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Reports by:
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What Mark saw:
Category: M35+ 4/5
Result: Mid-pack
Probably the best weather conditions I have encountered on Patterson Pass made it a day that favored the pure climbers. There was a very light headwind up the climb and it was in the high eighties. In the warm up I could feel that I wasnt firing on all cylinders. In the race I was climbing OK on everything but the steepest parts of Patterson pass. I took a real beating on the Cycletrons Patterson ride on Thursday so I knew my form was patchy and my legs still hurt.
I dropped off the back of the lead group near the top of Patterson Pass on the first lap but me and about 3 other guys put in a hard chase and got back into the group on Altamont Pass. Carl was in the lead group. On the second time up Patterson Pass I lost the lead group again and dangled about 100 yards behind Carl (in a group of 3 riders) all the way up over Flynn but managed to chase him back before we got onto Altamont. We rode in a small small group of 5-6 riders at a good pace and overhauled many stragglers along the Altamont. My legs finally had enough on the deceptively hard climb up Midway and I rolled in behind our little group on my own.
Absolutely no idea where I finished but I had a very enjoyable race. All the riders that I rode with were willing to work hard and there were no crashes :-).
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What Carl saw:
Category: M35+ 4/5
Result: Mid-pack
My take on this race is a bit different in that I was anticipating the "usual" wind on Patterson and its some what cooling effect. As Mark mentioned it got warm pretty early in the day and was going to be a day to be very conscious about keeping hydrated and eating (which I did not do a good job at).
The first lap I climbed Patterson and Flynn hills staying with the lead group of about 10 to 15 riders and completed the lap in OK shape, on the beginning of the second lap I decided to try and grab a bottle at the neutral feed and got gapped by the other riders and was not able to catch back up. I climbed Paterson and Flynn basically by my self and then got caught by the group containing Mark. Riding on Altamont I began to feel that I did not have much power and my calves and hamstrings were beginning to get a little sore. I finally got gapped by the group on the last climb on Midway and rode in a couple of hundred yards off of the group finishing I think placing in the low 20's.
After the race I drank a lot of fluids (gal.?) and had no urge to seek any relief for about 4 hours which I have to believe by my performance and how I felt is that I was getting dehydrated. Overall I felt OK about how I did on this ride because it has been a ride/race that I have been intimidated to me (especially the Patterson climb) and now feel that with a little bit more preparation (more water) I can be competitive.
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What Alan saw:
Category: M35+ 4/5
Result: Mid-pack
I had no intention of riding this race, and didn't decide to go until
Friday night. I'm pretty much out of form, but decided to go and get
the workout, if nothing else. I got tossed off the back on the
initial climb, but grouped up with two other riders on Flynn and rode
with them for the remainder of the first lap.
At the turn onto
Midway another rider came up from behind, sucked tail for a bit and
then sprinted ahead. The group then broke up as we all struggled to
keep up. I thought the other two guys were pretty dumb to try to
hang, and I wasn't too keen on it, but the thought of a lap alone
forced me to make an effort. In the end, the rider who busted us up
went off on his own, and everyone else rode solo.
I did get a boost
from an AV friend of mine who dropped out of his race and rode with
me for most of the second lap (not exactly by the rules, but then I
wasn't in contention for anything but finishing). The weather
definitely took a toll on my body. I went through three bottles
during the race, and was still cramping pretty bad on the last climb
on Midway.
Even with all the misery I has a good time; it was fun to
be out again showing the colors. The club was riding the course in
the opposite direction, so I got some encouraging shouts from them
during the second lap (both on the climb and the backside).
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