News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters Country was swarming with bicyclists over Memorial Day weekend, as the Sisters Stampede XC Mountain Bike Race brought 500 racers to test their mettle against the Peterson Ridge Trail.
The race, which was full by Thursday evening (no race-day registration), has become a significant Sisters event and one of the most renowned mountain bike races in the Pacific Northwest.
The race kicked off on Sunday morning at 11:05 a.m. as the elite men's class pedaled out of the gate following galloping horseman Mike Chapelle, who fired three shots in the air to start the race. The cowboy start has been a signature of the event since its inception, giving the race a Western flair and signaling a partnership between different groups of trail-users.
Race founder and director Joel Palanuk described the course as "dusty, rocky, fast." Elite racers take the 27-mile course at speeds greater than 15 miles per hour.
The largest class in the race was the men's sport class for rider ages 40 to 45. More than 100 riders turned out to race in that class.
Casey Meudt of Blazin Saddles was manning a tent at the event, providing support for the hundreds of riders. As the race got underway, he was taking a deep breath.
"Now we can sit down and relax," he said. "Everybody's got their last-minute repairs, fixes, top-offs."
Blazin Saddles hosted a block party on Saturday, and Meudt said the turnout of cyclists and their families was extraordinary.
"Yesterday was insane," he said. "It's our biggest day of the year.
"It's not just us," he noted. "Last night every restaurant in town seemed full."
Watching the riders hit the trail, Meudt reflected on the downside of operating a business on race day: He wasn't on his bike.
"I keep telling myself 'Someday,'" he said. "Someday I'll do it."
For results from the Sisters Stampede, visit www.sistersstampede.com.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)