NEWS
2018 // Day 3 – The Traverse
“The stages have been amazing; the riding has been absolutely incredible.” -Greg Minnaar
“Tomorrow morning, we are moving camps,” Tommy Magrath, Director of Logistic, announced to the racers on Friday night. “So, this is your last night in this beautiful area, before we move to another beautiful area.”
“The stages have been amazing; the riding has been absolutely incredible.” -Greg Minnaar
“Tomorrow morning, we are moving camps,” Tommy Magrath, Director of Logistic, announced to the racers on Friday night. “So, this is your last night in this beautiful area, before we move to another beautiful area.”
Day 3 saw racers traverse between the two basecamps riding east along a beautiful backbone ridgeline complete with rocky outcroppings and viewpoints of both Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams while the production crew packed up the event’s entire existence and created the same home-away-from-home-but-deep-in-the-woods feel at the next location. Shuttles took riders about an hour out of camp where they had a 15-minute climb to the 2.5-hour ridgeline ride that would take them to Stages 8 and 9.
The first two days of riding were on the west side of the Gifford Pinchot – a non-motorized area that took the team thousands of hours to reclaim and saw them cut out hundreds of logs from a trail network that had been largely unused. “Now we are on the rawer-dog side of things. It’s a multi-use area and it gives another aspect of gnarly roots, ruts, and steep chutes,” says Nick Gibson, Event Director.
The first stage of the day was 1,609 feet of descending over 3.8 miles. But event with a lower angle grade the track was still fast flowing and included high-speed berms and some physical, rooty pedaling in the middle. “I was getting used to these ‘hold it wide open and let it go, not a lot of hard pedaling stages,’” says Joe Lawwill. “So, I pretty much started the stages today with the same mindset because these mountains are so massive, and the runs have been so long. I got after it and realized that I was in trouble and I had to slow it way down. It was hard to do because things were coming at me so fast, but I pulled it back together and it was still awesome. I couldn’t go full gas, that’s for sure, because of what happened last year.” What Joe is referring to is an epic crash he had while following Mitch Ropelato on Day 3 last year. Mitch described it best at the time, “We drop in and I was hauling ass, it was a little bit too fast for the conditions, but it was working out. Then we come into this one section – my glasses are all muddy, and Joe’s catching all the roost off me so he’s double as muddy – and all of a sudden I just see left! I lock it up and slide around the backside of the berm and park it into this tree off the trail and was like ‘saved it!’ Then I go to warn Joe and I look behind me, as soon as I look behind me I just see him on front and rear brake. He can’t go sideways because I’m standing right there – and he probably should have just plowed me, I would have fallen over into a tree and I would have been fine, but he just locked up the front and rear and skidded off into the trees. He looked like E.T. taking off, it was insane, and he just flew through the trees and out of sight. I was like ‘oh my god, he just died. He’s dead. There are a million logs out there – he must have landed on one and it shanked him and shish kabobbed him and he’s done!’”
After Stage 8, a hot on-course lunch was provided by the Transition crew and provided racers with a rest stop before they made their way down to the next stage. Wright Meadow is a gnarly beautiful descent down the drainage to the shuttle road with 1,821 feet of descending over 2.9 miles. A high-speed stage, it is rough, “but,” as Adam Craig puts it, “speed and roughness work together in good harmony here. It was neat seeing people’s faces at the bottom of Stage 9. They really enjoyed having some more rugged terrain.”
Rosara Joseph won the Trans-Cascadia Pro Women’s category for the first two years of the event and is back this year as a volunteer. “This is an amazing event, definitely a special one. It’s been great to be back. I’m still enjoying the atmosphere and the amazing riding and learning what goes on the other side – which I’m learning is a fuck-ton. As a racer, you’re unaware of what’s going on [behind-the-scenes] so I’m getting a little taste of it. I’ve been on timing and have been lucky enough to get some riding in as well, I’ve been heading out a bit earlier and riding in advance of the riders. I rode all of the course today and it was spectacular, we climbed up onto an incredible craggy ridgeline and, with views over to the volcano and the fall colors, it was pretty stunning.”
Francois Bailly-Maitre topped the Pro Men’s podium today with Loris Vergier in second and Geoff Kabush in third. “[Stage 8] was a tough one, really physical, especially the second half but the first part was super fun, fast, good berms, I could trust the grip,” says Francois. “Afterward it was just about fighting to get every second. But it seemed to work out because I managed to make a lot of time on this one, so it’s good. I made more time in the first stage, but I still had a good second stage. The second stage had more chutes and drops and rocks, more anticipation. It was pretty fun. Still fast and scary at some points. There are still five stages and I don’t know what to expect. Tomorrow is a long day, I will keep racing the same way. Riding clean and pushing hard when I can. We will see tomorrow night how it went!”
Emily Slaco topped the Pro Women’s podium again with Kim Hardin and Bekah Rottenberg in second and third.
“The stages have been amazing; the riding has been absolutely incredible,” says Greg Minnaar. “[Today] was hard. We were tired and not really that fit for it all, but just the views when you got to the top of Stage 1 – the scenery is beautiful, spectacular for the whole ride. With those tough climbs, it’s been rewarding at the top, and then obviously the trails down have been just some of the best riding we’ve done. It’s raw, it’s open, it’s got a bit of everything. From Day 2 to Day 3 it was such different terrain. And we’ve had a great group of people around us riding, so it’s been really fun.”
Matt Slaven has been at every Trans-Cascadia, “I thought the riding today was awesome. It’s Trans-Cascadia, the riding is always awesome. These guys come out here, they work all summer to clear all these trails, so we can race in the backcountry, otherwise, an event like this wouldn’t even happen. I love pretty much every trail that we ride every day.”
Racers have a big day ahead of them for Day 4 and their final 5 stages. Stay tuned for the final race update tomorrow.
Day 3 Results
2018 // Day 2 – A Spiritual Experience
“Because Day 1 was such a hard day of climbing, today is payback,” welcome news from Nick Gibson, Race Director. “We’ve got three big shuttles and your stats are 8,000 feet of descending with 2,000 feet of climbing.” What was best described as an active recovery day saw racers shuttled to the top of the ridgeline east of camp three times to enjoy a wide variety of terrain – including what became known the ‘spiritual experience’ of Stage 6.
“. . . the second stage of today was insane, the best trail of my life.” - Loris Vergier
“Because Day 1 was such a hard day of climbing, today is payback,” welcome news from Nick Gibson, Race Director. “We’ve got three big shuttles and your stats are 8,000 feet of descending with 2,000 feet of climbing.” What was best described as an active recovery day saw racers shuttled to the top of the ridgeline east of camp three times to enjoy a wide variety of terrain – including what became known the ‘spiritual experience’ of Stage 6.
“Today had three totally different stages and different aspects,” Adam Craig tells us. Adam has been heavily involved in the trail work and scouting for Trans-Cascadia. Stage 5 had racers heading south from their drop point with a neutral section in the first third of the trail. “It is a classic northwest bench cut trail with kind of cool pumice tread. It’s had a lot of recent moisture and these guys did a great job of clearing off sight lines.”
The second stage included the most pedaling for the day. The liaison from the drop point took racers along a ridgeline north to the start of stage 6. “We traversed north across it for 45 minutes. This area is bare alpine as it’s on the outer edge of the Mount St. Helens blast zone and is a big broad north-south ridge. The trail follows the perfect gradient carving back and forth across it and it’s perfect for going a million on your mountain bike,” continues Adam.
Dropping into Stage 6 became the high point of everyone’s day and both brought everyone together with the shared experience and stoked the competitive fires for a few of the racers. “Stage 6 was a spiritual experience,” says Spencer Paxson. “It was fucking awesome. It’s like one of the best ski runs of your life, like one that sticks with you and that sensation – it’s more the sensation of it that made it. That’s what it was. I think that’s a fairly unanimous feeling. We got to the bottom and there was a little intermingling with the Syndicate crew, all these experienced and professional level riders, and a few amateur level riders and we were all on the same level. There was no distinction, everyone was talking and all giddy about what we had just ridden. It was so good that it normalized the full spectrum of riders who are here and that’s a pretty rare thing.”
Adam and Elliot Jackson were on Stage 6 to witness some of the action and recapped it back at basecamp after dinner:
“I definitely had front row seats for that whole ‘Loris’ getting involved thing. He’s in it now, we’ve got him,” Adam tells us.
“I swear, Josh [Bryceland] beat Loris on Stage 2 by 8 seconds and we were going a million. That is literally one of the more impressive things I have ever seen. I don’t understand,” says Elliot.
“I dropped in behind Elliot who was following Loris and we just did that until Elliot blew off the trail which gave us a chance to slow the fuck down. Loris was going to kill us.”
“I didn’t crash, I just blew off. I was trying really hard to keep up with Loris –”
“Who was winning! While getting beat by Bryceland!” Adam interrupts, laughing.
“I made it three-quarters of the way down and then I blew off the track huge and almost had a crash and then I came back on and I was trying to keep the same pace and blew off again and trying to keep the same pace and then almost crashed again and then I was like – “
“You were doing a good job Elliot, you were riding your ass off, I’m proud of you” ~ Adam
“I was trying hard,” says Elliot proudly. “Okay, I’m going to get a bottle of wine.”
“Hurry!” Greg Minnaar hollers at him from somewhere in the dark behind us.
“Stage three was our lovely afternoon jaunt back to camp,” Adam continues his description of the day’s stages. “We rode the same ridgeline and then took a left and descended right back into camp. It’s really deep pumice and it’s a really sunny windward side of everything. Drier but really fun drifting pumice – there are these natural pumice ruts here that ride pretty darn well.”
At the end of the day, Loris Vergier was in the lead by 2 seconds. “On the last stage yesterday I felt really good and I pushed, and I saw I was pretty good. So, today was about fun and trying to pedal a little bit harder than yesterday. Having fun and going fast is a good thing and the second stage of today was insane, the best trail of my life. It was good dirt, everything was predictable and fast and the best dirt.”
The Pro Men’s category is tight with four racers within 14 seconds of each other. Francois Bailly-Maitre and Peter Ostroski took second and third place after Day 2 and the returning champion, Geoff Kabush, is in fourth. “I’m still in the mix, there’s just been a lot of fast stages so there’s not much time in it still. There was some nervous high-speed stuff out there today. Stage 6 and parts of Stage 7 were actually so high speed it was fun to have some corners to really rip. They had lots of open – you could see and read the trail, and it was just about how fast you wanted to go.”
“The trails are world class, mind-numbing,” says Garett Heitman who is currently leading the Amateur Men’s category. “Not just the stages – I would pay to ride the transfers, seriously! This event, the production value is high but it’s relaxed – so core, simple, not over the top, but anything anybody would ever want as a mountain biker. And obviously, this weather doesn’t hurt. Today was fun. Truthfully, I’m just trying to ride fun fast. If I see it I trust it, if I don’t, I slow down because I want to go home in one piece. I was smiling the whole time. The second stage today – everybody is talking about it – I’ve never ridden anything so fun, so fast, so cool, in my whole life.”
Emily Slaco is still in the lead for the Pro Women with Kim Hardin in second place and Bekah Rottenberg in third. Kim raced at Trans-Cascadia in 2016, “the new location is a little rawer and I don’t think anyone has been out here, so I think it’s way more of a level playing field and it’s rad. Stage 6 today was amazing, good dirt the whole the way down really good sight lines with open fast sections and twisty turns in the middle and sandy, loamy, stuff at the bottom. It was one of the best trails I’ve ever ridden, it just kept going. The grade was perfect, it was awesome!”
Day 3 will have racers traversing to our next basecamp. Stay tuned for what is sure to continue to be a tight race between our top for pro men.
Day 2 Results
Pro Men
1st : Loris Vergier
2nd : Francois Bailly-Maitre
3rd : Peter Ostroski
Pro Women
1st : Emily Slaco
2nd : Kim Hardin
3rd : Bekah Rottenberg
2018 // Day 1 – The Deepest We’ve Ever Been
“Welcome to the fourth generation of Trans-Cascadia and I mean that, this is like a generational thing, this thing gets weirder every year.” - Nick Gibson, Race Director
“Welcome to the fourth generation of Trans-Cascadia and I mean that, this is like a generational thing, this thing gets weirder every year.”
- Nick Gibson, Race Director
Welcome
“It’s been quite a journey to be in this zone. This is the deepest we’ve ever been,” Alex Gardner, Trans-Cascadia Producer, kicked off the racer welcome on Wednesday night. The crowd of returning and fresh faces were gathered together under a large tent around the tables where they had just finished a gourmet meal prepared by Executive Chef Chris DiMinno and provided by Chris King. “We are so excited to share this product with you guys,” continued Race Director, Nick Gibson. “We’ve been out here all summer grinding – how many of you came out and worked with us this year?” Half the crowd of nearly 200 racers and crew erupted with cheers and applause to signify their involvement. “A lot of people here were out digging and cutting and brushing trails. It was a huge project and we couldn’t do it without the community. It’s the community’s race – and that’s pretty sweet.”
This year’s basecamp is in the heart of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the blast zone for the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The long and winding – sometimes eroding – access road took racers through views of the volcano and the remnants of its destruction that is still evident today as they arrived. “There are so many layers to this forest,” Nick Gibson explained to the crowd. “It’s pretty unique. Gifford Pinchot is the father of the United States Forest Service. He and Teddy Roosevelt created the Forest Service in the early 1900’s – and it was hotly contested. But, it paved the way for recreation and what we are able to do today – to come out here and ride trails. It’s a pretty incredible thing and something that we’ve thought about a lot while working out here.”
Despite being so remote, racers still have plenty of access to services with a WD-40 bike wash station, Shimano for tech support, Clif for nutritional support, and both Schwalbe and Oakley are onsite providing product to racers. There are massage and physiotherapist available and a full bar with a bartender, free-flowing beer and cocktails. The key gathering area is around the fire pit and its end-of-days-huge woodpile. Even hot showers and what have been described as ‘the nicest crappers ever to be used in the woods,’ are here. “Anything you need we are going to take care of it,” the Director of Logistic, Tommy Magrath, told the racers. “We are here for you. The only things racers need to pay attention to is when to eat, when to get on a shuttle [on days that have shuttles], and when to eat again. Coffee, breakfast, shuttle, dinner.”
Tommy wrapped up the Wednesday night meeting by summarizing the heart of Trans-Cascadia. “We are out here to open backcountry trails and we use this race to celebrate the opening of those trails, so you guys coming out here; racing it and hanging with us, are allowing us to do this year after year. So, thanks to everyone – racers, crew, media, volunteers – thank you!”
Despite the 5:30 am wake-up for most the next day, there were still plenty of people still around the bonfire at midnight. The bar was hopping, and a small dent was put in the massive wood pile while – without access to wifi – everyone got to know each other.
Day 1
Day 1 is a loop with no shuttle access. There are also no options to access the trails with resources and therefore, racers are required to carry a water filter and enough food to sustain themselves for what was expected to be on average an 8-hour ride.
Racers began heading out on course at 7 am. Following a flowy section of trail along the river, they pedaled through a stunning old growth forest before beginning a 30-mile climb with a 7,000-foot elevation gain. Roughly an hour-and-a-half up racers hit the peak and the start of Stage 1. “It’s a big dump all the way down to the bottom with one neutral zone in it about a third from the top,” described Nick at the racer meeting. A neutral zone is an untimed section; however, the etiquette is to keep moving within them. There were five creek crossings that were live during this stage; three were ridable, two were not.
Aaron Bradford won the first edition of Trans-Cascadia and has become a staple of both the pro men’s category and the basecamp culture here. Sitting fireside, he describes Stage 1, “after an hour or so of climbing we earned quite the delight. It was wide open and fast, and the dirt was just insane. Someone went through there with a rake, one of those metal super fine ones and it looked like one of those Japanese gardens with the perfect lines with the bends around the rocks and everything. It was absolutely glorious. And then it went into this lush lower half along the river that was really raw. Your sight zones went from 40 feet to maybe 8 to 10 feet. It wasn’t much. That being said, the dirt was good – really awesome through there. It was a little fern valley.”
Once racers hit the bottom of Stage 1, they started another big climb and made their way around the east side of a ridge where there were two short stages. Stage 2 was a spicy, fun, and flowy mile with 700 feet of descending. Unfortunately, this stage saw Sam Schultz crash – and while he is okay – he is out of the race. Chris Johnston was at the bottom of the stage when they got the news about Sam. “We all held back and there were guys who went up to help – we just hung out until we had a firmer idea of what the first responders were going to do and if they would need more help before we carried on. I think it’s an amazing community. After that, we bunched up and it was a good vibe and a good crew to ride with.”
Stage 3 was just under a half mile with 500 feet of descending. At the bottom of Stage 3 racers had the option for a 5-minute pedal to a swimming lake. While everyone agreed that the view was well worth the detour, very few braved the waters for a dip.
The start of Stage 4 was approximately a 30-minute climb back up to a saddle where racers took in views of Mount Rainier and the valley. Following the ridgeline to the last descent, they dropped in and rode 2,000 feet back to basecamp. “[Stage 4 was] ridiculous,” says Josh ‘Ratboy’ Lewis. “I followed Loose Dog and I’ve never seen him ride so fast, it was quite the sight to watch, it was nuts!”
This is Ratboy’s first time at Trans-Cascadia and he says he had no idea what to expect. “I imagined it completely differently actually, but what a pleasant surprise. It was so dreamy. I brought a short travel bike, so I was worried that I would be under biked, but it was perfect – it was just dreamy conditions.”
Geoff Kabush would take the lead after Day 1 with Peter Ostroski and Francois Bailly-Maitre in second and third place. Geoff has competed in each edition of Trans-Cascadia and has won the overall pro men’s category for the last two years. “The best part is exploring new trails. It was super fun riding around Oakridge the last few years because I’ve never really ridden in that area much before the race. And I really enjoy riding the trails blind so it’s cool to come here and explore everything that’s 100% new.”
In the Women’s category, Emily Slaco – who is experiencing Trans-Cascadia for the first time – took the top step, with Kim Hardin and Bekah Rottenberg in second and third place. “I don’t think I had any expectations coming into the race,” says Emily. “Stage 1 was good for shaking out the cobwebs and figuring out what the trails and dirt are like. It was super fun and it was nice to have the neutral in the middle as well. I’ve never had a race with a neutral section before – it was awesome! Stage 4 was so fast and straight down. We had a break at the top of the stage and the views on the ridge were stunning. Hanging out with everyone was fun – the crew made it fun, it was a good time.”
Overall, racers agreed the effort of the day was worth the rewards. “I had no clue what to expect,” says Luca Shaw, “but it was awesome. Definitely the longest ride I’ve done just on trails. We were on trails for five hours plus – that was cool. Such amazing views and the tracks were so much fun. It’s cool to ride this kind of terrain. It’s pretty much untouched and a rare opportunity – just had an awesome day on the bike! I loved it.”
Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo in Portland was behind the action for the Day 1 dinner. “[We are serving] smoked duck burritos. We are doing grilled chicken thighs and we are doing grilled skirt steak as well. The idea is that we have all these different meats and we have rice, beans, and guacamole. It’s nothing crazy but everything is fresh and delicious. I think it’s a great post-ride meal.” This followed a snack of fries covered with parmesan cheese, hot peppers, pork belly, and more.
As racers finished up their burritos-of-epic-proportions they listened to what Day 2 has in store for them. There may have been a collective sigh of relief when the word ‘shuttle’ was mentioned. In any case, they were still all smiles from the day – even if they were exhausted, as they slowly drifted off to their tents, one-by-one, from around the campfire.
Day 1 - Race Results
Day 1 Pro Women
1st : Emily Slaco
2nd : Kim Hardin
3rd : Bekah Rottenberg
Day 1 Pro Men
1st : Geoff Kabush
2nd : Peter Ostroski
3rd : Francois Bailly-Maitre
Trans-Cascadia is Back!
Trans-Cascadia racers will arrive to their first basecamp in the depths of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest tomorrow. For the first time, the 4-day blind-format enduro race will take place in Washington state, utilizing 45 miles of reclaimed trails that are the direct result of years of planning and thousands of hours of labor.
Trans-Cascadia racers will arrive to their first basecamp in the depths of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest tomorrow. For the first time, the 4-day blind-format enduro race will take place in Washington state, utilizing 45 miles of reclaimed trails that are the direct result of years of planning and thousands of hours of labor.
The field of racers is deep this year and those following – and attending – can look forward to some tight battles and great stories to come out of it. Back this year in our Pro Men category is our 2017 champion Geoff Kabush, as well as, Chris Johnson who took the second step last year. Also returning are former Trans-Cascadia winner Aaron Bradford, along with, past racers Spencer Paxson, Peter Ostroski, Alex McGuinnis, Joe Lawwill, Matt Slaven, and Josh ‘Loose Dog’ Lewis.
New to Trans-Cascadia this year are Francois Bailly-Maitre who placed 2nd at BC Bike Race this year and followed up with an 11th place finish at the La Thuile EWS the next weekend, downhill racer Elliot Jackson, Olympian Sam Schultz, and the entire Santa Cruz Syndicate Team. This top ranked downhill team which includes Greg ‘the G.O.A.T’ Minnaar, Luca Shaw, Loris Vergier, and coach Steve Peat will have a unique experience joining former Syndicate member Josh ‘Ratboy’ Bryceland. “They will apply their fitness to the challenges of Trans-Cascadia and aim to have a lot of fun in the process,” says Team Manager, Kathy Sessler. “The Syndicate has always been comprised of entertaining and unique personalities and getting five of them together at one event will be sure to create a buzz as well as some crazy antics!”
Steve Blick from Oakley® had a hand in reclaiming the trails that will be used for the course this year when he attended a work party this summer. “It will be great to see the best World Cup riders shred this unique race format ‘blind’ and push the boundaries of performance. Collectively the Syndicate team is composed of the best all-around athletes who know how to pin it...on and off the bike. I’ll be on my toes for sure.”
Greg Minnaar will be riding in Oakley’s all-new versatile trail helmet DRT5, and Luca and Loris will be rocking the brand’s PRIZM™ lenses for both goggles and eyewear during the race.
In the Pro Women’s category, we have our 2017 2nd and 3rd place finishers competing again this year; Bekah Rottenberg and Ingrid Larouche. Joining them will be Kim Hardin who took 5th place overall at Trans-Cascadia in 2016, Lauren Jacobson, Lindsay Helmuth, Emily Van Meter, Wendy Williams, and Corinne Prevot all hailing from the United States. Representing for Canada will be National Enduro Champion Emily Slaco and Genevieve Baril.
Both the Pro fields will equally share a prize purse of $16,000.
This truly remote area of Washington offers natural and diverse trails that are steep and challenging and the high alpine riding will give racers descents of 2,000-3,000 feet at a time. Once again racers will be accessing this mostly primitive singletrack using both shuttles and pedalling and will return, exhausted to their tents at basecamp to find welcoming campfires and gourmet meals. The bar will be open – serving beer and cocktails nightly – and for those who get to sleep, they will drift off dreaming about the big mountain ridge lines and ribbons of dirt under the old-growth canopies that the next day will bring.
The isolated location of our basecamps and lack of access to cell service and wifi is a big part of the culture of Trans-Cascadia. Instead of focusing on social media, racers and crew alike spend time sharing stories and dreaming up ridiculously entertaining antics around the fire. That said, our media team will be working hard to get our daily reports and updates out to you. Keep an eye on our website for daily photos, videos, and race reports starting on Friday!
Reclaiming Trails with Trans-Cascadia
The model of the Trans-Cascadia – a backcountry, blind format, 4-day enduro race – has been built around the practice of re-opening long forgotten or neglected trail networks deep within the Pacific North West. The result is a hard-earned backcountry singletrack race with deluxe accommodation, gourmet food, and plenty of beer shared around the campfires with like-minded riders from around the world…
The model of the Trans-Cascadia – a backcountry, blind format, 4-day enduro race – has been built around the practice of re-opening long forgotten or neglected trail networks deep within the Pacific North West. The result is a hard-earned backcountry singletrack race with deluxe accommodation, gourmet food, and plenty of beer shared around the campfires with likeminded riders from around the world.
All photographs by Dylan VanWeelden.
The process to achieving this requires thousands of hours of labour annually and often years of planning before being able to move to a new area - leaving behind a legacy of rediscovered and rehabilitated trails for all riders to enjoy. This year the race is moving to a brand-new zone in Southwest Washington and through a series of work parties involving the local community, sponsors, TC Crew, and even some returning racers they have already reopened upwards of 45 miles of reclaimed trail.
Cody Olsen is the Trail Maintenance and Volunteer Manager for the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and was onsite to help with the work. “It’s super cool to see that they aren’t only focused on opening trails that they are using to race, but that they are interested in reclaiming trails that haven’t been maintained in a long time. Rather than only focusing on trails that they will need, they are simply using their time and energy to clear as many trails here as they can.”
The basecamps of these work parties are not unlike the event itself. Roughly 50 people showed up for camping and long work days two weeks ago and were treated to gourmet meals and plenty of good times around the campfire. Much of the work required in this new region is basic maintenance, cutting back brush, and clearing out logs – hundreds of them. Due to a lack of volunteers, budget, and time, the trails had fallen off the radar and haven’t been ridden – some of them haven’t seen attention in over 20 years.
The trails here are steep, challenging, natural, and diverse with high speed sections and true PNW loam. With nice long descents of 2000-3000 feet, this high alpine area truly helps you realize how remote the racing will be. “It’s a little bit of a different ride when you know you are that far away from help. You just ride a little different,” says Allan Cooke, Marketing Manager at Santa Cruz Bikes. Allan was onsite to lend a hand for his third year in a row and was thrilled to check out the new area firsthand, “driving in at 2am with the full moon, I was getting that feeling like, ‘they did it again, they mined it out, they found it!’ We were pretty stoked and haven’t been let down one bit.”
“For me personally, when I have the opportunity to be representing a brand, working for Santa Cruz, and to partner with a group like these guys, it’s not just something we want to write a check to. It’s not just for the promotional side of it or ‘hey, look at us’ but we actually really enjoy this; being around these guys, putting in the hard work, and seeing the fruits of that labor. We want to get our hands dirty. This week there are six of us up here – there are a few hourly employees from production, from the line, and who get to clock in while they are out here digging. People are motivated to get out here and do the work and the company is motivated to back it. We are out here this week because we actually love this.”
Similarly, Steve Blick from Oakley has found value in actively being involved in Trans-Cascadia. “Oakley is deeply invested in the mountain bike world, so it is exciting to be involved with an event that celebrates all aspects of the sport: the athletes, great outdoors, mountain bike culture and more,” said Blick.
“At Oakley, we develop products and technologies used by world’s best athletes, so it is cool to see those products and technologies validated at an event like Trans-Cascadia. For example, this year, you will see Prizm™, Oakley’s revolutionary lens technology designed for both sport and everyday environments, on the faces of many of the athletes racing. Specifically, you will see, Prizm™ Low Light and Prizm™ Trail that have been designed for the wide-ranging MTB environment – revealing nuances that would be missed by the naked eye and allowing riders the ability to spot unexpected obstacles and changes in the terrain. This year’s Trans-Cascadia will also be one of the first events where the Oakley DRT5, our new highly versatile, do-it-all trail helmet, will be used in competition. What could be better than seeing some of the world’s best athletes relying on your products to get the job done?”
Blick went onto say, “For the brand, it is an honor to be involved from a product side, but it is also great to give back to the community and celebrate the sport that we all love so much.”
Ben McCormack has been working with Trans Cascadia since last year and has been involved with each of the Work Parties dedicated to this new location. Sussing out the best approach when tackling such a massive expanse of potential trails takes a lot of pre-planning. “We are looking at maps and talking to people – and then looking at maps some more and prioritizing. We’ve been able to hook in with some local folks that have a lot of knowledge about the area and know what’s good and what’s worth looking at.” The progress over the hundreds of hours that have already been invested in this new location has been inspiring. “It’s amazing. Just clearing the trail – what we did today, in a day, is a big deal!” There was much excitement around the fire at the end of the weekend as everyone shared stories of what they had accomplished towards preparing this new location and some of the riding they had experienced. But the true celebration of all this work will come on September 26, when 100 racers venture into the backcountry to find what has been uncovered.
Announcing Trans-Cascadia Excursions
Over the last three years, Trans-Cascadia has made a name for itself as the backcountry race with great riding and good vibes. Racers come from all over the world attend the sellout event to experience all that the Pacific North West has to offer.
From the epic trails that cross mountain tops, wind through old growth forests, and offer sustained gravity fed singletrack, to the gourmet meals under the stars back at camp, the event has created a truly unique niche in the stage racing world. Trans-Cascadia Excursions is the natural extension of the race that will allow small groups to take in all that the Cascade Mountain Range has to offer.
From the beginning, as a mountain biker, you have had to be self-reliant to find your way – to look at maps, ask questions, make mistakes, and get lost. It’s nice to break a familiar riding routine by venturing out and experiencing something new while someone else takes care of all the details that make a vacation truly a vacation. The Trans-Cascadia team has spent years looking for trails and experiences that didn’t yet exist. They’ve looked for uncharted territory and ways to connect with nature that can be hard to come by these days – especially on a mountain bike. And they want to show you what they’ve found!
These private, all-inclusive, multi-day mountain bike adventures will take you riding and camping in some of the most remote areas of Oregon and Washington’s forests. Experienced guides will lead you through expansive alpine meadows, through bench-cut trails with fade-away corners, and down flowy and rugged pumptrack style valleys. The style of riding available is as vast as the area in which the tours will be lead. They have over a decade of experience exploring and advocating for trail access in the Pacific North West and are confident that whether you are a local or a visitor to the area you find incredible riding and scenery to create lasting memories.
The tours will operate in Oregon and Washington and access some of the most remote singletrack in the United States. In Oregon, they operate within the entire Willamette National Forest. This area stretches along the western slope of Oregon’s Cascade Range from Mount Jefferson south to Windigo Pass near Diamond Lake and includes the Old Cascade Crest, McKenzie River area, and the entire Oakridge network of trails. This national forest is 1.7 million acres in size and includes mountains and valleys that range from about 1,500 feet to over 10,000 feet in vertical at the summits of the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson.
Guided trips are available in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. This national forest is located in southern Washington and boasts an area of 1.32 million acres. It extends along the western slopes of the Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River and straddles the crest of the South Cascades. This vast area includes old growth forests, high mountain meadows, several glaciers and numerous volcanic peaks. Mount Adams is the highest peak in this park at 12,276 feet; the second highest volcano in the state after Mount Rainier. The 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is also included in this park.
During the multi-day trips, a private gourmet chef will prepare the menu of your choosing. The Trans-Cascadia team takes their food and beer very seriously and puts an emphasis on using the best possible ingredient from their region. Stumptown Coffee will be starting your mornings off right and Pfriem beer will cap off your evenings in camp. For single day tours, lunch and ‘post-ride snack-packs’ are provided: a beer, a tequila, and nourishment!
With Trans-Cascadia Excursions you will be able to experience all the best parts of a riding road-trip with friends, but with the luxury of knowing exactly where to find the best trails, the best camp spots, and, of course, the best food. Experience something new but let them take care of all the details so you can arrive with your bike and get out on the trails as soon as possible.
A selection of 8 itineraries is available this year with limited spots, including; a Trans-Cascadia Excursion in August, a variety of single and multi-day trips through Washington and Oregon, and women’s riding trip including yoga. Trans-Cascadia Excursions is also working with leading industry brands to create content, develop new products, and – straight up entertain! There is no better way to tell your story than through adventure and shared experience. So, whether its personal or business, contact the Trans-Cascadia team and let them design the perfect trip for you!
For info on Packages & Booking visit:
Join Us for Our 2018 Work Parties
Prior to the race, we are hosting three summer work parties to put in some long hours rehabilitating some old-school trails in Washington and a project in the Old Cascades Crest, the area we re-opened last year.
If you sign up in advance, we’ll provide food and drinks to keep everyone fuelled.
Our goal is to find trails that are unmaintained and unridable, and rehabilitate them back to riding standards. Last year, with the help of a great crew and 2000+ hours applied, we revitalized 32 miles of trails in the Old Cascade Crest. We got them ready for the race and for future generations to enjoy.
Our work weekends are open to everyone, no trail building experience necessary. To make sure everyone is on the same page, we’ll provide trail building etiquette and skills education on day one of each event. We are also looking for folks that are chainsaw certified, those who can run a power brusher, and volunteers with dirt bikes or e-bikes.
Pack your tools, your tent and your bike.
Check your calendars: these parties will run over 4-day weekends in the summer. Joins us for one, or all three.
#1 July 12- 15
#2 July 26 - 29
#3 August 9 - 12
If you're interested in joining us:
Sign Up Here
PRESS RELEASE: Trans-Cascadia Announces 2018 Dates!
Trans-Cascadia – a five-day all-inclusive backcountry blind enduro race – returns to the Pacific North West from September 26 to October 1, 2018.
The race uses existing and reclaimed, mostly primitive, singletrack to allow participants to experience the most incredible wilderness this area of the world has to offer. Accessed by both shuttles and pedalling, racers will tackle a mix of local favourites and lesser – sometimes unknown – gems. From steep loam tracks to rocky tech and from high mountain ridges and alpine meadows to the shade of old-growth canopies, as racers drift off to sleep in their tents each night they will be dreaming of what tomorrow will bring.
Registration will open on February 1, 2018 at 9am PST. Out of respect for the pristine environment that hosts the event, only 100 spots are available. This race has sold out every year since it began three years ago, so don’t miss out! Browse the website for more details on how to register.
"It [was] refreshing to see a course, and all these courses, that no one has ridden, so the whole vibe of the event is different because no one knows where they are going. It makes everyone friendlier and all the transfers more friendly, they talk about the riding more." - Mark Weir
Each participant will be provided with their own solo tent and sleeping pad – set up for them at each basecamp, a reusable camp plate, utensils, and cup to lessen the impact on the environment, and more – new for 2018 – swag! Gourmet breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided daily by a hand-selected team of top chefs from Portland – each showcasing their own specialty nightly. The bar will be open and serving beer and cocktails nightly as racers from around the world socialize around the campfire like long lost friends sharing the highs and often comical lows of the day. And, once again, the men and women’s pro fields will equally share a prize purse of $16,000.
"Love! Capital L–O–V–E. It was just pure fun."
- Spencer Paxton
In honour of their commitment to true blind-racing, race maps and course details are handed out nightly – so there are no opportunities for practice runs or scouting. Organizers also plan to add some new Pacific Northwest locations to the program for 2018 – details to come. This year racers can expect 100 miles over 16 stages – don’t forget, it’s not all descending.
Each year the Trans-Cascadia team goes to work uncovering long forgotten or neglected sections of trail that open up access to backcountry riding and link existing trail networks together in the areas they visit. The trails are used in the event, but are also left as a legacy for the locals and visitors to continue enjoying. In order to make this happen the team works both in advocacy and trails building – working with local authorities and builders. Since 2015 the team has opened up 52 miles of trails and contributed over $60,000 dollars and over 6000 labor hours to make it all happen.
"The only thing I’m upset about is that I didn’t come here sooner because that was so unbelievable." - Joe Lawwill
As a part of this program, in 2016, they introduced the Trans-Cascadia Work Parties. During these 4-day work events – three formal parties held each summer – the team, along with volunteers and sponsors, have gotten together to contribute hard work and long hours to uncovering some of these long-forgotten sections of trail. One example – of many – is the first stage of Day 2 during last year’s event when racers tackled Grasshopper. It was an eight-mile traverse through alpine meadows and along a ridgeline that included 3,907 feet of descending. It took the team two years (In collaboration with some really strong locals and the USFS lead by Kevin Rowell) to uncover trails that had been mostly unused since the 1950’s.
“It started with a major log-out effort; there were hundreds of trees down across that trail. The trail kind of needed to be moved around some trees that couldn’t be cut out of the way, but for the most part the tread was intact and the trail was pretty healthy, it just needed to be uncovered,” explained Adam Craig. After clearing the logs, the first year, the crew went back in and had to find their way through the meadows to the next trail entrance because it had been completely obscured. “We recut tread in a couple of meadows to address some erosion issues, but for the most part you’re just riding through the meadows following flagging tape – and it’s amazing, it’s beautiful up there!”
Accommodations, food, and good times are included in these weekends – so if you’re interested in receiving more information about participating, sign up here.
For more a more detailed account of a Work Party weekend, check this article by Allan Cooke.
"Unreal! Grasshopper was a pretty amazing trail. I didn’t really know what to expect, it was just an incredible piece of singletrack. Super fast, stunning fall colours, amazing forests – sort of a mind-blowing trail actually." - Dylan Wolskey
If you’re looking for more information on the race, please browse the website or check out some of the 2017 race reports listed below. Mark your calendars – it’s going to be a good one!
Mark Your Calendars!
The 2018 Trans-Cascadia Race Dates:
September 26 - October 1
Registration Opens:
9 AM PST, February 1
The forth annual Trans-Cascadia will once again be held in the Oregon backcountry. Check back here February 1st to reserve your spot. We're looking forward to showing you some of the best single track in the PNW!
2017 Race Report // Day 4
Racers boarded the shuttles this morning knowing that they would be hitting elevations of around 5200 feet on today’s stages and that the freezing line was sitting only 400 feet above that – you had to have a strong layering game to survive!
“They saved the best until last, it was amazing! It was the best day I think.” Chris Johnston, who has worn the leader jersey all week, was still washing the loam off his bike. “The climb was so worth it. I think the weather made it kind of tough, but just going through those old growth forests it was super rad! Scar Mountain was surreal!” Racers experienced nearly every type of weather at they rode along the most exposed ridge of the race on Scar Mountain. The transfer took them to the start of Stage 13; a short, roughly 2 minutes long stage that was described as ‘just a bit of a warm-up’ before the gem of the day on Stage 14. “Stage 1 was pretty tough. Even though it was only a few minutes long – I thought we were in for a smooth warm up – but it was anything but. It was a really tough two minutes.” On his tight race over the last few days with Kabush, Chris said, “I was stoked to have a good day. I rode well and gave it everything I had, so however it goes now I’m stoked either way.”
Gordon Peak trail was a serious project to uncover. It wasn’t even legal to access last year. The team dug way back in the archives for some maps of the area from the 1980’s so that they could identify access points and then worked with the Ranger last August for a walk through. After being granted permission for use, the team cut out over 400 trees. The trail is scrappy and primitive, but pure delight as the mossy singletrack drops you down towards Pyramid Creek.
“Today started out with hula hooping on the most beautiful river and then climbing up a misty mountain; there were mossy trees, snow, rain, sleet, descending the slipperiest, loamiest corners, and then open meadows, changing weather, wind, more rain, more hail, everything.” Skye Schillhammer is a videographer for Transition Bikes and also contributed footage to our daily race videos. “And then angel boners of light through the forest and then loam until you hit the bottom.”
Stage 15 continues your descent to the creek where racers forded the freezing cold waters and climb back up one of the trails they rode down yesterday, to meet the shuttles.
Magnificent is just one of the words that has been used to describe the final stage of the 2017 Trans-Cascadia race. Stage 16 has it all – fall line off the top, meadows, high speed bench-cut, and sightlines that go one forever! The stage is 2.6 miles of one solid shot down and 1,984 feet of descending.
“The last day was so good!” Kathy Pruitt, winner of the Pro Women’s category, said while holding a bottle of whiskey. “The trail that we ended on what exactly where I wanted to be because it was that old-growth-tree-mossy stuff, that epic-adventure-I’m-living-life-out-here-in-the-woods kind of thing. And it was wet and didn’t snow, so that was cool. I definitely liked that last stage. I was stoked that we made it all the way up that last climb because when I got up there I was pretty out of it, like lightheaded tired, I was like ‘wow, I’m more tired that I thought I was.’ And then that descent through all that beautiful terrain was so cool! It was best to fly through all those trees and rocks and stuff doing turns!”
The total numbers for today’s stage were 12.6 miles of riding, 5,371 feet of descending, and 969 feet of climbing.
After dinner the overall podiums were called – no one, not even Geoff or Chris, knew who would take the Pro Men’s win, but with a 28 second lead pulled in on the final day, Geoff Kabush walked away with the top step for one more year!
For the Trans-Cascadia team, Day 4 is always a little bittersweet; it’s the end of a long year of work – or three years for some of the trails – but there are always a lot of smiling faces and stoked people and that’s what it’s all about!
Rachel Walker attend the first Trans-Cascadia two years ago and she summed up this year – “when we arrived I was like ‘wow, it’s grown, like properly grown.’ The first year we rocked up to this secret little camping spot and it was like ‘wow, we’re really here?’ and it was just you in the middle of nowhere, no phone signal or anything, it was like a real close-knit community. Somehow they’ve managed to retain that vibe, just on a little bit of bigger scale now. It’s cool, really good!”
Thinking about coming out for the 2018 Trans-Cascadia? Look for registration opening in February – and for a few surprises throughout the year!
2017 Race Report // Day 3
Waking up at our basecamp on the McKenzie River at Belknap Hot Springs was chilly this morning, but the incredible feel of being surround by tall old growth trees and the sound of the rushing river made for a true wilderness camping experience.
All five stages in the Old Cascade Crest Network today were completely new to the event – and required a lot of pedalling. This yearlong project for the Trans-Cascadia crew allowed the race to add the 17.8 miles with 3,667 feet of climbing and 5079 feet of descending.
Stage 8 started with a climb towards Browder Ridge where the mature timber gradually gives way to open meadows along the ridgeline where – had the clouds lifted at all -racers would have had views of the surrounding volcanoes. From there, the stage dropped promptly down Gate Creek Trail for a sporty descent to a challenging final plunge.
After a short shuttle, racers arrived to Crescent Mountain for stages 9 and 10. The South Crescent trailhead required some effort as it was a roughly 1 - 2 hour climb. Racers were promised a reward of sweeping meadow vistas just before the summit, but all were happy with the stunning and misty old growth forest along the way. Stage 9 sent racers down the north side of the mountain. This ‘dark side’ delivered consistently fast speeds into turns that felt handmade for mountain bikes, despite the vintage of the trail. That said, not all the corners were easy to make – at least not a mach speed.
Joe Lawwill was following Mitch Ropelato when things went sideways (literally) – and then down. Mitch describes what happened:
We drop in and I was hauling ass, it was a little bit too fast for the conditions, but it was working out. Then we come into this one section – my glasses are all muddy, and Joe’s catching all the roost off me so he’s double as muddy – and all of a sudden I just see left! I lock it up and slide around the backside of the berm and park it into this tree off the trail and was like ‘saved it!’ Then I go to warn Joe and I look behind me, as soon as I look behind me I just see him on front and rear brake. He can’t go sideways because I’m standing right there – and he probably should have just ploughed me, I would have fallen over into a tree and I would have been fine, but he just locked up the front and rear and skidded off into the trees. He looked like E.T. taking off, it was insane, and he just flew through the trees and out of sight. I was like ‘oh my god, he just died. He’s dead. There are a million logs out there – he must have landed on one and it shanked him and shish kabobbed him and he’s done!’
I was like “Joe, are you okay?” And he yelled back “yeah, I’m fine!” And I was like “no, are you sure? Like are you really okay? That was the gnarliest crash I’ve ever seen.” And he was like “yeah, I’m fine.” So I run down and he’s like trying to hike out and the first thing he says is “well this is really going to hurt my time” and I was like “dude! You almost just died.” So I pulled his bike out and set his levers straight and he kind of shakes it off and he’s asks if his bike is good to go and I was like “everything looks right.” And he just grabs it and takes off sprinting.
The rest of the day, I was like, ‘you know what? I like the slower speeds.’ I made all the turns and just like chilled out. Yeah, it kind of freaked me out.
“I may have scarred Mitch for life,” says Joe showing off what could be bear claw marks in his leg. “I was following him, it was extremely muddy so I could barely see as it was, a switchback came up on us quick, he tried to stop for it and I was too close so I had to go around him, but it turn out that trail turned into a cliff. I went through trees and branches. It went dirt, sky, dirt, sky, and I ended up on my feet. Everything worked, so I started climbing up. And then I got stuck in the tree climbing up so Mitch helped me get the bike. By the time I got up there I was like, well I only lost a minute, I’ll keep going and a few minutes further into the run I was like ‘wow, my leg really hurts’ and I looked down and it was pouring blood down my shin. But I finished so it was okay!”
Mitch and Joe weren’t the only ones who got hung upon the quick left after the neutral zone. Brian Lopes took a tumble there and Geoff Kabush managed to park into a tree to avoid going over the side. “The section was really high speed” says Geoff, “and I was just having fun – those switchbacks come up quick and I wasn’t able to quite get it slowed down to turn so I ran into a tree a few feet off the trail that stopped me and I was able to climb back up. I lost about 10 or 15 seconds – no big deal, we got a lot of time out there on the trail today.”
After a mid-mountain pause – which was needed for most to gather their composure by the sounds of it, Stage 10 was a playful rip down to the creek.
Stages 11 and 12 were off the mountain on South Pyramid Creek Tail. The course meandered down the creek with a short neutral climb for a chance to regain any lost composure before dropping back in. Following a quick transfer up road, racers continued on the quite physical South Pyramid Creek Trail through an ever-changing landscape and finally onto the fast bench-cut section to end the day!
“It’s nice to do some new trail again” Geoff is the returning 2016 Trans-Cascadia champ. We got out there! I’m interested to look at a map afterwards to see where we actually rode. It’s amazing these trails feel like we are in the middle of nowhere, but they are so buff.” Geoff’s strength with pedalling came into play today as he closed the gap between him and Chris Johnston; who is currently in first place.
“I still have the lead by seven seconds,” Chris said at dinner. “Today had some really pedally stages. They were super physical, lots of ups and downs. Today was super wet and the conditions made it really hard to go fast; just sort of hanging it all out there to try and stay on the track to go fast. It was awesome just to keep that margin small because I knew Geoff would have a strong day with those two long stages and it’s awesome to still be at the front!” And while Chris was focused on keeping that lead, the beauty of these stages wasn’t lost on him. “It was amazing, the forest in there and the climates you go through, different forest, just incredible, so cool to ride out there.”
For Josh ‘Loosedog’ Lewis Trans-Cascadia is a completely different event than anything he’s done before. “It’s wicked laid back – exploring America in it’s autumn colours is so nice, it’s like the perfect picture. It’s a whole different experience. It’s so sick, I must say everyone behind the event is killing it. There has not been one upset – like the food and everything is dialled, fires at all the starts. It’s like convenience all the time. If you ever thing ‘I need’ or ‘this would be nice’ it’s already there.”
Racers experienced some true northwest weather yesterday, but at the end of the day there were nothing but smiling – albeit tired – faces and loamy bikes.
2017 Race Report // Day 2
Day 2 was a long day that saw racers up at the crack of dawn – maybe a few rolled out of their tents a little later – and settling into their new basecamp at Belknap Hot Springs after dark.
They awoke to dreary skies this morning and were just about loaded on the shuttle buses before the first drops of rain fell.
The first stage of the day took them to into the true wilderness on Grasshopper; an 8-mile traverse through alpine meadows and along a ridgeline (described at the racer meeting as ‘the longest 8 miles of your life.’) This is followed by a rugged ride off the ridge and a creek-side neutral climb before finishing on Box Canyon Trail for a total of 3907 feet of descending.
This is somewhat of a special stage for Trans-Cascadia in that the team has spent three years working on uncovering it. Originally the area was a trade route for Native Americans who used controlled burns along the ridgelines to keep the meadows open as they travelled from the high summer grasslands down to the valley for winters. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the Civilian Conservation Core (CCC) built trails as part of their labour creation program after the Great Depression. “These trails became the only way for people to get around these mountains until the ‘50s when mechanized logging really became profitable,” explains Adam Craig who spent many days over the last few years on the Trans-Cascadia work crew. The trail had been all but forgotten when the project to uncover it began. “It started with a major log-out effort; there were hundreds of trees down across that trail. The trail kind of needed to be moved around some trees that couldn’t be cut out of the way, but for the most part the tread was intact and the trail was pretty healthy, it just needed to be uncovered.” After clearing the logs the first year, the crew went back in and had to find their way through the meadows to the next trail entrance because the tread was completely gone in this area. “We recut tread in a couple of meadows to address some erosion issues, but for the most part you’re just riding through the meadows following flagging tape — and it’s amazing, it’s beautiful up there!”
Alex Gardner, one of the Event Directors, expressed why working on this trail project was so important to the event – “The Forest Service, Derrick Bell and Kevin Rowell, talked to us about Grasshopper and what they wanted to get done – you could see in their eyes how dear it was to them.” The amount of work that has gone into uncovering Grasshopper made today’s stage all that much sweeter for many of the people involved. “When I think about how many hours I’ve put in personally and then multiply it by all our volunteers; it’s been hundreds.” While working on the trail the team coined the phrase, ‘hella liaise’ to describe the long traverse. “That was all we would talk about when we were out there marking it or working on it. It’s such a long journey to get there and then you race down this hill and it’s worth it!”
And it was worth it – every racer finished the stage with a smile on their face! Joe Lawwill of Shimano had the unique perspective of being both on the trail crew and a racer. “It was definitely gratifying – especially the structure of the sponsors putting in the time and helping make this happen. Once I rode it through clean, it just was so amazing how different it was. Without these guys doing this, there would be so much amazing trail out there that no one would get to enjoy.”
Following this epic racers headed back into Oakridge for two more classics through the old growth. The sixth stage was on Tire Mountain; offering a backcountry feel with a large amount of narrow-tread sections this stage is deep in a drainage area which means there was a bit of a steep climb to stage seven.
The last stage of the day was Cloverpatch. Named for the lush green clover at the start of the trail, it quickly changes and becomes rocky and steep with plenty of switchbacks.
Chris Johnston managed to hold on to his lead for a second day over Geoff Kabush, which was a relief to him as he was afraid he was going to repeat history. “Last year I won the first day so I was like ‘oh man, I’ve repeated myself, I’m the target and I’ve done it, it’s the same again.’ So it’s nice to hold him back another day at least this year!”
Geoff felt like he finally found his rhythm today – even if he did drop a chain and have to scoot part of the way. “I definitely lost some time, but it was nice to see the splits with Chris; we’ve been battling and I think I clawed back a few seconds so I’m just excited it’s still a race and I’m excited to see what trails we ride in the next couple of days.
Rumour has it that tomorrow’s stages have a lot more pedalling; undoubtedly it will be an even tighter race at the end of the day.
On the women’s side of the race, Kathy Pruitt held on to her lead over Bekah Rottenberg and Ingrid Larouche. The Amateur Women saw photographer, Robin O’Neil take the lead for the second day. Her inspiration for doing the event had very little to do with competition however. “I love riding new trails and I really love our bike community, so any chance I can get to be involved, I like to be involved. And I do love being on my bike and not always behind the lens. I just love seeing new trail and riding new trail!”
For Adrienne Schofhaus, also racing in the Amateur Women’s category, this is her first enduro race ever. “I will say it really is just like riding with a bunch of your friends. What I’ve been really impressed with is that the transfer stations have felt just like backcountry riding, like I’m just out in the wilderness with my friends pedalling up and then shredding down fresh loamy trails! So it’s really been a raw, rugged experience and then you have to keep in mind that you’re actually racing and you’ve got to stay focused.”
Speaking of staying focused, for those of you wondering, Mitch Ropelato was last seen tonight saying, “I think we’re going hard tonight. I didn’t really choose it, but I got handed a few beers and called a sissy, so I was like ‘I’ll show you guys!’”
The racers have another early morning wake-up tomorrow and it’s anyone’s guess who will come away with the fabled Go-Hard jersey.
2017 Race Report // Day 1
There were plenty of hugs and high-fives as some of the international mountain bike community came together for another year of Trans-Cascadia.
Lots of laughs were had at registration as memories of past events were shared and new attendees got some insight into what to expect for the next few days.
After a successful two years of of the race, the spirit of the event remains the same, however a few key changes have made for an even better racer experience. This year each participant was given an Oakley customized roller bag for their gear, as well as, an MSR plate, utensils, and cup as part of the event’s waste reduction program. And in what became known as ‘the party pocket’ of the suitcase everyone could find a can of beer and a pre-roll (don’t worry, it’s legal in Oregon).
After loading into shuttles and making the two-hour drive to our fist basecamp near Oakridge, racers settled into their pre-setup tents complete with sleeping mats and enjoyed a gourmet dinner by the executive chef at Jack Rabbit in Portland, Chris Dimino.
Following dinner, the event organizers – Alex Gardner, Nick Gibson, and Tommy Magrath – gave racers the run down on what to expect for their first four stages. With prime fall riding conditions, Day One offered up a gentle, but still exhausting, introduction to the race with four stages in the Oakridge area. While the colourful description of the next day’s trails had everyone excited, one descriptor had a few people asking – “what exactly does ice-clay feel like?” Slippery?
This year Trans-Cascadia has introduced ‘Neutral Zones' – these sections are not timed, but are still part of the race. Racers must stay on their bikes and keep riding, but can use the short section to catch their breath and save some energy. As far as rules go, the event organizers simply advised that racers to “try not to dick around too much in the these zones.” The course is minimally signed with only starts and finishes, neutral zones, junctions, and danger areas marked. Everyone was reminded, however, that danger is subjective and to use their heads while racing.
Ben Suttlemyre on the medical team addressed the racers with the wizened tone of backcountry experience that you might expect from a character in an old western film, “if you want to hang it out on that hairy ragged line – just realize it might be the rest of the day before you see a doctor. You’ve gotta have your bike in one piece, you’ve gotta have yourself in one piece, and you’ll have a good time.”
Racers loaded up on shuttles this morning and departed for Lawler. This Oakridge classic is split into two stages to allow riders a moment of reflection on ‘what the hell just happened’ before carrying on. The ride offered up two big descents and a variety of technical features laced through an old growth forest before racers got to finally answer the question – ‘what is ice-clay?’
“It was a very accurate description.” Brian Lopes had forgotten which trail the organizers had warned about, but after hitting the first berm, it all came back to him. “I almost laid it down, my backend came around on me and I was like ‘oh shit, I think this is that icy-clay section they were talking about.’ And it all came to light pretty quick. After hitting that first turn, I was definitely on cautious mode after that. I was very tentative in the rest of the turns.”
A shuttle took racers from the end of Stage 2 to Eula Ridge which some considered to be the best trail in Oakridge. Racers dropped straight into steeps before a neutralized 3-minute climb led them into a flowy and rugged pumptrack style finish.
Kathy Pruitt, who took the overall win today in the Pro Women’s category, experience a bit of a technical issue after dropping into Stage 3. “I started Eula, which is a really steep stage and had a lot of opportunity for me to gain time using my downhill background – and my chain snapped coming out of the first turn. I kind of was like ‘oh my god, this is awful, maybe my race is over,’ and then I realized I could keep coasting.” So she did, and Kathy scooted, ran, and walked the last two stages of the race to take the top step on the podium tonight. “I haven’t snapped a chain in ten years, I don’t know what happened! It added a little spice to my day.”
Larison Rock was the final stage of the day and is a sustained gravity fed run on steep bench-cut trail with fade-away corners. “Love! Capital L O V E. It was just pure fun!" Spencer Paxson was still stoked at the end of the day. "Just like everyone else I liked Stage 3, but Stage 4 surprised me because of the low expectations that people set. A lot of people were saying that it’s skittery and you don’t want to lose your bike because you’ll be looking for it all day, but it was really fast and smooth. Low expectations are the secret to happiness anyway!”
All in, today had nearly 14 miles of shuttle assisted riding and 8773 feet of descending with only 830 feet of climbing.
But racers still felt the effects of the physical style of riding that this area is known for. Returning racer, Rachel Walker, wasn’t expecting to feel so worked – “it felt quite hard today, given that we were on a shuttle day. I’ve spoken to a few of the people who I’m here with and they’re tired. I didn’t expect to be that tired today. The stages were just quite physical and quite long.”
Chris Johnston took the lead in Pro Men, followed by Geoff Kabush; 2016 winner, and Brian Lopes. “I’m super happy to ride and just have a clean day,” says Chris. “The neutral zone definitely helped me out this year, last year was out of my realm of training. And I think it’s a really cool concept having the neutral zones just to coast through and then carry on the stage to make it super long still.” In 2016 Chris chased Geoff Kabush for the entire event, but ended up in 3rd place overall when Peter Ostroski came from behind on the final day and took 2nd place by about two seconds. “It was super fun and a tight competition. I’m sure it will be this year too; it’s only Day One.”
It is Mitch Ropelato’s first year here at Trans-Cascadia and on his first night he managed to earn the elusive Go-Hard jersey. “I felt like I was leading some kind of series,” says Mitch about his early lead. And when asked what he planned to do to maintain his lead, he replied, “I don’t think you can try, one of these nights I’m going to have to got to bed early and I’m going to lose the jersey, but we’ll see. Definitely Sunday though, I’ll be saving up for a good party after this!”
The racing will continue in the Oakridge area tomorrow before the event heads on to its next basecamp.
Ten For Trails Winners!
Grand Prize Winner: Shaun Van biljon from South Africa wins the Santa Cruz, Shimano Dream Bike
2nd Prize: Sebastian Faundez from Georgia wins an entry to the 2017 race
3rd Prize: Oskar Osobniak from Poland wins a custom Trans-Cascadia riding kit from Pearl Izumi
Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone for your contributions!
Ten for Trails Campaign on Now
Each $10 donation increases your chance of winning one of 3 prizes. Donors will have the ability to win a custom Santa Cruz - Shimano XTR dream bike of your size and choice, an entry into the 2017 Trans-Cascadia Event, and our current Custom Kit, Jersey and Short.
All proceeds will benefit the trail advocacy efforts of the Trans-Cascadia team.
For details and to donate:
Announcing the Dream Bike Winner!
Congratulations to Paola Kendrick of Larkspur, CA for winning the Custom Santa Cruz - Shimano Dream Bike contest.
Paola also won a $3000 donation to the trail advocacy group of her choice! We caught up with Paola to tell her the good news this morning and caught her in the middle of a museum tour - hence her quiet excitement!
2016 Race Report // Day 4
Racers settled into Horse Creek Lodge on Saturday night with hot indoor and outdoor showers, a roaring fire pit, and another gourmet meal created by Chef Chris Diminno; provided by Chris King.
After a long day in the rain, sleet, snow, and slippery river crossings, the happy, but exhausted group cheered when the event organizers announced the cancelation of a stage for the final day. “Because we are ambitious, Day 4 is an ambitious day,” started Nick Gibson, “but we are going to be slightly less ambitious and cut out Stage 16.”
Racers settled into Horse Creek Lodge on Saturday night with hot indoor and outdoor showers, a roaring fire pit, and another gourmet meal created by Chef Chris Diminno; provided by Chris King.
After a long day in the rain, sleet, snow, and slippery river crossings, the happy, but exhausted group cheered when the event organizers announced the cancelation of a stage for the final day. “Because we are ambitious, Day 4 is an ambitious day,” started Nick Gibson, “but we are going to be slightly less ambitious and cut out Stage 16.”
Day 4 was still a monster of a day with over 10 miles of riding, much of it on an exposed ridge at 5500 feet in snow and freezing rain. Racers – who were relieved to have a later start time – were shuttled up to start a roughly 1.5 hour liaison stage across the ridgeline to the top of Stage 17. Here racers started a descent that had expected fast times of 30 minutes and arrived to the bottom where fires to warm freezing hands were already burning.
A short liaise between Stage 17 and 18 took racers to their final descent of the race – 15 minutes of a flatter grade, but high speed trail. It was the perfect trail to end on and left everyone smiling and congregating around another warm fire with beers in hand.
Barry Wicks experienced the weather on the way to Stage 17 firsthand, “at the top on the liaison from the bus it was definitely raining and snowing; ‘wintery mix,’ I think is the correct term. It was really cool up there. It was nice that we were pedalling a bit, so it wasn’t too cold.” As for the choice to drop Stage 16 from today’s agenda, Barry thought the right call was made. “I’m pretty tired, it would have been hard to do another couple of hours out in the woods. Erring on the side of safety is the right way to go.”
“It was all types of weather out there, we had snow and sleet at the top. And there was a fire going at the top as well, so it was nice to warm your hands before you dropped in,” said Chris Johnston holding his celebratory finish line beer. “It was a super long stage, but not quite as long as estimated so I think a lot of us crossed the line with a bit of extra gas in the tank and could have gone a little bit harder. The second stage after that had really good flow, you still had to pedal hard to maintain that flow, but it was a really cool way to end the week.” At the start of Day 3 Geoff Kabush had a 55 second lead over Chris, “It will be really cool to see how it all pans out. I know I gave it my best, so whatever happens, I’m stoked!”
In the end Geoff Kabush would take the overall win and after finishing in 2nd last year, he says he didn’t have any expectations coming into this week, “I just wanted to come down and have some fun! These guys put on an awesome event in a really fun place to ride. I rode the trails as fast as I could and I think it went pretty well.”
Pro Men's Podium: In 1st Geoff Kabush, 2nd Chris Johnston, 3rd Peter Ostroski.
Rosara Joseph won her second consecutive Trans-Cascadia in the Pro Women’s category, “I felt like this year was definitely a step up in terms of the challenge; the trails that we rode were more physically and technically demanding, the days were longer and there was some more gnarly stuff on the trails. And we had the great privilege of riding some brand new trails and that was super exciting. I think people – specifically these last two days have been big days – have definitely been challenged but everyone is buzzing and it’s such a cool atmosphere and I really admire the attitude of everyone here who took part.”
Pro Women's Podium: In 1st Rosara Joseph, 2nd Meggie Bichard, 3rd Kathy Pruitt.
This year the Trans-Cascadia event expanded their area and, in working with local organizations, was able to open and use new trails to provide a more diverse racecourse. Like every true adventure there was adversity in the form of injuries and weather, but there were also incredible views, descents, competition, and of course basecamp life. When all was said and done yesterday, everyone gathered around the campfire to celebrate, not just the success of the entire 2016 Trans-Cascadia field, but also their shared experience over the last four days – and it would seem that the times around the fire generate the richest of memories.
See Full Race Results Here
2016 Race Report // Day 3
The excited energy at basecamp this morning was palpable. Not only was a massive day of blind racing on the horizon for the participants, but it was a completely new course for the event team as well. Today’s stages represented the essence of why Trans-Cascadia was created. “It’s exciting,” said Rosara Joseph, wearing her leader jersey. “New trails are always cool – and I’ve heard only good things about today from people in the know!”
The excited energy at basecamp this morning was palpable. Not only was a massive day of blind racing on the horizon for the participants, but it was a completely new course for the event team as well. Today’s stages represented the essence of why Trans-Cascadia was created. “It’s exciting,” said Rosara Joseph, wearing her leader jersey. “New trails are always cool – and I’ve heard only good things about today from people in the know!”
A planned 20 miles of pedalling and 15.5 miles of racing took racers from the trails around Oakridge to their new basecamp on the outside of MacKenzie. Stage 12 and 13 ran down Lawler on Hardesty Mountain, a trail that local Trail Boss, Derrick Bell, has been riding for over 20 years. Over the last two years Trans-Cascadia has been working with Derrick, the Eugene Trail Club; Disciples of Dirt, Kevin Rowell with the Forest Service, and Dirt Mechanics; a recreational excavation company, to extend the trail to the bottom of the mountain. “You used to pop out on the top of this gravel road and descend on it for about three miles; it was always kind of a buzz-kill,” explains Derrick. Money raised by the Disciples of Dirt and Trans-Cascadia paid for the necessary environmental study to green-light the project. The trail was officially opened today and contains a mix of machine and hand built sections. “That’s been a 20-year dream for quite a few of us. And today it’s being ridden on and rained on – perfect!”
Racers shuttled back up to the top of Hardesty Mountain to descend Eula Ridge for Stage 14. The finish line was full of a mix of exclamations of love for the trail to cursing its punchy climbs. Chris Johnston thoroughly enjoyed the stage, "there were two amazing descents. The stage could have been broken in two as there was quite a substantial climb in the middle, but there were some really cool steeper rocky descents. It was really loose and down the bottom there was lots of flow. Man it was rad!”
Stage 15 on Grasshopper Ridge was another Trans-Cascadia supported initiative by Derrick. The backcountry, 16-mile trail had a two-hour traverse up and down the ridgeline, through seven wide-open meadows, and ended with a 5.1-mile descent. Native Americans and pioneers used the original game trail before equestrians adopted it, but in recent years there had been little use and much of it was overgrown and difficult to find. Working with both the Oakridge and MacKenzie Forest Services, Derrick was able to secure permission to revamp it as a mountain bike accessible route. “This year the trail got completely cleared. Trans-Cascadia did a couple campouts and work parties on Grasshopper with the Santa Cruz crew; they did good solid work,” says Derrick. “Opening Grasshopper trail to me is huge, this year with the help of Trans-Cascadia, we opened 18 miles of trail in a short amount of time.”
Unfortunately, Nick Hardin went down on Stage 14; breaking his collarbone, and had to be extracted from the course. Mark Weir acted quickly, giving up his race run to help Nick – and serving as a reminder that when it comes to backcountry racing, people come first.
Due to the course hold of nearly an hour, the last bus of racers missed the cut-off for Stage 15. The results for this stage weren’t counted in the overall – but everyone was in agreement that the right decision was made in respect to everyone’s safety.
Those racers who did ride the stage experienced everything from rain to sleet and snow – but a warm fire at the top helped keep spirits high. Geoff Kabush was one of the racers who rode Grasshopper, “it was beautiful up there! It was fun putting the ‘trans’ in Trans-Cascadia. At the end of the day I think [cancelling the stage] was a good call; everyone was getting pretty tired and it was getting dark. And I got some bonus fitness in there.”
Geoff’s strength in pedaling on today’s long stages earned him a further lead over Chris Johnson. “There is some amazing descending, some really good sections, but the climbs just far outweigh the technical sections and I find it really challenging to attack on the climbs and keep competitive,” said Chris. Peter Ostroski held on to 3rd place. And Rosara continued her winning streak, taking home her 8th straight finisher jersey.
Despite some logistical challenges and injuries today, the field of racers settled into their new basecamp tonight – tired and happy.
2016 Race Report // Day 2
Day 2 of Trans-Cascadia stretched over 18.1 miles of riding for Stages 6-11. The course sent racers backwards on the first three stages of Day 1 around Lake Timpanogas, which included some surprises; like a straight line down the scree field they hiked up yesterday. It may be the same trails but in reverse it has a different attitude, according to Lars Sternberg who raced in 2015 and is now back as a crewmember.
Day 2 of Trans-Cascadia stretched over 18.1 miles of riding for Stages 6-11. The course sent racers backwards on the first three stages of Day 1 around Lake Timpanogas, which included some surprises; like a straight line down the scree field they hiked up yesterday. It may be the same trails but in reverse it has a different attitude, according to Lars Sternberg who raced in 2015 and is now back as a crewmember.
Next racers headed out on Middle Fork from basecamp for Stage 9 before being shuttled to the top of Moon Point for Stage 10, and then up to Larison Rock for Stage 11. Lars explains the transition that the racers experienced today, “when you exit the Lake Timpanogas area you are immediately greeted with a completely different style of trail and environment. The Oakridge trails are really dry and hard packed – loose and sketchy – whereas up at the lake it’s soft soil with a lot of organic and you can do no wrong with your cornering. So these racers went from hero dirt to Middle Fork, which keeps you on your toes, not too steep, but more meandering, to the two sketchiest trails around Oakridge. But they are also the most fun and are super fast.”
The logistically heavy day made for an early morning – and a fairly quiet camp last night, despite the abundance of Steigl on tap and readily available bottles of wine from Clif Family Winery. Racers rolled out of camp starting at 8am, many shivering in the brisk fall air.
At the start line, Trans-Cascadia veteran, Mark Weir was looking forward to today’s stages, “I don’t expect too much, I expect to have a good time and to try not to slap. And maybe make a couple positions up if I can, because today is more gravity fed. And I want to have fun and get to the bar at the end!” Mark arrived this year with much less prominent facial hair than last, but he was quick to explain that the shave was due to split ends, and not for aerodynamic purposes.
By the end of Stage 10, Whitney Anderson, who’d had the lead in the Amateur Women’s field after Day 1, had firsthand knowledge of the change in terrain. She described the stage as having lots of pedalling, lots of drifting through loose stuff, some rocks, and a few stream crossings. “Today I was pushing a little too hard because I thought Amanda was hot on my heels and I took myself out – I slid out in a corner in a loose clear cut. I definitely had to take a deep breath and take it down a notch.” Whitney also discussed the challenges with this specific format of blind enduro racing, “I had no idea where I was yesterday. When you’re racing with a bunch of people you don’t know, on trails you don’t know, you have no idea where you are in the mix. It was a complete unknown. And the stages I felt worst on, were my best stages. You have to push yourself but be able to reign it in at the same time. If you’re going way too hard that’s when mistakes happen, but if you slow down too much you’re no longer racing. It’s the fine line of pushing yourself and backing off just a little bit.” She finished in third place today, behind Corey Schmid in 2nd place, and Amanda Schaper in 1st.
Barry Wicks also had some challenges with today’s change in dirt quality, “I don’t even know what happened, I was just going really fast – well, for me, fast – and I think it was changing from all the wet dirt that we were riding up high, into that dry stuff, and I was just going a little faster that I should have been. I kind of tomahawked into the trees and came to a stop with a broken off branch jabbed right into my neck, but not quite puncturing it. It would have been gnarly if it had been an inch closer.”
The evolution, or devolution, of the dirt today didn’t have any impact on Rosara Joseph’s winning streak. Tonight she was awarded her seventh straight leader jersey – and it should be noted that there have only been seven to win since Trans-Cascadia’s inception. In 2nd place in the Pro Women’s category is Kathy Pruitt, followed by Meggie Bichard in 3rd.
There was a shuffle in the Pro Men’s category with Geoff Kabush taking the lead over Chris Johnson, and new to the podiums was Peter Ostroski in 3rd. “The first couple of stages were short and hard to feel like you’re going fast, but the last two long ones felt like you could really settle in and get into a rhythm,” said Geoff about his 28 second lead over Chris on Stage 10. As a returning racer Geoff had some knowledge of the stages raced over the last two days, “I don’t remember the trails, but I kind of remember the rhythm and how long you have to keep pushing.”
Tomorrow stage is completely new to all racers, even those who raced last year. Basecamp is buzzing with speculation and anticipation, and Chris and Geoff are both looking forward to continuing their battle for the top step on some fresh – even never before ridden – trails.
