C4 Diablo time trial up Northgate Rd next weekend (Jun 22nd)!
 

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this race in any way. I did it for the first time last year and had a great time. If you've never raced before, it's a great way to experience a little bit of adrenaline (ok, it was a lot for me but I'm fairly new at this) and really see what you can do. Nothing like a competitive event to make you push yourself to your absolute best. I entered the "Elite Cat 5" class per the race director's recommendation. It's the 'beginner' class. There's a Cat 4/Cat 5 Masters class, but those dudes are fast. Since this a time trial, you don't have to worry about those young whippersnappers diving under you in corners (no offense to young whippersnappers. I know old geezers can be equally nutty).

Flyer:
http://c4racing.org/wordpress/wp-con...o_Flyer_v6.pdf

Registration:
https://www.bikereg.com/Net/19390

Bob

I think this is the same one I did a couple of years ago. It was really an experience...
Read my sad writeup.
http://ccorlew.blogspot.com/2010/06/...rial-2010.html

That's the one! Yes, the other people are mind-bogglingly fast. I did the climb today in 36.5 mins and that would still barely break the top 20 in Cat 5. But...I don't care. I saw Diablo Scott's comment on your blog. Maybe I should switch classes so I can start earlier. :)

Bob

I did it last year too. I prefer longer races but it's fun in a sick way. My asthma was bothering me so I was wheezing loudly for the last mile. When I got to the finish everyone turned to look at me and guys tried to help me after I finished. I hope things go better this time, but even if I don't have asthma problems I'm not going to be up with the leaders.

If you're interested in racing it is a safe way to try it out- there's little chance of crashing but you can experience all the pre-race butteflies and the in-race suffering.

Last year's results:
http://c4racing.org/results/2012/diablo12.html

OMG so sad. I used to think I was decently fast...33' was my best ever time to the Jx, so that's probably 31:40 or so to the house. Oh boy, I could have maybe broken the top 100 on my best ever ride, LOL! So many fast riders out there, and that's just the ones who have chosen to do this TT. I don't need that kind of humiliation...but kudos to those who say "f**k it!" and go for it anyway!

BTW, the winner of the 13-14 year old BOYS did under 30', holy crap!!

Can someone tell me, I assume there's no obstruction to other cyclists going up but they'll be stopping cyclists from coming down NG? I seem to recall one year I bumped into this TT heading up NG...they waved me thru, asked that I stay right, I went to summit but then on the way down they wouldn't let me past the junction (less a few hundred yards)...so I had to go down South Gate and then all the way around Diablo to get back to my ride.

Fine if that's the case again but I'd like to know in advance so I don't get stuck...

I don't believe that there are any restrictions up or down for riders. The last couple of times I've done it, I've seen non-racers going up and down the course.

I also agree with others, a great way to experience the adrenaline of a race, but due to the 30sec spacing at the start and the fact that you must not draft in a TT means that there's little reason to be nervous of racing in close proximity to others.

That's interesting...a few years ago they wouldn't let me/anyone down past the finish line. *puzzled*

Were you riding earlier in the morning? For the P1/2 I can imagine they might hold folks back but for the later, lowly 4/5 groups that I was riding in it didn't seem an issue.

Maybe you ran into an over-zealous official. Racers are descending while other racers are still racing. The racers going up are supposed to stay to the right of the centerline. So it's perfectly safe to descend while the race is in progress as long as you stay to the right of the centerline.

What do you guys think of running Continental Supersonic tires for this event? I have a set that have about 10 miles on them. Worth the risk? My every day tire is the Vittoria Open EVO Corsa CX. I could run a new set of those, the Supersonics, or a fairly old set of GP4000s (about 50% tread left in back).

Bob

It's one of the races I use the 960g carbon tubular wheels for (with Vittoria CX tubulars). The roads are pretty clean.

All your choices have good rolling resistance numbers so there's not a big reason to change.

That's probably it...it was definitely on the early side since I was doing some repeats.

Yeah...I really didn't see the issue at the time. *shrug*

Good luck to all who are coming. If you have a chance, introduce yourself. I'm bib #192 riding a black Specialized Roubaix.

My ride came to a premature end at mile marker 3. I had air in both tires and then suddenly the rear went instantly flat. Brand new Vittoria Open Evo Corsas + Vredestein latex tubes. The tube had 2 cuts on the under side that were about halfway between the valve stem hole and the spoke hole on either side. It's right where two layers of latex meet. I thought maybe a velo plug had cut the tube, but that wasn't it. I was about a minute ahead of my best time to date when the tube failed.

Oh well...not going to run these tubes again. They are super light (49g), but not worth the worry.

I met the very fast ericm979 today, too. :thumb:

Bob

So who won? :D

Which category?

http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2013-2447

Colin Daw took the overall win. Strava clocked him 23:56 (official time 24:02) with an average power of 423 watts. Wow!

Bob

If you're into this kind of race, there's another hillclimb TT coming up. This one is up the east side of Patterson Pass.
http://www.ncnca.org/sites/default/f...imb%20OKED.pdf

Oooh...I didn't know about that one. Thanks for the link.

Bob