Race Report: Short Track XC Mountain Bike Races in Bend (Week 3)

by allison_halpin on May 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment

in Mountain Bike Racing

Editor’s Note: This race report is made possible by SELCO Credit Union.

Jeremy Tufts (StudioNine30-Toyota of Bend) looked strong throughout the race.
Photo © Brian Nelson, www.541images.com

SELCO’s sponsorship makes this
race report possible.

Week three of the Central Oregon Short Track Series was a sleepy one. Many are still hacking up the remnants of dirt from their lungs and tending to their sore battered legs from last weekends Cascades Chainbreaker.

While some threw up the white flag, there were still a handful of racers that came out in force for week three of the series. The clouds began to engulf the sun as familiar faces lined up for the start of the B race.

Boneyard racer finds loose corner and a soft landing
Photo © Brian Nelson, www.541images.com

Lance Haidet was out on the heels of his win at Chainbreaker. Trinity Bike riders Cory Tanler and Sean Lewis were representing the blue and white checkers while Laura Hagen and Patti Wolf held things down for the women. Way to rock it girls! The race course remained the same but things are becoming looser and dustier by the week.

Right from the get-go, Haidet took the lead and began building his gap. Sean Lewis, Cory Tanler, and Jeremy Tufts followed behind as they began to sort out who would take the final two podium spots for the week. Cory Tanler took over the 2nd place spot this week with a strong ride.

“I love these weekly series because you are able to see how you are improving from week to week”, says Tanler who has been moving his way up in the standings each week. Jeremy Tufts secured the 3rd place spot this week with Sean Lewis following close behind in 4th.

Unfortunately there was no A race this week due to lack of registrants, which gave me a chance to catch up with race director Matt Plummer and get some background on the series.

This is the 4th season for the Central Oregon Short Track Series. Plummer started the weekly series to give racers a mid-week race option that they could use for training and fine tuning for the big weekend races.

“I really enjoy the weekly short track races because they offer me a chance to get in a good work out in a fun low-key atmosphere”, racer Lewis responded in regards to what he enjoyed about the weekly series.

The Henry Able | Photo © Brian Nelson, www.541images.com

It seems that Plummer’s hopes for the series are being embraced by those racing. He commented,

“I also hope to provide an atmosphere where beginners feel comfortable coming out and giving mountain bike racing a try. It is a way to get their feet wet.”

Often times a 15-20 mile mountain bike race can be intimidating where 30 minutes of racing is much more approachable for the beginner racer.

Week three of the Central Oregon Short Track series is under the belt as we all creep into the weekend ahead. Get those legs fresh and ready for racing next week. Don’t forget 6pm at Central Oregon Community College. Ten bucks, a bike, and a smile is all you need! Until next week, happy trails.

Results

B Race (top 5)

    1. Lance Haidet, Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care Racing
    2. Cory Tanler, Trinity Bikes
    3. Jeremy Tufts, Studio 930
    4. Sean Lewis, Trinity Bikes
    5. Jason Oman, The Bucklers

John Livingston (Cascade Couriers / Bend Velo)
Photo © Brian Nelson, www.541images.com

For complete race results, visit the Central Oregon Racing website.

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Time Trials on the Cobi

by Lucas Freeman on May 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment

in Events

One of the many activities held during this past weekend’s Gear Up for Summer event, a benefit for the Deschutes Search and Rescue Foundation held at GoodLife Brewing in Bend, was a time trial on one of the most interesting bikes you’re likely to see outside of a science fiction museum.

The Conference Bike (COBI) is the newest addition to the CyclePub fleet. With no room for a keg of beer, this round, red contraption seats six pedalers and a driver.

Team Cascade Couriers/Bend Velo getting a primer | Photo © Bike Around Bend


Moving keg barrels around | Photo © Bike Around Bend


For the time trial, teams of six who’d donated $95 to the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Foundation raced on and off the bike. The trial included a sprint down a straight-away, then required five of the team to dismount and run 50 yards while their team mate tapped a keg. After remounting, the team would race the bike around a short loop, dismount again sending one member to untap the keg while three of the team had to grab empty keg barrels and place them in a central locale. It all ended with a mad dash back down the initial straight-away.

Event organizers gave each of the teams a walk-thru, and then a trial run down the first section of the course. Each team then had two chances to record a timed run. Teams ranged from the competitive to the casual with times from just over 1 minute to close to 1.5 minutes.

In the end, of the twenty teams that entered, the West Hills Design lead by local racer Tim Jones with a time of 1 min 5 seconds, took home the grand prize: their team named emblazoned on a golden keg to be displayed at GoodLife until next year’s races.

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Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone

by Lucas Freeman on May 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment

in Roads, Lanes & Infrastructure

City of Bend planning to restripe missing bike lanes

Mt. Washington with white tabs marking bike lane<br> © Lucas Freeman


You may have seen them around town in the bike lane – white paint squares where the bike lane stripe used to be, or overlaying a very faded one.

With the City of Bend’s large road maintenance shortfall, some wonder are these white, paint squares becoming defacto bike lane striping?

Hardy Hanson, the City’s Streets and Stormwater Division Manager, helped clarify their strategy. He wrote:

“The squares you see on the road are hot tape. We put hot tape down so that we don’t lose the painted lines completely. The advantage to hot tape is that it can be put on the road even during cool weather.”

The cooler weather application is a distinct advantage over lane striping paint which requires a high enough ground or air temperature to cure. If cars track over the paint before it has properly cured, it won’t weather well.

He felt the weather wouldn’t be dependably warm until sometime after the 4th of July holiday when they’ll schedule their road crews to repaint at night. Hanson went onto say, “It is our intention to paint all the stripes in the City each year including the bike lanes.”

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Race Report: Cascades Chainbreaker XC

by allison_halpin on May 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment

in Mountain Bike Racing

Editor’s Note: This race report is made possible by SELCO Credit Union.

Butler and Wicks arise from the Central Oregon dust

A happy post-race dirt face | Photo © Nick Braun


Plentiful amounts of dust were on the agenda Sunday for the 15th annual Cascade Chainbreaker mountain bike race put on by WebCyclery. This also marked the fourth race in the Oregon Cross Country Mountain Bike Series. The series started off in Echo two months ago, moved on to Corvallis, OR for the classic Mudslinger and then up to Mt. Hood for the Bear Springs Trap race two weeks ago.

At last years race we saw the ugly side of spring in Bend with 40 degree weather and snow on race day. This year was a refreshing change of pace with bluebird skies, a high of 80 degrees, and a whole lot of dust! It is not racing in Central Oregon unless you are able to don a dirt-stache post race.

SELCO’s sponsorship makes this
race report possible.

The Cascade Chainbreaker is a Central Oregon staple, attracting 300-400 racers each year to the Skyline Forest property just west of Bend. The property is privately owned and provides a small slice of single track heaven that is ridden by most just one weekend a year in May.

Dust aside, the overwhelming comments were that the course was fast and fun. The course only provided about 200ft of climbing per lap. While there wasn’t much elevation change there was one hill in particular that made the legs scream and lungs burn. Short but steep it was a struggle for many especially by the second lap. Once you made it up said hill of death, the rest of the course was rolling. Keeping a consistent pace and not succumbing to the dusty corners was key.

Spectators littered the infield where the course twisted and turned providing an up close view of the race. The pop up tents, beer taps, and cow bells where reminiscent of a cyclocross race, providing a lighthearted community feel to the event.

Cat 2 Men 45-54 winner, Rich Wolf (Sunnyside Sports Racing Team)
Photo © Nick Braun


At 10am, the gun went off and racers jetted off on their 14.5, 25.5, or 36.5 mile quest for the finish. The Pro Men’s field saw the likes of Barry Wicks, Ben Thompson, Brennan Wodtli, James Williams and Damian Schmitt to name a few. On the women’s side Sue Butler was out in force along with Alice Pennington and local racer Laura Winberry. Sue took her spot out front early in the race and would hold that to a first place finish. Alice Pennington followed closely behind taking the 2nd place spot on the podium with Beth Ann Orton from Portland grabbing the 3rd place spot in the Pro Women’s race. For the Pro Men Barry Wicks took the 1st place spot followed by Ben Thompson in 2nd and Brennan Wodtli in 3rd. A podium full of Bend riders is always fun to see.

Post race racers inhaled calories in the form of hot dogs, Cokes, and Deschutes beer. As if sharing stories around a campfire, racers gathered to share their stories from the course while choking down a cold beer to wash away the lingering dust. Beneath the dust ridden faces lie pearly white smiles of happy racers, the sign of a successful race in my books.

In two weeks we will see the Oregon XC Series return to Central Oregon for the 3rd Annual Sisters Stampede in Sister, OR. Mark your calendars for May 27th; grab your bike or your cowbell and come enjoy a day of racing!

Results

Results as reported for Central Oregon riders on the OBRA.org website.
[click to continue…]

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Bret Lee Biedscheid Day in Court Delayed Again

05.14.2012

The trial of Brett Lee Biedscheid has been delayed again. His case stems from the January 26, 2011 hit-and-run fatality of Anthony Martin. Martin was struck and killed while crossing NE 3rd Street near NE Seward in Bend with his bicycle. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene. The District Attorney believes the driver [...]

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Weekend Cycling Events

05.11.2012

Here are a few cycling events to put on your radar screen this weekend. Saturday Grit Clinics: For female mountain bikers, this two day clinic will focus on bike-handling skills and basic bike maintenance in the morning, with the afternoon devoted to on-trail skill building. Private coaching sessions also available. Location: Shevlin Park, Bend Time: [...]

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Race Report: Short Track XC Mountain Bike Races in Bend (Week 2)

05.10.2012

Editor’s Note: This race report is made possible by . Week two of the Central Oregon Short Track series coming at you! The brisk bone- chilling air rolled in Wednesday evening as we were all reminded that the balmy 70 degree weather isn’t here to stay for good, just yet. The scream of brakes and [...]

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News Bites

05.10.2012

Here are a few bite-sized stories: Go Ahead, Get Sili Tour des Chutes, a fundraiser for cancer survivorship and support, has a fundraiser underway. Buy a TdC Silipint at Sunnyside Sports or FootZone Bend for $10, and all proceeds go to fund TdC and the Jeanette Sullivan Endowment (which helps support TdC). Registration Open – [...]

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Oregon Walk + Bike Retreat in Bend this June

05.09.2012

In the spirit of this being national bike month, Oregon will be holding it’s second state-wide Walk + Bike and Safe Routes to School retreat and training in Bend this June. According to event organizers, “We need you to contribute your expertise. Its time for us all to work together.” Come join us in Bend, [...]

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Sub 24 Bike Touring

05.08.2012

Here’s an overnight bike touring idea to rev-up your Spring When was the last time you saw the sunrise from your sleeping bag? Do you miss seeing the stars sparkle just before you nod off the sleep? If you’re like me and have a family with young kids, you might think getting out on a [...]

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