Conference noted::bicycle

2413.0. "Mt. Greylock Hillclimb. Try it. You'll like it." by STAR::ZIELONKO () Tue Sep 15 1992 19:32

What:		The Greylock hillclimb is a time trial hillclimb starting in
                downtown North Adams, MA and ending at the top of
                Massachusetts's highest peak - Mt. Greylock - in Mt. Greylock
                State Forest.

Classes:	There are five men's classes, three women's classes and a men's
                and a women's mountain bike class. The race is *not* USCF
                sanctioned this year but has been in the past.

When:		Sunday, September 27th. First rider off at 8:30 AM.

Where:		North Adams, MA. in the beautiful Berkshires.

Registration:	Registration is day of the race. There are no pre-registrations.
		Show and go.

Fee:		$8.00. Don't know if you get a T-shirt or anything like that.

Prizes:		Don't know. Probably not much.

The Course:	The climb is ~9.5 miles with a base elevation of 620 ft. and a
                summit at 3460 ft. It starts at the Heritage park in downtown
                North Adams. The first three miles or so are all on city roads
                and the last six or so are on the summit road in Mt. Greylock
                State Forest.

                It figures out to a 5% average grade but don't let that fool
                you. There are plenty of flat strecthes and even some downhills
                that mess up the average grade calculation. There are some
                really steep stretches (over 12% - i would guess). This is one
                of those climbs where you're constantly shifting gears. 

Equipment:	Very challenging but you don't need to put on a pie plate
                freewheel or different tires like you do for Mt. Washington.
                This is a hard climb but it's not a freak climb. Bring your
                regular hilly road-race bike or put street tires on your
                mountain bike.
		
                When I was fit I used a 42x21 and was doing times between 45 and
                48 minutes. For a comparsion with Washington I was using a 42x32
                there and my best time there was 1:11.

                You also won't need to worry about special clothes. This is
                nothing like Mt. Washington. Regular shorts and short sleeve
                jerseys are best. When you start it might be a bit cold but once
                you get going you'll be hot. 

Course Records: I believe the course record is just a tad under 40 minutes and
                it's held by a guy from Pittsfield named Michael Horner (Senior
                I rider I think). The women's record is somewhere around 43
                minutes but I don't know who set it.

Other stuff:	At the summit is the Bascomb Lodge which has a cafe and
                bathrooms. There's also "the tower" which is a war memorial not
                unlike a lighthouse with a beacon on the top. You can go inside
                the tower and climb a long spiral staircase to the top where you
                can see quite a way in all directions.

		It takes around two and a half hours to get there from Boston's
		western 128 suburbs. Take route 2.

		For those of you looking for one last race to round out your
		season this one is worth trying. You won't be sorry you did it.
		The fall colors should be peaking too.

For more info call The Spoke in Williamstown MA. The number is 413-458-3456.

     Too bad it's the same day as the Hollis, NH RR. I was up for a little
    more masochism practice :-)
    
     Instead, I'm doing the milquetoast, panty waist, wimpy RR :-) :-)
    
        Chip