It was only briefly mentioned in the articles about Bend hosting the Cyclocross nationals last week, but Central Oregon has hosted the event before. Back in 1976, Sunriver (just south of Bend) hosted the Cyclocross nationals, and some classic video of the event has been posted online recently:
Back then, they basically took road bikes, changed the brakes to cantilever style, put on a beefier fork and some better tires and called it good. Now they make bikes dedicated to the sport.
I really wish I could have seen some of the event this last weekend, as I think it’s a great sport to watch (probably even more fun to ride in), but I had family events and work to do all weekend.
(Update: Couldn’t spell this morning — misspelled Cyclocross in the headline, and obviously spell check doesn’t pick it up.)