RGR Portland

For those of you who aren't familiar with the event I'm doing I will explain a little about it. The Rapha Gentlemen’s Race, or RGR is a fox and hound style race where six person teams take off one after the other every 3 minutes with the slowest leaving first. First team back to Portland, Oregon after 137 miles of mountainous gravel and dirt roads wins. The race is unsanctioned, uninsured, and unsupported. If you’ve seen a bicycle race on TV like the Tour de France this bears no resemblance. There are no prizes, no bouquets or wreaths, no kisses from pretty podium girls for the winner. There is no team car to give you food and water, no support motorcycle to hand you a spare wheel if you flat or fix your bike if it breaks and no sag wagon to cart you home if you can’t finish. This is old fashioned hardman racing and people are begging to get in. It will be the hardest single-day race I have ever done, even ignoring that I haven't raced or trained seriously in seven years.

Rapha, who puts on the event, is a British cycling apparel company. They specialize in two things; exorbitantly priced clothing and creating an image of a hip lifestyle. They have been quite successful at both. The Gentleman's Race is an extension of the "Continental" rides they have been doing for several years where a group of riders cycles a great distance across scenic European or North American countryside. Photographers and often a film crew document these rides and the images are used on Rapha's website, catalogs, advertisements, Rouleur magazine, etc. The RGR Portland is the same thing with plenty of black and white digital images being snapped to create a feeling of some epic and classical endeavor. It all adds up to a strong marketing effort to justify charging $300 for a $75 jersey.

I am a participant in a "ride of pretentiousness" and I don't mind a bit. In fact I think it will be quite a bit of fun, at least for the first 90 miles. Other than Donnie I haven't met any of the other people on our team but we will have plenty of opportunity to chat and get acquainted as we roll across Oregon. I'm approaching this as a long ride with new and old friends rather than as a media event or a race. There will be teams there trying to win but I just want to finish. Finishing anywhere other than last place would just be a bonus.