Two things have recently come to my attention that have got me thinking the answer to this question might just be, Yes!
says Oregon is a “racing paradise.”
First, comes news that the premier issue of Road Bike Action magazine has a blurb about the Oregon racing scene that calls the state a “racing hotbed.”
The article goes on to say that,
“If you happen to live in the Portland area, from the first week in June to the second week in July, you could race seven days a week.”
Check out a jpeg of the article (102 kb).
The other sign came by way of an informational flyer about Oregon racing that recently came across my desk. It contains some persuasive factoids:
- No other state comes close in number of racers per capita (we are 3rd for total racers behind CA and CO).
- The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA), is the national model for state bike-racing associations.
- The Cascade Classic is the oldest continuous road race in the U.S.
- We have hosted the Cycle Cross National Championships.
- The Cross Crusade is the largest participatory cyclocross racing series in the world.
- The entire country of Belgium is the only place in the planet that has more cycle cross racers than Oregon.
- The Alpenrose Challenge (held every year in southwest Portland) boasts one of the largest prize lists in North America.
- OBRA promotes the only six-day race in the U.S.
- Oregon has the second-highest number of total events (only eight behind California, but they have 30 million more people).
racing action the Twilight Criterium.
I’ve raced mountain, road and cyclocross in Oregon and have always found the events to be fun and well-managed.
Is it safe to say Oregon is tops? Can anyone compare it with California or Colorado’s racing scene?