Director's Corner 2011 thru 2012

Change is here:

General entry fee is reduced to $250.00 this year (2012)!

Additional discounted entries are also offered to previous Cascade Cream Puff participants (if received by cut-off date:)

Cost reduction measures for the 2012 event follow:

1) No camping Friday night at the school (Saturday & Sunday still included),

2) Saturday night meal eliminated (Kiwanis to receive $5.00 per racer instead),

3) Socks not included (some socks still available for sale),

4) Massages not included (may be available for purchase),

5) Online registration is available this year at: http://obra.org/events/20096/register , in addition to mail in option.

“Everyone’s a critic!” With that said, it’s still my vision to keep the CCP
affordable and a bargain for all, and I plan to keep the quality of the event at
the highest possible level within those parameters. Also, I am not willing
to lose money to put on the event. My time is also valuable!

As long as permits work out, etc, the following are some of the things you
can expect at this year’s event:

1) staging area will continue at the Westridge School (Saturday morning thru Monday at noon),

2) there will be free camping (for racers and their support) at the school grounds Saturday & Sunday nights,

3) there will be “cold” showers (with Tecnu available) at the school Saturday, Sunday, & Monday,

4) each racer will receive a T-shirt,

5) each racer will receive a customized (laminated) number plate,

6) Sunday morning breakfast,

7) race start is at “Office Bridge” aka Red Covered Bridge in Westfir,

8) well-supplied aid stations throughout the course (with real food!), no more that 15 miles apart, GU Gels passed up, real food items passed up, etc,

9) pre-filled water bottles passed out at aid stations with H2O or GU Brew,

10) neutral mechanical support at Aid Stations,

11) Ham radio communications between Aid Stations throughout the race from start to finish (watching out for your safety),

12) First Aid at all Aid Stations,

13) “Best marked race course ever!”

14) 50% single track,

15) two lap course,

16) 18,000 feet of elevation gain (if you finish),

17) the best volunteer support you’ve ever seen at a race!,

18) shuttle service provided on race day for supporters & spectators,

19) an embroidered finisher hat for every finisher,

20) Cascade Cream Puff water bottles to take home (at least 2),

21) very well-maintained trails,

22) a portion of your entry fee goes to support the trails, $1,000.00 went to Disciple of Dirt and Greater Oakridge Trail Stewards last year,

23) a portion of your entry fee goes to support scholarship funds for the Oakridge High School, TBD,

24) Sunday night meal, included with registration,

25) SWAG raffle,

26) the trail stewards watching out for your safety before and after the race,

27) the trail stewards marking and maintaining the trails before and after the race,

28) 2009 race course this year (permit dependant): Tire Mountain Trail, Winberry Divide Trail, Winberry Tie, classic Alpine Trail descent from Jedi section down! I think this is my favorite course!
I’m sure I’m forgetting something...doh! Did I mention this was a bargain!

Cascade Cream Puff Visions

As I have gotten older my visions have changed. I look forward to the next
view……
Taking care of and protecting the trails has always been job one! The field
entry for the CCP in has always been limited to protect the trails! During
the first few years we kept the field limit to 100 entries, even though we
did not come close to filling. “It’s about the trails.” It was only possible in the early years to have a three lap course (now we can put together a two lap course).

When I founded the CCP in 1995 it was my goal to get other local people to
step up to the challenge of longer rides. It used to be hard to get anyone
to ride a 33 mile loop with me. They thought I was insane to want to do some
of the rides I suggested! Back in that era the (“Tired Mountain”) Tire
Mountain loop (25 miles) was considered the “hard ride” of the area. I
wanted to get the event up and running, then pass the torch of Race
Directorship on to someone else so I could participate in the race myself.
After 1995 Richard Sweet and I ran the CCP together. I got to race it in
1996 and 1997. 1998 was Richard’s first year racing the CCP; I ran the show
that day.

I also wanted an endurance mountain bike event in my local area that had a
lot of single track in it (“I LOVE SINGLE TRACK!”). I had participated in
three 100 mile mountain bike races over the three previous years that were
almost all gravel roads. It felt good to finish the event those three years, but it
wasn’t very much fun, or very challenging, except for the distance.

And I wanted the event to have good support, well-stocked aid stations! I
wanted the aid stations to have water bottles pre-filled with water and
sports drinks, as well as real food at the aid stations. Keeping it safe for
all participants is also part of the aid station support mission!

Taking care of the volunteers has always been one of my highest priorities!
I tried to make sure that every volunteer at least received a T-shirt for
their efforts. By the time I founded the CCP I had volunteered at several
events, and I really appreciated receiving a T-shirt for my efforts!

Keeping the event affordable and a bargain for the participants was also a
goal of mine (I lost a lot of my own money those first few years!), and it
is still a goal. I have always appreciated when I register for an event that
everything provided at the event is included in the entry fee, no nickel and
diming me for every little thing.

The harsh winter of 1995 caused the trails in our region to suffer a lot of
damage! Tire Mountain trail was closed to all users, and it stayed closed
for several years. During an early season work party (Hardesty Mountain
trail) I met one of my life heroes: Joe McKim. Joe was about 5 feet tall and
probably weighed about 140 pounds. Joe and I worked together that day
clearing a “jackpot” of trees. Joe was wielding a large chain saw, with
precision and ease, and I was doing the “swamping.” We were cutting large
trees, approximately two to three feet in diameter, off the trail. (I think
Joe was 67 years old at that time.) I remember thinking to myself during the
day, “This old guy is going to work me into the dirt!” I hadn’t considered
operating a chain saw before working with Joe but after seeing him work I
became inspired! Also, I could see by the amount of trees down that winter
that there was a lot of work that needed to be done in the woods that year!
I began to have a vision of operating a chain saw myself. I went out with
Joe several more times that year and as often as I could drag him out with
me in the years that followed until his death in the spring of 2002. Joe was
a good friend and an excellent sawyer! He was a friend to the CCP and an
inspiration to all who got to know him! I think of Joe every time I am in
the Jedi section of the Alpine trail. Joe was truly a “Jedi Master”; he kind
of reminded me of Yoda.

It was late spring, early summer of 1995 that I met another of my life
heroes: Bob Obermyer. Bob and I have become good friends over the years but
in the beginning I was the pupil and he was the instructor. I forced my way
into a training session with the United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service and started running a chain saw with the help of Bob’s
instruction. I received my “B level” certification that year. I could “buck”
24 inches in diameter or smaller trees off the trail, no “felling.” I have
continued my annual certifications to operate power saws and crosscut saws
every year since 1995 with the USDA Forest Service. My vision expanded to
become a “C level” bucker, no limit on the size of tree I can buck off the
trails (my largest tree cut to date so far is approximately 5 feet in
diameter). I still have no certification for felling; the Forest Service
does not like to give those out to volunteers! I’ve looked forward to
working on the trails with Bob every year since 1995. It will be a sad day
in my life if I can’t drag him out with me to work on the trails! Bob may
retire soon. Selfishly, I occasionally try to talk him out of it.

Due to the closure of Tire Mountain trail we needed to change our course for
the CCP. In 1996 the course for the event changed completely to the Alpine
and North Fork trails and the logging roads that access those trails. There
was also about ½ mile of pavement each lap. The vision changed to a figure 8
course, what has become the classic aid stations 2 and 3 were born. Every
year since 1996 aid station 2 has been in the same place and participants of
the CCP pass by more than three times during the race! The carnival came to
Windy Pass!

The winter of 1995 also did a lot of damage to the Alpine trail! There must
have been approximately 200 trees across the trail! We worked long and hard
that year cutting those trees off the trail. There was also a serious injury
on one of our work parties: Shelly Collins cut her foot with a Pulaski, and
we had to carry her off the mountain! Shelly went to surgery that evening.
The CCP’s first fallen comrade has regained almost full sensation to her
foot. Shelly, who is also a friend of mine, still works on the trails for
the USDA Forest Service. Even though we don’t work together often enough I
look forward to those days!

The winter of 1996 was also a very bad year for the trails!
Of the first four years of the CCP we ran 3 different race courses (‘96 and
‘97 were the same). The vision changed to keep mixing it up. In 1995 the
race was held in September. 1996 the event moved to July. The ‘97 and ‘98
races were in June.

At the end of 1998 Richard and I were ready for a change. I wanted to revive
another trail, the Bunchgrass Ridge portion of the Eugene to Crest Trail.
And Richard wanted out of the CCP also (you’d have to ask him his reasons
why). Our vision for the CCP was to let it go rather than not have it
continue to be an excellent event! Leadership did not step forward to take
the helm. In 1999 the event did not happen. Don (aka Shiggy) stepped up to
take the helm in 2000 and ran the event through 2006.

When Shiggy approached me in June of 2006 and informed me he was done
running the race and it was mine back if I wanted it, I told him I needed to
talk to my wife first and also Richard to see if either one or both of them
were interested in being involved in the proposition. Both were interested
and with their support I began to have visions again…..(I think this is a
good time to mention that the Bunchgrass Ridge trail did get revived!)…..

My next vision took me to changing the race course to the Bunchgrass Ridge
trail; after all, it needs traffic! After much deliberation and discussion
with others I decided against changing the course that dramatically on the
first year of my return as Race Director. It would have changed the nature
of the event too much from what it has become. Gone would be the carnival at
aid station 2; the classic Alpine descent would have gone away also; the
logistics of not finishing would be much more complicated; and many other
reasons. The Bunchgrass Ridge would have to wait for another day…..or
maybe…..a new event!!!!! I’m still cogitating on that one…..

A VISION FOR YOU, A FANTASY FOR ME!

A fantasy/goal of mine for the past several years has been for every
mountain biker “in my little town” (and around the world) to adopt a trail
of his/her very own! If everyone adopted just one trail and made sure it was
maintained throughout the year we would all benefit immeasurably! The
Cascade Cream Puff Trail Care Crew has officially adopted the Alpine Trail.
I have unofficially adopted the Bunchgrass Ridge trail. I work on a large
variety of trails all year round!

The Cascade Cream Puff has a group of men and women who work on the trails
in and around the western Cascades, mostly around the towns of Westfir and
Oakridge, Oregon. Some of these men and women are known as Trail Stewards, others are known as Disciples of Dirt, still others are fondly referred to as cowboys!
Other volunteer groups, and government employees also work on these trails.
To all of these people I am thankful!

“IT’S ABOUT THE TRAILS.”

Scott A. Taylor
Race Director:
Cascade Cream Puff

It’s about the trails!! I’ve been spending a lot of time over the last days, months, and years thinking about trail maintenance, trail conditions, my roles and involvement in the above, the DOD’s (Disciples of Dirt mountain bike club) & now GOATS (Greater Oakridge Area Trail Stewards) roles in above, other trail users, etc.

For at least the last 20 years I have spent a large amount of my time doing trail maintenance on the trails in the Western Cascades, mostly in the Oakridge/Willamette River drainage's and the ridges above those drainage's. I first became certified (with the USFS) to operate a chain saw in the summer of 1996, the spring after the 1st Cascade Cream Puff 100 (a 100 mile mountain bike race I founded and helped promote for several years). I have continued renewing my certification every year since then. It’s very rewarding and very time consuming to continue this work. I receive no monetary compensation for this work. I actually spend quite a bit of my own money to do this work (gas, chain saws, specialty boots, gloves, saw maintenance, etc.).

Something I have discovered about working on the high Cascade trails, using a chain saw, is that the operational window (because of fire restrictions) is very narrow. Some trails are still under snow when the restrictions go into effect!

Back in 2000 when Richard Sweet and I passed the Race Directorship on to Don Person I suggested that the race be moved a little later in the year (July) to allow more time to work on the trails before the chain saw closure went into effect, also to have more predictable weather. I believe one of the years after 2000 the CCP did happen in late July. It was the year of my personal best time in the CCP! I had done a huge amount of trail maintenance on the Bunchgrass Ridge that year (I believe it to be a very good cross training). One year (June 1996) it rained and snowed during the CCP; fortunately the number of racers were only in the 30’s. The trails did not suffer too much damage, and we repaired said damage after the race. The weather is more predictable in July also. My good friends who have lived in Oakridge for the past 20 or so years (Bob & Sue Obermeyer) also told me that the mornings and evenings are cooler in July than in June (surprise!). It’s mostly because of the above reasons that I have moved the date for the CCP back to July. The 2007 CCP will be Sunday July 8th. I plan to continue to run the CCP on the 1st weekend in July, for years to come, as long as I am the Race Director, barring unforeseen difficulties. This decision was made after talking with many people of different interests, including and not limited to: my wife, Richard Sweet, some of the lead volunteers for the CCP, other volunteers, other mountain biking event directors, land managers, and racers.

If you’re a returning racer or volunteer welcome back! If you’re a new participant, volunteer, or spectator welcome! This years event will be as good or better than best years of the past. Count on having a memorable and excellent time. Registration to this event is limited in order to protect the trails and to keep the feel of the event intimate. And remember it’s about the trails!!

Scott A. Taylor aka: Captain Cream Puff
Founder/Race Director of Cascade Cream Puff 100
Edited: November 30th, 2011