The Werst Race is fast approaching. This event will attempt to solve the mystery of whether a bike is faster than foot on the steep Morgan Lake pitch outside La Grande.
Our local bike riders are drumming up some special setups. Since this is a non-sanctioned event, anything goes. The atmosphere reminds me of the Mt. Washington hillclimb in New Hampshire, which is also a non-sanctioned uphill only race. We may see bikes without brakes, special gearing, race-specific tires and wheels, and other hybrid approaches. Even the werewolf technique has been examined: bike up to the steepest section, then ditch the bike to run the rest.
I’m sure the runners are also doing something, like tinkering with their shoes. Maybe they have a special shoelace setup or a pair of shorts that allows more hip flexor action. When the biking boys and I were on the climb recently doing some recon, we saw a runner scouting it too but the next time we looked he had disappeared. Perhaps there is some special shortcut we don’t have access to. This may be the case, because I’ve heard some talk of ridiculous times set by runners up that road. If these times are in fact true (i.e. not timed and verified by sasquatch), then a bike may not arrive at the top first. There is one way to find out. . .
