Dear OBRA Friends,

As in the past, our September newsletter is dedicated to the upcoming cyclocross season. It has been two years since our last full cyclocross season and I know that the racing community and our promoters are ready to have some fun this fall. With the COVID pandemic still affecting

most aspects of our lives, attending races this fall will also feel a bit different than in the past. The good news is that with a nearly 40% response rate, the survey sent to current OBRA members showed that 97% are vaccinated. Although this is good news and should make most

of you feel more comfortable attending events this year, racers, staff, volunteers, officials, and spectators must still follow the state mandate for wearing masks while not racing. Racers can take them off just before the start of their race and put them back on promptly after finishing. Although the number of incidents where a cyclocross racer has needed to be transported to a local emergency room is very small, please understand that in some of our communities, hospital capacity is maxed out and that if you need medical treatment, your wait time may be long and your visit to the hospital could impact others that need medical care. The following are expectations for racing this fall:

  • If you are at high risk for severe illness or have a compromised immune system, please consider your risk tolerance for attending this event.
  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer regularly to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
  • Please wear a mask while not actively racing when in close contact with others
  • Availability of day of race registration is at the discretion of the race promoter. Please plan ahead and register online to avoid unnecessary contact with race staff and volunteers.
  • Spectating is allowed, however, please be mindful of social distancing guidelines and wear face coverings when social distancing can’t be maintained.
  • Post-race gatherings such as podium presentations will be modified to ensure proper physical distancing and the safety of the racers, staff, and volunteers. Please avoid gathering in large groups on site after the race    
  • Warming up is not considered “actively racing”. Warm-up by yourself. Wear a mask if you are warming up near others.
  • Come prepared with your food and water in case they are not provided at the venue. 
  • Be respectful of our partner communities and please avoid unnecessary interactions with community members. If you must stop for food or gas, please wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. 

The OBRA Time Trial: twilightoperations.com/events/2021/08/22-x86z7

and

Team Time Trial Championships: twilightoperations.com/events/2021/08/21-zpbf7

are on September 26th. The course is super exciting and will test both your endurance and skills. OBRA Championship medals and Champion’s jerseys will be awarded. Please observe the same precautions listed above for these events.

We had an exciting August of racing this year including Tuesday PIR, Swift Summit, some Junior CX camps and clinics, the first race in the Harvest Cross CX Series, and the OBRA XC MTB Championships. We also said our final goodbye to Alpenrose with the removal of all the OBRA race equipment, PVC rental bikes, and the shipping containers that housed all of these items. Thank you to our equipment manager, Tony Kic, PVC director Jen Featheringill and the volunteers that helped with the final move. I also want to thank our partner, Castelli, for generously allowing OBRA to keep our box truck and trailer in their parking lot. This is not our

final solution for storing the OBRA race equipment but it will hold us over until we find a permanent home. If anyone knows of a secure location where we can keep one box truck and a couple of trailers, preferably in SE Portland, please email me at ckenlan@obra.org or Tony at equipment@obra.org.

I hope to see you out at the races,

Chuck