Rain and record crowds kick off Crusade series

The Alpenrose course was full of surprises,
like this dual-option stairway run-up.
Slideshow below
(Photos J. Maus)

The opening race of the Cross Crusade series set a record for attendance yesterday. Kenji Sugahara, the director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association says that, despite the wet weather, 1,267 racers participated.

That number is up from 1,078 participants in 2007 and is nearly twice the number that took part in 2006 when 760 racers showed up.

“Kiddie Cross” is always a highlight.

Yesterday’s event saw huge field sizes in nearly every category, including a beginner Women’s category with 75 racers and a beginner Men’s category with 149. There was also a very large “Kiddie Cross” race where everyone from 3-year-olds on plastic trikes to hot-shot 10-year-olds in full lycra gear went at it.

I’m not sure what was more fun to watch; the cute kids or their parents (some of them already muddy from their own race) frantically running alongside and cheering on every pedal stroke. As the kids came into the mud and barricade section near the expo area, the entire venue seemed to stopped and welcome them with a rousing ovation of claps, cheers, and smiles.

The Wilson family (Tom, Lisa, and
kids Ava and Liam) came to
cheer on their dad, who was
one of many first-time
racers at the event.

First-time racer Jrdn Freelove said he had a “blast-ola”. “I didn’t get lapped, I finished, I had a great time…and I didn’t fall over any barriers,” he recalled.

Making their Crusade debut this year was Bob’s Red Mill, a whole grain foods company based in Milwaukie (a city just south of Portland). They were giving out free bowls of oatmeal with all the fixins. Marketing Manager Matthew Cox said it seemed like a natural fit for his company to connect with the cyclcocross community. He was right. The hot and wholesome oatmeal was a big hit. Cox estimated that they served nearly 500 bowls by days end.

Free oatmeal is a direct path
to a racer’s heart.

In addition to giving out free oatmeal, Bob’s Red Mill also helped raise money for the Community Cycling Center. Cox, who along with two other Bob’s employees plans on racing the entire series, said, “We were going to be out here, so we figured, why not help out a cause we believe in?”. Bob’s will be at all the Crusade events and they will match donations left for the CCC as well as donate $10 for every lap he and his co-workers complete.

Along with oatmeal, the expo area was abuzz with activity and the event feels more and more like a cyclocross festival each year.

Sean Chaney’s latest.

For bike geeks, Alpenrose was also a perfect place to gawk and drool. I came across several local builders riding their own bikes including Aaron Hayes of Courage Cycles (he won “Best New Builder” honors at the recent North American Handmade Bicycle Show), and Sean Chaney of Vertigo Cycles.

Chaney shared his latest titanium creation with me. He said the bike was an “exercise” of his building ability. The svelte-looking rig with had many nifty features including an integrated bottom bracket and seatpost, internal cable-routing and custom brake mounts (and idea he borrowed from fellow Portland builder Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles).

(You can more of Chaney’s work at the upcoming Oregon Manifest Show (October 10-12).)

On the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, was Joel Metz’s freshly painted bike by Portland-based builder Ira Ryan. Joel’s rig was turning-heads in the expo area and on the race course. Check it out:

For more images of the Alpenrose scene, including portraits of pain and more kiddie ‘cross action, check out my slideshow (90 images):

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

From Alpenrose, the Cross Crusaders will now venture to Wilsonville for stop number two next Sunday.

For full results of Sunday’s race, visit OBRA.org.