Morgul Bismark Road Race

Wow, I was nervous going into this race. I thought there would be too much climbing and that I would get dropped early. But instead, I had a fantastic time. I put my game face on, tried to ride smart, stay out of trouble.

We had about 3.15 laps of the famous course with 4 trips up "the Wall", a 12% climb that isn't terribly long but you have to be careful. You have to get up to the top quickly but if you get there and your blown, your race is over because the pace is high as everyone races off. There's not a flat section in the entire race. That and the fact that there were about 135 starters in my race ensured this would be interesting.

I hooked up with the team and we all lined up together. The race organization was outstanding!! The course was well marked, routed and the volunteers and police did a great job keeping everyone safe! They deserve a lot of credit for making this such a big success.

We got started on what was going to turn out to be a fantastic blue bird day. The buzzards were out to pick off the road kill left by the pack. My personal goal was to make sure I was in a safe position at each questionable location and that I was near the front for each time up the major climbs. If I could make it to the final climb with the lead group I would be happy. I figured the danger spots would be going down CO-93, were we hit 52 mph, and the round-about at the base of the Wall. Those all ended up being fast but safe, the danger spots were the climbs (people would drop their chains then hit the brakes) and the slow ride up Marshal with everyone trying to catch their breath and get a bite to eat.


As the laps ticked off things were going well. Once we were on the final lap I was pretty tired but very happy. Sadly, I didn't move myself forward enough and on the hump the pace pickup considerably splitting off a case group I was in. About 20 guys were in the lead group and 10 of us were casing. I tried to pull them back but no one was helping. That put me in a bad spot at the bottom of the final climb. I still gave it what I could and picked off a guy at the finish line. Unfortunately it was for about 33rd place. But only a minute or two behind the winner.
Race Geek Information, my unofficial race time 2:01, 42.9 miles, avg 21.2 mph, max 51.9 mph, altitude gain 3,359 ft, normalized power 282W, Max power 1008W
The new Cannondale SuperSix 3 was phenomenal! I mean wow. It's light weight and stiffness made all my effort go to the wheels on the climbs. The oversized head tube made the high speed corners and descents feel totally under control. I saw a lot of other racers in the scary speed wobble, many with very expensive bikes. A couple of teammates took the SuperSix for a spin and were surprised with with stiffness and and efficiency. The ride is so comfortable, even after the entire race I in no way felt beat up. I am still blown away at how stiff the bottom bracket is while maintaining such a comfortable ride. It's a huge change from my last ride.

The TER crew was tired but happy after the race. We all went down to the festival to have some beers and the best post race food I've ever had available. Veggie wraps from Whole Foods. All free for the racers!

Adam did the entire Omnium and desired a little special attention from the masseuse. He desired it!

The photo's were all taken from others on the web. Thanks for the great shots everyone.