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| the entrance to
the I-205 bridge path |
up the ramp and on
to the bridge |
up the big hill on
the main bridge span |
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| the Washington
side |
ramp leaving the
north end of the bridge |
next to Highway 14 |
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| French Road
westbound |
Evergreen
Boulevard |
down the hill to
the river (PDX in the background) |
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| path along the
river |
wind through
beautiful Marine Park |
on a section of
Columbia Way |
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| back on a
dedicated pathway |
nearing downtown
Vancouver |
I-5 bridge (narrow
bike lane) |
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| off at Jantzen
Beach |
after circling
around on the path, back on 5 |
crossing the
second bridge |
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| the bike path
"interchange" with Marine Drive |
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We really enjoyed this ride. We had done
some scouting ahead of time to try to find the
best route. There is really no "great" way
to get from I-205 west to Wintler Park on the
Columbia River. From that park west is not
a problem, it is just getting there. One
choice is the old Highway 14 (Evergreen
Highway). However it is not very "bike
friendly." It is one of those 70 year old
main highways that were made out of concrete,
and have since accumulated millions of cracks.
I think it would be a rather rough ride.
In addition to that, the lanes are rather narrow
with no shoulders. The route we chose was
on the north side of Highway 14 along the
following roads: French Road > Mt. Whitney
Drive > Mt. Rainier Drive > Columbia Ridge Drive
> Middle Way > Sleret Ave > Evergreen Blvd >
Shorewood Drive > Beach Drive. That got us
to Wintler Park. Just prior to the actual
park entrance is the beginning of the trail.
The only real challenge with this route (other
than making all the right turns) was a half mile
stretch of Evergreen Blvd with no shoulders or
bike lanes. Fortunately the day we rode
the traffic was light. Once we caught the
bike path (Columbia River Trail), it took us right along the river, then through beautiful Marine Park before
ending on Columbia Way. That street has a
nice bike lane and we rode it west to the
traffic light at Columbia Shores Blvd where we
took a left into a newly developed area.
We found our way south through parking lots and
buildings to the Discovery Trail and rode it all
the way to Interstate 5. Crossing I-5 was
interesting. The bike lane, although
separated from the car traffic, is quite narrow.
If you stretched out both hands you would hit
the railing with one hand and the big bridge
girders with the other! Surprisingly,
there is a rather big "hill" on the bridge to
allow for ship traffic below. We actually
had to gear down lower on I-5 than we did on
I-205! However, the incline on 5 was
definitely shorter than the long climb of 205.
On Jantzen beach you have to do some winding
around to catch the next bridge to get you over
to Marine Drive. Check out the
City of Vancouver's web site for maps.
If you read the above notes again with a good
map open in front of you... it will make a lot
more sense! Have fun!
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