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Road Rides

Road Rides

All road rides use Pullman as the starting point unless otherwise stated

 Johnson Rd., ~10 miles: Head south on Johnson Rd. from Bishop Blvd. Turn around where the road turns to gravel. This is an easy out and back ride that is low traffic and fairly flat.

Airport Loop, ~15 miles: Airport Rd. to the Moscow Pullman Hwy. Jog left or right ~0.5 mi. and pick up the Palouse Chipman Bike Trail for the ride back to Pullman. Airport Rd. has a few gentle hills and the trail is very flat. This is just about the easiest ride you can do in the Pullman area and is a major training ride staple. This loop is commonly ridden in both directions.

Albion-Highway, ~20 miles: Head out of town on the Palouse Highway (S.R. 27) to Albion Rd. Turn left and continue through Albion to Hwy. 195. Turn left and return to Pullman via the highway. This ride is mostly flat with only a few hills.

Klemgard-Albion, ~25 miles: Wawawai Rd to Wilbur Gulch Rd. (like you're going to Boyer Park/Almota). Bear right at Union Center and head towards Klemgard Park. Head up the hill (it's about 1.5 miles to the top) descend the back side, cross Hwy. 195 and return to Pullman via Albion. In addition to Klemgard hill, this ride contains many Palouse style rolling hills. This loop is also frequently ridden backwards, i.e. Albion-Klemgard, and is slightly easier in that direction.

Robinson Park, ~35 miles: Take the Palouse-Chipman Trail to Moscow. Head east through Moscow to Mtn. View Rd. Turn east off of Mtn. View onto Robinson Park Rd. You can turn around at the park or continue on a couple more miles to where the road turns to gravel. This is a fairly flat ride that gets you to the edge of the Palouse and into the beginning of a pine forest...sort of a nice change from the usual wheat fields. Try to avoid Robinson Park Rd. during commute hours as it can be fairly busy and is barely two lanes wide.

Palouse-Moscow, ~40 miles: Head north from Pullman on the Palouse Highway (S.R. 27) to Palouse. Take the first paved right turn after the railroad tracks in Palouse onto Palouse Cove Rd. Continue to Hwy. 95. Turn south and head towards Moscow. There's a good ~2 mile climb before Moscow called Steakhouse Hill. Before you reach Moscow, turn right onto Mix Rd. This will get you off the highway and drop you into Moscow behind Rosaurer's. Ride back to Pullman on either the Palouse Chipman Trail or Airport Rd. Steakhouse Hill is the only major climb but there are plenty of rolling hills, especially between Pullman and Palouse.

Wawawai Grade, ~40 miles: Take Wawawai Rd. to the river. Turn around; put it in your easiest gear and head up the hill and back to Pullman. Wawawai is a ~6.3 mile grade that averages 5.5%. However, the first 2 miles are relatively easy and towards the top there are extended 8%+ sections thus making it feel much harder. Descending Wawawai is a blast. If the wind is right you can reach 50+ mph on the steep sections. There are no technical turns so you don't have to brake...just let 'er rip! Between Pullman and the top of the grade there are a few rolling hills.

Uniontown-Moscow, ~40 miles: Take Hwy. 195 south to Uniontown. Take the first paved left in Uniontown (Blair St.?) This will take you east to Hwy. 95. Turn north on Hwy. 95 to Moscow. Take the Palouse- Chipman Trail back to Pullman. This route has lots of rolling hills, especially between the Uniontown cutoff and Moscow. I have ridden this route a few times over the past several years; however, I don't currently recommend it as the shoulder along Hwy. 95 south of Moscow is narrow to non-existent and the traffic is high volume and high speed.

Church-Colfax ~50 miles: Wawawai Rd. to Wilbur Gulch Rd. (like you're going to Boyer Park/Almota). Bear left at Union Center and head towards Almota. Do not take the turn-off to Almota/Lower Granite Dam, stay on the main road and loop back around into Colfax. Return to Pullman via 195 (you can turn off through Albion to get out of the traffic). This ride has lots of rolling hills plus three longer climbs that are 1-2 miles long. At the top of the second climb (~4 miles beyond the Almota turn off) there is a great view of the Blue Mountains. Be careful of the descent into Colfax...remember the speed limit there is 25 MPH.

Tour of the Palouse ~50 miles (Difficulty=3): Head north from Pullman on the Palouse Highway (S.R. 27). Turn left on Clear Creek Rd. (like you're heading towards Kamiak Butte). Bear right at the fork (don't go up to the Butte). This road meets with the Colfax-Palouse Highway. Turn right onto the C-P Highway then back to Palouse and home to Pullman. This ride contains lots of rolling hills and a couple of significant climbs. The first is a couple of miles after the turn-off to Kamiak Butte called Sadie Day. This is a ~0.75 mile climb that is fairly steep. You can reach 50+ MPH on the long, straight descent off of the back side if the wind is from the east. The second climb is just after you turn onto the Colfax-Palouse Hwy. The climb, known as Johnson Hill, is about 1.5 miles long and is somewhat steep at the bottom then starts stair-stepping to the top. One note of caution, watch the railroad tracks coming into Palouse. The loop section of the ride is about 23 miles and is known as Tour of the Palouse (an annual event on this course) or "Death Cookies". Also, you can make a dog leg off of the loop up to the parking lot at Kamiak Butte. The final climb is one of the toughest short climbs on the Palouse. In past years it was used as the finish to the WSU Collegiate Road Race...give it a try.

Boyer Grade ~55 miles: Take Wawawai Rd to Wilbur Gulch Rd. Bear left at Union Center. Take the turn-off to Almota/Lower Granite Dam. Head down the grade to the river. Turn around and come home. Boyer grade is about 5.5 miles long and is quite steep in sections although the average grade is probably no more than 6%. The descent is quite technical in places so be careful if it's your first time down.

Lewiston Grade ~60 miles: Head south on Hwy. 195 towards Lewiston. At the top of the grade make a right turn onto the Old Spiral Highway (a.k.a. Old Lewiston Grade). Descend to the T-intersection at Downriver Rd. Turn around and head home. Lewiston Grade is ~7 miles long from the T- intersection with Downriver Rd. and averages ~4.5%. The descent is great fun: it has lots of curves but only a couple of technical turns...although you have to watch out for gravel in the winter. This climb is used for the annual "I Made the Grade" ride as well as the Twin Rivers Cycling Classic Road Race.

Church-Colfax-Palouse ~65 miles: As Church-Colfax above but return to Pullman from Colfax via the Colfax-Palouse Highway and Highway 27. Even more rolling hills and a couple more 1-2 mile climbs. Especially notable are the hill that climbs out of Colfax (very steep) and Johnson Hill (see Tour of the Palouse). Mile for mile, this is the ultimate Palouse hills experience.

Church-Colfax-Palouse-Moscow ~75 miles: As Church-Colfax-Palouse above but return to Pullman from Palouse via Moscow as in Palouse-Moscow above. Yet even more Palouse style hills and another 2 mile climb.

College Town ~80 miles: Pullman - Palouse - Potlatch - Princeton - Harvard - Deary - Troy - Moscow - Pullman. You don't actually go through Harvard or Deary but pass within about a mile of each. This is a great long mileage ride. It's somewhat hilly but not too bad. Plus, the route takes you through pine forests on the eastern edge of the Palouse...which is great if you agree that pine trees are more scenic than wheat fields. There's a grocery store in Deary that sells Hostess Apple Pies and Jolt Cola (two of the major cycling food groups). There are a fair number on rolling hills with a couple of slightly longer climbs. However, given the mileage of this ride, it is much flatter than most Palouse rides.

Kendrick-Deary ~80 miles: Pullman - Moscow - Troy - Kendrick - Deary - Troy - Moscow - Pullman Note: on the way out to Kendrick, there is a bypass road that takes you around Troy and avoids a bit of climbing. This ride has lots of rolling hills and one major climb. The climb is located just past Kendrick and is about ~6 miles long. The descent down to Kendrick is very steep and has a couple of moderately tight turns so be careful. If ridden in the opposite direction, Kendrick grade is a very tough climb.

Lewiston-Wawawai ~85 miles: Pullman - Lewiston (via 195 and the old grade) - Wawawai Landing - Pullman. Note: Make sure the wind is blowing from the east or south else you'll have a long miserable ride from Lewiston to Wawawai...of course you could just ride the loop in the opposite direction.