Greetings from Mary, Amy and TMCC,

Preparations have begun for the 37th annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. With a successful year of racing Mount Washington we will keep last years changes in place. And add a few new changes to this year. 1. New Race Day Schedule - starting 1 hour later. The Auto Road will open to UPBOUND race related traffic at 6:15 a.m. Your drivers will love this!

NEW TIMES FOR WAVES The first wave - Top Notch will start the race at 8:35 a.m

2nd group (20-34),(35-39) 8:40 a.m.

3rd group 40-44 8:45 a.m.

4th group 1st half - 45 +, Tandems, Jrs. 8:50 a.m.

5th group 2nd half - 45 +, Tandems, Jrs. 8:55 a.m.

Please review Race Day Schedule for race weekend information and times.

If we are forced to cancel - a non-supported 40 mile or 80 mile ride will be available. Lunch will not be cancelled. It will be served under the tent from 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

With February 1st just around the corner please make sure you are aware of all changes for the 2009 race and are aware of the cancellation policy.

Registration is limited to 600 racers Entry fee is $350.00 per person

Registration opens on Sunday, February 1 at 8:00 a.m. There will be a counter on the registration page so you will be able to see the number of people that have registered.

Once the MWARBH sells out a Wait List will be available. Registration for the wait list will be on line at www.bikereg.com. When planning your summer race schedule, consider Newton's Revenge on July 11. Register on line at www.newtonsrevenge.com

The Practice Ride will not be open to the general public. The Practice Ride is reserved for those that have registered for the race. A few days after the Hillclimb sells out, registered participants will receive Practice Ride registration instructions via email. The Practice Ride is limited to 300 riders.

Please understand you are considering participating in a race where the venue is Mount Washington, which is noted for having very challenging weather conditions.

Thank you for your continued support of Tin Mountain Conservation Center.

See you next summer.

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!!

Race Day Schedule

Jay Philbrick of Philbrickphoto has been chosen to be the official photographer of Hillclimb participants for this year's event.

For more information see: www.philbrickphoto.com

Jay Philbrick is also the official race photographer.

Click on each icon for more information. Users of Google Earth can click here to open the course map locally.

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Our advice from the IRS indicates the following:

All but $25 of your registration is deductible as a charitable donation for all Hillclimb riders not in the Top Notch category.

All Hillclimb riders in the Top Notch category may deduct any registration amount over $150.

TMCC's opinion is not a substitute for advice from a qualified tax professional.

This race is very steep. Many road bikes will need some modification to ensure proper gearing. Most mountain bikes are already geared for terrain of this grade. Please contact local bike shop Red Jersey Cyclery for more details on equipment suggestions. Red Jersey Staff members ride the race every year and know what works.

The Racers Forum is also a good source of information regarding equipment choices.