Echo Red to Red Mountain Bike Race

Quick summary for the ADD among you, I am pretty solid pack fodder.  I finished basically dead center of my category (cat 3) and age group (45+).  Thirteenth out of 24 riders in that demographic is not too bad for my first cross country mountain bike race.

For anyone still reading here is my more detailed breakdown of my perception of the race:  My fitness level is pretty competitive for a Cat 3 mountain biker.  Legs and lungs were never the issue, most of my progress through the field was made on the climbs, the longer the better.  Descending is another matter altogether.  I know how to go downhill, I just  don’t do it well.  I foresee lots of rides down the bottom half of Hide and Seek at Sandy Ridge to get the muscle memory dialed in.

For months I have been hearing about what a great course Echo is, and now that I’ve experienced it myself, I have to agree.  Cat 2 and 3 road a 22 mile loop, 28 miles for the Cat 1, Pro, and single speed riders, almost all of it on private property owned by Sno Road Winery

(www.snoroadwinery.com) on dedicated mountain bike trails.  A one mile neutral roll out from downtown Echo, about a mile on gravel road, then pure single track until you hit the gravel road again to return to town and the finish line.  After spending the winter looking for single track that is dry enough to ride on the west side of the state, some sweet eastern Oregon dryness was heavenly.  No so heavenly was the eastern Oregon winds, which were out in force during the race.  The best thing I can say about the wind is that is sucked equally for everybody.  On some of the exposed faces, it was hard to stay on the track on strait, level ground just due to the crosswinds, and some of the down hills required hard pedaling in to the wind to maintain forward momentum.

As I was busy racing, photographer duties were turned over to my lovely wife.  Here is a sample of what she got- sorry, no race course shots, but some good stuff of Echo.

Registration happened at the historic Koontz building, which is also owned by Sno Road Winery, and is undergoing restoration.  There is some beautiful woodwork, sculpted tile ceilings, and prism glass tiles to go in the front.  I can't wait to get back and see this when it is nearer completion.

The population of Echo is just north of 600 people.  We added an extra 527 racers, pretty much filling up the streets.  The town seemed to welcome the racers, as they have done for four years now.

Coach Brian of Brihop Cycling rocking his Bike Central kit.  Brian is mostly a track guy, so this was the last we saw him smile for the day.

Yours Truly, waiting for both the start and the arrival of his team kit.

Rolling out of town behind the pace truck.  22 miles to go.