There are two most salient notes about Portland’s weather when thinking about riding a bicycle. The first is that it rains a lot — so much that most of us leave the house every day except a few months in the summer with rain gear. The other note is that it is always a lot cooler in the morning than in the late afternoon; in the warmer months, the high temperature can be 35-40 degrees F (19-22 degrees C) above the morning low. If you are doing a morning bike tour, dress for the low. If you are out in the Columbia Gorge for our Hike and Bike or other adventure bike tour, think about how that low temperature would feel while going down a hill with a little wind. In the afternoons, you’ll want to forget whatever you experienced in the morning and dress for the high temperature (and whatever exciting weather the forecast has in store!).
Comfortable footwear is key. Sandals are almost never the answer for bikes, unless they’re the sort of sandals that are securely fashioned around your feet. During the months when the forecast is warm and sunny, provided that you are an experienced bike rider, sandals are fine if they do not slide off your feet easily. (Some of our guides regularly wear sandals in the warm months but — we are experienced so we know what will feel safe!) We can’t say enough about the importance of comfortable and warm boots/shoes and socks in the winter. Many people arrive wearing ankle socks with permeable shoes; you will see our guides mostly wearing wool socks (and on cold days, layers of wool socks). On a day that is rainy, you’ll remember your cold hands and feets more than you will the fun. We would rather you remember the fun!
Layers, layers, layers. Any time of year we suggest layers, especially in the parts of the year you might not expect to be chilly. Even July and August can include cooler mornings than you expect, so a sweater or sweatshirt in the summer and a couple of warm (preferably wool) layers in the colder months will keep you happy. Again, for a tour where you will be going faster, like the Bike and Hike or the Columbia Gorge Scenic Bikeway tour, think about whether your layers will protect you from a moderate wind in the shade.
Make one of those layers a raincoat with a hood. Check the forecast first because some weeks in the summer are beautifully dry! We love the often-colorful raincoats with amply-sized hoods so much that there are several raincoat makers here in Portland. If the weather the week you’re traveling has more than a minimal (<30%) chance of rain, you’ll be happy for a hoodie. If you have gotten into ponchos/capes yet, like the amazing rain capes from our friends at Cleverhood, you might want to think about getting yourself one for your trip to Portland. There are plenty of less expensive options if you don’t think you’ll need it a lot back home.
Scarves/hats/gloves or mittens. Look at the low temperature predicted for every day you’re traveling, not the high. If the low temperatures are in the 40s Fahrenheit / single digits Celsius, pack a warm scarf, a warm hat or beanie , and warm gloves or mittens. If you are acclimated to much warmer climates, you might want to do that if the low temps are anything below 60F/16C, which means most of the year.
Go for comfort and think about how your clothes would feel if they got very wet. Unless you’re traveling in July and August, when rain is very unlikely, coarsely woven and tight fitting pants (like jeans) can be very uncomfortable if you get caught in a rainstorm. Likewise, some polyester coarse weave garments or thick wide legged sweats can be super heavy and miserable if you end up getting soaked. We usually opt for some kind of breathable lightweight tights on very cold days (yep, wool again) and skirts/shorts and lightweight, not-to-tight and not-too-loose pants when it’s between 40 – 60 F or 8 –16 C.
Dress for the low temperatures, with layers you can shed in the late afternoons. I know I’ve already written this but check the low temperatures and remember that places you are visiting outside the city, or even within it, like the waterfront and the Columbia Gorge, can be chillier and windier than the center of the city. I use a metric of five degrees cooler for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain (2-3 degrees C for 300 meters), which is very very approximate but usually a good guide. Also, the waterfalls and ocean can be 10 degrees F / 5 degrees C cooler without any other factors, just because of the cool air coming from the water itself.
Is it summer? Embrace it! Carefully! If it’s warm get comfortable with loose-fitting tops and running shoes, short skirts or pants. Watch out for wide-leg pants that touch the ground or really long flowy skirts — great for fashion but not great for pedals, chains and wheels.