THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2022 A3
LocalNews
Life in the bike lane
BY BILL BARTLETT
Redmond Spokesman
If you are seeing more bicy-
clists on Redmond streets, some
of them sporting neckties, your
eyes are not playing tricks on
you.
The number of local cyclists
is growing while the popular-
ity of cycling grows nationwide.
And with gas prices still near $5
a gallon, biking as an alternate
means of commuting is gaining
traction as well.
Redmond residents may
be curious if their city is bicy-
cle friendly and safe for two-
wheeled travelers.
Nationally, Oregon is ranked
number 2 by the Bike League
for bicycle friendliness, the cer-
tifying organization most used
to rate state and local govern-
ments. Within Oregon there are
12 certified communities, five
universities and 28 businesses.
While not a certified Bike
League city, Redmond comes
close to meeting the five-point
criteria.
THE NUMBERS
Redmond does have approx-
imately 100 lane miles of bike
lanes along shared streets.
That includes right bike stop
boxes and one green bike lane
that is used for the crossover
turn lane at the intersection of
NW 19th St. and Maple. There
are also four green bike cross
walks on Fifth and Sixth streets
at Deschutes.
Additionally, there are 12
miles of designated bike trails
and ten minor bike repair sta-
tions throughout the commu-
nity.
Mason Brown and Austin St Clair ride down Sixth Street in downtown Redmond recently. Both said a bike is
the best way to get around town.
CROWDS GROWING
Both Redmond bike shops
have enjoyed a sharp rise in
sales since the onset of COVID
and both are still experiencing
supply chain issues due to the
demand, although they now
have an adequate inventory to
offer riders plenty of options.
For much of 2020 and nearly
all of 2021 there were simply
not enough bikes in Redmond
to fill customer wishes.
Adrian Higham at Hutch’s
Bicycles on 7th Street believes
Redmond is completely safe
for riders, even younger cy-
clists. They sell bikes to fami-
lies whose 4th and 5th graders
regularly ride to school unac-
companied.
Mason Moore, 15, a soph-
omore at Ridgeview, has a
summer job at Hutch’s and has
no fear of riding anywhere in
town. He and his friends are
regular riders in “the canyon”
where they share the trail with
walkers and a growing number
of Onewheels, self-balancing
electric skateboards that have
exploded in popularity.
Dry Canyon is the destina-
tion of choice for many family
Photo by Bill Bartlett for the Spokesman
Protected bicycle lines are colored at busy intersections where vehicles,
bicycles and pedestrians cross.
Photo by Bill Bartlett for the Spokesman
bicycle outings as it is within
range of almost any rider in
the city. It offers unimpeded
paved paths, intermittent
shade and rest spots, and a
feeling of being in the country
while being just a few blocks
from downtown.
LOCK IT AND LEAVE IT
Redmond has some bike
racks throughout its boundaries
and particularly in the down-
town core and its parks, some
of them quite imaginative. The
goal is to make bike commut-
ing as easy as possible. All new
multi-use projects in the city —
from apartments to strip malls
— are required by development
code to provide adequate, se-
cure bike parking.
Redmond is part of the na-
tional Bike Index program. It
is the most widely used and
successful bicycle registration
service in the world with over
892,000 cataloged bikes, 1,420
community partners and tens
of thousands of daily searches.
That system can help connect a
bicycle with its rightful owner
if it stolen and recovered else-
where.
BIKING TO WORK
More and more Redmond
residents are commuting on two
wheels.
John Meyer lives on SW
Canyon Drive, about 2.5 miles
from his office. Except for days
when the weather is bad, Meyer
makes trips to and from his
office by bike, sometimes go-
ing back-and-forth from home
more than once a day.
Meyer said that Redmond is a
bike-friendly place to live.
“Definitely friendly,” he said,
though noted that “in terms of
safety, there are still too many
people driving and texting.”
Meyer and Higham both
cited the need for wider shoul-
ders on some roads where the
bike lane is precariously close to
the edge of vehicle traffic.
Across Redmond you can
find bike commuters from
school teachers to professionals
to executives. Meyer is a finan-
cial advisor. Greg Hodecker,
owner of Midstate Fertilizer
Company, commutes by bike
— as does Mike Easterbrooks
and David Woods of Hayden
Homes. Easterbrooks, Hayden’s
IT manager, and Woods, its
controller, are but two of a num-
ber of Hayden staff who bike to
work.
BIKES ON THE SIDEWALK
Downtown, it’s illegal to bike
on the sidewalk — but riders are
unlikely to be cited.
Redmond Police Depart-
ment often uses the violation as
a teaching moment so as not to
discourage cycling but to keep
it safe. Another rule to keep in
mind: Bicycles cannot obstruct
or impede access to local busi-
nesses.
Mason Brown and Austin St
Clair, both 12 and seventh grad-
ers at Elton Gregory Middle
School, ride as far as their legs
will take them in Redmond.
“It’s completely safe,” they
said in unison. “We never
worry.”
Cutting horse competition hits Redmond Sept. 8
By Spokesman staff
The Cascades Futurity and
Aged cutting-horse competi-
tion will arrive at the Deschutes
County Fairgrounds and Expo
Center from September 8-18,
where cowboys and cowgirls
attempt to work cattle and
claim their part of more than
$500,000 in prize money.
Spectators can watch the fi-
nesse of both rider and horse
as they team up to attempt to
trap the cow in the center of
the show pen. This necessary
skill continues today on ranches
worldwide when crews need to
separate cattle from a herd to
doctor or vaccinate.
During the era of the open
range, cattle from different out-
fits would often drift apart, so in
the spring and fall, neighboring
ranchers joined for a roundup
to sort out their brands.
Ranchers and their remu-
das (horses that ranch hands
chose to mount daily) accom-
plished the task of separating
Submitted photos
FILE- Redmond is huge draw for equestrian-related events and horse
vacations. A cutting horse event is scheduled for Sept. 8-18 at the De-
schutes County Fairgrounds.
the cattle. Each cowboy had
several horses in their remuda,
each well-trained and suited for
specific jobs. A steady mount
was needed to patrol the herd
during the night, and during the
morning, a spirited bronc would
be used to quickly travel to the
far reaches of the roundup.
The cutting horse was the
elite member of the remuda — a
horse that pricked its ears to-
ward a cow, watched it travel,
wary of its every move, instinc-
tively knowing how to handle
the cow. These abilities were
nurtured and prized among
cowboys because it made sepa-
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rating branded cattle easier.
“It was worth the trip to
brush country just to sit above
Ol’ Gotch and feel his shoulders
roll, watch his ears work and
head drop low when he looked
an old steer in the eye,” said
cowboy humorist Will Rogers
after his visit to a South Texas
ranch during the 1920s.
Cattle are herd animals so
they will instinctively return
to the group if separated. With
that in mind, a horse and rider
team quietly ride into the herd,
select and “cut” or separate one
cow at a time from the group.
Once the cow has been cut, the
rider is no longer allowed to
use their reins. Trained cutting
horses are required to think on
their own and anticipate the
cow’s moves. The competition is
judged on difficulty, finesse and
how well the horse anticipates
and reacts to the cow. This is the
only equine competition where
the horse is required to think
for itself.
The first advertised cutting
contest was held at the 1898
Cowboy Reunion in Haskell,
Texas. Ranch hands competed
against each other to see who
could separate and isolate the
cattle the fastest and cleanest.
This soon turned in to an of-
ficial timed competition with
rules to show the finesse of the
cow horse.
From cutting’s roots in Has-
kell to Australia each year there
are thousands of cutting events
attracting riders aged eight to
eighty competing in levels sep-
arated by the age of the horse or
the amount of money the horse
or rider have won.
Cascades Futurity and Aged
Event is Oregon’s only National
Cutting Horse Association event
where competitors of all divi-
sions compete for over $500,000
in prizes. This brings competi-
tion from more than ten states.
For Hall of Fame riders compet-
ing in this sport, it’s a way of life
and a living.
The event also offers a West-
ern Heritage Vendor Expo fea-
turing the 1904 Mercantile.
Western-based vendors, food,
and a saloon will also be on site..
There are many cutting
events around the world, but
few are produced by a staff of
women like Cascades Futurity.
The event was started in 2018
by Bend resident and owner
of Clarke Butte Ranch, Julie
Clarke. Clarke and her team
handle cattle contracts, market-
ing and advertising, set-up, and
tear down, development, styling
and running a concierge booth.
Come sit ringside at the 5th
annual Cascades Futurity and
Aged Event and enjoy watching
the best horses and riders in the
industry against local cattle.
The event runs from Thurs-
day, Sept. 8 through Sunday,
Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit
www.cascadesfuturity.com,
email info@cascadesfuturity.
com or call 503-501-6498.
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