The Chris King Gourmet Century

We had been hearing of the 2012 Chris King Gourmet Century for months before it happened. Jason French, one of the Chefs involved had hitched a ride with us down to this year's NAHBS and was more than hungry to discuss his plans for the event. A few weeks ago the weather could not have been finer to celebrate the combining of good food and great roads in the Pacific Northwest. No matter how you slice it, bake it, or purée it (and put small slices of salmon on top), this event came together to celebrate all that is delicious in the handsome dining hall within the Chris King Factory - complete with factory tours while you wait for your food.

The people behind the scenes at Chris King, with the help of their head Chef, Robert McSpadden, pulled together some of the very best people Portland's elite establishments have to offer. In fact, their explorations with each of these operations read like a Rapha Continental — complete with routes and elevations — for dining enthusiasts. Check out each of the features from the Gourmet Century page including Ned Ludd's Jason French and Chris Diminno of Clyde Common.

GOURMET CENTURY from Chris King on Vimeo.

Then, from our standpoint, the only thing left to do was meander the well marked course, stopping every so often to munch on some tasty treat that they had laid on for us lucky riders. They even made sure not to forget the post lunch coffee stop, which featured the Rapha Mobile Cycle Club.

It must be remembered that this ride was not a race. Nor, does it need to be one. The fine folks at Chris King have found the perfect way to keep us from sprinting from sign to sign across the countryside. That is, stuff us like foie grois Geese and then roll us out toward the next stop. There were no complaints heard from within the peloton (maybe the odd satisfied belch). Keep a close watch on the Chris King site for the announcement of next year's Gourmet Ride.