Outside Features

Perhaps nothing illustrates the fervor for cyclocross like a good look at its spectators. Forget the racers. What draws throngs of people out to watch this crazy, hybrid form of bike racing, usually in less than perfect weather?

“There’s certainly an entertainment value,” says Dave Adams, a Bend photographer who enjoys shooting cycling events. “Spectators are thinking, 'Well, I might be silly for standing out in the rain and watching this, but at least I’m not trying to ride a bicycle uphill through the mud!' And who hasn’t laughed at the sight of someone else falling down in a mud puddle?”

It wasn't that many years ago when mountain bike makers started rolling out models with big (29-inch versus the standard 26-inch) wheels. This, we were told at the time, was the dawning of a new era in mountain biking with bikes that were the answer to every rider's need. And while the new bikes promised much, they generally fell short of expectations. The problem lay in the fact that practically all the 29er makers had simply put the larger wheels on frames made specifically to handle 26-inch wheels.
Yes, the first generation of 29ers could roll fast down old logging roads but were not much fun in technical terrain. The problem lay in floppy front wheels and the need to get any 29er bike up to pretty high speed to roll over, let alone trying to steer around, any and all obstacles.
Times have changed. The most recent crop of crop of 29er mountain bikes are designed around frames geometrically configured to match their big wheels. This has led to some pleasant surprises.
Surprises, like the fact that 29ers are superior on technical singletrack climbs. Big front wheels track better because there's little or no wheel flop.
O.k., how about technical downhills? Because of a 29-inch wheel's ability to roll faster, you have to adjust your thinking and anticipate your moves going into tight corners. But unlike a typical 26-inch wheeled bike, a 29er is easy to lay over, so it carves making nicely arced turns.
Next thing to consider are those diving board, vertical drops over big rock outcrops or group of rocks. Having three-plus inches of wheel and tire beneath you makes the drop shallower. Those scary I-could-do-a-huge-ender drops become almost too easy.

Don't let the elegant title of “masters” fool you. These sinewy-legged racers of a certain age are here to play. With more than 650 people already registered for the road race alone, the upcoming Masters Nationals Road Cycling Championships, which also include criteriums and time trials, will be luring hundreds of racers of a certain age to Bend from around the country. And many are wolves in sheep's clothing, albeit made of Lycra.
“We have a lot of talented riders who may have at one time been a pro, and who now race masters,” says Bart Bowen, the owner of Rebound Sports Performance Lab – Powered by Bowen. “They are quality riders, some who have some cycling history. They're strong. There are no easy pickings anymore to get a national title in most of the age groups.”
Bowen should know. As a former pro and elite level national champion, he has competed all over the world at the highest echelon of competitive cycling, and now finds himself – a business owner and father of two – competing in Masters Nationals for the first time.

Coming off Super D mountain bike race wins in Wisconsin and in Bend early in the summer, local mountain bike racing pro Carl Decker headed down to Downieville, California July 9 and 10 to try for his second straight All Mountain World Championship – the true test of who's the best all-around mountain bike rider.
The All Mountain Championship starts with a cross-country race followed the next day by a downhill race. “Once again, ” Decker says, “Saturday's cross-country turned into a bit of a rout. The ball-breaker of a climb (3000 feet without shade) saw another rider and myself off the front with a sizeable gap. By the finish line I had just over four minutes on second place.”
“Winning Sunday's downhill was a personal goal I set last year. I don't normally set goals, but I had an axe to grind, as some people looked askance at a 29er cross-country bike winning in the realm of 6-inch travel trail bikes last year. Winning the downhill on the same bike as last year made me want it badly.

On the verge of paddling into a class IV rapid, there is always a thought that wells up in the back of my mind:
Is this really such a great idea?
It'd be a cakewalk in my inflatable kayak, but my little hardshell playboat raises the flip factor exponentially.
You're solid on class III+,' I think to myself. 'But man, your track record on class IV's, less than stellar.
It's okay, this is the North Umpqua; you've run it before. It's Pinball rapid, you know it. You rolled just fine earlier. You can flip back.
Man, I don't want to swim it.

Chris Horner loves Bend. The professional road cyclist, arguably one of the best in the world, races his bicycle all over the United States and Europe – enjoying the renowned beauty of locations like the French Riviera, the Swiss Alps, the Adriatic Coast and the Italian Dolomites – but Bend is home by choice. Horner moved here from San Diego in 2000 after coming to visit a teammate who repeatedly encouraged him to check it out. He bought a house the day after he arrived.
“I always enjoy coming back here,” says Horner, who returned early from Europe after crashing out of last month's Tour de France. “There's just something different about Bend. It's just really easy going.”
Horner is showing his appreciation for his hometown by hosting the first-annual Cascade Gran Fondo, an 85-mile bicycle tour around Mt. Bachelor, on August 20. For the uninitiated, Horner explains that gran fondo is a fancy Italian name for a supported group ride.