Alley Cross Benefit Race Blends City Grit and Muddy Fun

Friday, November 21, 2014

Üma Kleppinger, GoLocalPDX Contributor

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Alley Cross PDX 2014 Race Series kicks off Sat, Nov 29th at Normandy Park.

What do you get when you mix a large stretch of pavement, a healthy dose of dirt, some back alleys, gravel, city streets, mud, rain and costumes? Why, you get Alley Cross, of course! And fasten your helmet buckles because it’s coming to Portland next weekend.

Alley Cross combines the gritty urban form of bike racing, known as the alley cat, with cyclocross, which is pretty much a required form of winter recreation and fitness for any serious cyclist in Portland.

Alley cat racing involves racing through the city, often using a route of the rider’s choosing, to various checkpoints. Checkpoints may simply be timed runs, or they may require completion of a task, such as taking a shot of tequila or hot sauce, answering a riddle, winning a rock-paper-scissor challenge, or a scavenger hunt. Points may be awarded for skillfully (or artfully) completing checkpoint challenges.

Typically, alley cat races are considered the province of messengers and scrappy urban cyclists, whereas cyclocross is considered more of an athletic pursuit where good bike handling skills and superb fitness and strength win races. Either category of rider can be fit and fast, but alley cross can be won by quick thinking, as much as it requires fast riding.

The 2014 Alley Cross PDX Race Series kicks off next Saturday, November 29th, at 11am at Normandy Park, providing a perfect post-Turkey Day opportunity to pedal off the pounds. The entry fee for the race is sliding scale donation, with proceeds benefitting Janus Youth, an organization which helps provide a second chance for adolescents struggling with homelessness and drug abuse.

Heckling and costumes are both highly encouraged at Alley Cross, so if you’re not up for racing, don your festive best and head out to cheer on the racers and enter the raffle. Thousands of dollars worth of prizes have been donated by dozens of area bike shops and businesses. The grand prize is a Felt Breed singlespeed cyclocross bike from Metropolis Cycle Repair.

For details and more information, visit the event facebook page.

Üma Kleppinger is a Portland-based copy writer, author and bike addict. A recovering sesquipedalian who writes about life in the saddle and outdoor adventure, she is also the author of Bike Yoga, a flexibility and recovery program for cyclists. When not writing, she can be found riding and racing her mountain bike throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Related Slideshow: 10 Tips For A Healthy Thanksgiving Day

Here are 10 tips and tricks to keep your diet and exercise goals in tact on the biggest food holiday of the year.

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Do NOT Skip Meals

Limit your intake of calories leading up to the big day. Eat breakfast and a protein-packed lunch before the big feast. If you starve yourself during the day, you could wind up SO hungry that by the time you sit down at the dinner table you eat WAY too much food.

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Lean Meat

Go for lean, white meat turkey to get the most bank for your calorie-buck. Dark meat has about 15 % more calories and 30-40% more fat than light meat. If you prefer the dark meat, then at least take off the skin since that is where most of the fat (added calories) is.

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Protein First

Start with the protein (animal or vegetarian). Start with your protein choice and then work on the vegetables. Leave the starchy carbs until the end. The protein will help slow the brake down of the starchy carbs. All that chewing will help you to feel full before you get to the starch.

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Breathe

Pause and take some breaths. After you finish each dish on your plate put your fork town. Take a couple of slow deep breaths. Enjoy what you've previously eaten before starting on the next dish. The deep breaths don't have to be obvious. Taking pauses and some deep breaths will also help aid digestion.

Photo Credit: shawnzrossi via Compfight cc

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Drinks?

Choose calorie free beverages. If you are going to be having alcoholic beverages then everything else you drink should be calorie free. Skip the pop, coffees and juices. Drink lots of water to avoid the dehydration that comes along with drinking too much.

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Side Dish

Ask if you can make a side dish - make it an easy guilt free dish so you will have at least one thing to splurge on. Veggie dishes don't have to be boring.

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Exercise

Burn calories! The more calories you burn with activity, the more food you can consume without feeling terrible about it. Do not skip the exercise leading up to the feast or on the day of. Make time to get to exercise and raise your heart rate. Your metabolism will thank you for it.

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Your Outfit

Wear form fitting clothing and you will be less likely to overeat. No sweat pants or stretchy pants. No one wants to see you with your pants unbuttoned after the meal.

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Your Plate

Use a salad plate instead of a regular dinner plate. If your plate is smaller you will not have as much room on it and won't overload it with too much of the stuff you shouldn't have a lot of. Also, this helps trick your eye; no one likes to see half their plate empty.

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Goals

Keep your goal in mind! Although you may only overindulge a couple times over the holidays- a little plus a little plus a little adds up to a whole lot. Remind yourself why you are choosing to lose weight and keep that goal in the forefront of your mind.

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Bonus Tip!

Have a hard boiled egg or 10 nuts about 45 minutes prior to the main meal. Having approximately 70 - 100 calories will help you to minimize your level of hunger so you can better control your portion sizes.