
(Photos by Drew Coleman)
“Incredible. This was absolutely a surprise. For anyone who’s been watching her rise through the ranks this is something you dream of happening you just don’t expect it to happen so soon.”
I love bike racing. Last year I got hurt and had to stop, so I picked up my camera and experienced cyclocross through the lens of a camera rather than from the seat of a bike.
This season, I have been fortunate enough to be given access and opportunity to photograph cyclocross outside of Oregon. It was the first time I stepped outside the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) cyclocross bubble and I could finally put it all into context. What I have come to realize is that, while there are vibrant cyclocross scenes in pockets around the country, what we have in Oregon is special.
For many Portlanders who care about our country, last week’s new cycle was very stressful.
What better way to escape for a few hours than attempt to ride a bicycle on mud as slick as ice? That’s what many people did yesterday at the second race in the Cyclocross Crusade series held at Alpenrose Velodrome in the hills of southwest Portland.
It’s been a while since I focused on capturing images of a cyclocross race, and I picked an epic one. After a dry opening day on Saturday, rain returned on Sunday and soaked the top layer of dirt on the technical, hilly course. As late morning rain fell, it became difficult to even walk on some in some areas (I slammed on my butt several times just getting these images).
“We all fully understand how intimidating the cycling scene can be and want to create a friendly place for people to feel welcome.”
— Carley Leins
Welcome to the first of what we hope will be many more local team/club profiles!
Portland is full of great groups of people who share a love for riding bikes. If you’re looking for inspiration — whether it leads to racing or not — we hope these short profiles will help you find your people.
We’ll kick off the series with Team Nonstop. I’m not sure if it was their fun Instagram account or the cool tank tops they wore at a recent Short Track race that first caught my eye. Either way, I knew they were up to something worthwhile. I asked Carley Leins to share a bit more about the team…
Sellwood neighborhood resident Drew Coleman has a vision for his next project. But he needs a bit of help to realize it.
Coleman is a filmmaker who started shooting local cyclocross races this summer. He’s also started a YouTube channel under the Local Cycling Network banner. Now he wants to cover the biggest race of the year: the Cyclocross National Championships which take place in Reno, Nevada next weekend. This time around he wants to do try something new: Coleman wants to shoot the race and the culture that surrounds it, on film. He’s bought a 1983 Canon 814 xl-s camera and he’s looking for support to buy the film which runs about $1.53 per second.
He’s launched a GoFundMe campaign and hopes to raise $2,500 for the trip and the film.
Here’s more from Drew about the project:
We’re right in the thick of this year’s cyclcross season. And from what I’ve seen and heard it’s been a good one.
First things first though. Have you seen the River City Bicycles recap video of the Cyclocross Crusade race at Alpenrose a few weekends ago? It’s hilarious and it’s not what you’re expecting (scroll down to watch).