RAO press articles • RAO Rider & Crew Stories
Recent RAO News
July 2008:
Final Route Book now available
Get your copy before it is even hot off the presses!
The final version of this year’s RAO Route Book is available here as a pdf file. (requires the freely-available Adobe reader)
Each solo rider will get one route book and each team will get two, so make sure to download the file and print it out if you will need any extra copies.
A special thanks to David Bradley (Team Raven Lunatics) for putting the books together and Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital for printing them.
You can also download the Delorme Street Atlas File here.
December 2007:
2008 Finisher's Jersey Unveiled
The 2008 finisher’s jersey design is complete and the jersey is ready for you to pull on when you cross the finish line in July.
August 2007:
Dates for 2008 announced
RAO will take place on July 19-20, 2008
RAO in the news
August 2008: Cyclist tests his limits: The Olympian
With lungs aching and Achilles tendon throbbing, John Pearch wearily peddled up Mount Hood, exhausted from two straight days of riding his bicycle across Oregon.
August 2007: Smudz finds redemption
Racing across Oregon for the first time was a disaster for Al Smudz last summer. The City of Portland set a record of 102 degrees during the race and temperatures reached 110 in the desert.
Almost 42 hours after he and his tricked-out road bike set out on the Race Across Oregon - a tortuous, 535-mile endurance test that starts near Portland International Airport and ends at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood - Gapay crossed the finish line.
July 2006: A new quest for Corvallis bike racer Kenneth Philbrick: Corvallis Gazette-Times
Bike racer Kenneth Philbrick of Corvallis is hopeful that the sixth time will be the charm at this weekend's ninth annual Race Across Oregon.
2008 Rider & Crew Story Links:
Bruce Carroll: Training and Race Recap
I left for the 2005 Race Across Oregon with just under 5,000 miles logged. If I had been training in Idaho it probably would have equaled 6,000 miles. This would be my third RAO and 4th Ultra race.
Race Across Oregon 2005 - the crew chief's perspective
Race Across Oregon took place June 4-5th. I was the crew chief for a 4-person team dubbed Team Bag Balm. Team Bag Balm was a mixed team consisting of two men (Scott & Richard) and two women (Linda & Laura), along with 5 crew members (me, Kyle, Jeff, Jay & Michael). What follows is an account of the race from my perspective. I hope you enjoy reading.
2005 Rider & Crew Stories:
Last weekend I had a most awesome experience. I drove the “sag” van for a solo entry in the 2005 Race Across Oregon (RAO). Californian Wade Baker completed the 538.7 mile course (which includes 40,000 feet of climbing) in 38 hours, 35 minutes to take second place.
I was the crew chief for a 4-person team dubbed Team Bag Balm. Team Bag Balm was a mixed team consisting of two men (Scott & Richard) and two women (Linda & Laura), along with 5 crew members (me, Kyle, Jeff, Jay & Michael). What follows is an account of the race from my perspective. I hope you enjoy reading.
Headhunters win Timberline Climbing Duel (After a 530 Mile Warm-up)
Twenty-one hours into the Race across Oregon in a rainy dawn we sent a scouting party to Ochocho Pass to see how much further our lead rider would have to go to get the descent. Twenty minutes ahead we saw Team Four Play furiously inching toward this last summit before the 25 mile downhill to Time Station Four in Prineville.