Pedalling Squares

Mount Hamilton SufferFest, errr, Road Race, May 30, 2004

Description:
One mutha of a course - it starts with a 20 mile climb up Mt Hamilton. Then a gnarly descent with lots of hairpins, slippery pavement and a cattle guard thrown in for good measure. Then more up and down, 2 more short climbs, then a gentle descent down Mines road. About 5K from the finish the descent gets a little tricky and the finish is slightly uphill. 63 miles total under nice conditions - warm, but not hot, and sunny.

My plan
There's lots of up in this one and I think I've been climbing pretty well. Sit in for the first part of Mt Hamilton, then be near the front for the last 2 parts as that's where it could explode. Also, it's important to be in the front group as you crest the last hill since the rest of the race is a long descent to the finish. Vaughn left the big-boy underwear at home, claiming he was just here for the chicks.

How It Went Down, errr Up:
I sat in a little too much and lost a few places near the back. I saw Vaughn moving up well though. As we hit the first rest spot (a little downhill before more climbing), I decided it was time to try and move up. When we hit the flat open valley near the lake (reservoir?) some big guy ramped it up so I jumped on for the ride. He went right past the front of the group and kept on going. When I looked down we were doing 26 mph. Nice. We took one Tieni guy with us and just kept on going - I don't think anyone else stayed with us.

We're cruisin' along, the three of us, now into the second part of the long climb and going pretty good. I thought we were the lead group on the road - but then I saw a group of about 5-6 guys up ahead. There was another Tieni, a Maguire, an RHVilla and that's all I remember. Guess I had missed the break earlier. They had a pretty decent gap, too. So this big guy just kept on drivin' it and I just kept on lettin' him. He pulls us all the way up to the break and sits up a little - which was good, because I was pretty maxed at that point. I didn't look back, but I knew it was just the 8 or 9 of us now. We kept a good gap until right through the second little rest spot on the climb, which is maybe a 1 mile flat/descent part.

Then we started climbing again for the last 6-7 miles to the top. I felt ok, but not like I could attack the group or anything. So I just sat in near the back for most of the time. I was hoping we could just maintain this pace to the top and then work together for the rest of the race. So then an RHVilla guy goes to the front and accelerates. Shit. Some gaps open up, I close one of 'em, but another one opens up and the group starts to pull away. I could burn all the matches and go for it, but I look down at my computer - we've still got 5 miles of climbing. So I decide to go at my own pace - maybe they'll come back to me, or I'll come up to them, but it's going to have to be at my speed. I catch the Vanini jr and he sits on my wheel all the way to the top. As we get near the top we can see the group approaching on some of the switchbacks. Shit. As we crest, I hear the leaders have 3 minutes on us. Shit.

Tieni leads the descent and does a pretty good job - even a little slow for my tastes. Fortunately, I only had one scary lock-up-the-rear-wheel-oh-my-gawd-not-my-new-Land-Shark-that-I-just-washed moment but remained calm and kept it upright.

I knew the pack would be on our heels in no time and soon enough some guy in a no-name jersey comes screaming by us - all alone. He was a good descender, but then he went right past us - what was the point of that? There's still 40 miles of hard racing to go, some of that into a headwind - surely he didn't think he'd survive it alone? Oh well.

Before you know it, I'm by myself - I dropped my Tieni buddy on the climb out of Isabel Creek and the demon descender is about 30 seconds ahead of me. So I ease up. The group quickly catches me and 5 (yes, 5) Village Pedaller guys are driving the chase. I make very sure to let them know that there are at least 5 guys up the road - hoping they'll keep chasing.

For the most part, they do. We quickly catch the demon descender guy and one other guy that got dropped from the break. He tells us there are 4 more up the road. The VP guys are more or less driving it and I'm staying near the front of our now 20+ strong group.

I knew we had 2 hard successive climbs coming up and a ~20 mile descent after - gotta be near the front coming over the top of those or life would suck. So we start the first climb - over a mile I would guess and near the top a VP guy attacks and gets a few guys to join him. I keep it steady. We finish that one and start the second one - probably something less than a mile, but still pretty tough. The little group ahead maintains their gap and it looks like it's maybe 7 or 8 total. So we start the descent having to chase.

There were about 10 of us, including two Spine guys, and some VP guys. So I started to try to rally the troops for the chase - not happenin'. Only 2 or 3 of us are doing any work. Oh well, I decide to press on and take my chances. I trade pulls with a few others and it looks like we're slowly catching the group - and, better yet, they're not really working together. So I make one last hard effort and pull the groups together again. Yay!!!

Now the group is 10-15 - I stayed in the front and never really bothered taking count. There were a few attacks, including one solo that stuck for probably 10 minutes. But we eventually reeled him back in. Time to change modes: start following wheels, conserving energy, and plan for the finish.

The descender guy launches it as we get to the tricky downhill just before the finish. Hmmm - he could rail the descent and we may never catch him. Luckily someone pics up the chase - the Spine guy I think it was and a CVC guy joins us. We're catching descender guy as he comes into a tricky curve with way too much speed (and also needs to pass someone from the Pro1/2 race). His line is bad then his foot comes out of the pedal - I don't know how he saved it, but he did. Then he sits up and the three of us just ride past him.

I keep looking back as we hit the 1K to go mark - looks like we'll be ok. We've opened up quite a gap on what's left of the field and it appears to be sticking. I'm last in line, the CVC guy is leading, and the TeamSpine guy is next. I'm in perfect position. We roll on to the 200 meter sign. The CVC guy knows he's hosed, and tries to lead out the sprint. Spiney's got the goods and comes around him but I'm watching all this closer than a Paris Hilton video and I easily jump on his wheel.

He winds it up and I decide it's time to get my swerve on, so with 100 meters to go, I unleash my . . . ahem . . . "sprint". Oh, and I forgot to mention, not only are my Mom and Dad there watching, but Kevin King is there as well. So I gotta make this look good. My left leg is cramping so bad it's just dead weight at this point, but I carry on with nary a grunt, 'cause I ain't no Mama's boy. I time it right and easily come around with room to spare at the line - 5th place! Davide Rebellin's got nothing on me.

Average HR: 165 bpm
Average Speed: 19.5 mph

Thanks to Kevin King for his expert analysis of the course - it really helped me out since I wasn't able to ride the course before hand. And, it was so hard, I may never ride it again!

Also, thanks to my Mom and Dad for enduring the heat and boredom to watch 2.5 seconds of racing and then sitting in my little cramped car with 3 sweaty cyclists for another hour stinky fun. Love you guys!