Well all right! Kicking off the HiFi TRAX with a local favorite: Frogger (aka "Frog of the North"). We're spotlighting rides that members of the HiFi community love and, by way of example, we're sharing HiFi founder Josh Liberles' most frequented route. Do you have something to contribute to HiFi TRAX? Check out our guidelines page and get in touch!
Each HiFi TRAX comes with a song. For Frogger, Josh selected Loose Booty for its funky fun, mixed it with a message of perseverance.
Frogger
Portland route legend Ryan Francesconi originally coined the name in reference to a ride that he put together in SE Portland, stringing together little bucolic green park oases in the city. Much like how the "Hell of the North" (Paris-Roubaix) embraces its industrial surroundings, the Frog of the North carves out singletrack and double track off-road lines in unexpected places: slough trails, along railroad tracks, skirting Superfund sites, through gravel pits, etc.
While I love exploring new zones by bike, I'm also someone who really values established routes where I can just quickly get out the door and into the good stuff. I need a handful of rides that I don't get sick of, and can access quickly from home. With Frogger, I'm on dirt within a few miles of my house; it's pretty much immune to car traffic, so I can ride it at any time of day; and it has enough fun, technical stuff to keep me on my toes. I don't ever get tired of it, so I hit these zones A LOT. There's not much vertical, so it's easy to stay warm in the winter, and also very singlespeed or tracklocross freindly. It's also a very modular route easy to shorten when time is tight, or expand into something bigger. And it's just a super-playful, quirky adventure. Every time!
The ride has some shreddy zones, where you can ride hard over sandy or railroad track gravel sections, followed by chill paved segments that serve as natural regroup opportunities.
The Bike | The Photos
There's no one "perfect bike" for this route. My favorite bikes in general tend to be cyclocross rigs, or CX-inspired gravel rigs with bigger tire clearance. But everything from an all-road to a MTB will work. Somewhere between a 38mm to 50mm tire seems ideal, but it's certainly been done on more, and less!
My Featured Bike: Seeker "Ti-Fighter" Titanium Cyclocross Bike
- Titanium Seeker cyclocross frame with clearance for 700x 45mm tires
- HiFi 29er Session25 ASYM gravel wheels
- Schwalbe G-One R front / G-One RS rear, 40mm
- Shimano 1x 11-speed build, 42t Wolf Tooth chainring; 10-42 SRAM cassette
- Power2Max / Rotor ALDHU cranks
- Bike Yoke saddle
- Crank Brothers Candy 11 pedals
- Seeker Saddle Bag
- Paint by Right Hook Finishes
