Kris Schamp
It's hard to believe... summer in Portland has barely started and we're already about to wrap up another fun and successful edition of the Portland Short Track Series!
Like in years past, we plan to go out with a bang at next Monday's final night of short track racing - aka the Short Track Grand Finale - a night of sheer bike race fun you don't want to miss out on!
Here are a couple updates, ahead of all the madness:
1) Series Standing and some great action photos of last week's races:
Check out the current series standings going into the final night of racing at http://www.portlandracing.com/series-standings-2011-07-28.html.
Best 7 races will count towards overall and the results of the final race will determine the ranking among racers with equal amount of points. Also check out the very nice collection of actions shots taken at last Monday's races by Portland Velo racer Victor Duong:
http://gallery.me.com/vduong#100144&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=287
2) It's time again for the "Ultra Short Track"Team Relay Race!
Like in years past, we will stage an all-for-fun team relay race on the motocross track, right after we're done with the regular races. And this year, we are turning the team relay race into a mini-fundraiser for our friends and MTB advocates at Northwest Trail Alliance, by charging a $30 fee per team and donating all proceeds to NWTA. The race line-up will consist of up to 25 teams of 10 racers who each will get to race one lap. Since we will only use the motocross track, the laps will be ultra-short, ultra-fast and ultra-fun to race and/or watch! More details are posted at http://www.portlandracing.com/short-track-finale-2011.html
Note that - as of this morning - we have only 5 team slots left, so hurry up if you still like to sign up your team. If you are not racing on one of the relay teams, just bring your cowbells and consider yourself part of the cheerleading squad that will be lining the course.
3) Back by popular demand... the NWTA Skills Park:
It's going to be a long night, so to keep the young ones entertained, Northwest Trail Alliance will come out with their super-cool skills park, allowing kids - both of the younger and older variety - to hone their riding and balance skills throughout the night. NWTA folks will also be on hand to answer all your questions about mountain biking in our region, including where to ride, how to help build and maintain trails, and how to get involved as a trail advocate.
4) One last night of free, yummy goodies... and a ice-cold shot of caffeine!
Next Monday, for one last night, you will be able to get your lemonade-and-baked-goodies fix at the Chris King tent and load up on delicious PB&J sandwiches, courtesy of our generous bread sponsor St Honoré Bakery. And to celebrate our last night of the season, the great folks of Nossa Familia Coffee will be out there as well to serve free iced mochas (yeah!) and the PIR concession stand will be open for business, selling hot dogs, burgers, ice cream, and Hopworks beer!
Note: please respect the PIR policies and do not bring any alcoholic beverages from outside the venue.
5) Series Awards & Raffle:
In good tradition, we will close the night and wrap up the series with awards for the overall top-3 podium finishers in each category and of course our not-to-be-missed Grand Series Raffle (free for all racers and volunteers), where we'll raffle off a bunch of great prizes provided by our sponsors Hopworks, Chris King (word has that they will be throwing in a MTB wheelset!), Yakima, Cyclepath, Bike N Hike, Moots, and Portland Design Works.
That's it. I am looking forward to seeing you Monday at PIR. Round up your friends. Bring your family. Let's throw a party!
~Kris
Kris Schamp
http://www.portlandracing.com
PS: don't forget to bring your race plate on Monday! For some categories we're starting to run low on new plates and a replacement plate will cost you $5.