helped pressure wash Alpenrose
Velodrome.
(Photos: David Boerner)
The word is in from Alpenrose Velodrome Director Mike Murray: track racing will start this week at the popular track nestled in Portland’s southwest hills (weather permitting, of course).
The announcement comes after a week and a half of weeding, scraping, patching, sanding, and sweeping Portland’s beloved concrete bowl to perfection (or close enough, anyway). The track cleanup effort was a labor of love by a crack team of volunteers.
One of those volunteers, Bridge City Pressure Washing owner and OBRA member Stewart Campbell, has taken the job of readying the track’s surface upon himself.
“Stewart just came out of the woodwork,” Track Director Murray said. “He has been trying to make a living doing power washing jobs. As a gesture of good faith he offered to power wash the velodrome because he had heard that it needed it. I am betting that at some point he wondered what he got himself into.”
“The OBRA community is filled with a bunch of great people,” Campbell said. “Everyone is willing to help everyone else out.”
And it’s a good thing too, because that track needed some help.
The track action starts tomorrow night with the first Wednesday Development Class at 6:00pm. The development class prepares newbies for Alpenrose’s racing series. The cost is $10, which includes track bike rental if you need it. The classes are limited to 30 participants, so show up early — especially if you’re renting a bike. But don’t freak out if you miss the first week. Development classes run weekly until August 31st.
Racing starts with the Alpenrose Thursday Series at 6:00pm this Thursday. Fast Twitch Fridays start the day after, and both series run weekly through the beginning of September.
The first big race is the Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race this Saturday. It’ll include the first omnium and points races of the season. For the elite racers, it’s a qualifying event for the 2011 Hellyer Testarossa Challenge this July in San Jose, CA.
More info available at obra.org/track/schedule
3 words: Hipster Fixie Mecca 🙂
“Good on ya” Stewart Campbell and other volunteers!
That was a huge project.I for one am very thankful
for your hard work.
Just a note: the Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race was cancelled because of rain. It has been rescheduled, however, for Saturday May 22nd.