Pikes Peak Hill Climb

From Harvey:

 ...here we found the snow middle deep; no sign of beast or bird inhabiting this region. The thermometer which stood at 9° C above 0 at the foot of the mountain, here fell to 4° C below 0. The summit of the Grand Peak, which was entirely bare of vegetation and covered with snow, now appeared at the distance of 15 or 16 miles (24 or 26 km) from us, and as high again as what we had ascended, and would have taken a whole day's march to have arrived at its base, when I believed no human being could have ascended to its pinical. This with the condition of my soldiers who had only light overalls on, and no stockings, and every way ill provided to endure the inclemency of the region; the bad prospect of killing any thing to subsist on, with the further detention of two or three days, which it must occasion, determined us to return."

– Excerpt from the Zebulon Pike Expedition, 1806, after a failed attempt to summit the mountain.

Today, Pike’s Peak is a lot tamer than it was in 1806. There’s a paved road and cog railway leading to a restaurant/souvenir shop at the summit. However, it is still a proper mountain with an elevation of 14,115 feet (4,302 m) and prominence of roughly 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above downtown Colorado Springs.

The USAC Hill Climb route would take us up the same route that the International Auto Hill Climb has been using for 85 years. This covers of the last 12.1 miles of this paved road from Crystal Creek to the summit with 4,688 feet of elevation gain, 154 switchbacks, and an average grade of 7.3%. 

Now, that doesn’t sound too bad considering the fact that they can fit 10,000 feet of climbing in the Michigan Mountain Mayhem, but we are starting from an elevation over 9,000 feet! The air gets pretty thin up there and just warming up I noticed a pretty significant shortness of breath. The other thing I noticed was how under-dressed we were to be climbing a mountain. I just had my M-Cycling skinsuit and jacket and my teeth were chattering! The temperature was hovering ~45°F and I could see that the summit was already obscured by a lenticular cloud. I knew I would be “climbing a lot” and so I convinced myself this was fine, besides plenty of other people didn’t even have jackets! This may have contributed to the fact that of 349 starters, there were only 243 finishers….

The race started in waves offset by 3 minutes. Me, Ky Kieffer, and Jeremy Ziegler were all together on the line in the second wave for the Cat4/Masters race. From the start, I planned to go pretty easy, but surprisingly the road was rolling and the pack stuck together for the first half-mile or so. I ventured to put in a little more effect to stick on the back and enjoy some protection from the wind. Jeremy and Ky stayed back and we split at this point. 

After that half-mile, the road turned up and the switchbacks started. From this point on, we were climbing. I shifted down to my lowest gear and spun for a good bit. I was generally passing people, but then I was also breathing pretty heavily for my measly 4mph. When the grade finally dropped back to 4 or 5% I’d shift up just to give me the perception of control and pedal on to the next switchback. I’d hop from one guy’s rear wheel to another’s on and on and on until I saw the 8 mile sign.

Now, I’m not exactly sure what mile marker we started at, but I remember the start being about 6 miles up the road. This is where I freaked out a bit. I was already hyperventilating and my hands were completely numb with needles. My core was warm, but it was clear I might not finish if I kept pushing. I settled in and dropped the cadence from 85 to something more like 70 and struck up a conversation with some guy from Colorado. I stayed here until we reached Glen Cove (~12.5 mi) and the Colorado guy pulled off.

I lost the tree line and my mind at about the 13 mile mark. Above the tree line we had 30-50 mph wind gusts from the South (pretty much 12 o’clock high). This is also where the pitch and switchbacks became extreme.

There was a steady stream of deserters heading back down the mountain. While the wind seemed to be generally against us, it was more unnerving that you’d never know what way it was going to hit you. This was nice in that sometimes you could stop pedaling and coast up the mountain, but terrifying in that death by cliff face became a very real possibility. Thankfully, miraculously, this is where Ky caught me. Ky didn’t have a compact front chainring and so he had to work a bit harder, but hey he was making killer time. I’d like to think we were helping each other, taking pulls, but Ky definitely maintained the pace through here. 

We started passing people like crazy and it just proved how critical it is to have a friendly face in the race. At about 14 miles, the road leveled out and we had a quick traverse from a false summit to the central peak. I took the lead here and with some help from the slope/winds we were cruising fine at about 45 mph. We finished the traverse and started the final climb just as we passed the 5k to go sign. 

We were still moving pretty good, but at the 4k to go sign we were completely immersed in the clouds. The winds were still brutal and now we were riding in/on an icy rind. The mountain took on an otherworldly feel. Visibility was about 20 feet and everything had icicles jabbing the direction of the prevailing wind. There were a few times where Ky almost dropped me here, but somehow I stuck with him.

I kept running the conversions in my head, 4k, that’s like less than 3 miles!

3k, that’s like less than 2 miles!

2k, yeah, that’s like barely over a mile.

1k, I should be able to see the finish!

It has to be right there!

I must be like 400m out, maybe even 200m!

And then another switchback and pavement turned to dirt and there it was. Ky and I crossed simultaneously taking 3rd and 4th at 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 43 seconds. We pitched our bikes against an icy guardrail and jogged inside. Ky’s hands had swollen like balloons. Mine looked pretty normal, but I couldn’t really feel them or my toes. 

We took refuge in the restaurant, but other than the blow drier in the bathroom there wasn’t much warmth to find. The food wasn’t ready and the donut fryer broken. CURSES!

I ate a Nature Valley bar, found some hot chocolate and we waited for Jeremy to catch up. He finished at 2:18:41 and took 5th in the Masters 35+ race. After warming up a bit, we started the summit picture bonanza and then bundled up for the descent just as the first train arrived from Manitou Springs. 

The descent was far more terrifying than the ascent! Between the shivers and the wind our bikes were shimmying all over the road. Ky gave up and hitched a ride. I took my sweet time and rode the brakes down. Once we reached the trees, the wind died down and I finally started warming up. By the time we reached the parking area the temperature had reached the mid-70’s and the frigid summit was a distant memory.  Jeremy has GoPro footage of the descent which you can watch here. Checking Strava the descent took about 40 minutes and my new max speed by bicycle registers at 53 mph!

Gaslight Criterium and Sylvania Cycling Classic

Below are race reports from Sunday: Lucas Wall at the Gaslight Criterium and Rob Shoemaker at the Sylvania Cycling Classic.

From Lucas:

I’d had the Gaslight Criterium as a major goal for the year I first planned out the racing season last winter. It’s a fast, slightly technical criterium right in the middle of Michigan’s crit season when I’m usually in the best shape of the year. I was just hoping it would be dry streets for the race.

The weather held out for race day which eased my nerves, but my schedule leading into the race wasn’t what I’d planned with a week-long trip to see family and attend a wedding which had me off the bike for a week. At least I was rested.

I’d hoped to do the Pro/1/2 and Masters 35+ race double, but my schedule only allowed for one race, so it was just the Masters 35+ for me. I got in a good warm-up on the roads around the adjacent lake. I was feeling decent, but before a big race I’m always a little anxious and nervous, and it’s hard to get a read on how the legs are feeling. After many years I know this is normal, even good since I know I’m motivated and ready to race, so I tried to keep it in perspective.

Forty riders lined up, so a decent sized masters field. I rolled up to back row for the start and saw a number of new faces, mostly riders local to the Grand Rapids area who came out. The usual fast guys and teams were there, too. Lathrup had a number of riders, CFT with Craig Newell, Louis Benton with a number of strong guys, and a fast pair from the North Star Development team.

Last year a break went early and stayed away, and I was aiming for a win so that meant being ready for anything. I focused on being more attentive to field position throughout the race so I could go with attacks rather than have to bridge. The race started quickly and we had a number of small attacks, but only with a rider or two at a time.

The pace was high but not too hard. There were some decent primes throughout the race, including a $100 cash prime. I thought about that one, but with my main goal being the finish I wasn’t going for it unless all I had to do was a sprint out of the last corner--I wasn’t making any effort to get in position for a prime.

About midway through the race the pace remained solid. A promising move of a few strong riders made an effort to get off the front but the field quickly responded and it never got more than 10 meters clear, so I sat.

Having raced Gaslight a few times, I knew that the finish of the race depended on good field position out of turn 3, then being one of the first spots through turn 4, the final corner. With long back stretch into turn 3, it was easy to move up or loose a lot of places. Knowing that field position was the most important detail at the end of the race, I chose to go to the front early and stay there, so with 5 to go, I moved to the top 5 riders and aimed to stay there the rest of the race.

Good move! With 4 to go I came through turn 1 and heard the crunching of bikes and wheels just a few riders behind me. Turns out the crash took down or stopped 12-15 riders. On the front the pace stayed steady--no big post-crash attack. Some of the riders who didn’t go down got back on, but it required a big effort and some nervousness from those riders with just a few laps left.

With 2 laps to go a big solo attack went from one of the Louis Benton riders and he got a decent gap. There wasn’t a reaction from the field but the pace stayed solid so the gap, much better than if there had been a sudden lull. I was expecting the well-organized Lathrup team would be coming to the front, but with them MIA I was thinking that they probably had a few riders in the crash and may not make an appearance. I stayed in the front and quickly moved up any time the pace slowed so that I could remain at the front. One of the North Star guys put in a solid effort keeping the pace high and the gap to the solo leader in check.

Down the back stretch on the last lap I was staying ahead of the fray and the CFT team was putting in an effort for their sprinter, Craig Newell. A rider or two slipped by me coming into turn 3 but I was still pretty well placed. Coming out of that turn, I accelerated fast knowing I needed one of the first positions through the final turn. Unfortunately, one of the other team’s riders sat up and blocked the inside line. The CFT lead out was coming up the left side quickly, and as soon as I had a clear line again I went as hard as I could up the outside toward the final corner. The CFT team had the inside and with a sketchy exit of turn 4 I chose to make sure there was room rather than fly all or nothing into the corner. I came out of the turn on Newell’s wheel and had some speed on him, but the sprint from the final corner is short and I didn’t have time to come around.

I finished second. Close but not the win I was aiming for.

From Rob: 

Sylvania was not my best day. 21 riders showed up for a wet and rainy race. I was caught of guard by the sprint at the whistle and fell to the back of the front group. It was tough to gain ground because of the slow turns which killed all my momentum. When I finally caught the field a rider slid out in a corner. I planned to go high around him but he slid that way. I unclipped my inside foot and planted it on the ground while the bike kept me moving in a circle, I managed to unclip my outside foot and came to a stop standing in the road holding my bike off the ground! Must of been the most epic save to all who witnessed.

I came back around to the start/finish and was able to get a free lap. I rode back into the peloton in 4th which was relieving after chasing for so long. We made our way to the downhill sweeper at the back of the course and even though I loaded my front tire, it lost grip and I up-righted. That led me straight off the turn and off the course. I barely missed the hay bail covering a sign post. I saw a curb that appeared to be level with the grass and rode towards it to get back on the road. Unfortunately, it was not level and as soon as I hit it my front tire flatted then my rear tire. I then started looking for a soft spot to stop or fall over but ended up in a rocky driveway on my butt. My day ended with a curb hop double flat DNF... booo!!

Capital City Cycling Classic

Andrea Merlotti and Sara Seeley sprint for state championships in Womens Cat 4 & 3. Lucas Wall takes the top step of the podium for Masters 35-39 while Chris Winkler and Huy Tran took 3rd and 2nd respectively in the Cat 3/4 race. Here is a recap of all the action. 

The weather was perfect with sunshine and the temperature in the high 70’s at the State Capitol. AAVC had a huge turnout with riders in Womens Cat 3 & 4, Masters 35+, Cat 3/4, Pro/1/2 and Cat 5. The women and masters were racing for their state criterium championships (the other categories will contest the state championships Aug. 24).

Racing began with Matt Raezler racing in Cat 5. He raced well and finished mid pack in 11th. Lucas Wall brought the whole family to hangout and watch the Masters 35+ and Pro/1/2 races. The race started out quick with Rob Ehrmann leading a two man break that maintained a 10-25 second gap for 35 minutes of the race. As Lucas was the sole AAVC rider, he let Lathrup, LouisBenton, CFT, and Michigan NeuroSport take the responsibility of chasing the break as he sat in. The break was caught with 10 minutes to go and the field settled in for a sprint finish. Here is Lucas’s take on the final laps of the race:



“So I focused on field position. There definitely was a lot of “move up 5 spots, move back 10” in the last few laps. Guys were aggressive in the last few laps following favorite wheels, moving up, and bumping elbows along the way. I managed to play it pretty well and came out of the last corner in the top 10. I knew I needed a little better position than that so I slid up a few more spots before coming to 300m to go. Before we passed the 200m to go spot, I was thinking that my best shot at a top spot might be to catch the top sprinters (all well positioned) off guard by coming around a little early and holding them off, since I wasn’t confident I could come around them once the sprint hit full speed. So I made the first jump with about 250 m to go. I quickly grabbed a few spots but I didn’t get the speed I needed and never came around the number 1 and 2 sprinters. My form was sloppy on the rough road, and as a result I didn’t hold power as well throughout the sprint and conceded 3rd place to another good sprinter, Craig Newell, before the line.”

Despite getting 4th in the race, Lucas still grabbed the gold in the 35-39 age group for the state championship event. After a nice lunch and nap in between races, he got warmed up and ready for the Pro/1/2 race later in the day. He went into the race with intentions on just getting a good training race in. Towards the end of the race his legs were feeling the nearly 2 hours of racing and was beginning to count down the laps.

“I hunkered down in the saddle and churned over the pedals as much as possible. When ‘hunker’ and ‘churn’ become descriptors for your sprinting, you know it’s ugly and slow, but I picked off a handful of riders and only had one guy pass me--pretty awesome (and lucky) since my sprint power was about 30% less than normal. I managed to grab 7th in the field sprint, good enough for 12th overall. It wasn’t pretty but I was happy. “

AAVC represented in the Cat 3/4 field with 8 riders. Chris Winkler, Harvey Elliot, Kevin Juntunen, Rob Shoemaker, Matt Ronanan, Kyle Schroeder, Jared Winn and Tyler Carlton. Huy Tran rode as an honoree member as he is finishing up his contract with Metromint cycling. The pre race plan was to cover attacks that were expected from O2 and Leadout. Kyle, Matt and Rob covered the attacks mainly coming from a pair of O2 riders that would trade off as each was caught. The pace was fast the whole race but stayed controlled as much as a 3/4 race can be. When the 2 laps to go call came it caught the whole field by surprise as they were only 25min into a 40min race. AAVC’s lead sprinter of the race, Tyler Carlton, began making his moves towards the front for the finish. His account on the last lap:

“Out of the last turn I was in the top 10 and feeling good about my chances in the sprint. The guy who’s wheel I was on went WAY early, but I wasn’t about to be stuck without a wheel so I jumped on him. Unfortunately he blew up about 400 meters out so I had to open it up way early. By the time the 200m sign came I was already feeling it and just hoped I could make it to the finish. Eventually the line finally came and I managed to roll across 6th. “

Huy Tran was in good positioning for the finish and came across the line in 2nd followed by Chris Winkler in 3rd. Kevin Jununten came across the line in 15th followed by Kyle Schroeder in 17th and Rob Shoemaker in 19th. Harvey Elliot finished 23rd, Matt Ronan in 35th and Jarod Winn finishing 47th.

The Womens Cat 4 race resulted in our own Andrea Merlotti taking home the state championship. Here is Andrea’s account from the race:

“On the final lap the pace went from somewhat slow, to even slower, every woman conserving their energy for the last 200 meters. Upon making the last turn, there was an attack but no one went with. My plan was to start sprinting at the 200 meter mark, but plans changed when two other girls began their sprints at 300 meters. I knew it was too soon but because I sprinted several times earlier in the race I had determined that even if I sprinted earlier than planned, I would still have enough energy to out sprint them. I let a few girls pass me and that’s when I knew it was time to act. The sprint felt never ending but as I passed girl after girl and the finish line grew closer my legs couldn’t help but pedal harder. I had one girl that was close to my wheel but was able to out sprint her and win it all.”

The last race of the day was the Womens 1/2/3 which also resulted in our own Sara Seeley taking home the state championship.

CXpreX, pre-season clinic series for cyclocross, starts Aug. 14

Back for it's fourth year, CXpreX is a great way to start of the cyclocross season or just try out and learn about this fun style of bike racing!

Find out more about this series on the CXpreX website, register at USA Cycling, or follow event updates on the CXpreX Facebook page.

Click for full-size view.

Download a PDF version of the CXpreX flyer here.

Collection for Michael Kines

Update from Harvey, 7/31/14: Many people heard that Mike was involved in an accident on July 16 while racing at Waterford. He's has been at the University of Michigan Hospital the last couple of weeks and has been lucky enough to avoid needing any surgery. He is now recovering well. Kyle Schroeder and I have been collecting donations for a get-well fund. If you would like to contribute you can give to either of us in-person or use the PayPal donation button below. We look forward to seeing Mike healed up and back on the bike soon!


Update from Harvey, 9/01/14: Mike has been progressing well in rehab and is already back at the University.  When I saw him at the office in mid-August you would hardly know he was in an accident.  As far as biking goes, the doctors are prohibiting him from going out for another 3 or 4 months to avoid reinjury.  Still, he’s looking to re-enter biking and racing for the 2015 season. He’s got an indoor trainer and already looking forward to hours of suffering this Winter. Through the club, we were able to raise $550 in donations to help him get back in the game. I want to send a big thanks out to everyone that pitched in!  Seeing all those donations really made me proud to be part of this club!    

Maple Hill RR

We had a great turnout for the club at the Maple Hill Race for Wishes with nearly 20 AAVC’ers making the trip over to Kalamazoo.    The race was held in a rural area west of the city in Lawton Township and featured four short climbs of ~8% grade with a number of rollers.  In the Cat 4 race Tyler Trask and Harvey Elliott set out to punish the competition

Harvey Elliott sitting in at 4th wheel

from the start and set the pace for much of their four laps.  Of the 75+ riders who started the race, only 42 finished and of those only ~15 were there for the sprint.  For his part, Tyler really dished out the pain, but unfortunately crashed out with less than 2 miles to go.  Harvey was able

AAVC'ers setting the pace in the Cat 4 race

to dive out of the lane to avoid the pile up, but didn’t have any more go for the finish and rolled in with the lead pack at 11^th.  Fred Feng finished 33^rd and Rob Shoemaker was just behind him at 35^th. Rob had a short breakaway in the 3^rd lap, but these guys ended up solo for much of the 4^th lap when things got really hairy.  In the Cat 4 Womens race, Andrea Merlotti shined as a climber staying near the front the whole race and winning the group sprint to the finish.  With that performance she secured a new State Champion jersey and proved that she needs to upgrade!  While I can’t say much for the other races, I can report places. 

Cat 1/2: Rob Ehrman took an impressive 4^th place

Masters 35+: Colin Hebert finished 11^th and Lucas Wall 18^th

Master 45+: David Fanslow 15^th, Winston Benedict 21^st, Kurt Schaldenbrand 36^th

Cat 3: Danny Soltan 14^th

Cat 4: Harvey Elliott 11^th, Fred Feng 33^rd, Rob Shoemaker 35^th, Tyler Trask DNF

Cat 5: Ben Rothacker 8^th and Michael Kines 14^th

Cat 5 35+: Rob Grainger 4^th and Matt Raezler 19^th

Juniors: Vincent Vermeulen 4^th

Womens Cat 4: Andrea Merlotti 1^st

Bloomer Park XC

The day after the Herman Miller criterium, Tailwind’s Bloomer Park XC race took place in Rochester, MI. The course is relatively technical for southeastern Michigan with some challenging climbs and a famously dangerous switchback downhill. Representing AAVC Racing were Tyler Trask in the Expert 19-29 division and John Krauss in the Expert 50+ division. After two hard criteriums in the heat, this race proved too much for Tyler and he cracked in the first lap after covering a strong attack up the first climb. He was able to hold off another rider to maintain second place through the second lap but the fatigue proved to be too much and he lost another place to finish in third, keeping him in the running for the series title. John Krauss finished 10^th in his category after an equally competitive field with riders from the best mountain bike teams in the state.

Tyler Trask #271

John Krauss #659