Race Across Oregon

The Race Across Oregon is going on this weekend. In the past it’s been held in early June but the weather can get bad then. Rider positions are being updated on the results page as they go through each time station. At Prineville 404 miles into the race, Saunders Whittlesey is leading with about an hour lead over David Holt.

I did it in 2004 and it is a brutal race. It is 538 miles with over 40,000 feet of climbing! It has been by far the most miserable ultra race I’ve done due to some nasal spray that I used which caused bad side effects. It’s the only RAAM qualifier that I’ve gotten off the bike and told my crew to put it on the roof rack and I was dropping out. Even so it is a race I’d like to do again sometime. The year I did it we had a lot of cold rain and it was snowing so hard at the finish that they shortened the course by 6 miles. They weren’t worried about us riding in the snow but the visibility was so bad they were afraid of us getting hurt by a car.

George and Terri put on a quality event and are a great couple. I did their first 4 day training camp and it was small group so I got a chance to get to know them. Even if you aren’t planning on doing the race, the training camps would make for a great, tough ride. If the weather is nice, the scenery is great and you get into some remote areas of Oregon. I think the 4 day camp is the best option. The 3 day camp makes for some really long days even though they don’t do the first 40 or so miles.

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