Special Winter Clearance Store Event

By Sarah Esterman

It’s February in Portland, which means we’re still looking at stormy weather—at least intermittently—for the next few months. And with our annual Winter Clearance Blowout store event coming up next week, it’s the perfect time to stock up on your cold-weather favorites to keep you warm and dry for the rest of the season. 

Featuring 50–70% off Castelli, Shower’s Pass, Pearl Izumi and Canari cycling jerseys, jackets and more, this is the savings event of the season. 

So if you're in the Portland area, join us at BicyclingHub.com HQ next Friday and Saturday and shop your favorites at the lowest prices you'll see this season before they're gone. Inventory will not last long, so you absolutely will not want to miss out.

Winter Clearance Hours:
Friday, March 1: 9am–6pm
Saturday, March 2: 10am–2pm

BicyclingHub.com
642 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97214  

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If you're not in Portland, don't fret: you can still shop our Winter Clearance online here.

Why I Ride...One Man's Personal Story of Why he Supports the Tour de Cure

By Ray Bransky

Fifty-five years ago, four years before I was born, my sister was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of four. For most of my life I always thought my sister had a normal childhood. Sure I knew her diet was a little different and she needed to take insulin injections, but for the most part the challenges she faced were similar to most. Because of our age differences, my sister and I rarely shared "coming of age" milestones. High school, college, dating, work, marriage, children were all events we passed on separate calendars. In truth, our parents and the family visits they encouraged were our mainstay in spanning the generational as well as geographical differences. When my father, our last surviving parent, passed away 5 years ago, I made a promise to myself to put more effort into staying in touch.

Oddly enough, cycling became that connection. Being avid century riders, my son and I are always looking for new events and rides. Because my sister lives in Portland we started looking for organized rides that could bring us into her town for a visit. When we found the Tour de Cure, we knew we found our event. The first year it was just my son and me raising a small sum and riding the century. The next year we formed a modest team, Linda’s Loose sprockets, in honor of my sister. Riders included my son and myself on the century, my wife, niece and two of my sister’s friends (including “Red” Jennifer, a red rider diagnosed in her teen years) pedaling the 27-mile route and my sister and brother volunteering at the stadium.

Even though I had grown up with a diabetic in my family that year, as Linda’s Loose Sprockets gathered for our post celebratory dinner around my sister’s table, I think I finally had a better understanding as to what diabetics really faced. My sister talked about the changes she has seen in her lengthy tenure as a type 1 diabetic. She remembers my father sharpening needles and having to boil glass syringes to sterilize them for reuse. She spoke of learning to count calories at an early age to balance out her blood sugar and insulin levels. With pride she recounted her testing of some of the earliest insulin pumps, one of which allowed her to successfully navigate the gestational cycle that produced her daughter, my niece and now our fellow rider. “Red” Jennifer, in turn beamed about my sister’s current health and her ability to control diabetes. She shared the challenges she faced as a rebellious teen diagnosed with diabetes and subtly wondered what health issues lay ahead for her due to the choices she made as an adolescent.

All of this made me realize that my sister, and diabetics face anything but a “normal” life. In a way, I see my participation in Tour de Cure as an opportunity to pay back all those before me who have helped my sister, through research, education and technology, live a half-century and beyond with diabetes. But in truth what I really hope is that my riding might be a small step that helps someone else diagnosed with diabetes enjoy a life that is at least as long and fulfilling as that of my sister.

NOTE: Join the BicyclingHub.com Team at the Portland Tour de Cure tomorrow (Saturday, July 30th). Look for the BicyclingHub logoed jerseys en route and introduce yourselves. Can't make it to the start line? You can still DONATE TODAY to help put an end to diabetes and spread the word.

What else is happening at the Hillsboro Stadium? Here's the latest word from Kris Bockmier, Portland Tour Organizer.

Stick around! Here's What's happening at the stadium before and after the ride:
Join us for breakfast and coffee, 5:30am-10:00am, brought to you by Ambridge Event Center. Breakfast will include fruit, bagels, PB & J, yogurt, granola and boiled eggs. Gleukos will be available at 5:30am to fill your bottles and is also the sports drink on the course. Located next to food area. Bring your swimsuit, shorts and towels so you can enjoy the Wild Rapids waterslide after you return from your ride. Lunch will be served by Helvetia Tavern. They will be grilling burgers and veggie burgers, along with a salad and chips. Fruit, snacks and soda will also be available. Extra meal tickets for your friends and family are available for $7.00. Bring your ID and cash for the beer garden.

Photo Caption Contest: We Have a Winner!

We may be serious about riding, but we're just as serious about having fun while doing it. So when photographer Dave Roth captured BicyclingHub.com staff member Adrian Richardson climbing College St., an infamous hill ranging between 18-21% grade during the brutal non-organized annual event known as Ronde PDX this past Sunday, we knew it was too good to keep to ourselves.


We posted the photo to our Facebook community and held a photo caption contest, with the most clever caption slated to win a FREE Park Tool Multi-Tool (a $23.99 value) to get them out of future jams. CONGRATULATIONS to Bruce Corman for his cleverly-phrased winning caption of Dave Roth's Ronde PDX photo: "This cool jersey with the wings really does make me go faster!" With Adrian currently racing in Cat 2 with plans to upgrade, it may very well be true.

Other entries that deserve honorable mention:

Paul A. Landry: "Must ... keep ... breathing...."

Katie Bartel: "Sure glad this isn't the Amstel Gold Race and I'm not Ryder Hesjedal pulling a Tom 'Poo'nen!"

Steve Shoell: "Hey look something shiny!"

Mary Himlin: "Who was that masked woman?"

Doug Glondeniz: "Hey. Wait for me!"

Eric Hunter: Having rode the Ronde on Sunday, I can honestly say that there's nothing PG that would come out of my mouth.

Brian Lucas: "You're not getting away this time Lance!"

Karolyn Ellis: ‎"I'm gonna win...I'm gonna win!"

Mike Kiefer: ‎"Are you kidding me! I have been lapped by a 15 year old!"

Kevin Milligan: "SQUIRREL!"

Joanne Jaretsky Norris: "Hey, that girl up ahead of me has a nice tush. Maybe I can catch up."

Kevin Ross: "I gonna look good in the Polka Dot jersey."

Chris De Farcut: "By day, Mr Average. On Bike, I AM LEGENNDDD!"

Steve Gumz-Manome: "I think I can...I think I can...I think I can!"

Matthew Bloom: "Can you hear me now?

Bryan Gibbon: "Ha! Just 500 meters to the descent!!!"

David Kirk: "I have played follow the leader before, but this is ridiculus, I think they are now stalking me!!"

Peter Koonce: "so this is what 23 percent grade looks like!"

Patty Brun: "Anyone have any spare gears to share?"

Dave Campbell: "DAMN, my legs are white! Spring in the Northwest, baby!"

Al Cassel: "Do these gloves make me look fat?"

Susen Marie: "If he was in Montana...the caption would be....wonder if i can sprint past that bear???

If you haven't "liked" us yet on our Facebook, be sure to give us the thumbs-up and stay in the loop regarding future sales, special promotions, fun contests and cycling-related news!

Special thanks to photographer Dave Roth for his permission to use the above photo. He captured well over 300 images on that beautiful spring day, which you can view here.

"Two [hundred] men enter, one man leave [the winner]."

In case you are a bit rusty on your 80's post-apocalyptic action movies, that was from "Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome", sort of.

Actually it was the theme to this year's Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) held at the Portland International Raceway on November 7th and 8th. Hundreds turned out for the event, both to compete and spectate, many dressed as citizens of the savage city of Bartertown. The costumes and rowdy fans are the norm at Cyclocross, but this time Yakima Inc. took it to the next level and made...the Thunderdome. This 1300-square-foot lattice structure became the center of attention, standing over 20 feet high. It was the Cyclocross version of the fabled arena of death, but in this case, death is the place where people heckle you as you bike through. Folks climbed all over the giant dome to watch the mayhem as riders were pelted with marshmellows by people suspended from the top of the dome.

Of all who braved the course, only two emerged triumphant. Kari Studley of Seattle took the women's division and, for the second year in a row, Drew MacKenzie of Canada won the men's. They received the coveted "golden speedo" or "golden bikini" for the women (so as not to excite the already riled and savage crowd). Studley's win moves the 2010 SSCXWC to Seattle, ending Portland's three year reign of dominance. Don't lose heart Stumptown, you'll get it back next year with a win in the Emerald City.