The River City Bicycle Cyclocross Crusade was at an entirely different level over the weekend. With its annual stop in Bend for races number five and six in the eight-race series, it was Oregon cyclocross at its peak. There was creativity, debauchery, inspiration, and fun around every corner.
As a competitor and as a spectator it was truly something to behold: There were brilliant costumes, enthusiastic crowds, and some serious (and not so serious) racing on yet another slippery and challenging course.
From the woman dressed in bondage gear spanking everyone who passed with a leather whip (we got it in slo-mo), to the cheeto and Oreo cookie handups, to the couple dressed like KISS rocking out as riders passed — I’m still reliving all the unforgettable moments in my head.
Speaking of which, there were guys in my race (category 2/3) dressed like tacos and handing out actual, real Taco Bell tacos for anyone who would take them. And another guy in my race dressed like a banana and had a bunch of peels in his pouch that he dropped like booby-traps on the course as he raced! Who does that?!
Before it gets too late on this Halloween night, I wanted to send you out with a sampling of the craziness from the weekend…
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And yes, I dressed up too…
Have fun out there tonight! There’s a Halloween Ride leaving from north Portland at 5:30 pm if you can make it.
And if you want to take part in this cycling spectacle, you are in luck. This Sunday the Crusade returns home for a big event out at Portland International Raceway (just north of Kenton).
I’ve got more photos from Bend over on the BikePortland Flickr page.
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
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These pictures just made me smile: all the creativity and joy. Nice!
Everyone’s so giddy and upscale, but a Trump supporter on a bicycle? C’mon…..
“Sure, why not stop for a beer mid-race?”
Because it will get you DQ’ed and the person doing the hand up will be asked to leave the venue.
If you’re not there to race, then don’t race. If you just want people to see you in your super creative costume, then wear it to the party.
Some people don’t care about a DQ and are just there to participate with the like-minded. Why do you care?
Classic.
Why do I care?
Because some people are there to race. Stopping on the course right before the barriers so you can drink alcohol is not safe or considerate. There are reasons that the rule is in place.
Like I said, if your only goal is to ride a bike and drink alcohol and show people your awesome jumpsuit, great. Do it. Just not during the race where it is specifically prohibited.
Shooting for the WC this year? Good luck in Europe. Pretty serious for cat 4.
I guarantee you couldn’t hold my wheel – but it would be kind of fun to watch you try.
You clearly need to steer clear (see what I did there) of the Halloween race. It’s not like it doesn’t have a decades old tradition for this type of stuff.
Classic would be the mindset of:
“Even though it is against the rules (laws, norms, etc.), I do not/can not acknowledge what I am doing is wrong – therefore I can continue to do whatever I want. If anyone has an issue with me breaking said rules (norms, laws, etc.), I can tell them to mind their own business and make it seem like they are being the selfish jerk.”
But in this case, you kind of are.
What rules am I breaking? Who am I telling to mind their own business?
Why is calling someone out for bad behavior (if their on a bicycle) such a bad thing?
I was talking about the selfish jerk part.
I have a theory that the only buzzkiller to be upset about a beer hand-up at a Cross Crusade race is you. That’s cool though, your crusade seems to be about rules while the Cross Crusade has historically been about fun while racing your bicycle. You weren’t, by chance, the guy that flipped Hodala’s fire pit and tried to fight everyone at the tent over heckling, were you?
If that’s how you feel about beer hand ups you might want to stay away from Single Speed Worlds in Dec…
I guess it would be different if the rules stated it was allowed, huh?
I think I can wrap my head around that.
Sounds like someone forgot that Sunday was the costume race, got heckled for not dressing up and taking the Masters 4 a little too seriously.
Nope. Dressed up, but didn’t race. I saved the beer for the drive home after the race.
So drinking during a bike race is a no no but drinking and driving is A-ok?
Hey, I wasn’t hurting anyone. Don’t be a buzzkill. Maybe you are a slow driver in the Cat 4 masters category. Those rules don’t apply to me.
You’ll get DQ’d but not asked to leave the venue unless it’s a dry venue.
You are correct. I should have written that you COULD be asked to leave, not WILL be.
These comments are such a buzzkill.
Seriously guys?
I agree – they are.
Here is the issue though – the rider is caught breaking the rules, rules that are very difficult to enforce considering OBRA’s lack of officials and how poorly those remaining officials are treated by riders and spectators alike, that do not believe the rules apply to them.
Now we have a very popular blog showing pictures of bad behavior and making it out to be acceptable. When it is pointed out why the behavior is NOT acceptable, it becomes time to berate and insult the person making the observation.
Yep. A buzzkill that rather than acknowledge that the behavior was poor (or not say anything at all) it is more important to go on the attack.
Thanks Mike 2,
Pointing out your opinion on the image and how it was presented is totally fine with me. More power to you. I agree that you shouldn’t be “attacked” for it.
As for the issue itself, I disagree with you about it. I think in context of the spirit of the event, this isn’t a big deal. Philosophically I’m against rigid enforcement of any laws.. I’d prefer us as a society to focus on context and target people who are doing very dangerous/illegal things instead of ticky-tack enforcement because “there’s a law!”. Similar to my feelings on traffic law. In some ways, I don’t think “Cell phone use” should be illegal… What should be illegal IMO is driving distracted and driving in a way that puts other people at risk.
I’m open to being wrong about that, but that’s my gut feeling.
This may be the dumbest thread ever… Get a life.
Here’s the thing though, 3 folks were DQ’ed for handups during the Sunday race. This guy was probably one of them, so you got your wish and sounds like you had a great race on Saturday. I know I had a blast both days and I even stopped for 2 beer, 1 marshmallow, and a $1 handup without getting DQ’ed, nobody was hurt, and no bunnies were killed. Hope you have another great race this weekend.
The ‘no handups’ rule is pretty lame for some races.
I am completely fine with hand ups that do not give a competitive advantage, the likelihood that an elite racer would take a piece of bacon, drink beer or shove money in their shorts is very unlikely and the lower level races… who cares? As long it is not a dangerous maneuver (stopping on the edge of the course is no more dangerous than someone who has to stop on a run up) what does it matter if someone else wants to intentionally slow themselves down?
Somebody put a donut on top of a beer at a PIR race I was in a couple of years ago, right in the middle of the course. So hard to not stop, but I didn’t want to be DQ’d near the end of my race.
That’s a legit David Pumpkins trio.
Hey Jonathan, thanks for the great write up and pics. We go to Bend for Halloween every year, and always have a great time mountain biking, going to the brewery party, and watching the races on Sunday and cheering on our friends. I think the best thing about Sunday is that it’s about SPIRIT and having fun. That’s why 90% of the riders are dressed up, even if it’s just a little, because they’re out there to have fun. That’s what biking should be about. Instead of writing negative comments on a bike blog, some people should go ride their bike! And yeah, I’m the David S. Pumpkins pictured above, and me & the skeletons had a ton of fun cheering people up the climb. ANY QUESTIONS?!?!