Team BTA at PIR!

Last night was the final race in this season’s Mountain Bike Short Track series at Portland International Raceway so the BTA showed up in force for the grand finale relay. Fielding a team of 10 racers, six of whom were complete novices, Team BTA made its racing debut that will live in BTA infamy for at least a few months (until Cross season starts).

Following guidance from race organizer Kris Schamp from the Bike Gallery who urged racers to remember “this is an all-for-fun race with racers of all levels”, BTA put together a nimble team that focused on the key words fun and all levels. Our team roster included a group who understands how important it is to dress for riding success:

• Carl “Hans Blix” Larson, who dressed in motocross boots, a lovely white helmet that kind of looked like a bowling ball and rode a silver BMX steed;

• Michael “Chacos Not Bombs” O’Leary who sported a deadpan yet politically astute “Commuter” t-shirt;
• Jordan “Chumbucket” Bailey who killed it in salmon colored running shorts (we don’t know why he entered with that racing name but it’s kind of funny);
• Britton “You The” Mann who left the argyle saddle at home and unveiled a smashing Bianchi cross bike;
• Scott “This Old Man” Lieuallen who raced in true 90’s style on a bright blue and yellow Cannondale mountain bike and was the fastest master on the track;
• Lillian “The Lilymonster” Karabaic whose former ice queen status reigned with her maroon velvet and sparkle ice skating dress and Bill and Hillary Clinton tights;
• Heather “Acid Rain Stick” Andrews who carefully transported the baby on the back rack (Acid Rain Stick is the name of her bike, by the way, because it has those really cool noisemakers on the spokes that are neon colored but sound like rain sticks.)

• Craig “Captain Chaos” Koch who cranked it out on his 80’s JMC BMX bike and black converse high tops; and
• Angela “Manowar” Koch who finished it all off with SPD cowboy boots and fluffy skirt (Umm, that’s this Manowar, not this Manowar because of the purple pony that used to be on the bike of her commuter bike).

The highlight of the evening was when Team BTA was mistaken for Zoobombers. It was a defining moment, actually.

The race itself proved to be a challenge but all racers finished without injury or incident. The double LeMans style start was what really did us in. (Running in cowboy boots pushing a BMX bike on a dirt track is kind of hard.)

What also did us in was the rest of the race. And the other racers who were way faster. But we were the safest of them all with our flashing blinky lights, bike bells and verbal signals and we all know that’s what really counts, right?

Thanks to organizer Kris Schamp, Cyclepath, Bike N Hike, PIR, OBRA, Chris King and others who worked so hard to make the series such a fun event. Thanks also to Dutch, who filled in ’cause we were in a little bit of a pickle finding a tenth man. Don’t know why.

So take this as either a promise or a threat…we’ll be back!