Cycling

Bend Magazine: Do You Have What it Takes for the Hammer Fest?

This local group ride is proudly a “drop ride”—that’s to say, if you can’t keep up, that’s your problem. For its exclusivity, the leaderless Tuesday road ride, is known as “The Hammer Fest,” a derisive yet fitting nickname that eventually stuck. It’s not for everyone. Mentioning The Hammer Fest in mixed cycling circles often elicits sidelong glances and snarky opinions. It also inspires some deep-throated enthusiasm from supporters.

Bend Source: Cyclocross is Coming

Aug. 21, 2019 — Get ready for beer hand-ups and incessant cough-inducing dust clouds: cyclocross season is barreling toward Central Oregon. A multi-surface cycling discipline that pits furry-limbed mountain bikers against leg-waxing roadies, cyclocross poses the question—if never completely answering it—of which breed of cyclist is more capable.

Bend Bulletin: Gravel Grinders Take Cyclists off Pavement

Gravel race routes point toward bike racing’s future and to its infancy, when most sections of famous races — such as the Tour de France, founded in 1903 — rolled on dirt and gravel roads. Think of a gravel grinder as a road bike race that has intentionally veered off the pavement, away from cars and toward bone-rattling adventure.

“Gravel grinding is rad!” gushed Cody Peterson, a Bend-based elite cyclist and coach at Bowen Sports Performance. “Everything about it is rad.”