Cycle Oregon massage services keep human machines tuned - OregonLive.com

[massage]

GOLD BEACH – This is a massage room unlike any in Portland.

With Bob Marley & The Wailers' "Positive Vibration" pulsing from speakers, a mirrored disco ball swirls above a large conference room in the Event Center on the Beach in this coastal town. Decorative strings of light hang from lattice along the walls. Nearly 20 massage tables are arrayed throughout the open room, not a privacy curtain in sight. Bare feet poke from underneath white sheets.

And this is a better-than-usual setup for Cycle Oregon, said Michelle Mahoney, 48, of Berkeley, California, as she awaited a massage Wednesday.

"We're not outside in a really big tent," said Mahoney, referring to the typical rain and cold temperatures that can visit Cycle Oregon massage accommodations.

Massage services have been offered to Cycle Oregon riders since the first week-long bicycle event was offered 29 years ago, in September 1988.

The service has proven to be popular for tired, sore riders. Wednesday's appointment schedule for 19 therapists was nearly filled, from noon to 11 p.m. That was partly because Wednesday was the off day in the seven-day tour of Southwest Oregon that began Sunday and will end Saturday in Myrtle Creek in Douglas County.

Massage therapist Amy Bennett, owner of Elemental Bodywork LLC, 510 N.E. Dekum St. in Portland, has been among the Cycle Oregon therapists for nine years.

"There's something out of the ordinary about setting up your office in a big tent. It's a unique experience," said Bennett, who serves on a board that decides who is allowed onto the Cycle Oregon massage team.

Massage times, typically for 30 minutes or an hour, often are packed, such as Wednesday. But that's not always the case, such as Monday when many riders arrived hours after they'd planned due to a challenging course – with many of them missing scheduled massage times.

Most therapists along for ride aren't doing it just for monetary reasons.

"I don't believe it's a money maker for me," Bennett said. "I'm missing clients in my office ...my rates in my practice are higher than what we charge at Cycle Oregon." The Cycle Oregon massage rates are $50 for a half hour; $90 for an hour.

In addition to money, two of the chief attractions for Bennett are the camaraderie of professionals and travel.

"We work alone, most of us," Bennett said. "So there's a certain amount of isolation in the community. The opportunity to get together with other therapists is special."

And thanks to Cycle Oregon, Bennett has traveled to several corners of the state.

"If you're going to have a working vacation," she said, "that's one way to do it."

Massage therapist Raeanne Lewman of Portland has returned for 26 years – the longest duration of any therapist on the ride, along with therapist Gary Hall. She concurred with Bennett.

"I've lived in Oregon all my life," said Lewman, 69, owner of Essential Balance at 10175 S.W. Barbur Blvd. "But through Cycle Oregon, I've met Oregon. I've gone to places I never would have gone if I hadn't been on Cycle Oregon."

Lewman is capable of assessing a patient in minutes, recognizing a misaligned sacrum and an aggravated sciatic nerve, then working the gluteus maximus and psoas muscles to relieve pain.

There's more to it than sightseeing, Lewman said. "Bigger than that is this team I work with. They're wonderful people and it's like a reunion every year," Lewman said. "And I love getting to know the people who ride. Cycle Oregon draws a whole breadth of people together."

Mahoney, a video producer with Adobe in California, is one of them. This Cycle Oregon is the second she has ridden. And Wednesday's massage was her second visit to the Event Center on the Beach in two days. Both massages were needed in preparation for a much-anticipated, nearly 20-mile climb up Bear Camp Road on Thursday, she said. It will be a 71-mile day; 7,400 feet of elevation gain.

"We have a really big climb tomorrow and we've been killing our muscles," on the ride's first few days, she said. "We need to work out the lactic acid and get them ready for the next day."

--Allan Brettman

[email protected]

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman

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