with VeloShop's Blue Lake Park Race PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon's hotly contested and wildly popular cyclocross season comes to a mud-strewn conclusion Sunday, December 18, when Veloshop hosts the third race of its cyclocross series at Blue Lake Regional Park in Northeast Portland. Veloshop, a popular downtown Portland bike shop, previously hosted cyclocross events in Bend and Hood River. Hundred of cyclocross racers are expected to take-on the challenging Blue Lake course, with its rolling grass fields, hairpin turns and ever-popular sand pit. Racing starts at 9:30 a.m. and continues all day, with the Men's Category A, Single Speed, and Masters race taking place at 2 p.m. There's even prize money at stake: Veloshop is offering $400 in prize money for the top finishers in the Category A Men and Women events. The competition at Blue Lake, like all bike racing in the state, is sanctioned by OBRA, the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Blue Lake Regional Park is located between Marine Drive and Sandy Boulevard off Northeast 223rd Ave., in east Multnomah County. Parking for all vehicles participants and spectators alike costs $4. For more details on Blue Lake Regional Park, visit www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleid=149. Cyclocross bike racing is a specialized form of cycling competition that requires riders to race on a closed-loop circuit, over grass, pavement, gravel, and mud, with barriers and steep run-ups mixed in for additional challenges. Cyclocross requires special techniques and fitness dismounting the bike at speed, running, carrying the bike over barriers, shouldering it up hills, and maintaining speed through turns and over uneven, muddy terrain. For complete information on the Veloshop cyclocross series visit www.veloshop.org. Learn more about and all types of bicycle racing in Oregon at www.obra.org, site of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association. |
