On Saturday I drove a group to Astoria. On Sunday I picked up a group from Stevenson. The two trips in short succession caused me to consider something I’d never really thought about before: which is a better tour, the Coast or the Gorge?

There’s some caveats and exceptions, but mostly I’d answer the Gorge.

First and most importantly, the Gorge’s weather is more predictable. On the coast one has to be prepared for squalls at best and days of relentless rain at worst. 50 degree weather can roll in at anytime. I’ll never forget freezing my butt off in drizzling rain in North Bend. It was the middle of July, a record-breaking heat wave had settled in on the Willamette Valley, and yet North Bend was 55 and damp. I got the feeling there was nothing unusual about that weather either. I honestly don’t know how the locals cope. I can handle the Portland winters fine enough, but only because I know in a few months summer will return. How does one get up in the morning in the middle of January knowing there’s no sunny July to look forward to?

Next the scenery in the Gorge is incredibly majestic. The active scouring of earth and rock that formed the Gorge makes for more interesting formations. There are towering cliffs and awesome waterfalls. The winding Columbia River acts as inspiration and motivation compelling one around the next bend and to the next sweeping vista. Massive BPA dams are incredible testament to the engineering feats mankind is capable of. The various river traffic: barges, ocean freighters, and sailboats large and small make one dream for a slower, more considered pace of life. The whole experience is captivating. Not to be totally outdone, the Coast with rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, wildlife, driftwood, and even shipwrecks certainly has a lot to offer of its own. And the ocean is wonderful to behold, no doubt about it. But the ocean is largely a constant, always on your right, crashing away waves like a metronome. The river, it is ever changing. Additionally on a purely practical sense there are considerable stretches on the Coast where you won’t be in sight of the ocean at all. Traveling the Gorge, you are in the Gorge, you are a part of it all the time.

Since for my money scenery and weather are paramount, I choose the Gorge. In the interest of fairness, here are the caveats and exceptions in which the Coast exceeds. Traffic on Hwy 101 is much less and much slower than I-84. Riding SR14 in Washington is an option, but the shoulder is not as wide and it strays away from the Columbia from time to time. SR14 is still beautiful though, especially in the eastern half of the Gorge. I’d probably alternate between the two depending on the leg of the Gorge I was covering. Additionally, the Coast has more parks and more bikers which you’ll meet along the way. Meeting other cyclists and swapping war stories is part of the fun of an epic tour. The Coast is more iconic and will inspire more envy and awe amongst friends and co-workers. Hey, people try to be above such shameless status grubbing, but let’s not kid ourselves. The last thing the Coast has over and above the Gorge is length. Whether you have 5 days or 25 days, the Coast is long enough to accommodate.

Actually, before finishing there is one other lesser point in which the Gorge is superior. The Gorge is flatter. It’s easy to think of the ocean as being at sea level and so subconsciously reason there can’t be much climbing involved. But that would be wrong. Those rocky cliffs and those stretches away from the ocean I mentioned earlier, all mean some decent amount of climbing for a cyclist. If you haven’t done at least a modicum of training before the ride, you’ll regret your expedient.

So there you have it. Agree or disagree? Let me know what you think.

PS. Unfortunately my camera is broken so I don’t have any pictures of either the Coast or the Gorge from this weekend. The photo above was from a trip in March.