Roller Racing at Rapha

Roller Racing
Hosted by Rapha (Crane Building, 710 NW 14th Street)
Doors open at 8pm – Racing starts at 8:30pm
Fastest rider will walk away with a custom Ira Ryan frame.
Admission is $10
Must be 21 years of age
Details here

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Jeff
Jeff
16 years ago

Does the Rapha Roller Races travel and would they come to California? That looks like a ton of fun and I\’m sure we\’d get a good turnout in Chico. Please email me back with contact info if you can. Thanks, Jeff.

a.O
16 years ago

I went to the roller races. It was a great crowd and a good time.

The best way I can describe the atmosphere is \”bike racers boxing.\” The bikes were right next to each other, up on a platform, and roped off, the guys were wearing robes before riding, and the races were intense – people were really close and cheering loudly.

There were cowbells, as there should be. (Go, Dawgs.) There was the classic PDX hipster Betty Page pinup chick, complete with gold lamay bikini, strutting around holding up the sign for each heat.

There were also tons of dudes wearing backpack-panniers, some cute short-shorts groupies – one sporting a stuffed unicorn – and the panoply of the PDX bike set.

The racers rested against their packs on the walls beneath les objects d\’art. Ira Ryan held court. And you got one beer free with the 10 dollar admission. I\’m guessing popular here and elsewhere.

Despite the great time, I can think of nothing more banal than pedaling a bike and not going anywhere. Go outside and ride – then hang out.

I think it would have been cool to have a little crit in the Pearl. You wanna race 500 meters? Go mark off the distance and then hit it! But that\’s just me: Outside, all year round, whether it\’s clear and calm – as it was that night – or rainy and blustery.