Oregon City Loop – 44 Miles
Once you’ve done the Oregon City loop, you’ll understand why Oregon City has usurped both Las Vegas and Disneyland as the premier vacation destination in the Western States. Sure, Las Vegas has neon and slot machines and prostitutes. And Disneyland has surly high schoolers dressed up a cartoon animals. And prostitutes. But Oregon City has an ELEVATOR! And this is what keeps people coming back.
The Oregon City loop is a standby ride. It gives you a little of everything you want (hills, flats, easy miles) and a little of everything you don’t want (strip malls, broken glass, Lake Oswego). It’s easy to get to from downtown, and you can knock it out in 2 hours. But enough about the ride… let’s talk about the elevator!
The Oregon CIty Municipal Elevator was built in 1952, replacing the original one constructed in 1912. It’s got an operator who will push the buttons for you, answer your questions, and politely call you either “ma’am” or “sir”. It looks like a 1950 giant 1950′s ashtray. And it is the only outdoor municipal elevator in the US. Do I need to repeat that? It’s the ONLY ONE. SO if you’re out riding with your friends in Omaha, Nebraska, and one of them says to you “Hey. Is there some kind of outdoor municipal elevator around here that we could go visit in the middle of this epic ride?”, the answer is going to be no. No, you can not go enjoy a ride in an outdoor municipal elevator. Because there isn’t one. Anywhere near you. The only one is in the beautiful vacation capital of the world, Oregon City.
So enjoy your boring ass ride, Nebraskans. I’m going to go ride the elevator.
That ride is 44 miles?
If you start 22 miles away from Oregon City, it is.