The Good, the Bad and the Muddy

2013-jan-feb-1859-magazine-central-oregon-cyclocross-bend-halloween-cross-crusade-airing-out-the-flyover
Airing out the fly-over.

Each fall, I pull on my rain gear and boots to photograph cyclocross. The energy, the people and the weather make it exciting every time. This season, I chose two very different races to document. In Bend, there was a carnival of Halloween costumes and shenanigans. The following Sunday at Barton Park, racers acquired layers of grime and sweat while looping through the varying shades of grey at a county gravel pit.

In Bend, behind the Deschutes Brewery, racers rolled over the green grass and the packed dirt. There were high fives and cold beers. A huge wooden ramp, known as a fly-over, became the launch pad for a few riders to catch air. Cheers arose from the beer garden.

At Barton, a blue heron and a dozen noisy geese took flight. The Big Bird, the Angry Birds and Superman costumes from Bend had been packed away, leaving the flightless to concentrate on a new task—navigating a fast course over gravel, dirt, pavement and mud.

The National Championships and World Championships take place in January in Madison, Wisconsin and Louisville, Kentucky respectively.

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