Field filled Friday morning & Waiting list and Newton's Revenge (July 12) now open

36th Annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb August 16, 2008 (weather date August 17)

Pinkham Notch, N.H., February 5, 2008 

Anyone wanting to ride a bicycle up the Mt. Washington Auto Road this summer has two choices: Get on the waiting list for the 36th annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, to be held on August 16, and hope someone will give up one of the places in the field; or sign up for Newton's Revenge, the other race up the same road on July 12.

Regarded as the most difficult all-uphill bicycle race in the world, the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb each year fills its entry list to capacity on February 1st, the day that registration officially opens. Thanks to on-line registration, it takes less than an hour before riders claim all 600 available places.

This year the race filled in just eleven minutes. That is less than half the time it took in 2007 for eager cyclists, sitting at their keyboards in the dead of winter, to click their way into this grueling 7.6-mile race to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern United States.

Registration for the Hillclimb was unusually quick this year because, in circumstances no one wants to see again, 385 of the 600 places were already assigned to cyclists who had entered the 2007 Hillclimb. That race was canceled by extremely inclement weather, including severe winds, precipitation and ice on the course  prohibitively unsafe conditions. The one consolation to disappointed riders last year was the knowledge that they would get priority in applying to enter this year's race.

The remaining 215 places were available starting at 6 a.m. last Friday  and all taken by 6:11 a.m. Anyone still hoping to enter this year can add his or her name to the waiting list at www.tinmtn.org/mwarbh.

Because demand for the opportunity to test oneself and one's bike against Mt. Washington has become so great, the Auto Road in 2006 created a second bike race, called Newton's Revenge and held this year on July 12, on the same course as the Hillclimb. Registration for the 2008 Newton's Revenge opened as soon as the Hillclimb filled to capacity. To enter, visit www.newtonsrevenge.com.

Entry in each race includes the opportunity to ride a practice ride as well. The Newton's Revenge practice ride will be on June 8, the Hillclimb practice ride on July 20. The practice rides are open only to registered race entrants.

If severe weather makes it impossible to hold the race on the day scheduled, the race may be postponed to the following day  August 17 for the Hillclimb, July 13 for Newton's Revenge.

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The Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is the primary annual fundraiser for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Conway, N.H. For the opportunity to pedal up the unrelenting grade while battling Mt. Washington's famously high winds, elite and amateur cyclists pay an entry fee of $300, from which all proceeds go to the educational and environmental programs of the conservation center.

Cyclists recognize the ride up Mount Washington as more arduous than the most difficult climbs in the Tour de France. The Auto Road rises at an average grade of 12 percent, with a 22-percent grade in the final yards before the 6288-foot summit. In some years the winds have blown riders off their bikes on the upper slopes above the tree line. The size of the field is limited by the ability of the road crews and race officials to monitor the safety of all participants, and by the number of vehicles that can be parked at the summit to bring cyclists back down the hill after the race.

The Hillclimb's popularity is due also to its being an open event, which means that amateur riders can compete along with professionals. Top professional riders in the Hillclimb in previous years have included world mountain bicycling champion Ned Overend, Olympic gold medalist and Tour de France stage winner Tyler Hamilton, legendary French cycling star Jeannie Longo, Canadian champion and current women's course record-holder Genevieve Jeanson (54 minutes 2 seconds in 2002), and the men's course record-holder Tom Danielson (49:24, also in 2002).

The entry fee and number of available places in the field are the same for Newton's Revenge as for the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. Proceeds from Newton's Revenge benefit the Mt. Washington Observatory and other non-profit organizations. The registration page includes information about how racers under the age of 18 can also enter by raising money directly for the Observatory.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb starts in four waves, beginning at 8:40 a.m. with the Topnotch group and continuing with slower groups at five-minute intervals, the last starting at 8:55 a.m.. Spectators may hike up the Auto Road prior to the start of the race. Newton's Revenge follows the same schedule.

For more information about the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, visit the race Web site at www.mtwashingtonbicyclehillclimb.org. The race site includes access to a complete list of entrants for the race, arranged by name, hometown or state.