Sunday Post Race Report

WOW is all I can really say about this race today. 87 guys started I know that many did not finish........I read the race flyer and it said one good climb and then some rollers. This one "good climb" was the back breaker of this race. The race started at a pretty group ridish pace (first sign of trouble), I was wondering why no one was really picking it up. So about 7 miles in the initial climb starts and then it just really NEVER ENDED. Somehow at the start of the climb I found myself way in the back so I started working my up to about 30 and thought this would a good place to sit, then I look back and everyone is falling off. I gave out just before the top and could only watch the wheels in front of me pulling away. Because so many people had fallen off we put together a chase group of about 6 guys and we came within about 200 yards of catching the top 30 but never could close the door and after that I never saw the lead group again. I worked together with this group for much of the 2nd lap until several of them decided to break away from this group (made no sense really at this stage of the race) but ok. I rode solo down the descent for much of it and then a couple guys came from behind and I finished the race with these guys and a few others we caught (same dudes that decided to leave the small group we initially had). No doubt this is the hardest race I have ever done, 62 miles of hurt. After the race I initially I thought I wouldn't ride my bike for a very long time :) Now that I'm settled I will get back to it on Wednesday or so. I will try and find some photos from the race, it was very scenic but between catching my breath and the sun beating me down I could barely take it all in. I saw a guy almost go off one of the cliffs too, now that would have been very bad, we were on the descent and he was to hot into a turn, he had to slam the brakes and go 2 steps over edge. Another side note, I met a guy in the field that was a Shimona rep and he said he had a couple HUB t-shirts from his trips there a few years back.


Race stats:
avg: 20.4 mph
ascent: 3,617 feet of climbing