Team MotionBased

Everest Challenge: 5th Place Pro-1-2

For most XC and Road racers the season is over, but I am headed down to Bishop for the Everest Challenge.  The Everest Challenge is a two-day stage race covering 200+ miles and 29,000 feet of climbing, hence Everest Challenge.  I am particularly drawn to this event because the venue is one of the coolest areas in the world, the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, where dozens of 14,000 foot peaks rise up from the valley from around 4,000 feet.  Whether it be hiking the John Muir trail, ascending Mt Whitney or dropping into the 50 degree Bloody Couloir on skis I spent many weekends playing around here. 

The Everest Challenge course is a series of out and backs, the longest and hardest being a 20 mile climb with 6,500 foot elevation gain.   The climbs are not incredibly steep ranging from 8-12 percent, but when you are climbing all day you really feel it.  I spent hours in my 39-27 spinning 55 rpm’s.   Fortunately race day, the weather was mild.  Unlike Floyd, I did not need 80+ water bottles to stay hydrated and cool.  I actually had the opposite problem; I froze on the descents.  Luckily the night before the race, I picked up a pair of hunting gloves from K-mart that I kept in my back pocket.  It was 34 degrees at the start at 4,000 feet and we climbed up to 10,500!

The race sorted itself out early each day and I found myself riding the final climbs alone and the most of the other climbs with 1-2 riders.  I started slower than most which in my opinion helped me secure a 5th place finish on each stage and overall (pro-1-2's).  There was a little drama in that the fourth place finisher (who had 6 minutes on me) cracked hard on the final climb the second day.  I passed him and waited up top, only to see him roll through 5 minutes after me.

Mt Diablo Challenge: 2nd Place Overall

The final event of my 2006 race season is the road race up Mt. Diablo.  It is a 10.8 mile road with 3,300 feet of climbing.  Because Mt. Diablo is one of the most popular recreational parks in the Bay Area it draws 1,100 + riders/ racers.  It is also a special event to me because I grew up at the base in Clayton.  My first mountain bike rides and hikes were on Mt. Diablo.

Last year I finished 3rd up the mountain, so I definitely had a victory on my mind.  Race day was colder than normal so I knew it was important to get a good warm-up in.   This proved to be difficult because of the chaos in parking and sign-ins.   Oh well, last year the race started like most road races easy and organized, but not this year!  The eventual winner Rob Anderson gassed it off the line.  Rob, the Masters World MTB Champ wanted to separate the field with an XC type start which he did.  Five minutes in, there were only 6 of us in the lead group.  I struggled to hang on.  My heart rate was lower than normal and I was breathing heavily.  I was shocked to see myself 2nd going into the final 20 percent climb to the finish.  Rob attacked on the flat section before the climb, dropping me and the 3rd and 4th place finishers.  I made some time up in the home stretch finishing 14 seconds behind Rob, with a 47:42.   Rob pulled most of the race though.  Nonetheless, I improved my time and place over last year which I am happy about.