| Title: | Bicycling |
| Notice: | Bicycling for Fun |
| Moderator: | JAMIN::WASSER |
| Created: | Mon Apr 14 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 3214 |
| Total number of notes: | 31946 |
<<< NOTED::DISK$NOTES6:[NOTES$LIBRARY_6OF4]BICYCLE.NOTE;5 >>>
-< Bicycling >-
Just called Paul at the Spoke we only talked briefly so some of the details are
missing.
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: ??? The race is *not* USCF sanctioned.
When: Sunday, September 24th. First rider off at 9:00 AM.
Where: North Adams, MA. in the beautiful Berkshires.
Registration: 7:30 - 8:30 AM. day of race. No pre-registrations. Show and go.
Fee: $?? (last year it was $8)
From Boston: Rt 2 into North Adams. Left at light just past McDonald's onto
Eagle St. Right at next light onto Main St. Straight thru one
light, left at next light onto Rt 8. Up and over overpass and
take first right onto Furnace St. Heritage Park is on right.
Prizes: Merchandise. Not for mercenaries. ;^)
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.
Course Records: 38:51 Mike Horner | 4?:00 Kim Morris. You can't touch this.
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.
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 more info call The Spoke in Williamstown MA. The number is 413-458-3456.
For a COURSE DESCRIPTION see CYCLE_RACING note 710.6
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3023.1 | WMOIS::GIROUARD_C | Tue Sep 19 1995 10:03 | 4 | ||
Justin has instructed me to put my clip-ons on (TT bars)... They
allow this on the hillclimb?
Chip
| |||||
| 3023.2 | LASSIE::ZIELONKO | Fri Sep 22 1995 19:48 | 9 | ||
> Justin has instructed me to put my clip-ons on (TT bars)... They > allow this on the hillclimb? Yes they allow it. But they're not much use on a 15% grade. But seriously, Justin and I have had this discussion in last year's note. There are a few sections where you can motor but most of the time you're climbing and aero bars will just be added weight. I would advise against the aero bars. Karol | |||||
| 3023.3 | Clip-ons | BOOKIE::J_CROCKER | Tue Sep 26 1995 17:06 | 20 | |
Depends on your capabilities: If I could climb like Karol (he's sorta
like a mild-mannered Alexi Grewal -- or Alex Zulle, for that matter),
I wouldn't use clip-ons either. The year I was the second-place master
at Greylock, Karol was second overall, beating me by 7.5 minutes.
Out of 9 miles on the Greylock course, I was using clip-ons for roughly
2. They're not necessarily just good for flats and downs. When I get
to the sort of uphill terrain where I'm climbing in a 42-15, I do go
faster when I'm using aeros. My two best times for the Killington
prologue (up the Killington access road) were done with clip-ons.
Experiment: You're never gonna know whether they're useful or not
unless you try going with -- and without.
Justin
BTW, I do *not* recommend clip-ons for Mt. Washington.
Justin
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