Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
Dear OBRA,
Just a quick note to all of you as I have been getting a ton of emails asking questions about the stage 5 Wy'East Road race. Here is what the status is. Last Sunday a friend and I went up armed with skis and avalanche probes to check out the FS road 44 as to were it was for snow pack. To our horror little to no snow has melted off in the past week or two. There is currently 5 miles of road buried under an average of 3-4 feet depth. The only machine that will cut through this kind of pack would be a rotorary blower. Unfortunately there are several sections of large rock fall that has spilled onto the road. If the rotary plow were to hit one of these rocks we as the contractors of the plowing would be liable for paying the damages. With the plowing bill potentially in the 10's of thousands and the repair bill for a boulder doing damage to staggering to imagine we have been forced to go to plan C. Plan C will result in a 70 mile point to point road race for the Pro Women and CAT 2/3 Men and Masters starting in Dufur and ending at Mt. Hood Meadows. The pro men will start at Petersburg School just east of The Dalles (start of stage 2 last year) and again finish at Mt. Hood Meadows after 100 grueling miles. It has been a horrific week of last minute logistics and changes to make this happen. Maps and info will be posted tomorrow on the new course. Being a point to point course we have arranged buses to transport riders back to the start in Dufur after they finish. There will also be busses at the start line that riders can put clothing and equipment they want delivered to the finish line so it will be awaiting them when they arrive. I would still strongly encourage everyone to use this as a last resort however because it is not the most efficient means for wrapping up your race day. If you can get friends or family to come and support you on Saturday I would strongly encourage it.
A reminder registration will close today for everyone so make sure you register online to get your spot. Also kid's race Tuesday at Tom McCall River Front Park. It is going to be awesome. Cost is $5 a kid and that include a special shirt, water bottle and Live Strong bracelet to help celebrate Live Strong Day with the folks from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Registration opens at 3:00 p.m. at the expo site. Limited to the first 200 kid's. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you all at the race!
Sincerely,
Chad Sperry
Race Director
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com
541-980-2338
P.S. Please do not respond to this email you will not get a reply back until June!