With only a few days to go until the inaugural Trans-Cascadia race, the Modus Sport Group has been out getting the trails into prime condition before the racers arrive on Wednesday, September 23. “We truly love this sport and the wilderness. We are also very spoiled by our professions and get to go ride places like this all the time, we want to make that experience a reality for others,” said Race Organizer, Tommy Magrath, about choosing to hold the event in Oakridge, Oregon.
The primary goal of the race is to share this special location and amazing trail system with the world. Secondly, it is to host everyone in a remote location and promote that special kind of camaraderie that can only come from a multi-day event. “We were looking for an area that was capable of a backcountry feel, and had enough trails that were not well known so we could have a blind format race. We also felt like it was a good area to give back to a community that is benefitting us.” Tommy continues, “We chose the multi-day format because there was no possible way to ride all the trails in one day, and we want racers to have the full experience – camping, riding, eating, partying, and making new friends.”
“We want to get more involved in advocacy for trails and events in our sport to keep our future strong for business and recreation. We also want to showcase our great region for mountain biking while bringing a quality event to our MODUS Sport Group territory,” explains Alex Gardner, another of the race’s organizers. The backbone of this project has been the hands-on commitment of the MODUS Sport Group in the Oakridge area. “We’ve put in some big days. But first, I have to give credit to those guys and gals putting in the work, week in and week out. Each of our communities has people that work endlessly on our trails, these are the people we have to all be aware of and make sure we say thank you to,” says Nick Gibson, the third of the race organizing trio, he goes on to say, “trail building, and working with those building and clearing trail, has been super fun and rewarding. It feels like we are giving back a bit.”
The event is personal for the group organizing it; Tommy grew up in the industry, “any new side of mountain biking that I can see, I am eager to get my hands in. I am really excited to see the race come to light.” With Alex’s racing days behind him, he says, “I miss getting ready for competition; training and tuning equipment for the best performance, an event like this keeps me close and allows for some hard work, creativity and cutting edge conversations about the sport.” And Nick sums it up by saying, “riding and hanging out in the woods with our people, that what it’s all about for us.”
All this preparation is solely to showcase the great terrain in Oakridge, the southern edge of the Cascades. It is a “mix of steep loamy tracks, rocky sections, open meadows and shaded canopies that are linked together with buff single track.” The team has nothing but praise for the local community, describing it as “an established community with incredible trails – the perfect place to host the 1st years of Trans-Cascadia.” The team cannot wait to welcome the racers and share this place with them, and they look forward to sharing the race with the world through race updates and social media throughout the event.
About the Promoters
Modus Sport Group – Modus Sport Group understands that mountain biking is not just a sport, it’s a way to grow an appreciation for the world that we live in, we feel that this is critically important and we understand that it takes effort and work to insure this experience for the generations of riders to come. As Trails Stewards we hope our work will open up new areas of riding and contribute to maintaining current trials in order to create lasting and sustainable riding areas that will be ridden and enjoyed for years to come. For more information visit Modus Sport Group.
