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Rating: 
Summary: Fills a void, but rapidly becomming dated
Review: This book certainly filled a void when published in 1997, but it's rapidly becomming dated. What's good? - The only real book that covers bike rides of all sorts (mostly on the road) in the Portland metro area. It reaches from Vernonia, to Washougal, to Boring, to Mount Angel, and even in the city of Portland itself. All kinds of rides are here, many that would take you years to find on your own. The author is commended for putting together such a collection for such a select audience of readers. What's not so good? - The maps are somewhat clear, but the text describing the ride is very hard to follow on the map. It describes the general area of the ride, and some points on it, but matching the two together is often frustrating, even fruitless. The other problem isn't so much the fault of the author, and that is that the Portland area has experienced explosive growth in the five (maybe longer) years since this book was written. Some rides have not changed much, but some, such as Washougal River Road, or the Clackamas River ride which he describes as light traffic, are now downright dangerous on many days. And the beloved Skyline drive, a long time training ground of local bike racers, now likely has double the traffic of just a few years ago. Adding to that, the grand achievement of local cyclists, Springwater Corridor, has eroded to the point that the first 6-7 miles are often referred to as Pave (as in the cobbles of Roubaix) by locals, with no city money available to re-surface it. Again, not the fault of the author, just something to be aware of. All in all, this book is what one may want to pick up as a starting point for rides in the area.
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