A Tradition is Born

Last Thanksgiving, RFA and I did the low key hill climb (LKHC) up Mount Hamilton. We put the turkey breast in the crock pot and enjoyed a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner. So today was our second annual Thanksgiving Mount Hamilton hill climb. We got everything organized the night before and got up at 6:15 AM. The temp was about 55 and the streets were still damp from yesterday's rain. Turkey in the crock pot and off we went. We got to the start about 8:30 or so. I got recruited to ride for the team "Sisters of No Mercy" - super strong team with Janet and Jennie, so why not? Many WebCor folks. There were over a hundred riders - most for the LKHC, but some just riding (either don't want to pay the $10, but more likely, don't want their times publicly posted!) I tried to warm up some but that was pretty much in vain - too chilly on the descents - so I rode a bit on the back streets but really no warm up. We put our warm gear in the "sag wagon" for the trip back down. Mount Hamilton can be viewed as three climbs totalling 18.4 miles, 4343 feet. The first climb is 5.90 mi, 1514 ft (4.86%); climb 2: 3.20 mi, 770 ft (4.56%); and climb 3: 6.60 mi, 2060 ft (5.91%). I started out at a sane pace and then was able to pick it up when I warmed up after about 12 minutes. Marco and Ruth were there on their Santana tandem; I passed them and then they passed me - I passed them and they took off on the down hill section. I finally caught them on the last 5 miles where the grade got steeper. I eased up some mid way and popped a PowerBar gel - double latte with caffeine at 40 minutes. I never eat much on a ride and I think that is why I tend to literally run out of gas during the races. I am finally getting smart. I kicked it up on the last 5 miles and passed a lot of people. There was little to no wind, we rode through some fog and then were in blissful sunshine above the clouds. It was awesome. I "sprinted" up the wall to the observatory and finished in 1:45:50 (6/12 women). Last year my time was 1:53:16 (8/17 of the women) so demonstrated improvement. Still waiting for the official results and placement to be posted. RFA finished at 1:50:21 (96/112 men) - big improvement over his time last year of 2:01:40. The descent was chilly but we were prepared with thermal jacket, headband, booties, leg warmers. We drove straight to Equinox for a steam, shower, stretching and foam rollers. Thanksgiving dinner was great, especially the 2002 M. Coz (Consentino) wine.

(Photos by jhadley)