Mt. Washington Hillclimb (45-49)

Course: 7.6 miles up the Auto Road on Mt. Washington; 11.5 or 12% average grade, depending on who you ask, with sections of 18%, and a ramp of 22% at the finish. 4,725 feet of climbing, from 1,563’ to 6,288’.
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Results

You can skip to the end of this if you just want my finishing time.

Conditions: HOT. This was completely unexpected. 75+F at start, direct sunshine the whole route, high humidity, no clouds, and no wind until just near the top. Not what “the home of the world’s worst weather” normally delivers.

I’d done this climb once before, the practice ride in July, the day after the race up Mt. Ascutney. So, I was somewhat prepared for the terrain, and potentially bad weather. It had been pretty cold and windy above the tree line back in July, and this race was canceled two years ago due to snow/70+mph winds. However, it was really warm & humid at race time. So much for the arm/leg warmers, jacket, full-finger gloves, and shoe covers that I packed. Half-way up the route, I was thinking the sleeveless base layer was too much.

Using the data from the July ride, and other climbs and races that I’d done, my coach and I came up with a target power range for the ride (255-265 watts). The thinking was that should be enough to deliver me to the line in my target time of 1:05-1:10, and that I should be able to hold that for the duration. My practice ride, not at full pace, was completed in 1:20, and I was hoping that I’d be able to beat that.

I wanted to stay with the leaders of my group, or wave, for the first couple minutes, at the very least before settling into my own pace. The race starts off fairly flat after about a 40’ downhill stretch from the line, before hitting the trees, then the road ramps up quickly to 12-15%. As soon as the starting cannon fired (it’s LOUD, by the way), a number of riders leaped away, with me in pursuit. As I was running a 22T single chain ring in front with an 11/26 cassette in back, I started in a mid-high gear to have enough oomph to get going. Starting in the easiest gear is a recipe for disaster with that combo. I was planning on going up into the 300+ watt range for the first couple minutes in order to stay with the leaders and to put a gap on the group (about 100 in my wave). That worked out fine, as I maxed out at 437 watts and held a 339 average for about the first half-minute after we hit the first climb.

From about the two-minute mark through minute 20, I pretty much settled into a groove, if a bit lower than I’d wanted. I averaged 249 watts for those 18 minutes, and had some wide variations in power – more than ideal. I was going past a number of riders in this stretch, but had no idea if they were from my group or earlier groups, as numbers were on the front of the bike, not the back of the jersey. I kept up a cadence averaging 92 rpm in this section, spinning light and saving the legs for later. While somewhat shaded from the sun, the air was completely still and heavy, I was sweating buckets already.

Over the next fifteen minutes, my power was slowly coming down – despite my best efforts to keep it higher. It was more of a mental battle than physical. I kept looking for a wheel to catch for some pacing help, but didn’t find any going fast enough. My cadence was in the mid-80’s, which was OK, but I just couldn’t get the body to ramp up to and hold the power above the 240’s. I knew what I needed to do, I just couldn’t get to that groove. At minute 35, I was at around 3.9 miles, or just over half-way, and just about to clear the treeline.

I was prepared for the temps to drop and the winds to kick up once I cleared the tree line, like last time, but this time, nothing. If there was a breeze, it wasn’t noticeable. The ride on the exposed portion was fine, if at still lower power than I wanted. From minute 35 to 50, I was averaging only 236 watts, a good 10% below my target. I could tell that my target time was slipping away, too. The dirt portion of the road was in this stretch, and like in July, it posed no issue at all – very well packed, and no loose sand/dirt/rocks. Passed a lot of folks, here, too. I think there may be a mental/confidence issue for a number of people on the dirt – but it’s better than a lot of the paved roads in Boston.

From minute 50 to 65, my power dropped again, to 229 average. Really frustrating, as I was making a concerted effort to hold it higher. I knew that I couldn’t make it in at 1:05, as I still had about .8 miles to go. So, I was making quick calculations as to what I needed to do to finish in 1:10. Still passing a number of folks – not sure whether there were people from my wave ahead of me or not. I’d heard one official on the road side say, “There’s a new color, lavender,” when I went past. So, I was hopeful that if not the first one, that I was one of the leaders of the “lavender wave.”

Coming into the last mile or so, I knew what to expect: some less steep portions, then a few climbs, then the super-steep finish of 22%. On the “flats,” I picked off a few riders – I went at them aggressively, not wanting anyone to grab my wheel. So, I was intent on putting gaps on anyone that I went past. The terrain was different than I remembered here, as it was all cloud enshrouded when I’d been here in July. I’d actually forgotten about one outside section. So, that was a steep surprise.

Rounding the last bend, I could see the parking lots and ramp coming up. I went wide left to avoid the steep inside portion of the 22% ramp, and to get up a good head of steam, at 10 mph…, to get up the ramp. During the practice ride, my attack of the ramp got washed out, as the rider in front of me had fallen and slid down into me. So, I’d had to stop, unclip, remount, and then get a push to get going again – starting on a 22% ramp is not easy. Anyhoo, this time, there were no riders ahead of me – just a lot of people on both sides of the road screaming encouragement. That was pretty cool – a small taste of pro racing.

I shifted into my easiest gear and sat back to power up the ramp – bad idea. As soon as I hit the ramp base, my front wheel lifted off the ground – not a good sensation. I jumped out of the saddle and shoved down on the bars – which resulted in a shot of cramp cleaving into my left calf. Lots of sensory inputs all in a split second. I stayed out of the saddle and tromped down on the pedals for all I was worth. I had the impression that I was grimacing through this section – which, given the pics I’ve seen of others, is probably and accurate recollection.

Lots of people cheering on both sides of the road as I came to the line by the Summit Hut. I heard the announcer saying, “Here’s the first rider from the lavender group,” as I came to the line. I pushed across, and gladly stopped as the volunteers rushed over to help grab the bike, help me off, give me a blanket (nice score!), hand me a bottle of water, and pull the timing chip off the front fork (this was done by a man with a hook for an arm, by the way).

It was all a bit overwhelming, especially with the background noise, and after the last hour+ of work. I was relieved, but at the same time frustrated, do be done. I got my bike and walked around to find my ride back down (you have to have a ride back down, you can’t bike – nor would I want to). I ran into Ben McCoy and Neal Heffron while I was wandering around. Good to see them both at the finish. Neal agreed that the heat was a bit of an issue.

Finishing data: Ride time: 1:12:10; good for first in my wave, 4th in my age group, and 42nd overall. I averaged 237 watts for the duration – about 18-28 watts below my target. Like I mentioned, good but a tad frustrating that I couldn’t hold a higher power.

Goals for next year: Podium for my age, and top 25 overall. You can mark that down.

From what I understand, by having finished in under 1:20, I’ll get to start in the “Top Notch” wave that goes off earlier – that should be humbling.

Some other cool/interesting sights at the finish: a unicyclist! I can’t begin to imagine what it takes to ride one up that mountain…; and a 10-year old rider – he was flying up the ramp. Very impressive.

A gorgeous day at the top, in the 60’s with just easy winds, and a few clouds passing through. It is odd standing in clouds. I found my ride, walked down to her car, changed into regular clothes, and stowed my bike. We then waited at the line for her boyfriend to finish. It was a long wait, but gave me the chance to wander around up on top. I’ll definitely need to come back by car/cog rail sometime and explore. Nest time, I’ll have friends/family up there, too, for photos, etc.