Banana Belt #2 Canceled Because of Snow

A late-winter storm that dumped a layer of snow in and around the Portland area Sunday morning prompted promoter Jeff Mitchem to cancel the second race of the Banana Belt series scheduled for Henry Hagg Lake.

Instead, we have this classic video from the 1988 Giro's legendary Stage 14 slog over the snow-covered Gavia Pass.

Andy Hampsten, riding for the 7-Eleven squad, topped the pass with Dutchman Erik Breukink and survived the bone-chilling 25k descent that followed. Hampsten finished second on the stage behind Breukink, but his heroic effort pushed him to the top of the overall standings on his way to becoming the first (and only) American to win the Giro d' Italia.

Emerging From The Snow Banks

Well, the blog has faced an extended stagnant period brought about by a rare Northwest Oregon snowstorm that dumped about three feet of powder on my currently impassible driveway (at about 1,000 feet of elevation). That wasn't necessarily a problem. The real drag was the four-day power outage covering the holidays. It was definitely an old-timey Christmas here. But now Oregon Cycling Action is back in ... uh ... action.

It might take a while to get my sh#t back together (it was once?), but I'll soon be posting some photos of my version of the ARCTIC BLAST.

By the way, shoveling snow is great cross training.