Racers and fans at a PIR Short Track event in 2011.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic the 2020 bike racing season was nearly wiped out completely. This season has gotten off to a very promising start with huge field sizes and lots of enthusiasm; but this morning we got some bad news. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association has announced that the Portland Short Track Series will not happen.

2021 would have been the 17th season for the beloved, weekday, off-road races that are held at Portland International Raceway (PIR) just north of downtown Kenton. Short Track is a discipline where people use mountain bikes to compete on a course that offers a mix of grassy double-track, tight singletrack through roots and trees, and the big highlight: whoops, berms, and drops on a motocross course. One of the best things about Short Track is how close it is to Portland, which means many people are able to bike to the event after work.

Interestingly, Short Track organizer Tony Kic said the cancellation happened due to a mix of factors (not just Covid). “After a long month of planning and deliberation PIR management has decided not to allow STXC [short track cross country] this summer,” Kic shared in an email to OBRA members. “Various issues and conflicts with the venue and other users have compounded over the years, the pandemic and some changes in leadership prompted new restrictions and priorities that squeeze out our little bike party.”[Read more…]

(Photo: Ladies AllRide)

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association just announced a partnership with Girls AllRide that will give two young girls the chance to attend a mountain bike camp in Bend this summer.

Here’s more from OBRA:

OBRA and Girls AllRide are offering these scholarships to help more young women feel comfortable in the sport of mountain biking.

Girls AllRide has a mission to use mountain biking as a tool for youth to build community, discover potentials and strengthen themselves – inside and out. The main goal is to help girls develop their mountain biking skills and have fun, while also helping them learn how to face fears, believe in themselves, and think positive, logical thoughts instead of reacting with fear.

[Read more…]

“If safety and conflict concerns can be managed and mitigated among pedestrian visitors, why can’t they be managed and mitigated among all visitors?”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

By Daniel Greenstadt, who previously wrote an article for us about the Off-road Cycling Master Plan.[Read more…]

After finally opening last summer following years of major lawsuits and then facing impacts of a viral pandemic, Timberline Bike Park has had a rough first year.

But with snow clearing from upper sections and thanks to many hours of trail maintenance, the mountain is ready to welcome customers starting tomorrow, July 10th. It’s perfect timing for everyone itching to ride their new bike and bust out of their neighborhood quarantine rut

An announcement yesterday said four trails will be rideable during this phased opening: Gravy Train (long green, beginner/flow trail), Re-Align (blue intermediate machine built flow trail), The Rock (blue hand built intermediate trail), and Camino de Michoacán from Norm’s down (black advanced trail). Timberline says more trails will open within the next few weeks.[Read more…]

It’s nearly impossible to ride the Newton Road trail right now without coming into close contact with other people.
(Note: Photo taken last year.)
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

If you think it’s hard to comply with social distancing guidelines on narrow sidewalks and bike lanes in Portland, you should try doing it on singletrack trails in Forest Park.

But that hasn’t stopped the City of Portland from keeping the much-loved urban park open.

While trails in the Columbia River Gorge and elsewhere throughout Oregon are closed — and the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau has opted to close basketball courts, skateparks and roads around 10 other local parks in an effort to discourage use and help people maintain their distance, Forest Park has avoided closures thus far.

I’ve biked through the park several times recently and the parking lots have been very crowded. It got me wondering; if the Parks Bureau has closed basketball courts and skateparks, why would they keep Forest Park trails open while they continue to attract such large crowds? I was also curious how it’s physically possible to maintain a six-foot passing distance on trails in heavily forested areas that are just 18 to 30-inches wide.

I put my questions to two people: Portland Parks Media Relations Director Mark Ross and Forest Park Conservancy Executive Director Renée Myers.[Read more…]