Erik Long

I have inquiry I'm hoping you can help with.

Once Upon a time, Road Races in Oregon were held pretty consistently on Sundays, when virtually anyone could get a day off and, you know, pay an entry fee and race their bikes.

Why are the vast majority of Oregon's one-day races now on Saturdays? I get that we have weekly races and those are good training, but there's only so much that a rider can get out of a weekly series. I understand the importance of Sundays to many people as a self-imposed day of rest (religion, family, etc.), but many of us who want to race real road races have jobs that don't offer Banker's Hours and are expected to work on most Saturdays. By comparison, I know very few people who work on Sundays (actually, I can't think of anyone I know who consistently has to work Sundays). As a full-time bike shop employee, I've worked exactly 5 Sundays in the last 4 years. Like many service/retail jobs, my place of work is often closed on Sundays, eliminating the conflict altogether.

I wouldn't say anything, but look at the 2013 road schedule and you'll
find that if you're a road racer who works Saturdays, there's almost
nothing for you after March. This reality may be one of the reasons that the mighty Cross Crusade sees the level of participation that it does with the vast majority of its events occurring on Sundays.

Many Obra members have work schedules that already prohibit them from riding any stage races, so why make the one-day events so elusive? Why keep so many riders from handing over their money on race day?

-Erik