If pressed for time, Portland or Vancouver Station?

[spinnaker]

I will be riding from Government  Camp on my bicycle to catch the Cascades North.  My first thought was to catch the train in Vancouver just so I can ride across the gorge.  But after thinking about it, if pressed for time Portland might be the better option.    If really pressed, I could rid to Gresham and take MAX in and it would only be one try.

But getting from Max to the Station, who knows??  I have been in Portland a few times now.   Seems easy enough if you can figure out all of those  one way streets.  But might is actually be a better option to board in Vancouver?

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

According to Google Maps, Vancouver is only 3 minutes further by bike, so that should be faster considering you are going north.

 

[the_traveler]

You would need to transfer on MAX from the Blue Line (from Gresham) to either the Green or Yellow Line to reach Union Station. From the MAX stop, it is less than a block.

 

[fairviewroad]

You would need to transfer on MAX from the Blue Line (from Gresham) to either the Green or Yellow Line to reach Union Station. From the MAX stop, it is less than a block.

No transfer needed. I've walked from Union Station to/from the Old Town/Chinatown station on the Blue Line many times. It's about a 10 minute walk, and considering the OP will be on a bike, this would be an easy jaunt. I wouldn't worry about one-way streets or whatever. Just go around the block if needed, or ride on the sidewalk like everybody else in Portland does. You'll be there in a jiffy.

 

[spinnaker]

So if taking MAX sounds like it is easier just to leave from Portland?

 

[fairviewroad]

So if taking MAX sounds like it is easier just to leave from Portland?

Unquestionably.

 

[Seaboard92]

Yes you can take the red or blue line to Old Town and with a bike should be relatively fast. The other option is to go to Rose Quarter and bike across the Willamette on the steel bridge if the connection time is too long. It's a more scenic ride but probably takes longer than Old Town.

Personally I do not like the area around the Portland Station and try to avoid it when I'm in town. But that's me.

Welcome to Portland.

 

[Chris I]

Book it out of PDX.  Your plan should be to head for Boring, OR from Mt. Hood and pick up the Springwater bike path.  This will take you all the way into downtown, then it is just across the Steel Bridge and you are at the station.  Riding up to Gresham to catch a blue line MAX train would only save time if you are really hurting at the end of your ride.  MAX isn't super-fast.

 

[spinnaker]

Yes you can take the red or blue line to Old Town and with a bike should be relatively fast. The other option is to go to Rose Quarter and bike across the Willamette on the steel bridge if the connection time is too long. It's a more scenic ride but probably takes longer than Old Town.

Personally I do not like the area around the Portland Station and try to avoid it when I'm in town. But that's me.

Welcome to Portland.

My plan is to get off of Max right before the bridge.    Then go for a ride on the bike path down by the Willamette if I need to waste some time.    But I would rather do that closer to Portland.  Hopefully the timing will be right and I will grab lunch somewhere outside the city.   Might be easier than inside the side where I would need to worry about bike security when grabbing lunch.

 

[spinnaker]

Book it out of PDX.  Your plan should be to head for Boring, OR from Mt. Hood and pick up the Springwater bike path.  This will take you all the way into downtown, then it is just across the Steel Bridge and you are at the station.  Riding up to Gresham to catch a blue line MAX train would only save time if you are really hurting at the end of your ride.  MAX isn't super-fast.

Thanks for the tip on the bike path.    I wanted to go to Boring anyway, if only for the photo op.

Thanks for the comments on time of Max vs just riding.