days will quickly fall into a comfortable rhythm. We start early with a light breakfast provided by the hotel, pack our bike bags with snacks of raisins, nuts and peanut butter sandwiches, and make sure we have an extra layer of clothing and perhaps a rain jacket with us. We leave on our own, usually between 7-8am. We follow electronic cues or the printed cue sheets that have been meticulously prepared for us.

We each ride at our own pace, sometimes alone and sometimes in small groups. We stop where we want along the way to take photographs of an historical site, a blooming coneflower or a humorous misspelled sign. Sometimes, we’ll stop at a diner for homemade pie, a café for cold iced tea or a farm stand for fresh produce and local news.

About every 15 - 20 miles, we’ll meet our SAG vehicle. It holds water, snacks, tire repair tools and a first aid kit. Even if we don’t need anything, we’ll stop to chat and talk about the wonderful tailwind or the panoramic view. If we’re too tired to bike anymore, we’ll take a ride in the SAG vehicle to our hotel for the night. The SAG makes sure everyone is in safely at the end of the day.

We soon realize that some of the women on the tour intend to ride every mile, while others are more concerned with seeing the country. Some chose the tour with a desire to take a break from their daily routines; others are attracted by the challenge, while still others just want to meet other women who love bicycling. We range in age from 30 to 80 but the majority of us are in our 60s.

Once at our hotel, we find our luggage, (delivered earlier by the WomanTours van and trailer,) check-in to our room, and meet our roommate. We rotate roommates every night we change lodgings, unless you've requested the upgrade for a single room or have a specific roommate. There's time to shower before dinner and perhaps take a dip in the hotel pool. Most of our lodgings will be at chain hotels, such as Best Westerns or Holiday Inns, and most of us will be in double occupancy rooms.

If anyone has experienced bike problems during the day, we'll use the time before dinner to work with the guide to fix it. She can adjust brakes and shifting, fix flat tires and do other simple repairs. If it's a more complicated repair, the bike will go to a trained mechanic at a nearby shop.

The WomanTours van and trailer carry spare tires, tubes and a large tool case. We’ll learn to work together to help everyone fix her own flat tires, as we’ll probably each get a couple during the trip.

BIKE TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
• Nez Perce and Payette National Forests
• Lewis & Clark Expedition interpretive centers
• Columbia River Gorge
• Snake & Clearwater Rivers
• Cascade Mountains
• Willamette Valley
• Pacific Coast
• Oregon, Washington & Idaho

Then we eat dinner together, scrumptiously prepared for us by our traveling chef. She creates hearty and healthy dishes from our trailer kitchen, served buffet style. While she will accommodate guests with specific allergies and provide a nonmeat protein source for vegetarians, she cannot always adhere to everyone’s likes and dislikes. We ask that you be flexible. If you require a vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free or other special diet, there is an additional charge of $250.  

After dinner, the guide holds a map meeting to discuss the highlights of the day and to go over the details of the next day’s route.

About once a week, we’ll enjoy a day off from cycling. We use it to explore our surroundings and go out to eat. We’ll have time to do some laundry, clean our bikes, email home or read a book. Mostly, it’s time to give our bodies a chance to rest.

We’ll feel our bodies get stronger during the month. Some of us will lose weight. All of us will admit that we’ve never been healthier in our lives. We’ll help one another through particularly difficult days or celebrating together over accomplishments never before thought possible. We’ll make memories together we’ll never want to forget.

Day 30: After an overnight stay in St. Helens, OR, we finish our bike tour with a short ride into Portland. That will give us plenty of time to pack our bikes to prepare them for shipping home or bringing on the plane with us. We’ll close with a final banquet, open only to tour participants, to reminisce about our month-long accomplishment. And we’ll wonder how we’ll ever get back to our daily routine at home again.

Day 31: After breakfast, we say our heartfelt goodbyes and take the WomanTours shuttle to the Portland, OR (PDX) airport or train station, arriving at 9:30am. You are also free to take an Uber, Lyft or taxi at your leisure. 0 miles.

REGISTRATION DETAILS: To sign up for the Northwest Loop Tour, we require a nonrefundable, nontransferable $300 deposit. The first payment of $1000 is due January 1, 2024, and is nonrefundable and nontransferable. The balance of the trip fee is due May 15, 2024. After that time, there will be no refunds or credits.

DISCOUNTS: Sign up for a shorter domestic tour at the same time in 2023 or 2024 and receive a 5% discount on that tour.

CANCELLATION & REFUNDS: The $300 registration fee and the first payment of $1000 due January 1, 2024 are nonrefundable and nontransferable. Once the balance is paid on May, 15th there will be no refunds or credits.

TRIP INSURANCE: We strongly recommend trip cancellation and interruption insurance, especially for a trip of this magnitude.

TOUR DETAILS: We will provide you with a detailed packing list, advice for clothing, sample training schedule, and a series of Prep Talk newsletters to help you prepare for the tour after receipt of your registration.