10 November 2007

2007 Nov 11 - Low Key Hill Climb, Alpine Dirt

Teammates: Lucia

TSB: 17
CTL: 111

Daily diet of ice cream and leftover Halloween candy finally starting to catch up with me as weight is 2 kilograms more than the last Low Key Hill Climb...

Last minute venue change from Windy Point to the Alpine fire road from the end of Alpine Road to Page Mill. Did this last month on my road bike so the cross bike seemed like a good choice, used Michelin Jet tires with 40 PSI. On the way up Alpine we formed the largest mountain bike pack I have ever been in since I've done the Sea Otter Cross Country.

The first surprise on the course was a new layer of coarse gravel on the fire road right up until the single track. The found myself at the back of the lead pack of riders, the sight of the fellow on the road bike spurred me onward. There were a couple of lines that had a thinner layer of gravel that every one gravitated towards.

By the time we reached the single track section, the group had blown up into small packs of ones and twos. Was able to pass a few riders in the single track, one of these was a cross rider that I exorted to get back on his bike, because riding the steep section was killing my legs. Once it leveled out he passed me back as I struggled to recover a bit and keep the gas on. I was not sure how much more we had to go after the single track so tried to push hard and eventually caught back up to the other cross rider, and then was passed by Dan who ran most of the singletrack, and then caught sight of Dennis P. Was thinking maybe I should begin my last ditch effort when the next turn brought on a view of the finish within 20 meters so I just sprinted with all I had. Left a bit too much in the tank especially since I went harder up King's Mountain which is much longer!

T: 18:18
S: 12.6kph
PAvg: 267
PNorm: 270
C: 73
H: 186

2007 November 10, Low Key Hill Climb, Alpine Dirt

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