Message Pages

	News and Updates
	Sep-19-2023
ENTRY FEES DUE Good Afternoon! Entry fees are now due. Payments can be made via money orders, checks, zelle, apple pay, or venmo using my phone number 503-510-2661. Anyone that has paid for birds that are missing or unable to go to the first race will be refunded after the 200 mile race. If you are unable or choosing not to enter your team, please let me know so I can make them available for others to enter. I tried to get the birds out on a 55 mile toss this morning, but ended up bringing them back...too much smoke on the course for my liking. I'm not sure when the first race will be exactly, there is some weather moving in and I want to get a few tosses on these birds before the 200 mile race. Birds are looking good and happy to get out and fly. I wanted to let them stay out longer today, but had a prairie falcon come in and start harassing them. Keep you all posted as I know more. Take Care Lucas
	Sep-16-2023
Good Afternoon! Well, yesterday's 150 activation did not go as well as I had hoped. The birds did so well on the previous two 100 mile tosses that yesterday's toss was a definite surprise. The majority of birds continue to trickle in from the north today, which tells me there was a group that missed the loft and over shot. The birds did pick up a tailwind on yesterday's toss and at about 2,000 feet there was a significant tailwind. The 150 mile activation can be tough on our course and this is one of the reasons I like to make the activation race a 150 rather than 100 miles. The birds are returning in pretty good shape, just tired. I haven't seen any injuries yet. Yesterday got to about 90 in the afternoon, so I think a lot of the late birds went down, found water and stayed down. Hopefully, I will continue to see them trickle in through today and tomorrow. I will be out of cell phone reception this afternoon and into tomorrow morning. If you need anything just send me a text or leave me a message and I will get back with you tomorrow morning. I'm going to the mountains to help pace a friend on the last 30 miles of his 20th 100 mile race! Entry fees can be paid through Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay using my phone 503-510-2661 or money orders and checks are just fine. If you have prize funds from the sprint race those can be applied to entry fees...just let me know. I will be looking closely at next week's weather to see when the first race will be held. Take Care Lucas 503-510-2661
	Sep-14-2023
150 MILE ACTIVATION TOMORROW Good Morning! Tomorrow looks like a good day to have the 150 mile activation/sprint race. Forecast is looking for clear skies all the way with a possible slight tail wind out of the southeast as they get a bit closer to home. Temperatures at release are going to be around 60 and 75-80 at the loft when they get home. Birds will be loaded this evening and I will head down and spend the night at the release point. Most likely birds will be released around 7:30. Birds are looking great and flying well. Activation fees will be due after tomorrow's 150 mile trainer/race. Those that have funds available from the sprint series are welcome to roll those funds over to pay entry fees. As most of you know that watch the trainers daily, there can be a delay with the Topigeon server posting results when I have large groups clock closely together. I have been working with Topigeon and Wincompanion to try and fix this for some time now. The birds clock just fine and the results are in the clock, it just takes a bit for the Topigeon server to process the data. I want to apologize for the delay, it is very frustrating since it is out of my control and this server change was made at the beginning of July. Some days it works just fine and others it is a real pain in the ass. There will be some changes made for the 2024 season. Good Luck tomorrow! As always feel free to reach out with any questions. Lucas
	Sep-10-2023
SPRINT RACE PAYOUT Good Afternoon! Birds had a good 103 mile toss from Silver Lake this morning. I'm very happy with how they performed today. Looking ahead at weather, I will loft fly tomorrow and then try for another 103 mile toss on Tuesday. I have worked up a preliminary sprint payout based on 173 birds...payout may change since I do not have all payments in hand. It is too late to activate any other birds in the sprint series. Link can be found under the "race info" tab or you can click on this link. 2023 Sprint Race Payout -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, *Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B*
	Sep-09-2023
TRAINING/SPRINT RACE UPDATE Good Afternoon! Tomorrow looks like a good day to do a 100 mile trainer/first sprint race. Today is the last day to enter birds into the optional sprint series. Please check today's loft fly and double check to make sure I have marked your birds correctly with a red or green dot in the sprint column. Green vs red has to do with accounting...red are checks on the way and green is electronic funds received. If your bird doesn't have a red or green dot and should....please let me know. Birds are currently enjoying an afternoon bath. They flew big the last two mornings on their loft flights, so they are feeling good. Good Luck to everyone! -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, *Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B*
	Sep-07-2023
SPRINT ACTIVATION! Good Afternoon! Birds had a good toss from 86 miles this morning. The majority of birds did very well, which I am pleased with. Late birds seem to arriving from all directions. The late birds are trapping into a separate section, so I can evaluate them for any injuries or any other issue. Now is the time to activate your sprint birds if you choose to do so. You are welcome to pick and choose these birds from your team, you do not need to activate all of them. Here is a link to the rules...give me a call if you have any questions. Rules Payments can be made through Zelle, Venmo, or Apple Pay using Phone # 503-510-2661. If paying by check or money order please text me check information with photo. Payments need to be in or arranged by Saturday. I may do the first 100 mile trainer on Sunday. I plan on loft flying Friday and Saturday weather permitting...I may do the 100 miler on Sunday. They rest of the week is also looking good, so will try and get the second 100 in mid week. Appetites are great in this cooler weather. Nighttime temperatures are in the high 40s and daytime highs have been high 70s. Beautiful fall weather. Good luck to everyone in the upcoming races! Lucas 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, *Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B*
	Aug-30-2023
GOOD AFTERNOON! Good Afternoon! Beautiful cool morning here at the loft. Unfortunately, south of us the smoke continues to be an issue. Rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, so I am hopeful that will help to clear out some smoke and fires. Fingers crossed. Birds continue to do well on their loft flights. The temperatures have dropped and it is starting to feel like fall. Birds are enjoying the cooler temperatures and cleaner air. I will resume road training whenever the smoke and weather allows. I need some consistent training from the 50 plus mile stations before we head out to the next 86 mile station. Early each morning I check the smoke map app Breezeometer and that gives me a good idea of what to expect along the course. Currently, just playing the waiting game. Take Care Lucas
	Aug-21-2023
GOOD MORNING! Good Morning! Birds are staying in the loft again today, due to the very poor air quality here at the loft. The smoke is terrible. The birds definitely want to go out and fly but air qualityneeds to improve before that happens. I'm not sure when that will be but winds shift and could clear us out pretty quick. I have played the smoke waiting game many times before and have found it is best to be conservative and not push these birds through the smoke. The smoke will clear and we will get a chance to train and race. Three of the last seven years the final has been around Halloween due to smoke issues...If I have to go later in the season we will. The birds fly just fine with snow on the ground :) Hopefully, we don't have to wait that long. Overall, the birds are doing well. They are happy the 100 plus degree days have passed and the cooler nights have increased their appetites. They will get to enjoy a nice bath today and some kale from the garden. Always feel free to give me a shout with any questions or concerns. Have a great week. Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, *Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B*
	Aug-14-2023
GOOD AFTERNOON! Good Afternoon! Hot afternoon here in Central Oregon. The birds are lounging about in the loft relaxing in the heat of the day. This week is going to be highs in the 100s, so I will be taking a break from road training and loft flying in the cooler mornings. I feel no need to push them through this heat. Friday looks like it will be cooling down, so should be back on the road then. Smoke continues to be an issue off and on depending on what the winds are doing. No close fires but some off to the southwest that are creating some smoke on the course. Birds are training well and I'm happy with the way they are returning. There are always a few late ones on any given day and I handle those birds to make sure there are no injuries. Often I will give them the next day off if they look like they need a bit of a break to recover. Some of the birds are still molting pretty heavy, so this week will be a beneficial break from the trailer. Birds have access to water on training tosses now that we are out a bit. I want them to be super comfortable drinking on the trailer before the races start. I will continue with a couple more group tosses before allowing the birds to be all released at the same time. I would like to do a few mass releases before making the next jump to 86 miles. The 86 mile trainer will be the activation for the sprint series for those that are interested. Here is the information on the sprint series...can also be found on the website under race info. Optional Sprint Race Series: $150 per bird due after 86 mile sprint activation toss. 3 race series to include 103 miles, 103 miles, 150 miles. Payout to top 3 birds in each race and top 3 in average speed sprint series. 50% capital prizes to average speed and 50% spread to each race. All birds go to these races/trainers as they are on our normal training schedule for main race series. Overall Average Speed First Place $5000. Bird must be entered in sprint series to be eligible. Races include 103 miles, 103 miles, 150 miles, 200 miles, 250 miles, 300 miles, and 367 miles. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Have a great week! Lucas 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, *Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B*
	Aug-04-2023
GOOD MORNING! Good Morning Breeders! Birds are out enjoying a rainy morning here in Central Oregon. This is the first rain we have seen in quite some time. Birds are loving it. Training seems to be back on track. Yesterday's trainer showed a group getting themselves into trouble with some late birds returning this morning. The birds tend to range a bit more when I do a second release from the same training spot. They seem to know where they are at release and tend to go exploring a bit more. Birds will be staying in the loft tomorrow and relaxing. I have a 62 mile race to run in the mountains tomorrow that will be taking me out of town for the day. Patrick will be holding down the fort while I am gone. I should be back late tomorrow evening and if the weather looks good the birds will train from the 25 mile release point on Sunday. Fire season is here and I will continue to train as long as I have a clear view of Grizzly Mountain to the south, which is about 15 miles. Smoke has been blowing in and out most days but nothing that is preventing us from training at the moment. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Lucas
[1]2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »

Overall Average Speed First Place $5000. Bird must be entered in sprint series to be eligible. Races include 103 miles, 103 miles, 150 miles, 200 miles, 250 miles, 300 miles, and 367 miles.