Chip

So, what are my chances of doing okay on a cross bike? It's either my
Stewie Cross, or my old, heavy MB-5. Any thoughts?

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 10:30 AM, Kris Schamp
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Last Monday, we kicked off the 2008 series with a record turn-out of 298
> racers (that's about 100 more racers than our first race last year) and
> another 30+ kiddie racers! Thanks everyone who came out to race or spectate
> and a special shout to the more than 60 racers who raced the short track
> series for the very first time. We hope to see you back next week!
>
> We are still plugging away on the results, but we hope to have them up by
> Thursday morning.
>
> As you might have witnessed on Monday (or read in other posts), we had a
> rather scary incident involving racer Colby Brooks of the Bike Gallery team
> who collapsed during the Singlespeed race. Fortunately, our first-aid
> volunteers were swift to react and were able to pull Colby through - by
> performing CPR for over 10 minutes - until the ambulance was on site. I
> visited Colby yesterday at Emanuel and, while he is still recovering and
> undergoing a series of tests to determine the cause of the collapse, he is
> doing great! We wish Colby a smooth recovery and I like to extend MAJOR
> THANKS to Bonnie Rosenfeld, Jonathan Vinson and the other heroes who saved
> the life of a racer and a friend.
>
> Here is to a fun and safe Short Track Series!
>
> ~Kris
> www.portlandracing.com
>
> PS: If you missed out on Monday's race, well no big deal. We still have
> five more races to come (every Monday night through July 28). Only the 5
> best races count towards the overall results, so you still have a shot for
> the final podium.
> _______________________________________________
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> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
>

Kris Schamp

Hi everyone,

Last Monday, we kicked off the 2008 series with a record turn-out of 298 racers (that's about 100 more racers than our first race last year) and another 30+ kiddie racers! Thanks everyone who came out to race or spectate and a special shout to the more than 60 racers who raced the short track series for the very first time. We hope to see you back next week!

We are still plugging away on the results, but we hope to have them up by Thursday morning.

As you might have witnessed on Monday (or read in other posts), we had a rather scary incident involving racer Colby Brooks of the Bike Gallery team who collapsed during the Singlespeed race. Fortunately, our first-aid volunteers were swift to react and were able to pull Colby through - by performing CPR for over 10 minutes - until the ambulance was on site. I visited Colby yesterday at Emanuel and, while he is still recovering and undergoing a series of tests to determine the cause of the collapse, he is doing great! We wish Colby a smooth recovery and I like to extend MAJOR THANKS to Bonnie Rosenfeld, Jonathan Vinson and the other heroes who saved the life of a racer and a friend.

Here is to a fun and safe Short Track Series!

~Kris
www.portlandracing.com

PS: If you missed out on Monday's race, well no big deal. We still have five more races to come (every Monday night through July 28). Only the 5 best races count towards the overall results, so you still have a shot for the final podium.

Kris Schamp

Hi everyone,



Last week, 130 bike racers of all stripes and colors showed up under a

sweltering sun to contest the second stage of the Portland Mountain Bike

Short Track Series. Seventy people came out for the first time, which

means that after only two races, our racer list is already 170 names

long. So I want to give a BIG THANKS to all of you

short-track-racers-of-the-first-hour for your enthusiastic

participation.



Last Monday's course was challenging - to say the least - and definitely

benefited bike handling skills over raw pedal power. Next Monday we plan

to come up with yet another twist on what everybody seems to agree is an

awesome MTB short track course. I am not going to give away here what

changes we'll make, but I think you'll love it.



Further, there is an important change in the race schedule for the

Singlespeed category. Due to the huge increase in the number of Sport

riders, we decided to have the singlespeeders start with the Pro/Elite

and Expert riders at 7pm. Hopefully that will spread out the riders more

evenly among all three race fields. This also means that singlespeeders

will race for 40' instead of 30'. But we thought that suffer & pain is

what singlespeed is all about anyway.



Another thing I want to remind everybody about is that wearing a bike

helmet is mandatory at PIR (and more in general at all OBRA races) and

not just while you are racing. Last Monday I heard that there were quite

a few riders who crossed the PIR road track on their bikes without

wearing a helmet. Not done.



Finally another "muchos gracias" to all the volunteers who helped out

with setting up the course, staffing the registration desk, and counting

laps. These are the folks that make it all happen, so next time you see

them give them a pat on the back.



Hope to see you all next week!



~Kris

portlandracing.com



PS: check our web site (http://www.portlandracing.com) for the latest

pictures, results and the winners of our weekly prizes.

Kris Schamp

Hi everybody,



We are less than two weeks away from the start of the 1st Portland MTB

Short Track Series and things have come together very well. Here are

some updates that I thought you might be interested in:



1) Sponsors: In the past weeks, we have been able to line up some great

sponsors who like all of us are thrilled to make this new grassroots

race series happen.

- Bike N' Hike, our title sponsor, has kindly volunteered to provide

neutral support at the races and they plan to demo some of their latest

bikes (stay tuned for more details on that).

- We are teaming up with Team Estrogen as our official women's sponsor.

Which means that every week, we'll raffle off a real cool Team Estrogen

prize among all women who race that day. Go girls!

- Giant, Webcyclery, Hot, Dirt Rag, Lips Pizza, and Pyramid Brewing will

provide more cool prizes, which we'll distribute each week and at the

final series raffle.

- New Seasons Market, Saint Honore Boulangerie, Izze Sparkling Juice and

Clif Bar will provide us with much needed refreshments and post-race

snacks, so you all can hang around after your race and watch the pros

battle it out at 7pm.

- Finally we have signed up with Clark Ritchie & Melanie of Northwest

Event Photography to be our official photographers. They will also throw

in some free color prints, which we'll raffle off after each race.



2) Web site: We just did a complete make-over of our web site and posted

some more info on the series, pre-registration and directions to the

course. Just go to at www.portlandracing.com. Also make sure to check

out our new race poster and flyer, designed by Team S&M boy Nathan

Dills. Thanks Nathan!



3) Pre-registration: We want to make our series as convenient for you as

midweek races can be. Therefore, we provide the option to pre-register

for one or more races, so you don't have to deal with all the paperwork

before your race. Just go to www.portlandracing.com/register.html and

pre-register in 3 easy steps.



4) Course: last week Erik Tonkin and John Smith came out to ride the

course and help us with the course design. They loved it, so there is

that for a testimonial. Look forward to a fun and challenging course

with a lot of bumps and turns.



5) Race plates: we plan to use custom, weather-proof plates for our

series. You can pick them up at the registration tent at your first

race. And if you pre-register before next Wednesday, we'll get you a

plate that has your name printed on it below your race number. No more

showing up at the race with your girlfriend's plate!



6) Volunteers: we can still use some more volunteers for the course

set-up, registration desk and keeping track of laps during the races.

Just drop me a note (k.sc-@gmail.com) or give me a call

(5032-466-9007).



That's it for now. We are looking forward to seeing you all at our first

race on Monday July 11th. And bring your friends to watch the spectacle!



Cheers!

~Kris

Kris Schamp

A quick update for all ye folks who are counting down towards the first

edition of the Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series.



First, some great news from our sponsor front. Bike N' Hike has kindly

stepped up to be our series title sponsor. We also signed up some other

great sponsors, who all seem excited to be part of the effort to bring

Short Track MTB racing to Portland.



Second, I have put up a race flyer with all the details at

www.portlandracing.com. This site will be our official series web site,

so you might want to bookmark it. In the coming weeks we will add more

content.



Third, we received some very good response to our first call for

volunteers. Thanks volunteers! However, we can still use more hands.

Experience is not required and you don't need to commit to the full

timeframe of the event. If you just want to volunteer before and/or

after your race, that is also fine with us. Just send me an e-mail at

k.sc-@gmail.com or call me at 503-466-9007.



Looking forward to seeing all you bike-heads at the races!



~Kris