Originally Posted by JJakucyk
The Schabobele course is extremely hilly. I've heard it described as little more than a pain-fest. After driving around it, I can certainly believe that. I was directing traffic at corner #3 at the top of "the toaster", and even the cat 1/2 guys were hurting after riding up that hill. The thing that was extra bad about this race is that once you got to the top of a hill, there was a nasty wind waiting for you. It wasn't TOO cold, but the temperature was dropping through the 40s and the wind was increasing as the day went on.
Here's the pictures I took from that corner:
http://homepage.mac.com/jjakucyk/schabobele/index.html While I didn't take any of the hill itself, you can see how the road drops off on the left. Did I get some pics of you, Doctor Who?
I was trying to figure out where you were taking the pictures from, and after looking at the expression on my face, I realized that it was after one of the climbs. Knowing now that it was after "The Toaster", explains the look of confusion, anguish and agony on my face. I was surpriseed that I was the only person to roll on a CX bike. The gearing came in especially handy, but the handling on the descents left a little to be desired. With the roads as dirty as they were, I'm also glad that I just didn't crash.
As for the race, the entire field of riders splintered after the first lap. I rode solo for 35 miles of the 46 mile race, and if I happened upon another rider, they were trying to fix a flat tire or sitting on the side of the road trying to collect their wits and breath. It was funny - after each lap, there'd be more and more riders who'd decided to DNF the race, for whatever reason. I was half-tempted to pack it in, but I stuck it through and eventually came in 7th in the 4's. Whatever. I just wanted to finish the damn thing.
The hardest part of the race isn't the constant climbing or the brutality that is "The Toaster", but rather the fact that at every lap, I would pass by my car and think of the bottle of water and bag of pretzels that was sitting in the trunk. After running out of water/Gatorade at around mile 35 and pretty parched at that point, I was dying to just open my car up, grab a pretzel and head back out. But I didn't, 'cause I'm hardcore like that. Also, the wind was particularly bad. With the front moving in, the wind from the east constantly knocked my speed down and just made me work doubly hard when I should've rested my legs a bit.
If I'm living around here next year, I'll tear up Schabobele again. But first I'll have to forget this year.