Endurance Test: Cascade Creampuff Report

Jake Whipple
Cascade Creampuff
Oakridge, OR

I can't believe another Creampuff has come and gone!  The Cascade Creampuff is an endurance mountain bike race held on the trails near Oakridge Oregon that takes you through the spectacular Willamette National Forest east of Eugene.  Each year the course changes a little bit, but averages somewhere between 18,000-20,000 feet of climbing spread out over 100 miles.  What all that work gets you are hour+ descents on some of the sweetest single track that I've ever ridden.  If you've never heard of Oakridge, definitely check it out.  It was named as a Ride Center by IMBA for good reason!

This was the third year that I have ridden the race, and it's one I look forward to each year.  The communities of Oakridge and Westfir rally around the event and many residents turn out to help staff the aid stations and support the riders during the race.  It is one of the best supported endurance events I've been to, a fact that I was grateful for this year as the course seemed harder than last year.  It consisted of three laps of 33 miles or so with 6100 feet of climbing each lap.  Most of the climbing is on unrelenting dirt roads that take you further and further up into the Willamette, eventually topping out at about 5000'.  The weather was perfect for the race if a little hot, so hydration was key for me.  I made it to the race this year feeling pretty run down after fighting a sinus infection for a couple weeks.  Coming off a course of antibiotics, I didn't expect much the day of the race.  Taking the first lap conservatively was definitely in my game plan! 

Feeling fine after the first three hours, I rode the second lap much the same, still feeling strong.  I kept expecting my legs to start shutting down at around the 60 mile mark, but it never happened.  The last lap came and the long 18 mile climb loomed in front of me.  Those are the moments that I love the most in endurance racing; looking ahead at a very difficult obstacle like that climb and not knowing how your body will react.  I'm happy to say that, miraculously, I felt pretty darn good for the last lap.  I climbed to the top faster than the previous two times and was left with long rolling single track bliss for the duration of the race.  I'd like to say that the descent was the easy part but after 10 hours of riding, all the contact points were beginning to ache just a fair bit so I took things pretty easy on the way down. 

In all, the race went surprisingly well.  I was pleased with my result of 34th overall, had no wrecks or mechanicals, and I ended loving my Kona single speed even more than before!  It's an event that I will return to again next year