Patrick wilder
I personally like the long climbs, bring on the death marches. I loved the Willamette Pass race llast year. I think there is a good balance with the Bend fast courses and the Skibowl resort type courses and climbs, as well as some of the other trail and "outback" type courses. I moved here from California and all we had there was resort type courses, I like the variety here. Don't get discouraged you're doing a great job!!
1 thing I will say is that the courses which are closer to a town, food, facilities etc. Seem to get a better draw. (You can ride to the race in Bend to warm up) I think making course spectator freindly is a key to helping the sport grow. People who are able to watch the race for longer periods of time might get the idea that "hey I could do that". My wife knows which races to go watch me at and which she will stay at home because she is not into seeing me start then watch me come around 3 hours later for the finish. She really likes watching me race the Chainbreaker because she can see me multiple times. I think people like that.
Lastly, my dad who turns 50 this year was living in Seattle and got into XC racing this year based off their Sea-Tac series. (It is essentially a longer Short Track Course) This is a weekly series, it got him hooked. He did Sea Otter and even came down for 2 Ski Bowl races this year. You might want to check out what they are doing up there on a weekly basis.
Randy Dreiling wrote:
Bend races get so many people because 40%+ are people
from Bend that don't race any other races, this is
true for Ashland too to a point, these are the 3
biggest races in Oregon...I helped with reg 2 years
ago at Chainbreaker, 89 racers from Bend purchased one
days, add to that the Bend people that have yearlys
and you can see why Bend races are so big...Bend is a
HUGE outdoor town, so to base anything on Bend events
is not realist.
Take Care
--- Craig Austin wrote:
> Rick, I think you're right on and this is one reason
> the Bend races are
> still so well-attended. The courses there consist of
> a wide variety of
> fun trails, not long pure-gravel-road climbs that
> are there simply to
> stretch the field out. It's not just the climbing,
> it's the boredom of a
> road climb; races with singletrack climbs are fun
> too. I know it's a
> challenge to build courses to make races fun as well
> as avoiding passing
> problems but I think that fun courses would bring
> more racers back.
>
> Craig
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org
> [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
> Behalf Of Rick C Johnson
> Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 8:30 AM
> To: mike.murray@obra.org
> Cc: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Is Cross Country racing
> dying?
>
> Clearly XC race participation has declined. Whether
> it is primarily due
> to more popular and convenient options or more
> universal factors is a
> good subject for study. But lets look at the
> discipline more
> specifically. Some of the current factors against XC
> racing are:
>
> * Diminishing local and convenient riding
> opportunities, leading to-
> * Increased travel costs - for training and
> racing
> * The "skill factor" (not everybody is cut out
> for technical and/or
> fast MTB riding)
> * Increasing equipment costs (if you really
> intend to win anyway -
> i.e. carbon frames, etc.)
> * Lack of national level recognition - currently
> no "Armstrong
> effect" for MTBs
> * More family friendly alternatives
>
> Finally there's one category that the promoters do
> have some control
> over. The courses. As I understand it the X in XC is
> short for cross,
> meaning across. Not up/down country racing, but
> across. If cross country
> skiing was like the current state of local XC
> mountain bike racing
> everybody would have to summit Mt. Hood before
> skiing down Cooper Spur
> at breakneck speed. Is it any wonder that people
> over thirty, beginners,
> and those weighing more than 150lbs find it
> difficult and discouraging?
> XC racing is currently nothing more than endurance
> time trialling on
> slow bikes over difficult terrain. Road racing
> recognizes there are
> different types of riders with a variety of sprint
> and climbing courses
> and finishes. If you're smart you can take advantage
> of drafting to
> mitigate shortcomings in fitness. Groups can work
> together to chase down
> break-a-way climbers. Not so in MTB. And does your
> average cyclo-cross
> race start with 500 or 1000 feet (or more) of
> elevation gain? Think
> about it. Would cross racing be so exciting if most
> races had the same
> handful of competitors disappear over the top of a
> hill not to be seen
> again until the end of the race? Not everyone
> enjoys, or is good at,
> charging up some diabolically steep grade in the
> blazing sun with no end
> in sight. Nobody wants to admit it of course, but
> privately I often hear
> it from people who are otherwise good riders.
> Whether they don't like
> it, aren't built for it or just don't have the time
> to train for it
> doesn't matter. The result is they skip the race and
> look to another
> discipline they feel more competitive in. Or they go
> do something
> entirely different that they consider more fun.
> There, I said it out loud. Blasphemy against
> mountain biking. Not
> everyone wants to spend most of the race grunting
> uphill. Great for
> bragging rights of the few, poor for participation
> of the many.
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> Mike Murray wrote:
>
> >Although Rick's comments re: inactivity and obesity
> in the general
> >public is accurate it does not provide much insight
> into why XC racing
> >participation is dropping off while participation
> in other disciplines
> >of bike racing is growing. If inactivity was the
> answer then you would
>
> >expect that road, track and CCX racing would be
> also declining when it
> >is instead growing rapidly.
> >
> >Mike Murray
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org
> [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
>
> >Behalf Of Rick C Johnson
> >Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 08:47 AM
> >To: Randy Dreiling
> >Cc: obra@list.obra.org; obrarace@list.obra.org
> >Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Is Cross Country racing
> dying?
> >
> >
> >Randy,
> >Why couldn't you ask a question with a simple
> answer? Like "what is the
>
> >air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Geez, is
> XC racing dying? I
> >say not as such, but it could slip into a coma if
> we give up on it.
> >Consider the following.
> >
> >Modern America is the land of fads - todays out
> there, extreme,
> >be-part-of-the-happening-scene activity is
> tomorrows old news.
> >Americans loose interest fast - especially when
> there's no national
> >heroics involved. Americans crave attention and
> always want to win. But
>
> >fewer and fewer kids these days grow up with any
> appreciation for hard
> >work, and get less and less active every year. Mom
> and Dad work on a
> >computer all day and the kids get chauffeured to
> school. The TV has
> >become the nations babysitter. School athletic
> programs are cut to save
>
> >money and obesity sky rockets. No coincidence that
> our most recent
> >sports hero (who started his career as a MTB racer)
> grew up with no TV
> >busting his ass on a farm. Where will the next one
> come from?
> >
> >What the big picture comes down to is the majority
> in our country have
> >no appreciation nor desire for true sports
> competition. They'll pay
> >attention only when someone (an American) is
> winning, then switch the
> >channel back to NASCAR and have a few beers. As for
> mountain bike
> >racing, to do it well you have to train as hard (or
> harder) as any
> >other sport, develop exceptional riding skills, be
> willing to get dirty
>
> >and accept a higher risk of injury. And after all
> that you'll still get
>
> >beat most of the time. Factors like drive time, is
> it a loop course, or
>
> >how long the race is are just small details. They
> matter only to the
> >people who have already made the commitment to
> participate.
> >
> >As a promoter you have my sympathy. You're in a
> situation where there
> >are huge factors of which you have no direct
> control. Maybe the best
>
=== message truncated ===
Randy Dreiling
Owner Oregon Adventures www.oregon-adventures.com
Executive Director Oakridge/Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce
www.oakridgechamber.com
Mt Bike Oregon www.mtbikeoregon.com
Other Oregon Adventures Events
Oakridge FTF, 12/24 of Willamette Pass
Willamette Pass Downhill/Super D's Series
www.oakridgefattire.com A simple site to download flyers
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