Amanda Atwill
Portland may have been named America's Best Bike City (congrats) (http://www.bicycling.com/news/advocacy/americas-best-bike-city-portland-oregon) but Bend has got to be the Best Bike "Town". And to prove it, we've got a stellar weekend of bike racing planned for you.
DESERT ORTHOPEDICS Presents Bend Don't Brake (http://www.benddontbrake.com/) will be held on Saturday, May 26th, in the south-east corner of town. This circuit race will be one of the OR Cup Series as well as the first in the Women's Cat 4 Norm Babcock Series. It's a great race to try as a beginner as well. Bill Warburton from TAI and Karey Swan from West Coast Women's Cycling will be giving a talk about warming up, basic racing tactics, staying safe in the pack, and then will answer questions from riders. Meet at Registration at 11:30 for this free presentation.
Also, if you are interested, Bill Warburton will be pre-riding the course on Thursday, May 24th at 5:45pm. You can meet at the corner of Rickard & Arnold Market for a 10 mile lap of the course. If you need to reach Bill, his phone number is 541-335-1346.
A few things to keep in mind:
1. Parking - Please park at registration which is located at 61150 SE 27th, Bend OR (Bend Road Works Facility). The START/FINISH is 1.5 miles from registration so please allow ample time to get out there. There will be a porta-potty at the START/FINISH for those who get "nervous" :)
2. Race Numbers - Please place your OBRA numbers on your back and right side and make them visible!!!
3. Feed - There will be a TEAM FEED available. This means that we are NOT supplying water or food but you can designate a team member/friend/spouse/gf/bf/local politician to feed you in this zone ONLY.
4. Wheels - Rolf Prima Wheels will be supplying Neutral Wheels. If you would like to bring extra wheels, feel free.
5. Giving Back - I put this race on to give back to the cycling community in OR. We are pleased to be supporting Bend Endurance Academy, Bend Velodrome Project and West Coast Women's Cycling Team. We are thrilled to have all of your support and hope that you can all catch the giving bug and help out these great organizations. If you have any questions about them, please check them out on our website.
6. Video - Seriously, have you seen this video: http://youtu.be/HtAU3-5xwOc
7. Sponsors - This race could not be possible without the support of Desert Orthopedics. For the third year running, they have generously given their time and resources to get this race off the ground. BendBroadband and Universal Sports have also joined the roster of sponsors. Maybe one day we'll be watching the Giro d'Italia AND Bend Don't Brake on our local Universal Sports channel!
8. Weather - Bob Shaw called today and said that the weather on Saturday couldn't be more perfect for a race. 64 and sunny (and hopefully no snow this year).
9. MORE RACING - Once you are done with Bend Don't Brake, don't hang up the bike just yet. The Summit Criterium will be on Sunday -http://www.obra.org/flyers/2012/summit_criterium.html
as well as Sisters Stampede - http://www.sistersstampede.com/index.html - the largest mountain bike race in OR in 2011!!
10. CONCERTS - Lastly, once you've won your PBR and have iced your legs in the Deschutes, go check out one of the concerts at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. The Shins, Tenacious D and Beck are playing this coming weekend. Tickets are available at: http://www.bendconcerts.com/
Ok, phew. I think that's everything. As you can see, there is a lot going on here in Bend and we hope that you come check it out.
Please let me know if you have any questions:
benddontbrake@gmail.com
Best,
Amanda Atwill