OTA Dispatch Issue 2 2019

22 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch Delivering Essentials to One of Oregon’s Largest Cycling Events By Vilija Jozaitis, OTA’s Marketing & Communications Manager CYCLE OREGON’S CLASSIC, a staple cycling event in the state, is now in its 32nd year and has grown to over 2,000 participants. Organizing a nonprofit event requires a lot of preparation and gathering resources. For the Classic, that means months of planning, over 300 volunteers, arranging for 2,500 meals per day, and… relying on big rigs! The Classic is a week-long bicycle event on a pre- arranged route with stops in small towns across Oregon. Supply trucks will follow an alternate (longer) route to meet the cyclists at each day’s end location. Basecamps along the route stretch out over about 10–15 acres, and though hotels may be available, most people choose to camp. Cycle Oregon contracts different local trucking companies for tractors, trailers, and truck driving services. Last year, they hired five 53’ trailers to haul participant duffel bags, camping supplies, chairs, dry goods, and utilized a refrigerated trailer for perishable food and beverages. With so many trucks, how do participants find their bags? Each truck is labeled, so participants know what truck their supplies are in. Volunteers unload and lay out all the bags, and participants walk the line to find their luggage. Food Services of America delivers daily food to the event. Cycle Oregon also works with a company out of Washington for catered food services that supplies 4–5 mobile kitchen and bunk house tractors per day. But, it’s not just food and supplies that make the event function. After an all-day ride, sometimes with significantly steep inclines, cyclists want to shower! Last year, the organization ordered seven mobile shower trailers with water storage. That totals over 18 trailers per day for all supplies, food, and water. Cycle Oregon has even considered hiring their own truck drivers because of how much the event has grown. The event route and stop locations change each year, and the organizers will do a pre-ride through the route to make sure there are no issues. “We’re a nonprofit and like to support small town communities, so we usually pick routes outside the I-5 corridor. It brings business to those areas, and we utilize volunteers from all the towns we visit to help us put on the event,” explains Cycle Oregon’s Executive Director, Steve Schulz. Although the Cycle Oregon team may assist with trucking logistics, they usually leave that up to the experts— the trucking companies. INTERESTING HAULS SERIES The Classic is a week-long bicycle event on a pre-arranged route with stops in small towns across Oregon. Supply trucks will follow an alternate (longer) route to meet the cyclists at each day’s end location.