A Class 1 “Talon” e-MTB from Giant.

It’s been one year and one day since Portland hosted its last sanctioned, competitive cycling event. In many ways, 2020 was a lost season for local racers, but 2021 will look a lot different — not only because we are likely to emerge from the Covid cocoon, but because electric bikes will be welcomed into the racing scene for the first time.

In a statement today, Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Executive Director Chuck Kenlan announced that the 2021 season is already coming into focus. Weekly racing is slated to re-start in April and May’s schedule is filling up. “We are approaching the race season with caution and expect the earlier races to run using modified formats that follow the state guidance for outdoor recreation,” Kenlan shared. “Our plan is to work with promoters to help them make their races as safe as possible and still allow for a fun competition.”

Kenlan also said OBRA’s new liability insurance policy will cover events that include a category for “Class 1” electric bikes. [Read more…]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

It’s been 116 days since the last officially sanctioned bicycle race happened in Oregon.

The coronavirus crisis forced the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) to cancel all races on March 12th. What was expected to be a four week hiatus turned into nearly four months. Dozens of events have been cancelled statewide, resulting in a major blow to OBRA’s finances, a hit to promoters’ pocketbooks, lots of frustrated athletes, and a loss of tourism dollars for the many cities and small towns that host races.

That sad streak will be broken this Sunday when racers show up to Blodgett, Oregon (just east of Corvallis) for the 33rd annual Mudslinger cross-country mountain bike race.[Read more…]

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, our state’s official sanctioning body for competitive cycling, knows it isn’t doing enough to support participation of Black, Indigenous and people of color. And they’ve taken a first step to do something about it.

In a statement shared with the group’s 4,500 members yesterday, OBRA Board of Director members Stacy Westbrook and Christy Hawkins wrote, “The events over the last few weeks have shone a spotlight on the systemic racism prevalent in our communities. OBRA recognizes that the cycling industry, and the sport of cycling, has contributed to this.”[Read more…]

“This won’t be an off-the-cuff approach. This is serious business and we’re taking it seriously.”
— Mike Ripley, Mudslinger Events

[Read more…]

Let’s do this!

When I sat down with Kevin Hyland in May 2019 to learn about his efforts to bring the UCI Road World Championships to Portland, he was a self-described “one man army.” Now he’s managing a Local Organizing Committee of over 40 people and their effort to win the 2026 bid is going full steam ahead.

You may have noticed your social media channels filled with the shiny new Portland Cycling Worlds logo and graphics this morning. That’s because venerable local company Chris King Precision Components has teamed up with Hyland to help with graphics and marketing efforts. King employees have also polished up the new website and set up social media accounts.

This marketing push has one goal: Build support that leads to an official letter of intent signed by the City of Portland by early June of this year. An online petition has been launched and Hyland hopes having thousands of signatures to add to his list of over 100 existing businesses and notable supporters will make a positive impression on Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and the rest of City Council. [Read more…]

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association says controversial board member Inga Thompson has resigned. The move comes less than a week since the organization voted to keep Thompson on their board following calls for her removal from some OBRA members. Thompson has attracted concern because of her advocacy around transgender athletes.

OBRA Executive Director Chuck Kenlan announced the resignation in an email to members on Thursday. “I pledge to you, our passionate membership, that OBRA will continue to strive towards fulfilling our mission of inclusiveness in the sport of bicycle racing and adhere to our statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Kenlan wrote, “We are imperfect, and recognize that there is so much more to learn.”

According to the Willamette Week, Thompson’s resignation came after the OBRA Board found her in violation of their confidentiality agreement. “In a Dec. 11 email to Thompson obtained by [Willamette Week], Kenlan wrote that due to statements made to BikePortland and on Twitter, the board determined that Thompson “violated the confidentiality of the executive session’.” (Some of those tweets can be found in the screen grab at right.)

The OBRA Board was going to vote to remove her and before doing so gave her the option to resign.[Read more…]

Screen grab of Save Women’s Sports article showing OBRA Board Member Inga Thompson at a rally in Washington D.C.

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) has decided that one of their board members accused of “pervasive transphobia” can remain on their board of directors.

At-large OBRA board member and three-time Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson has come under scrutiny from some OBRA members who feel her conduct discriminates against transgender athletes. Thompson works closely with a group named Save Women’s Sports and was featured in an article published on their site in October titled, Male athletes are taking over women’s cycling.

In October Thompson represented Save Women’s Sports at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C.. The rally aimed to “preserve women’s rights” and prevent the Supreme Court from including “gender identity” in the legal definition of “sex”. If that happened, the group worried that, “Any male could self-identify as a female and compete against women at every level of athletics, which would effectively destroy women’s sports.” [Read more…]