Shawn said he would like to try a road race. I told him that if he wanted to do Turkey Hill I would ride it with him. With only a few days and a few slots left in the 4/5 race we still are undecided. The weather looks gloomy. Cool and rainy, not the most pleasant of conditions. The 40k race is an interesting one though. There are a lot of little steep climbs, fast descents with some sharp turns. Rain could really make those turns rough. The finish is mostly uphill. After the final right hander you climb for about a mile, most of which is about a 4-6% grade. Then a slight down before a leg popper. It is short and steep (guessing 10-12%). After all that, you hit a dead flat straight run to the finish that is about 1k. It is fast. I putted around it today with an average of over 20mph. That was by myself in scouting mode and of course obeying all posted traffic signs (aka stopping at stop signs). The coolest part about this race is that they do a rolling closure. That means you can use the whole road all race long. Usually the center line is as far as they let you go. Go over it and you are pulled from the race (or run over by a car speeding at you). I guess I better talk to Shawn tonight.
The picture is from Sunday. It's Johanna Kraus. She's pro and you can see why. She ran her bike several times during the race and still finished 3rd. About 8 1/2 minutes back of first. Maybe I should learn something from that. ***Correction*** Katie is correct. I thought the number plate was #71. After careful review it is #271, Deidre York. She was in the Female Junior X 15-18. No wonder she could run so much. She's just a baby. ***
***UPDATE***
Turns out there will be three of us at Turkey Hill after all. Shawn and I will be doing the 4/5 with one Wes Schempf of VisitPA.com fame. Jeremiah is sticking with the original plan and going for the 3/4. A 92km (roughly 55 miles) race that climbs the Gamber Wall twice. I know Chad wanted to do this race so badly but I had to talk him out of it. He has his SAT's that day. Don't be stupid Chad. Haha! Anyway, come on out for some ice cream and a blazing fast race. It's free (don't quote me on the ice cream being free).
1 comment:
Good luck at Turkey Hill Saturday. I can see it now - Shawn's bike museum (our basement) will have a shiny new Van Dessel Solstice in it soon. I guess that isn't so bad though - that bike is gorgeous.
Also - I am pretty sure it is Deidre York in the photo. I was standing next to someone from her team, and the scoop is she rides JRx (under 18) and she is from California. Either way - she had to run A LOT during that race!
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