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Tannersville, Hunter & Windham, NY
Friday, July 30 to Sunday, August 1, 2010
I traveled with teammate, Julian to upstate NY for this 3 day/3 stage mountainous event.
Friday, July 30 (Tannersville, NY) Prologue Time Trial, 2.2 Miles (479 feet elevation gain. Avg. grade 4.1%, max grade 11%).
I went off shortly after noon and rode as fast as I could up the hill. I caught the guy that started 30-seconds before me, unfortunately I was caught by the guy that started 30-seconds behind me. It took 9:32 to complete the prologue. It rained for a few minutes which neither helped nor hurt. I finished in the bottom 50%, but was happy with my effort.
Saturday, July 31 (Windham, NY) Catskill Epic Road Race, 52 Miles (2,900 feet elevation gain. Max grade 12%).
This was one tough stage! We started at a ski resort and half way through the stage we began to climb. This is where I got dropped by the leaders. We climbed uphill for 5 miles to the first KOM (King of the Mountain), then it was up and down for 10 miles to the second KOM. I found myself with a guy (Bruce) I had raced at the CT Stage Race. We were of even ability. We worked together well. Finally we got to enjoy a long fast decent with several switchbacks. At one point I hit 49 mph. The final 10 miles were flat or gradually uphill and we hammered hard to limit our time loss. Bruce was 11-seconds ahead of me on GC (General Classification) from the prologue, so once we were in sight of the finish our alliance was off. I out sprinted him and took back 2-seconds.
That night while Julian and I were having dinner at a local restaurant, Floyd Landis came in and sat at the table next to us. If you don’t know who Floyd is, Google him.
Sunday, August 1 (Hunter, NY) Mountaintop Classic Road Race, 57 Miles featuring the infamous ’Devil’s Kitchen’ climb (2,600 feet elevation gain. Max grade 22%).
This was the queen stage and it lived up to it. The first KOM was less than 10 miles into the race. After that there was a short decent then a gradual 10 mile climb before 20 miles of mostly downhill before hitting the 3 mile wall of a climb known as the Devil’s Kitchen (so named when the Tour de Trump raced over it). My goal was to make it to the base of the Devil’s Kitchen climb with the main peleton. I had to dig deep to stay in touch over the first KOM but after that I tucked into the peleton and was fine. During the long decent I hit 50mph. I stayed near Bruce, my competitor from yesterday. I finished my second bottle and third GU before we began the climb. I knew the best way to get up as fast as possible was just to ride at my own pace. As we began the climb the strongmen surged ahead. Using my 36/26 gearing I stomped (danced?) on the pedals… up up UP! The crowds were often large and vocal. At one point I had a guy with a cowbell running along side me. The sweat was pouring off me. I noticed one rider come to a standstill and tip over, another got off his bike and began walking. It was painful but I was getting up. I focused on turning the pedals over and over. 5K to go, 4K to go (to the KOM) were painted on the road. When passing the 3K (1.8 miles) to go sign I saw Bruce just ahead. I had left behind a handful of competitors and was now gaining on Bruce and several others. 2K, and finally 1K to go and the gradient lessened and I began to pick it up. Before I knew it I was going through the KOM pink polka dot banner/arch. Within the next mile a group of us formed and began working together. We had about 8 miles mostly downhill to the finish. We caught a rider and were caught by one. We were flying along at 35-40 mph each taking short pulls. Heading down the finishing straight. I decided to attack from several hundred meters out to get a jump on them. I got a small gap but Bruce came past me right at the line. I was second in our chase group of 6. We were 8 minutes behind the winner. My final 3-day result was 32nd in the GC.
The Catskills is a beautiful area and the event was extremely well run and fun. This race is worth a revisit.
YouTube video from the Devil’s Kitchen climb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI2iQjQJ9_s&feat…
Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/davekandersen/2010T…
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