Horning's Hustle MTB Season Opener | Sun April 6 2008

Portland Racing is kick-starting the 2008 River City Oregon XC MTB Series close to town with the 2nd edition of the Horning's Hustle MTB Season Opener.

This early-season mountain bike race will be held at Horning's Hideout, located in the forested foothills just outside North Plains (only a 35' drive from downtown Portland).

More something like a MTB circuit race than a traditional XC MTB race, riders will do multiple laps on a 5 mile course featuring a lot of up and downs over fire roads, primitive cat tracks, some single track descents and grassy pastures. Add to the mix a couple of "huckable" logs, a creek crossing (featuring a bridge of sorts) and a clover leaf course lay-out, and you know you're in for a lot of fun. Check out the UPDATED course map to get a rough idea of what we are talking about!

The compact course should make for a spectator-friendly race. So bring your friends and families. Hey, they can even cast their fishing lines in the local pond, while you are suffering your way up the hill... To top it off, we'll have live music by local band Paradox, hot food, a free post-race beer (for all racers 21+) and a bonfire to keep everyone warm. In good tradition, we'll close the day with awards and we'll raffle off a bunch of cool prizes.

So dust off your bike, start hitting the trail, and join us on Sunday April 6th to kick off the season in style!

Update 4/1: Yesterday, we went out to ride the course and took some pictures of the new forest loop we added and the creek crossing. The course is in great shape, absolutely not the mudpit we had last year. Should be a blast!

Directions
Horning's Hideout is located at 21277 NW Brunswick Canyon Road in North Plains. To get there from Portland, head out 14 miles West on HWY 26 (Sunset Hwy). Take the North Plains exit (Exit 57) and take a right on Glencoe Road. Past the 4-way stop sign, continue North on Shadybrook Road and after about a mile take a slight left on Pumpkin Ridge Road. Brusnwick Road will come up on your right after 5 miles. Horning's Hideout is located just 1 mile down the road. ( Google Maps)

For more information contact Tom Hoffman (503-475-3417) or Kris Schamp .

Race Schedule
11:00am - Race Start - staggered by category:
1) Pro/SemiPro/Expert: 4 laps (approx. 20 miles)
2) Sport/Singlespeed: 3 laps (approx. 15 miles)
3) Beginners/Juniors: 2 laps (approx. 10 miles)
2:00 pm - Kiddie Races & Unicycle Race
3:00pm - Awards, Raffle, Good Times!

Categories
Pro/Semipro Men - Pro/Expert Women - Expert Men (19-39, 40+) - Sport Men (19-39, 40+, 50+) - Sport Women (19-39, 40+) - Singlespeed - Beginner Men (19-39, 40+) - Beginner Women - Expert Junior Men (15-18) - Sport Junior Men (15-18) - Beginner Junior Men (14U, 15-18) - Junior Women - Beginner Kids* (12 and under) - Expert Kids* (12 and under) - Unicycle*
(*) not series classes

Race Entry & Parking Fee
Juniors/Beginners: $20 day-of-race
All other race categories: $30 day-of-race
Unicycle race: $5 - Kiddie race - FREE!
Day-of-race registration opens at 8:00am and closes at 10:00am.

NOTE: There will be a $5 parking fee (per car), so be smart and carpool with friends, or just ride over to the race venue on your bike!

Race Plates
We will use the OBRA 2008 race plates. If you received yours already via OBRA, make sure to bring it with you on race day!

Prizes
$250 cash pay-out to Pro/Semipro Men and Pro/Expert Women, awards for top-3 in each category, plus $1,500+ worth of great raffle prizes and free product, courtesy of our sponsors Chris King, Clif Bar, Cyclepath and Roots Organic Brewing.

Camping & Pre-Riding
Horning's Hideout offers overnight camping (click here for more details). Pre-riding is only allowed on Saturday April 5 from 10am to 6pm.