Clearing the mind and testing the body

This past Saturday morning I took part in the, at least locally, famous Lookout Mountain hill climb. It's basically a ~4.5 mile hill with 1200 ft elevation gain. It provides great views of Denver and is a very popular ride with local cyclist. At the top of the climb is Buffalo Bill's grave. I can't tell you how many times I've been up there, the view is great, who cares about the grave.

Anyway, the first weekend in May is typically when the race is held. You actually start on the lower portion of the hill, so when they say go it's a simple red line drag race to the top. For the second race of the season, it can be a little painful. In 2007 we had 78 racers and I finished 61st with a finish time of 24:52. In 2008 we had 95 people in my category, I finished 34th with a time of 23:20. This year I wanted to finish a little better, I was hoping for a time under 23 minutes.

The weather was like it has been the past few years. Cold, threatening to rain. This year the rain held off but the fog had rolled in. It was pretty cool climbing this hill in a fog bank, making it different. Making it feel like it was more than the local hill I've been up hundreds of times. A photo of the upper switch backs on a clear day is provided to give you some idea of the ride.

I didn't have that great of a start and was about 5 rows back from the start line. There is always a delay at the start as the people in front of you get started and try to clip in. The task of getting your shoe in the peddle aways seams to be a problem in this race. Luckily I didn't see anyone simply fall over... this year. Once we got around the first turn a group of people in front of me decided it was time to open the first gap. In the first 300 meter, people please! I finally pushed my way through that group and closed the gap. A group of 3 or 4 went off the front, I knew I wasn't going to hang with them so I sat in the chase group. I hung in the group a lot further up the mountain this year before falling of the pace. I was up by the saddle parking lot before I had problems holding wheels. That alone is about a mile further than last year. I kept thinking I would start catching people like in years past but it didn't happen. After making it to the top, I didn't feel too bad. I recovered pretty quickly, last year I felt like I was going to puke out my lung and was totally spent. This year I thought, "that went pretty quick, I could ride some more." Unfortunately it wasn't as quick as I wanted, 37th of 76 in 23:16. So, while I wasn't a lot faster than last year I was faster and I did feel better. I guess that's improvement! At least I can say this year was more fun than last year.

Yesterday I got in a mountain bike ride. Unfortunately I couldn't get a start time until around 6pm. When the rain was rolling in. I got sprinkled on almost the entire ride. But it wasn't all bad. With the headphones on and the trails almost empty it was very enjoyable. Something I needed. Time to reflect, relax and enjoy the simple joys of a little mud on your face.

One more hot item from the weekend. Parts are still coming but I have started the assembly. Well... at least the wheels are ready.