NEWS
Trans-Cascadia announces no race for 2022 but opens registration for four Work Parties in the Pacific Northwest.
Trans-Cascadia (TC) announces that they will not hold a race this year but will host four Work Parties throughout the Pacific Northwest to continue their efforts in restoring and recovering backcountry trail networks. These events are supported by longtime sponsors Shimano and Santa Cruz, and registration is on their website.
Keeping their focus, the crew at TC is taking this year to explore new areas in the Cascade Mountain Range, research trail networks, and reanalyze their format for a future edition of the Trans-Cascadia backcountry enduro race.
"This is not the end of Trans-Cascadia,” says Director Nick Gibson “Rather, it's the next chapter that will allow us to continue our advocacy and restoration efforts and scheme up the next adventure that racers can be sure will be authentic and core to our principles.”
Trans-Cascadia brought blind enduro stage racing to North America in 2015, when they hosted their first event in Oakridge, Oregon. Since then, the event has migrated north through the Cascade Mountain Range to stay true to the ethics of blind racing and also in pursuit of finding new trail experiences.
"As we take this small step back, we can focus 100% on the best trails, routes, food, drink, and entertainment options," says Tommy Magrath, Race Operations. “So not if, but when we bring the race back, we have the best of the best. We always strive for that, and that is what we are capable of. This year we hope people will join us on the deep scouting missions to uncover the lost loam that lays beneath the blowdowns and buried trails. It's going to be a great year!"
TC's efforts have restored 590 miles (give or take) of trails to date. Revived trail networks and fresh riding opportunities have been made possible through well-planned Work Parties and massive efforts from the trail community.
"We look forward to creating new riding experiences, but most importantly, the shared experience of hard work and friendship restoring trails on the mountainside," says Director Nick Gibson. "All this trail work we've accomplished up to this point would not be possible without our community of volunteers and racers, and we need their help this summer."
The R&R campaign stands for research, reclamation and restoration of trails, riding, and reconsidering the future of the sport - and maybe a little rest and relaxation. The Work Parties include breakfast, lunch and dinner each day from a camp chef, brewski's, non-alcoholic bevies, delicious snacks, and the occasional cocktail. Nightlife is as expected at any TC event, full of celebrating each day's accomplishments.
The rough itinerary for these four-day events is:
Thursday - Travel day with a little afternoon/evening ride
Friday - Saturday - trail work (by bike, moto, and foot)
Sunday - ride day with a complimentary shuttle of the maintained trails
"Cascadia's sweet trails, those known and unknown, have piqued imaginations, taught us lessons, and made us stronger,” says Alex. “After racing and learning along our path south to north, we begin 2022 in the south, back to the cradle of Oakridge Oregon, yet we still have business to attend to in the Gifford Pinchot and Okanogan National Forests. Bring your tent, bike, and favorite trail tool if you have one, and we will provide everything else you need to work and play and get some R&R.”
Trans-Cascadia's crew will help teach new skills and efficiencies for trail work, including chainsaw operation and safety, drainage improvement, brushing and clearing trail corridors, tool maintenance, and how to create a good work plan. These events are limited to 75 participants and offer a big mountain experience typical of TC riding culture. The cost to attend is nothing; all they ask is that participants come and lend a hand in the collective effort to keep backcountry trails open.
Work Party Dates:
June 16th-19th - Fire Restoration on Heckletooth Mountain in Oakridge, Oregon
July 14-17 - Restoring Pyramid Mountain and surrounding trails in the Entiat Ranger District near Chelan, Washington
September 15th-18th - Restoring the Basalt Peak Trail network near Wenatchee, WA
October 13th - 16th - Restoring trail on Strawberry Mountain in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest or Oakridge Oregon depending on Snow levels.
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You're invited to join one or all of the Trans-Cascadia Work Parties this summer, where you'll have some fun helping keep the PNW backcountry trail networks open to ride. Register at Trans-Cascadia.com.
Can't make it to a work party and love backcountry trails? Consider making a donation to support their efforts.
Announcing Trans-Cascadia Excursions
Over the last three years, Trans-Cascadia has made a name for itself as the backcountry race with great riding and good vibes. Racers come from all over the world attend the sellout event to experience all that the Pacific North West has to offer.
From the epic trails that cross mountain tops, wind through old growth forests, and offer sustained gravity fed singletrack, to the gourmet meals under the stars back at camp, the event has created a truly unique niche in the stage racing world. Trans-Cascadia Excursions is the natural extension of the race that will allow small groups to take in all that the Cascade Mountain Range has to offer.
From the beginning, as a mountain biker, you have had to be self-reliant to find your way – to look at maps, ask questions, make mistakes, and get lost. It’s nice to break a familiar riding routine by venturing out and experiencing something new while someone else takes care of all the details that make a vacation truly a vacation. The Trans-Cascadia team has spent years looking for trails and experiences that didn’t yet exist. They’ve looked for uncharted territory and ways to connect with nature that can be hard to come by these days – especially on a mountain bike. And they want to show you what they’ve found!
These private, all-inclusive, multi-day mountain bike adventures will take you riding and camping in some of the most remote areas of Oregon and Washington’s forests. Experienced guides will lead you through expansive alpine meadows, through bench-cut trails with fade-away corners, and down flowy and rugged pumptrack style valleys. The style of riding available is as vast as the area in which the tours will be lead. They have over a decade of experience exploring and advocating for trail access in the Pacific North West and are confident that whether you are a local or a visitor to the area you find incredible riding and scenery to create lasting memories.
The tours will operate in Oregon and Washington and access some of the most remote singletrack in the United States. In Oregon, they operate within the entire Willamette National Forest. This area stretches along the western slope of Oregon’s Cascade Range from Mount Jefferson south to Windigo Pass near Diamond Lake and includes the Old Cascade Crest, McKenzie River area, and the entire Oakridge network of trails. This national forest is 1.7 million acres in size and includes mountains and valleys that range from about 1,500 feet to over 10,000 feet in vertical at the summits of the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson.
Guided trips are available in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. This national forest is located in southern Washington and boasts an area of 1.32 million acres. It extends along the western slopes of the Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River and straddles the crest of the South Cascades. This vast area includes old growth forests, high mountain meadows, several glaciers and numerous volcanic peaks. Mount Adams is the highest peak in this park at 12,276 feet; the second highest volcano in the state after Mount Rainier. The 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is also included in this park.
During the multi-day trips, a private gourmet chef will prepare the menu of your choosing. The Trans-Cascadia team takes their food and beer very seriously and puts an emphasis on using the best possible ingredient from their region. Stumptown Coffee will be starting your mornings off right and Pfriem beer will cap off your evenings in camp. For single day tours, lunch and ‘post-ride snack-packs’ are provided: a beer, a tequila, and nourishment!
With Trans-Cascadia Excursions you will be able to experience all the best parts of a riding road-trip with friends, but with the luxury of knowing exactly where to find the best trails, the best camp spots, and, of course, the best food. Experience something new but let them take care of all the details so you can arrive with your bike and get out on the trails as soon as possible.
A selection of 8 itineraries is available this year with limited spots, including; a Trans-Cascadia Excursion in August, a variety of single and multi-day trips through Washington and Oregon, and women’s riding trip including yoga. Trans-Cascadia Excursions is also working with leading industry brands to create content, develop new products, and – straight up entertain! There is no better way to tell your story than through adventure and shared experience. So, whether its personal or business, contact the Trans-Cascadia team and let them design the perfect trip for you!
For info on Packages & Booking visit:
2017 Race Report // Day 3
Waking up at our basecamp on the McKenzie River at Belknap Hot Springs was chilly this morning, but the incredible feel of being surround by tall old growth trees and the sound of the rushing river made for a true wilderness camping experience.
All five stages in the Old Cascade Crest Network today were completely new to the event – and required a lot of pedalling. This yearlong project for the Trans-Cascadia crew allowed the race to add the 17.8 miles with 3,667 feet of climbing and 5079 feet of descending.
Stage 8 started with a climb towards Browder Ridge where the mature timber gradually gives way to open meadows along the ridgeline where – had the clouds lifted at all -racers would have had views of the surrounding volcanoes. From there, the stage dropped promptly down Gate Creek Trail for a sporty descent to a challenging final plunge.
After a short shuttle, racers arrived to Crescent Mountain for stages 9 and 10. The South Crescent trailhead required some effort as it was a roughly 1 - 2 hour climb. Racers were promised a reward of sweeping meadow vistas just before the summit, but all were happy with the stunning and misty old growth forest along the way. Stage 9 sent racers down the north side of the mountain. This ‘dark side’ delivered consistently fast speeds into turns that felt handmade for mountain bikes, despite the vintage of the trail. That said, not all the corners were easy to make – at least not a mach speed.
Joe Lawwill was following Mitch Ropelato when things went sideways (literally) – and then down. Mitch describes what happened:
We drop in and I was hauling ass, it was a little bit too fast for the conditions, but it was working out. Then we come into this one section – my glasses are all muddy, and Joe’s catching all the roost off me so he’s double as muddy – and all of a sudden I just see left! I lock it up and slide around the backside of the berm and park it into this tree off the trail and was like ‘saved it!’ Then I go to warn Joe and I look behind me, as soon as I look behind me I just see him on front and rear brake. He can’t go sideways because I’m standing right there – and he probably should have just ploughed me, I would have fallen over into a tree and I would have been fine, but he just locked up the front and rear and skidded off into the trees. He looked like E.T. taking off, it was insane, and he just flew through the trees and out of sight. I was like ‘oh my god, he just died. He’s dead. There are a million logs out there – he must have landed on one and it shanked him and shish kabobbed him and he’s done!’
I was like “Joe, are you okay?” And he yelled back “yeah, I’m fine!” And I was like “no, are you sure? Like are you really okay? That was the gnarliest crash I’ve ever seen.” And he was like “yeah, I’m fine.” So I run down and he’s like trying to hike out and the first thing he says is “well this is really going to hurt my time” and I was like “dude! You almost just died.” So I pulled his bike out and set his levers straight and he kind of shakes it off and he’s asks if his bike is good to go and I was like “everything looks right.” And he just grabs it and takes off sprinting.
The rest of the day, I was like, ‘you know what? I like the slower speeds.’ I made all the turns and just like chilled out. Yeah, it kind of freaked me out.
“I may have scarred Mitch for life,” says Joe showing off what could be bear claw marks in his leg. “I was following him, it was extremely muddy so I could barely see as it was, a switchback came up on us quick, he tried to stop for it and I was too close so I had to go around him, but it turn out that trail turned into a cliff. I went through trees and branches. It went dirt, sky, dirt, sky, and I ended up on my feet. Everything worked, so I started climbing up. And then I got stuck in the tree climbing up so Mitch helped me get the bike. By the time I got up there I was like, well I only lost a minute, I’ll keep going and a few minutes further into the run I was like ‘wow, my leg really hurts’ and I looked down and it was pouring blood down my shin. But I finished so it was okay!”
Mitch and Joe weren’t the only ones who got hung upon the quick left after the neutral zone. Brian Lopes took a tumble there and Geoff Kabush managed to park into a tree to avoid going over the side. “The section was really high speed” says Geoff, “and I was just having fun – those switchbacks come up quick and I wasn’t able to quite get it slowed down to turn so I ran into a tree a few feet off the trail that stopped me and I was able to climb back up. I lost about 10 or 15 seconds – no big deal, we got a lot of time out there on the trail today.”
After a mid-mountain pause – which was needed for most to gather their composure by the sounds of it, Stage 10 was a playful rip down to the creek.
Stages 11 and 12 were off the mountain on South Pyramid Creek Tail. The course meandered down the creek with a short neutral climb for a chance to regain any lost composure before dropping back in. Following a quick transfer up road, racers continued on the quite physical South Pyramid Creek Trail through an ever-changing landscape and finally onto the fast bench-cut section to end the day!
“It’s nice to do some new trail again” Geoff is the returning 2016 Trans-Cascadia champ. We got out there! I’m interested to look at a map afterwards to see where we actually rode. It’s amazing these trails feel like we are in the middle of nowhere, but they are so buff.” Geoff’s strength with pedalling came into play today as he closed the gap between him and Chris Johnston; who is currently in first place.
“I still have the lead by seven seconds,” Chris said at dinner. “Today had some really pedally stages. They were super physical, lots of ups and downs. Today was super wet and the conditions made it really hard to go fast; just sort of hanging it all out there to try and stay on the track to go fast. It was awesome just to keep that margin small because I knew Geoff would have a strong day with those two long stages and it’s awesome to still be at the front!” And while Chris was focused on keeping that lead, the beauty of these stages wasn’t lost on him. “It was amazing, the forest in there and the climates you go through, different forest, just incredible, so cool to ride out there.”
For Josh ‘Loosedog’ Lewis Trans-Cascadia is a completely different event than anything he’s done before. “It’s wicked laid back – exploring America in it’s autumn colours is so nice, it’s like the perfect picture. It’s a whole different experience. It’s so sick, I must say everyone behind the event is killing it. There has not been one upset – like the food and everything is dialled, fires at all the starts. It’s like convenience all the time. If you ever thing ‘I need’ or ‘this would be nice’ it’s already there.”
Racers experienced some true northwest weather yesterday, but at the end of the day there were nothing but smiling – albeit tired – faces and loamy bikes.
2017 Race Report // Day 1
There were plenty of hugs and high-fives as some of the international mountain bike community came together for another year of Trans-Cascadia.
Lots of laughs were had at registration as memories of past events were shared and new attendees got some insight into what to expect for the next few days.
After a successful two years of of the race, the spirit of the event remains the same, however a few key changes have made for an even better racer experience. This year each participant was given an Oakley customized roller bag for their gear, as well as, an MSR plate, utensils, and cup as part of the event’s waste reduction program. And in what became known as ‘the party pocket’ of the suitcase everyone could find a can of beer and a pre-roll (don’t worry, it’s legal in Oregon).
After loading into shuttles and making the two-hour drive to our fist basecamp near Oakridge, racers settled into their pre-setup tents complete with sleeping mats and enjoyed a gourmet dinner by the executive chef at Jack Rabbit in Portland, Chris Dimino.
Following dinner, the event organizers – Alex Gardner, Nick Gibson, and Tommy Magrath – gave racers the run down on what to expect for their first four stages. With prime fall riding conditions, Day One offered up a gentle, but still exhausting, introduction to the race with four stages in the Oakridge area. While the colourful description of the next day’s trails had everyone excited, one descriptor had a few people asking – “what exactly does ice-clay feel like?” Slippery?
This year Trans-Cascadia has introduced ‘Neutral Zones' – these sections are not timed, but are still part of the race. Racers must stay on their bikes and keep riding, but can use the short section to catch their breath and save some energy. As far as rules go, the event organizers simply advised that racers to “try not to dick around too much in the these zones.” The course is minimally signed with only starts and finishes, neutral zones, junctions, and danger areas marked. Everyone was reminded, however, that danger is subjective and to use their heads while racing.
Ben Suttlemyre on the medical team addressed the racers with the wizened tone of backcountry experience that you might expect from a character in an old western film, “if you want to hang it out on that hairy ragged line – just realize it might be the rest of the day before you see a doctor. You’ve gotta have your bike in one piece, you’ve gotta have yourself in one piece, and you’ll have a good time.”
Racers loaded up on shuttles this morning and departed for Lawler. This Oakridge classic is split into two stages to allow riders a moment of reflection on ‘what the hell just happened’ before carrying on. The ride offered up two big descents and a variety of technical features laced through an old growth forest before racers got to finally answer the question – ‘what is ice-clay?’
“It was a very accurate description.” Brian Lopes had forgotten which trail the organizers had warned about, but after hitting the first berm, it all came back to him. “I almost laid it down, my backend came around on me and I was like ‘oh shit, I think this is that icy-clay section they were talking about.’ And it all came to light pretty quick. After hitting that first turn, I was definitely on cautious mode after that. I was very tentative in the rest of the turns.”
A shuttle took racers from the end of Stage 2 to Eula Ridge which some considered to be the best trail in Oakridge. Racers dropped straight into steeps before a neutralized 3-minute climb led them into a flowy and rugged pumptrack style finish.
Kathy Pruitt, who took the overall win today in the Pro Women’s category, experience a bit of a technical issue after dropping into Stage 3. “I started Eula, which is a really steep stage and had a lot of opportunity for me to gain time using my downhill background – and my chain snapped coming out of the first turn. I kind of was like ‘oh my god, this is awful, maybe my race is over,’ and then I realized I could keep coasting.” So she did, and Kathy scooted, ran, and walked the last two stages of the race to take the top step on the podium tonight. “I haven’t snapped a chain in ten years, I don’t know what happened! It added a little spice to my day.”
Larison Rock was the final stage of the day and is a sustained gravity fed run on steep bench-cut trail with fade-away corners. “Love! Capital L O V E. It was just pure fun!" Spencer Paxson was still stoked at the end of the day. "Just like everyone else I liked Stage 3, but Stage 4 surprised me because of the low expectations that people set. A lot of people were saying that it’s skittery and you don’t want to lose your bike because you’ll be looking for it all day, but it was really fast and smooth. Low expectations are the secret to happiness anyway!”
All in, today had nearly 14 miles of shuttle assisted riding and 8773 feet of descending with only 830 feet of climbing.
But racers still felt the effects of the physical style of riding that this area is known for. Returning racer, Rachel Walker, wasn’t expecting to feel so worked – “it felt quite hard today, given that we were on a shuttle day. I’ve spoken to a few of the people who I’m here with and they’re tired. I didn’t expect to be that tired today. The stages were just quite physical and quite long.”
Chris Johnston took the lead in Pro Men, followed by Geoff Kabush; 2016 winner, and Brian Lopes. “I’m super happy to ride and just have a clean day,” says Chris. “The neutral zone definitely helped me out this year, last year was out of my realm of training. And I think it’s a really cool concept having the neutral zones just to coast through and then carry on the stage to make it super long still.” In 2016 Chris chased Geoff Kabush for the entire event, but ended up in 3rd place overall when Peter Ostroski came from behind on the final day and took 2nd place by about two seconds. “It was super fun and a tight competition. I’m sure it will be this year too; it’s only Day One.”
It is Mitch Ropelato’s first year here at Trans-Cascadia and on his first night he managed to earn the elusive Go-Hard jersey. “I felt like I was leading some kind of series,” says Mitch about his early lead. And when asked what he planned to do to maintain his lead, he replied, “I don’t think you can try, one of these nights I’m going to have to got to bed early and I’m going to lose the jersey, but we’ll see. Definitely Sunday though, I’ll be saving up for a good party after this!”
The racing will continue in the Oakridge area tomorrow before the event heads on to its next basecamp.
2016 Race Report // Day 4
Racers settled into Horse Creek Lodge on Saturday night with hot indoor and outdoor showers, a roaring fire pit, and another gourmet meal created by Chef Chris Diminno; provided by Chris King.
After a long day in the rain, sleet, snow, and slippery river crossings, the happy, but exhausted group cheered when the event organizers announced the cancelation of a stage for the final day. “Because we are ambitious, Day 4 is an ambitious day,” started Nick Gibson, “but we are going to be slightly less ambitious and cut out Stage 16.”
Racers settled into Horse Creek Lodge on Saturday night with hot indoor and outdoor showers, a roaring fire pit, and another gourmet meal created by Chef Chris Diminno; provided by Chris King.
After a long day in the rain, sleet, snow, and slippery river crossings, the happy, but exhausted group cheered when the event organizers announced the cancelation of a stage for the final day. “Because we are ambitious, Day 4 is an ambitious day,” started Nick Gibson, “but we are going to be slightly less ambitious and cut out Stage 16.”
Day 4 was still a monster of a day with over 10 miles of riding, much of it on an exposed ridge at 5500 feet in snow and freezing rain. Racers – who were relieved to have a later start time – were shuttled up to start a roughly 1.5 hour liaison stage across the ridgeline to the top of Stage 17. Here racers started a descent that had expected fast times of 30 minutes and arrived to the bottom where fires to warm freezing hands were already burning.
A short liaise between Stage 17 and 18 took racers to their final descent of the race – 15 minutes of a flatter grade, but high speed trail. It was the perfect trail to end on and left everyone smiling and congregating around another warm fire with beers in hand.
Barry Wicks experienced the weather on the way to Stage 17 firsthand, “at the top on the liaison from the bus it was definitely raining and snowing; ‘wintery mix,’ I think is the correct term. It was really cool up there. It was nice that we were pedalling a bit, so it wasn’t too cold.” As for the choice to drop Stage 16 from today’s agenda, Barry thought the right call was made. “I’m pretty tired, it would have been hard to do another couple of hours out in the woods. Erring on the side of safety is the right way to go.”
“It was all types of weather out there, we had snow and sleet at the top. And there was a fire going at the top as well, so it was nice to warm your hands before you dropped in,” said Chris Johnston holding his celebratory finish line beer. “It was a super long stage, but not quite as long as estimated so I think a lot of us crossed the line with a bit of extra gas in the tank and could have gone a little bit harder. The second stage after that had really good flow, you still had to pedal hard to maintain that flow, but it was a really cool way to end the week.” At the start of Day 3 Geoff Kabush had a 55 second lead over Chris, “It will be really cool to see how it all pans out. I know I gave it my best, so whatever happens, I’m stoked!”
In the end Geoff Kabush would take the overall win and after finishing in 2nd last year, he says he didn’t have any expectations coming into this week, “I just wanted to come down and have some fun! These guys put on an awesome event in a really fun place to ride. I rode the trails as fast as I could and I think it went pretty well.”
Pro Men's Podium: In 1st Geoff Kabush, 2nd Chris Johnston, 3rd Peter Ostroski.
Rosara Joseph won her second consecutive Trans-Cascadia in the Pro Women’s category, “I felt like this year was definitely a step up in terms of the challenge; the trails that we rode were more physically and technically demanding, the days were longer and there was some more gnarly stuff on the trails. And we had the great privilege of riding some brand new trails and that was super exciting. I think people – specifically these last two days have been big days – have definitely been challenged but everyone is buzzing and it’s such a cool atmosphere and I really admire the attitude of everyone here who took part.”
Pro Women's Podium: In 1st Rosara Joseph, 2nd Meggie Bichard, 3rd Kathy Pruitt.
This year the Trans-Cascadia event expanded their area and, in working with local organizations, was able to open and use new trails to provide a more diverse racecourse. Like every true adventure there was adversity in the form of injuries and weather, but there were also incredible views, descents, competition, and of course basecamp life. When all was said and done yesterday, everyone gathered around the campfire to celebrate, not just the success of the entire 2016 Trans-Cascadia field, but also their shared experience over the last four days – and it would seem that the times around the fire generate the richest of memories.
See Full Race Results Here
2016 Race Report // Day 3
The excited energy at basecamp this morning was palpable. Not only was a massive day of blind racing on the horizon for the participants, but it was a completely new course for the event team as well. Today’s stages represented the essence of why Trans-Cascadia was created. “It’s exciting,” said Rosara Joseph, wearing her leader jersey. “New trails are always cool – and I’ve heard only good things about today from people in the know!”
The excited energy at basecamp this morning was palpable. Not only was a massive day of blind racing on the horizon for the participants, but it was a completely new course for the event team as well. Today’s stages represented the essence of why Trans-Cascadia was created. “It’s exciting,” said Rosara Joseph, wearing her leader jersey. “New trails are always cool – and I’ve heard only good things about today from people in the know!”
A planned 20 miles of pedalling and 15.5 miles of racing took racers from the trails around Oakridge to their new basecamp on the outside of MacKenzie. Stage 12 and 13 ran down Lawler on Hardesty Mountain, a trail that local Trail Boss, Derrick Bell, has been riding for over 20 years. Over the last two years Trans-Cascadia has been working with Derrick, the Eugene Trail Club; Disciples of Dirt, Kevin Rowell with the Forest Service, and Dirt Mechanics; a recreational excavation company, to extend the trail to the bottom of the mountain. “You used to pop out on the top of this gravel road and descend on it for about three miles; it was always kind of a buzz-kill,” explains Derrick. Money raised by the Disciples of Dirt and Trans-Cascadia paid for the necessary environmental study to green-light the project. The trail was officially opened today and contains a mix of machine and hand built sections. “That’s been a 20-year dream for quite a few of us. And today it’s being ridden on and rained on – perfect!”
Racers shuttled back up to the top of Hardesty Mountain to descend Eula Ridge for Stage 14. The finish line was full of a mix of exclamations of love for the trail to cursing its punchy climbs. Chris Johnston thoroughly enjoyed the stage, "there were two amazing descents. The stage could have been broken in two as there was quite a substantial climb in the middle, but there were some really cool steeper rocky descents. It was really loose and down the bottom there was lots of flow. Man it was rad!”
Stage 15 on Grasshopper Ridge was another Trans-Cascadia supported initiative by Derrick. The backcountry, 16-mile trail had a two-hour traverse up and down the ridgeline, through seven wide-open meadows, and ended with a 5.1-mile descent. Native Americans and pioneers used the original game trail before equestrians adopted it, but in recent years there had been little use and much of it was overgrown and difficult to find. Working with both the Oakridge and MacKenzie Forest Services, Derrick was able to secure permission to revamp it as a mountain bike accessible route. “This year the trail got completely cleared. Trans-Cascadia did a couple campouts and work parties on Grasshopper with the Santa Cruz crew; they did good solid work,” says Derrick. “Opening Grasshopper trail to me is huge, this year with the help of Trans-Cascadia, we opened 18 miles of trail in a short amount of time.”
Unfortunately, Nick Hardin went down on Stage 14; breaking his collarbone, and had to be extracted from the course. Mark Weir acted quickly, giving up his race run to help Nick – and serving as a reminder that when it comes to backcountry racing, people come first.
Due to the course hold of nearly an hour, the last bus of racers missed the cut-off for Stage 15. The results for this stage weren’t counted in the overall – but everyone was in agreement that the right decision was made in respect to everyone’s safety.
Those racers who did ride the stage experienced everything from rain to sleet and snow – but a warm fire at the top helped keep spirits high. Geoff Kabush was one of the racers who rode Grasshopper, “it was beautiful up there! It was fun putting the ‘trans’ in Trans-Cascadia. At the end of the day I think [cancelling the stage] was a good call; everyone was getting pretty tired and it was getting dark. And I got some bonus fitness in there.”
Geoff’s strength in pedaling on today’s long stages earned him a further lead over Chris Johnson. “There is some amazing descending, some really good sections, but the climbs just far outweigh the technical sections and I find it really challenging to attack on the climbs and keep competitive,” said Chris. Peter Ostroski held on to 3rd place. And Rosara continued her winning streak, taking home her 8th straight finisher jersey.
Despite some logistical challenges and injuries today, the field of racers settled into their new basecamp tonight – tired and happy.
2016 Race Report // Day 1
OAKRIDGE, OREGON, September 29, 2016. As the racer buses rolled into camp at Lake Timpanogas last night, the first time jitters experienced by many of the racers became overshadowed by excitement. Given just enough information about where and when to meet the shuttles, racers were truly in the dark about what they were getting into; even returning racers aren’t guaranteed the same experience as last year.
OAKRIDGE, OREGON. As the racer buses rolled into camp at Lake Timpanogas last night, the first time jitters experienced by many of the racers became overshadowed by excitement. Given just enough information about where and when to meet the shuttles, racers were truly in the dark about what they were getting into; even returning racers aren’t guaranteed the same experience as last year.
The Nomad Team, Chris Johnston and Dylan Wolsky, are new to the event; “our bus stopped at the gas station and everyone just piled out and went to the liquor store next door, that was our first impression. It was awesome! You know what’s up from there on out!”
Cut off from any Wi-Fi and cell service while in the backcountry, racers spent their first night setting up camp and bonding over gourmet food and around campfires. “Not having Wi-Fi creates camaraderie, there’s more socializing and interaction, instead of everyone sitting on their phones and updating Facebook or Instagram,” says Jaime Hill, also a new face at Trans-Cascadia.
This morning racers awoke to a stunning view of Lake Timpanogas blanketed with mist and enough time for some to head out paddle boarding or swimming after breakfast. It wasn’t uncommon to hear exclamations from campsites about what a relaxed and ‘chill’ event it was as racers lounged about until their start times.
“I’m looking forward to different trails, a different forest, and riding with all the amazing people that I’ve already met – and it’s sunny! Life couldn’t be better!”
– Elladee Brown
“I’m stoked just to ride a bunch of trails, just like it’s a bike trip and we are out there riding with our buddies. So far, there’re a lot of great people I’ve met and I’m looking forward to having fun out there!” – Jaime Hill
Amateur Women, Amateur Men, Pro Women, and finally Pro Men all rolled out of basecamp in packs of new and old friends, chatting cheerfully and calling out some good natured trash talk as they started the climb to Stage One.
Former World Cup DH racer, Bryn Atkinson is excited about trying something new with racing enduro. “I’m just pumped to get up there and take a rip down some fresh trails that I’ve never seen before! That’s pretty exciting and it’s a different style of racing than I’m used to, obviously.”
Today’s course took racers through stages 1 – 5; 17.8 miles of riding with 4110 feet of climbing. Starting from the lake they headed up the Indigo Lake connecter trail to the saddle to complete a clockwise loop through the trail systems before descending to climb the connector trails a second time. Racers finished back at Lake Timpanogas after completing a counter clockwise loop from the saddle.
“We pre-rolled through the first three stages; they are pretty fast and flowy,” says Ariel Lindsley who was out on course this morning confirming signage placement. “The dirt is really good, it feels like nobody’s ever ridden the trails, but the trails have been taken care of for the last twenty years. It’s not really technical, a few tight turns and that was it. A lot of high speed!” Zach Jarrett, who was riding with Ariel, commented on how amazing the trails are, despite how long they’ve been around, “we’ve got some backcountry singletrack that’s been here for probably fifty years and it flows like something that was designed for mountain bikes, so combining that with perfect dirt makes for a good day!”
Aaron Bradford and Rosara Joseph started the day in the leader jerseys having won the 2015 Trans-Cascadia. The end of stage five would see Rosara hold on to her leader position with a substantial lead over second place. Working full time and racing only Trans-Cascadia this year, Rosara let us in on her secret for winning; “I had a rigorous training schedule of riding occasionally and drinking a little bit, but not too much, but enough. It’s really hard to get the balance right; you’ve got to work at it. Last night I got off to a good start; I was throwing hatchets and drinking bourbon at the Transition Party Shack, so I feel like I had a really strong start, now I just want to build on it.”
Aaron took third place today with Geoff Kabush in second, and newcomer Chris Johnston in the lead. “It was amazing, it’s always a challenge to ride stuff 100% blind, but it was a good fun day. There were some pedally bits that made it really physical, I sort of gave it everything and kept consistent,” says Chris of his win. Geoff took two stage wins on the more physical sections and lost the lead by only 4 seconds.
Despite losing his lead, Aaron doesn’t plan to change anything for tomorrow, “the competition is certainly very fierce, more so than maybe last year. But I still have the same approach; wake up at the tail end of breakfast, show up hopefully in time to catch some John Wayne coffee grounds in the bottom of the barrel, then maybe come back to the campsite with a full belly and hang out on the inflatable [couch] and soak up a few more rays, and then kind of assess the situation. [I’m] probably going to be hung over because that’s a trending thing here. It’s all about decisions, making the right decisions. We’re at the right place, doing the right thing, and I’m just going to keep doing that.”
Jessie Gibson, volunteer and wife of event organizer, Nick Gibson, reflected on a successful first day, “it’s an amazing, super fun event to be a part of. It’s just awesome seeing all the work that Nick, Alex, and Tommy have put in all year long and to see it actually come to fruition. It’s more than I expected, it’s so much work to put on a race like this, especially a four-day blind race format with amazing food and amazing settings – and to see all that come together and the people that make it possible is so rewarding.”
As the afternoon sun cast long shadows on the hatchet toss and racers got ready to settle in for another night of solitude and bonding – some around relaxed campfires and others rallying for a more rambunctious night – it would seem that the second edition of Trans-Cascadia is off to an incredible start!
