powpow

So, this was my first road bike race, and I learned a few lessons really quickly:

• You should arrive more than 15 minutes before your start time
• You should practice pinning on your number so that it doesn’t become a noisy frickin’ parachute (yeah, I was that guy)
• “Junior” does not necessarily mean “slow”

Our Cat 5/Juniors wave was the last group to go. There was a nice paceline along the flat/rolling part to the base of the climb and we probably averaged 23 or 24mph on this stretch. My HR stayed relatively low, although I pulled for a few minutes and it jumped into the low 180s.

Then the climbing began. The first couple of miles were relatively mellow with some short climbs followed by some short descents. I decided on the fly that I was going to stay with the lead group for as long as possible. In hindsight, this was probably not the best decision.

The group splintered pretty fast. For about 15 minutes, I climbed with a group of three or four. We set a solid pace, but nothing too fast and soon the Juniors caught us. I think there were two or three of them, 15-18 in age and all skinny as rails.

They zoomed by and I tried to hop on their train. Four of us Cat 5s went after the two Junior leaders, and I felt the lactic acid building up fast and my HR was in the danger zone. I was about 45 minutes in and still had a long way to go, and I started to wonder if I was going to burnout. Knowing that the last part of the race is insanely steep, I had to back off as I simply couldn’t maintain the pace.

So, I watched the lead group ride off and I settled into my own pace. My HR had been in the high 180s/low 190s for too long, and I wanted to bring it back into the 170s for a bit. I settled down and found a rhythm again, but I was all alone now. Soon I hit the flat/downhill portion in the middle of the climb. I started to get a second wind and made decent time across this section, and actually bridged up to two of the three 5s in front of me.

Soon after, we hit the steep part, or the “beatdown” as they describe it on the site. Two miles of mostly unrelenting steepness. Granny gear, standing, barely turning it over steep (on my 50/34, 11-26). The guy in front of me came to a dead stop in the middle of the road and walked it. There were several other folks walking too, most likely regretting the gears they brought with them (I talked to a guy after who had to walk because he used a 53/39 with an 11-23!).

So it went, on and on. Impossibly long for such a steep section. It hurt. Finally, I spotted the checkered flags, crossed the line and sucked wind for a long time. I ended up with third in the Cat 5s with a time of 73 minutes (it was a small field). The guy who finished second was only 100 yards or so in front of me, but I couldn’t reel him in. My HR averaged 178 and the elevation gain was about 3800 vert over 18 miles. The descent was nice and relaxing.

It was nice to chat with PizzaMan at the end. He won the Pro category with a crazy fast time of 63 minutes and change.

All in all, this is a great race for a great cause. It was fun and I hope to go back next year.

Beaker

That's awesome. Sounds like you rode a pretty darn good ride. How did that top section compare to climbs round here?

BlastRadius

Great job! BTW, next time don't pull the group for "a few minutes", save your energy.

ahpook

Nice work Adam!

powpow

Thanks guys.

Yep, total noob mistake. It wasn't that bad though.

It's hard to say because I was seeing stars and it might have seemed worse than it actually was. I would guess that the average grade is slightly less steep than the final stretch on Diablo, with some pitches that are definitely steeper. The catch is it goes on for a LONG time. There are a few brief areas where it flattens out, but it is fairly steep for the last 1.5 miles or so. It's similar to the upper part of the Welch Creek climb near Sunol.

Pizza Man

Adam, good to meet you (again). Good job on your race, hope to see you at the Diablo TT in 2 weeks!