Blather on Bicycling

As a participant in the Elkhorn Classic (of Baker City) last weekend, I can say this is one of the best races I have participated in, and it gets better every year. I was crazy enough to choose this for my first race a couple years ago, and now I look forward racing it every year. The Hobson family does a very professional job organizing the race. Also the camaraderie with the riders from all over the West makes the challenge even more enjoyable. We cyclists in La Grande are privileged to be able to ride the same roads that are raced, but it is nice to share the roads with the high caliber riders that visit for the race. I would like to see this bike race continue for a long time.

The two Brians (me being one) took the Old Highway over to Mission and back early this morning. For those of you who haven’t taken this trip, it is magnificent. We only got passed by about 3 cars in 4 hours of riding. Plus, the descent from and climb back up to Deadman Pass is one of the most serpentine roads I have ever been on. Nothing beats the views from it. From Mission it took use just over an hour to get to the very top.

I think one of the European bike race artists has visited that climb. In the lower sections of the climb, I rolled over some male genitalia. It was an exact replica of the ones seen on roads of the famous climbs in the Tour de France. It was truly inspiring.