Jon Myers

It looks like August is hill climb month in Oregon. There are races up mount Ashland and Marys Peak. The Ashland hill climb is a giant at over 4,600 feet of gain. Marys Peak has an elevation gain of about 3,300 feet which is a bit more than Larch but in many fewer miles. If you have ever wanted to experience something like the final Climb of a Tour de France mountain top finish these are the races to try and best of all you don���t have to ride 80 miles to get to the bottom of the climb like the racers do at the Tour. Personally the closest I���ve ever come to a hors category Tour climb is watching it on TV. The other great thing about doing these races is you have a chance to be the real Queen or King of the mountain in your category and not just the fastest person with a GPS on an internet app.
Ashland has the added competition of roadies against off roaders. Both groups start in Lithia Park together and finish at the ski area but each takes a different route up to the finish. In the last 5 years the roadies have been dispatched by the dirt riders. The road riders have come within a second or two but still they have not quite been able to topple the off road riders. Maybe this will be the year that a road rider beats all the off road riders. See you all at the races.
-Jon