Pacific Northwest - What's the riding like up there in Bend, OR?

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TCR
05-05-08, 09:18 AM
I'm thinking of signing up for a stage race up there. I'm not a climber by any means so I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into.

http://www.mbsef.org/CascadeCyclingClassic/?page=stages

TT: ??
CRIT: Downtown Bend, OR.
RR: Cascade Lakes Highway up to Mt. Bachelor before turning south on Forest Service Roads that travel around Crane Prairie Reservoir Elk Lake and the infamous Sparks Lake climb before finishing at the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort.
CR: do loops of northwest Bend around Awbrey Butte


The RR sounds bad! Anything that finishes at a ski resort has gotta be bad. I'm just wondering how bad.

The CR probably has a nice climb or two as well but again, how bad?



Anybody familiar with this area? Anybody done this race?

Dabbo
05-05-08, 02:06 PM
You might want to ask in the Road Racing forums too. Also check the OBRA list, you might want to ask there as well.
Ciao

Paolo
Shifty
05-05-08, 05:12 PM
That road race is nothing but hills at high elevation (for Oregon - 3k to 4k), it's a real ball buster. It's one of the most spectacular rides you'll do, ride between Mt Bachelor, and the huge Three Sisters mountains, past lakes and beautiful forests.
The Circuit Race is also hilly, but nothing compared to the RR.

If you've got what it takes it's a great race, lots of great cyclists turn out for this one.

TCR
05-05-08, 06:03 PM
That road race is nothing but hills at high elevation (for Oregon - 3k to 4k), it's a real ball buster. It's one of the most spectacular rides you'll do, ride between Mt Bachelor, and the huge Three Sisters mountains, past lakes and beautiful forests.
The Circuit Race is also hilly, but nothing compared to the RR.

If you've got what it takes it's a great race, lots of great cyclists turn out for this one.

A few of my buddies are signing up but they like that climbing crap. One of them will probably place top 5 in the CAT 3's. I should probably skip it as I suck at climbing but it just sounds like a nice getaway to do some riding.