Photos from day one of the Gorge Roubaix

(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

The first day of the Gorge Roubaix is in the books. It was a fantastic day of racing, with dry and party cloudy skies most of the day. There was some rain for the later races. And the wind was howling; but that’s to be expected out here in the Gorge.

Personally, I’d rather forget what happened. Long story short: I got dropped early by the Cat 3 field and never caught back on. Oh, and the only guys I passed all day had gotten flats. It was my first road race since 1998, so I didn’t expect much. But still, being last and riding slow and alone for three hours in a “race” is never awesome.

But enough about me, let’s take a look at some photos from the day.

I got an unexpected treat this morning and was able to hop in an official media car to do some photos of the early races. It was beautiful out there. Before we headed out on the course, I got a few shots in the parking lot and registration area. Have a look…

Kyle McCall and his Spooky.

I sort of fell in love with Steven Laurent’s 1983 Trek 760.

The West Coast Women’s Cycling team was looking strong in the Cat 4/5 field.

Aren’t we in The Dalles? I like this shop, but it says something about The Dalles that both the bike shop support crew and the coffee were brought in from Hood River.

Chad Sperry, owner of Breakaway Promotions, doing the announcements.

A few minutes before the start, these boys wished their dad good luck.

Did I mention how great the weather was this morning?

Now, let’s get to the racing action…

Big sky out here. I love it.

I didn’t get this little dude’s name, but I sure loved his style and hard-charging spirit.

The climb in the gravel was not easy.

It always feels good to be done.

And there’s another full day of racing tomorrow. The course includes the famous Rowena curves and more gravel. For more on the event, check out the Gorge Roubaix on Facebook.