Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge Monday, July 21, 2008

Anissen "Nissy" Cobb of Portland (in red) races in the Category 3 Women's Miss-and-Out event at the Alpenrose Challenge July 20 in Portland. Cobb went on to win the race that drops the last rider every other lap.

I took the opportunity to go out to the Alpenrose Velodrome this afternoon on the third and final day of the Alpenrose Challenge, the largest purse on the American Track Racing Association calendar.

I realized when I got there that it was the first sporting event I'd shot in about two months! I was a bit rusty, for sure.

It's always fun to go out to the velodrome, especially when there is a big event going on. I only had about an hour and a half to spend there, but I wish I could have stayed.

The Alpenrose Velodrome buzzes with activity July 20 as it hosts the annual Alpenrose Challenge. The three-day event drew cyclists from across the United States and Canada who competed for a purse of more than $12,000.

The women's miss-and-out event (right) was fun to watch. About 15 women started the race, and then every second lap, the last rider across the line is taken out of the race. Once there were just three left, it's a sprint to the finish.

I also saw a couple of sprint races—two of which were very close—and the Masters Keirin qualifier.

Travis Smith of Calgary, Alta., (left) thrusts his bike across the finish line just ahead of Portland's Eugene Chacherine in a men's sprint. Smith stayed back until the final straightaway, where he sprinted to the finish line about one inch ahead of Chacherine. (One other sprint race was even closer: the announcer said the difference was "a tread-depth!")







Shelly Olds of Los Gatos, Calif., races for the PROMAN Professional Cycling Team with a smile on her face in the Miss-and-Out July 20 at the Alpenrose Challenge in Portland.

Here is my blog post from the one time I went to the velodrome last year. At the bottom of it is a link to the first time I went.

Superman on a bike Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Matt Jordan is the three-time defending champion of the Tour of Anchorage. The native of Damascus, Ore., has been one of the top cyclists in the Arctic Bicycle Club since moving to Alaska two years ago. He balances his time with Team Kaladi-Subway with full-time studies at Alaska Pacific University, a night job, his wife and one-year-old daughter.

This (left) is one of the less interesting portraits I made of Matt Jordan in a quick shoot last week. You can see the more interesting image in my recently updated portfolio.

I thought I was shooting the assignment for the Sandy Post, but I see it appeared on the Outlook's website today (they're owned by the same company). Maybe they'll run it in both papers.

I didn't have a lot of time to prepare—I got the call on a Saturday afternoon; Matt was visiting his parents in Damascus, but heading back to Alaska on Tuesday morning. So I made arrangements to do the shoot on a Monday right after I visited the Street of Dreams, because the two locations are only a few miles apart.

When I met him at his parents' place he was already dressed in his kit. There was a little grassy area with a backdrop of pine trees just down the road, so that's where we went.

I'm really happy with the shot that ran in the paper. It's probably been done before, but I couldn't find an example online. But writing the title to this post, I wish I'd had the idea/time/budget to do it again, with Matt in a Superman costume. Imagine, the same kinds of pictures, different outfit, a big fan off-camera blowing his cape ... that would have been a portrait!

And if you're wondering, Matt must be Superman—read Michael Cade's article and you'll understand what I mean.

Thursday night races at the Alpenrose Velodrome Friday, August 17, 2007

Cyclists fly around the track in the Thursday weekly races Aug. 16 at the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland. The track, one of just 20 in the U.S., is unique because of its particularly steep corners—about 43 degrees, 10 degrees more than a typical track.

I've been meaning to head out to the Alpenrose Velodrome for a few weeks, but hadn't found the time until last night. In the summer, they have some kind of action there every night.

Thursday night is reserved for the weekly racing series. This week was a "long points race" night—participants race 40 or 50 laps around the 268-meter track, with points going to the leaders at the end of each lap and double points awarded every fifth lap.

They also raced a "Madison," which is a two-person relay race. Team mates switch in and out throughout the race, catching a slingshot start from their partner every time they trade.

(right) Bikes litter the lawn as cyclists warm up for the Thursday night racing series. (below) John Schmidt puts air in his tires before hopping on the track.










(right) Category 2 rider Peter Drake pulls hard around the first corner in the Madison race.





(left) John Schmidt, right, throws teammate Terry Keele back into the Madison race.









(right) A spectator gets an overhead view of the long points race. (below) A couple enjoys a picnic at the Velodrome while cyclists compete.













(right) Patrick Wilder, left, and Karl Choltus watch the category 1/2 long points race from the infield.

Faithful readers may recall that I went to the velodrome last summer. You can see the blog posting from that visit here.