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What Santiago saw:
Category: 4
Result: Mid-pack
Mt. Hamilton RR, oh well what can I tell you... I started up the front of the field of 80 on the senior 4s, I though I might just set the pace so nobody goes crazy... Well, with 1 mile into the climb we had already dropped half of the field, and suddenly a guy decided to jump and the chase started... I went with them at first but the pace was really high, so I decided to keep my pace, otherwise I was going to died before the summit. So, I ended up getting dropped from that group but I recuperated after a while and managed to go pass around six guys before the top.
On the back side I spotted another group of 6 riders so I decided to use my downhill skills and go chase them. Well pretty soon I caught them and the guy in front of me went down in a really ugly way, his front tired came off the rim... Auuchhh, didn't stop me, so I kept going and another one lost control and hit the brakes locking his rear wheel, and down he went landing on his back.... Oh well, I was still up and making ground. By the time I got to the bottom I was way ahead of the survivors of this group of 6 riders (now only 4)... I kept going and got to another 3 riders, and just went pass by them, just a small reaction, but it seemed like they were dead already...
In any case, I ended up picking up another 7 riders and we started working together, well at least 4 of us, the rest were just there for the ride. Another two more joint us on the road, so we ended up with a group of 10 which stayed together all the way to the finish. Getting close to the finish everybody started to fight for positions, I was in around 4th place coming into the finish line, and suddenly this ass...... came sweeping from one side of the road to the other making me brake to avoid getting my front wheel taken off by his rear.... so I just rolled to the line, it didn't make any sense to be taken down for a 20+ or 30+ place.
Conclusion: this is a brutal race, my time to the summit of Mt. Hamilton was 1hr 24mins and still no where close to the leaders, so I figure to contest on this race you have to climb Mt. Hamilton in 1:15 or so! Total race time was 3hr24min. And the most difficult part of the race is the back side with its rolling hills and wind, not the climb to the observatory.
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What Brad saw:
Category: Masters 45+
Result: Back of pack
Santiago's right. What a tough damn race on the back side. During my M45+ race, I measured a surprising 2,200 feet of climbing -- a lot more hills than I remember (this is equivalent to doing Palomares twice. Santiago's route with Mt. Hamilton thus climbs at least 6,900ft.).
Right out of the chute we were climbing, you need to train for that sort of instant intensity. Even getting to the Isabel Creek start was tough -- 1hr 40 minutes from Fremont and i arrived a bit queasy from all the turns going up Mines and San Antonio Valley Rds. Then I found out I forgot my jersey @%#$^&*!, so i rode with my FFBC wind-breaker vest instead. So, my focus and attitude right-off-the-bat was all wrong, and it doesn't help to drive to/from and race solo.
I never got into the competitive spirit and used the day only as a reconnoiter for future races. I measured a surprising 2,200 feet of climbing -- a LOT more hills than remembered (equivalent to doing Palomares twice). Right out of the chute we climbed, I need more training for that sort of instant intensity. And Santiago mentions people crashing on corners....well, I saw a motorcycle go down on a corner, it is that gnarly of a course.
What a beautiful area, it has vast open plains, little lakes, beautiful rolling hills. Makes for a scenic, super-challenging 38 mile race, but it demands support so you can stay focused on the race.
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