Rowena Crest Ride: Hood River - Mosier - 7 Mile Hill (Autumn Gorge Loop)

On a beautiful mid-October day I set out for some swooping gorge miles, leaving the rain in Portland behind and hoping for a couple hours to clear the mind and refresh the spirit. As always, any trepidation about leaving the house in the morning was swept away by the time I got out into the fresh air and I was able to revel in the beauty of the moment and enjoy the natural beauty of the Columbia River Gorge on my bike. This route kicked off classically at the park and ride at the junction of 35 and 84 in Hood River, it's not a very big parking lot so you can expect it to be parked out if you show up later in the day, there are other options part way up the hill or you can pay to park at the State Park trailhead (or figure something else out there's plenty of ways to figure this out). TBH until that morning I was still considering shortening the loop by just starting in Mosier. A) because I was sleepy and B) because the out and back on the state park bike path is just bonus miles, BEAUTIFUL bonus miles but I wasn't sure if I needed them or not. I was glad I didn't do that though because the falling leaves on the well maintained bike infrastructure was well worth the extra mileage and it turned into a great day out. This is the route (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52065240) and it looks like Dirty Freehub has a variation of this route with a little gravel segment off of seven mile hill that would be cool to check out as well. None of this territory is going to be too surprising to those of you who ride out here, but it sure is a great place to ride a bike, and I hadn't ridden this particular set of features in this direction before. It runs smooth and fast, and left me with plenty of time to get back to Hood River to visit the Kings & Daughters tasting room which I was stoked about, grab a little espresso, and pick up a couple more paperbacks for my collection (shouts out to artifacts: https://www.artifactsbookstore.com/ ) Here is that video about Columbia River Gorge Geology: (   • Explore the striking scenery and geology o...  ) It's always cool to learn about the places around us! Music by Tottomori Bike: 2021 Surly Midnight Special Shot on Insta360 Go Ultra