From Carol Bult: Hi Mary,

I can't even begin to tell you how special this summer has been for me in terms of cycling up Mt. Washington. Last year I was part of Lili's support team and had never even thought about riding up the rockpile. But Lili is quite an inspiration and an awesome coach and she worked with me all last winter and spring to get me ready. Sometimes I can't even believe I was able to make it up the mountain four times this summer! Every ride was different and special in its own way. And equally as memorable was meeting cyclists from all over and experiencing the support and encouragement of other riders and volunteers and Mt. Washington event staff. I'm still amazed (and very thankful!) that you and your staff would get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning for the practice rides and the make up rides. I hope everyone there knows how much it is appreciated!

Here is the link to the photos and Lili and I took on September 1. Let me know if you have any problems with it.

Link to Photos

See you next year, Mary!

Cheers,

Carol

The 2007 MW race was cancelled Aug 18th due to summit winds of 55 mph with gusts to 94 mph and 32 degree temps. Fortunately, the race organizers rescheduled the ride for today, Sept 1. The winds on the summit have been unusually mild for the last week giving great hope to those of us looking to lower our PR's (1:10.51) on the Rockpile.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature obviously has been conspiring with the Mountain and the wind was expected to increase from 10-15mph Friday to 30-45mph for Saturday am:(

During a wonderful dinner in Gorham Friday night, 5 of us Rockpilers enjoyed piles of pasta while getting Blackberry wind updates from the Mount Washington Observatory.

While ordering dinner the sustained winds were 21 mph, appetizers 24 mph, check please....29 mph!! The worry was that if winds were in excessive of 30 mph, any thoughts of setting PR's would be history. Morning wakeup at 4:30am and right to The Weather Channel...39 mph...arrrrgghhhh! By the time we left the hotel an hour later...43 mph...with gusts over 50 and summit temp of 35 degrees...forget about PR's...are we even going to be able to climb the mountain?

Thankfully the weather stabilized at this point and the ride was on! As usual, the weather and conditions were just perfect the first four miles while the auto road remained under treeline. I started out hard, pushing my 34X21 up the first two miles, hitting that mark in 14:14. To reach the halfway mark (3.8mi) I dipped into my 34X24 a couple times to finish the easier first half in 31:00 and the 4 mi mark in 33:00. At this point I felt strong and knew a PR was a possibility is the winds weren't too bad. Sure enough the NW 42-44 mph winds reared their ugly head right around the 4 mile mark. Fortunately, once I made the left turn up 5 mile grade, the winds were partially behind me. The six mile area was definitely the worst-taking a beating from the wind-this is the one spot I dropped into my bailout gear of 34X27 and hung on for dear life!!

Before I knew it, I was cruising thru the Cow Pasture at 1:00.00 wondering just how far I had to go. The next time I looked down at my computer it read 1:08 suddenly I could hear the crowds cheering from the summit. I put the hammer down and flew up the last quarter mile-ok, maybe I FELT like I was flying. The last 50 yards at 22% were a blur and then I was home-1:09.11!!! A new MW PR was an exciting way to finish off a wonderful year of cycling! All of the guys in the dinner group had great rides!

Thanks to all my fantastic cycling buddies for another incredible year!!

-This letter was sent by a racer to his friend in hopes to give an idea of what the race is like..

With the exception of the final 50 yards and a maybe a 40 yard section a mile out from the finish, I think the steepest continuous slopes are inside the first 2.5 mile of the climb. That's not such bad news because those are the miles you will be at your freshest. That being said, the gradient isn't static. There are long steep stretches 100 yards to say 1/3 of a mile long but then it will flatten out and let you breath for 20 yards or so before kicking up again. It's very difficult to find a rhythm in here with all of the undulations. But just watch your HR and don't go above that ceiling. Give yourself a cadence range, stick to it and just shift up when you come to a more mellow section or just take a little breather if you need to. These steep sections and "flats," if you may call them (min. 12% I'm guessing), continue up to ~ 2.5 miles where....

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A RACER'S LETTER

Mt. Washington Race, At The Top I've always wondered, what was the attraction, the call, of riding up Mt. Washington . I had seen my brother, my brother in law , repeatedly do the suffering and training that was required to prepare you for the climb, and wonder what is it that requires you to give up so much time doing a specific type of hard effort, taking away time that could be spent on other, more enjoyable types of riding, or racing. After awhile, and with much prodding, I began to consider, then train, for a climb that had intimidated me for many years. I did my first climb in 2004, alongside my brother in law, with my sister waiting at the top. It truly was an exciting day, the wet weather couldn't dampen my enthusiasm. There was a feeling of camaraderie with all the people, highly motivated to do the climb, all around me. There is genuine joy in seeing the face of someone you just met 2 hours ago, after they have completed the climb. It's a fast way to make friends. After the race, however, I was ambivalent about the experience. I was proud of myself, but at the time I wasn't itching to sign up for it again.

As Richard Fries, at this year's awards ceremony said "As you are half way into the climb, you swear at yourself for being there, but later on, you find yourself starting to make plans for the following year." I guess any of the repeat climbers can agree with this.

For myself, I figured I'd give it one more try. I had a goal of finishing within the 1 hour 20 min. time, to get into the top notch category, then that would be it. I had come close, I figured if I tried a little harder next time, I could do it.

I think I took the mountain too lightly. I couldn't just mentally make myself go faster the second year, as if I wasn't trying as hard as I could the first year. This was proven to me at the practice ride in July, where, under perfect conditions I had a disappointing, slower time. Luckily, there was a month to go, and after some critical self assessment, I was able to begin to turn things around.

As anyone who has been there will agree, the top of the mountain, at the finish, is a scene of much emotion and confusion. Riders are somewhat disoriented from the climb, trying to find their drivers, not really sure what to do at the top. It's crowded, the announcer is on the loudspeaker, people are cheering. This year, the weather added to the confusion. There was very little visibility, the wind was a gale force. Everyone is stuck there, waiting for the time to ride down. Amidst this, however, everyone is happy, congratulating each other.

After I had changed, I was starting to make my way down to the parking lot with my bike. In trying to avoid the crowds, I passed by a couple, away from everyone else. The guy, probably her husband, had finished the climb. He still had his helmet and bike clothes on. She had regular clothes on, not a rider, but a supporter. I was used to seeing couples happily embracing all around. These two were crying, and locked in a tight embrace. I don't know what kinds of feelings were going through this woman, but her sobbing was so pure, and heartfelt, that I couldn't look away. I couldn't move. The whole bike race faded. I had never seen a display of emotion like this before. There were others affected the same way. To my left was a woman videotaping the scene. Before I could feel any anger at her for what she was doing, I saw she was crying openly too, as she watched. It was a beautiful experience that affected me deeply. I won't forget it.

Now I think I'm learning why people keep doing this. My time was 1.17.23 See you next year.