"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Mt. Washington Hillclimb. Who's got the guts?

Not me. I'm a wuss:(

So who's doing it this year? I'd be interested to hear any experiences from people who have done it before. It looks sick, and it looks like something I'd like to do in the future.

Here's a link (http://www.tinmtn.org/hillclimb/index.cfm)

Does anyone know if Lance has ever done it? Just curious.

I never knew it existed, i think i will take a drive up there and be a spectator though. Has anyone gone to watch?

I've met a few who've done it, most of the mere mortals toss on MTB cassettes and finish in somewhere between 1-1.5 hours+ The pros tend to go under an hour. I think an exact quote was "All I know is I got to the top...I don't remember the last half hour, but I made it" Finally I don't think Lance has done it, but I'm pretty sure Hamilton holds the record. Its my goal for next year even though it costs $300... :(

Hamilton HELD the record @ 50:21
Now it belongs to Tom Danielson @ 49:24

Wow, it looks awesome. Is cycling permitted on it the rest of the year?

I would like to do it next year but where do you practice in the north east i will drive anywhere.

From what I can see, bicycles are not allowed on the auto road except for the race itself and a practive run in May that you must pre-register for. As for training, you might want to ask around to see what kind of mountain roads are in your state. I'm sure just about everybody on the east coast (except for south Florida) is within 100 miles of an impressive mountain road. If you make it to the White Mountains, I would suggest the Kancamagus highway (http://www.yankeecruisah.com/kanc.html). It starts in Conway, NH and is about 30something miles one way and climbs 3000 feet in some places. Nice views, sick hills. I'd like to ride it and survive before I even think about trying Mt. Washington.:D

Hi,
I rode part of the Kancamangus 30 years ago. I remember running out of gas and falling sideways onto the grass. I fell about 2 feet. Enjoy.

The biggest hill-climbing "mountain" we have down here just opened up recently. It's a landfill that has been sitting for quite a long time, waiting for the EPA to deem it safe. Now it is a quite nice park, with a road that winds it's way up to the top. It's not very high, but it ok for doing hill repeats for training. Other than that, we do all of our climbing on highway overpasses.

Where is the land fill park? I've been dying to ride something steeper than speed bump....

Andrew

Southwest Broward. Town of Davie.
It's called, appropriately, Vista View Park. It is the second highest elevation in the county. The only thing higher is Mount Trashmore in Pompano, the bigger landfill.

Originally posted by djbowen1
I would like to do it next year but where do you practice in the north east i will drive anywhere.

This page has a good description of a few of the larger climbs in the Northeast. Northeast Hill Climbs (http://home.sprintmail.com/~dsjansen/Northeast_Climbs.html)

$300 ?????????

You should rename this thread "Who's got the money."

What do you get for your $300, besides the chance to suffer for over an hour?

Thanks, frosttix, thats a really good source for the info i wanted, now i need to figure out which one is closest to me

I'd like to hike up and watch. Does anyone know how this climb would stack up against some of the climbs in the TDF?

Originally posted by pjstock42
I'd like to hike up and watch. Does anyone know how this climb would stack up against some of the climbs in the TDF?

It looks comparable to some of hors categorie climbs in the TdF. It is shorter, although not by much, but it is definitely much steeper. The riders, however, are not reaching this climb after already riding 200 km like the Alpe d'Huez.

"The Mt Washington Auto Road is 7.6 miles in length, has an average grade of 12% with extended sections of 18% and the last 50 yards is an amazing 22%!" http://www.tinmtn.org/hillclimb/faq.cfm

Mt. Washington 12.2km at 12%

TdF 2003
Col du Galibier : 18.3 km climb at 6.8 % - H.C.
ALPE D'HUEZ : 13.8 km climb at 7.9 % - H.C.
Col d'Izoard : 19.4 km climb at 5.9 % - H.C.
Col du Tourmalet (stèle Jacques Goddet) : 17.1 km climb at 7.4 % - H.C.
LUZ-ARDIDEN : 13.4 km climb at 7.6 % - H.C.

It's much, much steeper than any H.C climb in the tour, but is also shorter - not that that really helps on the 1k+ long segments at 15% or more grade.

I would rate it to be about as tough as mont Vontoux.

12.2km at %12 .... ouch.

I would be interested to know what gear is most often used to get up this thing. I may attempt it on a fixed-since coasting would only be possible in reverse anyway.

One of my Mom's friends owns a hotel in Conway, NH. I can put a plug in for them; stay at the Maple Leaf Inn (I think that's what it's called). They get so many cyclists each year for this hill climb. They say it really is something spectacular.

i have seen the term "Special Gearing Needed" used for the climb. I have also hear mtb gears on a road bike. You would be nuts to attempt it on a fixie.

Originally posted by djbowen1
i have seen the term "Special Gearing Needed" used for the climb. I have also hear mtb gears on a road bike. You would be nuts to attempt it on a fixie. I have to agree.

I've heard anything from 39X28 to 39X34 (a cat 2 and a cat 5 respectively) and both guys said they wish they had more. I'm gonna have to a agree with djbowen and say you'd have to have a death wish to try to climb Washington on a fixie.

That sounds pretty hardcore. I'd love to do that, and it's only about two and a half hours away from my house.

I used a 39x30 for the majority of the climb, and when the 'extended' 18% grade snuck up on me, I chose to drop to my 30x28 (triple 105 crank). I managed the 39x28 for the finale - thanks to the roar of the crowds!!

Didn't mean to give the impression that I would attempt it in a conventional 42/16 type set-up, but it should be possible on one fixed gear if you could get a cog big enough, would it not? Or would there be other factors that would make it more difficult related to the constant pedaling? The guy that attempted the mountain stage first introduced in the TDF in (I think) 1905 came away in awe when he tried it on a fixed from that era-but obviously some were able to do it. I am not saying that I could or that that 1905 stage was comparable to Mt. Washington. Interesting though.

Originally posted by Resident
I managed the 39x28 for the finale - thanks to the roar of the crowds!!

I would love to do that someday.

Here's a race report at VeloNews...

http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/4843.0.html

Terminus 6288 ft. (1916.58 meters)
Base (Toll House) 1565 ft. (477 meters)
Elevation gain 4727 ft. (1440.79 meters)
Length 7.6 miles (12.23 kilometers)
Grade Avg.12%, extended 18%, final 100 yds. 22%
Road surface 65% paved, 35% packed gravel


that's a pretty sweet climb (1441 meters at 12% average)
just for comparision, most of the climbs i regularly do in the Alps are 900-1300m at 10-15% average grade... like Stiffersjoch (1200m) or Mendelpass i rode last week (900m at 12%)

and wow times of around 50 minutes for 1440m are awesome (i climb around 1200m/hr when i'm racing although that's on my MTB)

actually, when i was living in Massachusetts in 2000 i thought about doing the race...



Can I ride a bicycle on the Auto Road?
Because of vehicle traffic on the narrow Auto Road, riding bicycles is not allowed. The only time bikes are allowed is during the Mt. Washington Bicycle Hillclimb held annually in August.

but the road being closed to bikes other than race-day is lame (note that it is OPEN for motorcycles and ATVs so how "unsafe" can it be?)--- why not close the road to cars and ONLY let bikes and hikers up? also there's the tourist train that pollutes like heck, but it is OK since it's tradition, BUT since there's the train, why not require people to take it? every time i was there (i hike up) the train runs polluting like crazy with a few passengers and then everyone drives... what?

and for the race... the thing about having to have a car drive up to transport the bike and rider back down is SO lame! first, you don't get to bomb down the hill and 2nd, that's a lot of pollution and crap for no reason (the bikes and riders can easily cruise down)... the "bicycling isn't safe" ultra-safety-conscious crap really annoys me! but the idea that a road (other than high speed freeway) is closed to bikes but open for cars is ridiculous.

note: yes, some of the passes i ride in Europe are narrow roads heavily trafficed by autos... but they wait and pass when the way is clear (a novel idea, huh?) and i often overtake on the descents! yeah!

This page has a good description of a few of the larger climbs in the Northeast. Northeast Hill Climbs

hey, cool link. Mt Wachusett in northern Central Mass was my training ground for 9 months when i was in Mass. i used to ride about 20 miles to it, climb it twice and then ride 20 miles home... it's a decent training ride, but barely over 1000 ft vertical (303m)

Since the auto road is privately owned and maintained they have to regulate it for liability purposes. They have very strict vehicle restrictions because the road is narrow and the descent is hard on brakes. And if they opened it to bikes year round it would reduce revenue because they collect a toll for all motorized vehicles. It would be cool if you could ride on it any time and descend it, but I'm sure the owners would get sued as soon as someone loses their brakes and goes off the road, killing themselves.

well, i didn't realize it was a private road... evenso it's still bogus that motorcycles and cars are allowed but not bikes. the road cannot be wide enough for 2 cars to pass in opposite directions but not wide enough for a bicylce. impossible!

but yeah, it's probably all about money: they would earn little or nothing from cyclists.


It would be cool if you could ride on it any time and descend it, but I'm sure the owners would get sued as soon as someone loses their brakes and goes off the road, killing themselves.
i suppose that's possible... but that is ridiculous. the sue-happy everything forbidden b/c of liability crap sure is a pain in the US. why don't people and companies just take responsibility for their actions and sueing can be reserved for _actual_ fault... oh yeah, it's the lawyers and the "sympathetic" jurors who decide the little kids and the grandmother have suffered so much they DESERVE millions b/c some idot was stupid and killed himself... anyway, another subject.

it's still sad that:
a) there's a road to the top - the huge parking lot really detracts from the beauty --- yes i summited at 6:30 am one summer before the road was open and it was pretty but still spoiled by the asphalt parking lot... then the long line of traffic started (NOT a wilderness or typical "mountain" experience - oh, i'm also a mountain/rock climber)
b) there's a road to the top AND you can't bike it (except for the race which ain't cheap)

nathank,

maybe you could e-mail them at info@mtwashingtonautoroad.com and post their reply here. I'd be curious to read it. If you're not satisfied with their reasons, maybe you could start a petition to at least have them allow cyclists more than twice a year.