A Faster Me, a racing team based in southern California, will race in the Baker City Cycling Classic June 20-22 in Baker City. One member is Ellen (Schneider) Strickland, a 1999 graduate of Baker High School. (Ellen Strickland/Contributed Photo)

Baker High grad Ellen (Schneider) Strickland joins the race

BAKER CITY — Coaching, said Anthony Strickland, is part of his personality.

“I couldn’t just watch a sport for entertainment — I had to watch it and break it down,” he said.

He would, for instance, record football games, then cut up the footage to make highlight reels.

Playing quarterback edged him more into a coach role.

“You spend a lot of time with the coaches, and a lot of time coaching other players,” he said.

Now he’s coaching a cycling team — under the name “A Faster Me” — in southern California, and this week he’s heading north for the Baker City Cycling Classic.

His wife, Ellen (Schneider) Strickland, a 1999 graduate of Baker High School, will compete in the three-day, four-stage race with the team.

“It’s a big event for a small town,” she said.

The race

The Baker City Cycling Classic is June 20-22. Brian Cimmiyotti, the race director, expects around 300 racers. Registration is open until June 19 at bakercitycyclingclassic.com.

Awards are doubled this year, he said, with $20,000 in cash and prizes, plus $8,000 minimum payout for the pro races.

The payout is equal for men and women, thanks to a sponsorship from BELLA Main Street Market, he said. Also, this race is one of a few where women race the same courses, and same distances, as the men.

Another highlight of this year’s event, Cimmiyotti said, is that defending champion Cameron Jones is coming back. He recently won the Unbound Gravel race in Kansas.

“Our defending champion is a top rider,” Cimmiyotti said.

The first day, Friday, June 20, is the 78-mile Catherine Creek Road Race.

Saturday, June 21, features two races — the Baker City Time Trial in the morning, and the Downtown Criterium at 1:30 p.m. The Crit is the best stage for spectators because the groups race a one-mile lap on downtown streets. The last category, the men’s pro racers, start at 7 p.m.

The weekend wraps up Sunday, June 22, with an 84-mile road race that ends at Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort.

“This will be by far the biggest race I’ve ever done,” Ellen Strickland said.

She’ll ride with teammates from A Faster Me — Marlaina Bemis Zubchevich (who will celebrate her birthday on June 21 racing in the Criterium), Elisa Luo, Naomi Bisagno, Carolina Rabbat, Autumn Vegh and Jesse Brewer.

Anthony Strickland started racing bicycles in 2016, and began coaching in 2021. He started A Faster Me in December 2023. The team practices together and races together.

The team name, he said, encourages racers to focus on improving themselves.

“It’s big in the sport to compare yourself to others,” he said. “Don’t worry about everybody else — ‘I’m just trying to be a faster version of me.’”

He has a YouTube channel and Instagram page, and A Faster Me will set up a tent during the Downtown Criterium on Saturday.

Spaghetti feed

Racers and the community are invited to a spaghetti feed on Friday from 5-8 p.m. at Churchill School, 3451 Broadway St. The meal is all-you-can-eat and presented by Baker City Harvest Church as a fundraiser for Royal Rangers, the church’s youth program. Meal tickets are $15.

Kids bike race

The Baker County YMCA will again host kid races on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Main Street prior to the Downtown Criterium. There will be races for ages five to 13, as well as a training wheels race, starting at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Main Street. Entry is free.

Junior Criterium

Cimmiyotti said an addition this year is a junior race sponsored by the Horner Cycling Foundation. This is an official event of OBRA, the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association. It begins at 3:55 p.m. Saturday, June 21, and registration is open until 5 p.m. June 20.

This race is for ages 9 to 14. For information, or to register, visit obra.org/schedule and scroll to the June 21 calendar entry.