Mt. Washington question and...

[catulle]

...the very best wishes for the next year to all.

The question: What's a good time for the Mt. Washington climb? I have a friend who's done it in 1:15, and I understand the record is some 55 minutes, is my memory functioning correctly? I think my friend's time is pretty good, isn't it?

My very best wishes for the coming year to all members of this forum and to our hosts. God bless.

[Kevan]

Bha-doo-bang!

Happy New Year to you too catulle.

Now... for the straight answer:

[Climb01742]

the record is 49:24 by tom danielson. your friend's 1:15 is a very good time. i can't remember the exact time, but 1:10 or 1:15 is consider "elite" i believe. for more info: http://www.tinmtn.org/hillclimb/

[Sandy]

2006 winning time was 52:21- Tyler Hamilton
5 times under 1 hour
70th best time was 1:15
450th (last time given) was 1:50


Sandy

PS- I am about half way up.

[ergott]

1:15 is considered an elite time. He's fast. :)

[catulle]

Thank you, guys. May you live in good health for many, many years.

[spincoast]

Speaking of Mt. Washington, are you planning on doing it this year?
If so, I think you should take the Luigino. It might surprise you.

sc

[david]

1:20 is called "top notch." that means you get to start with the first group, regardless of age. 1:15 is a great time.

check out www.northeastcycling.com/NE_Climbs_main.html.
it's a cool site with tons of info on washington and other big climbs in the northeast.

there are some formulas you can use to approximate how much power you need to put out to get a certain time. pretty accurate.

i think i recall that a 155-pound rider would have to put out about 270 watts for the entire 80 minutes to get top notch. and that's with good weather.

[Climb01742]

Speaking of Mt. Washington, are you planning on doing it this year?
If so, I think you should take the Luigino. It might surprise you.

sc

to save my sanity, and my family's, i'm gonna pass this year. :p

[david]

climb, try whiteface this year.

much less of an ordeal (as in, mind-fahk), but still a great challenge.

check out this site. www.nycc.org/resources/whiteface/wf_v_mw.htm

plug in your washington time and you can get a good idea of what it will take to do whiteface.

and you get to ride down! 50mph plus!

[Climb01742]

good idea, david. i was thinking of riding shorter climbs, like ascutney, and not "racing" them. just going up one day and trying. much more lowkey and not targeting.

[david]

whiteface can be very low key.
there are two "races" each year.
but you can also climb it any day on your own.
we spent a week up in lake placid this summer and i did it twice that week by myself.
you're not allowed on the road during regular hours, but you are allowed before they open the road or after they close it.
let me know if you want details.
i'll tell you one thing...
there's nothing quite like climbing that road at 7pm on a summer night all by yourself.

[jeffg]

good idea, david. i was thinking of riding shorter climbs, like ascutney, and not "racing" them. just going up one day and trying. much more lowkey and not targeting.


I think the pressure is doing a TT, mountain or not.

An endurance ride like a gran fondo in Italy will be a life experience and a 6-8 hour event is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

I tend to ride the first or second day of a vacation, put the bike away and enjoy the rest of the time with family.

[Ti Designs]

1:20 is called "top notch." that means you get to start with the first group, regardless of age. 1:15 is a great time.

Age means nothing on Mt Washington. The old guy took second last year, forcing Tyler to chase for 4 miles, and making a total sham out of the age classifications. On the women's side, Amiee had to put in a late charge to fend off a challenger who's 15 years older.

As for 1:15 being a great time, that depends on how you look at it. Climbing Mt Washington sucks. It sucks slightly worse above tree line, but it would be fair to say it sucks from bottom to top. That said, spending 2 hours on the slopes means it sucks for 2 hours. Climbing it in 1:15 means it sucks for 45 minutes less. If that's your idea of a good time...

I've done it twice. I did well, but Mt Washington is no friend of mine. Some of the people I coach have been trying to get me to do it again. At first I play the age card, but many of them are older than I am, so that don't work. Then I claim poverty and they offer to pay my entry fee. Then I tell them I'm too smart to go and do that again, and they just laugh...

Climb, I'm with you on staying away from Mt Washington this year (and next year, and the year after that, and...). But I do like to climb, and I have a number of good climbers on the team this year. This fall I had a day where I only had two hours to ride and I didn't want to get too far from home, so I decided to ride all the hills in Arlington. In two hours I didn't get too far at all. Turns out that if you take each side hill from the very bottom, you can put together a hill climb century within Arlington. I just love the idea, it's a century ride where nobody gets dropped! Even if you can't hold the pace on the hills off Mass Ave, in 10 minutes they'll be two blocks over - I know a shortcut!

[david]

ti,
i am amazed at some of the times by folks well into their 50s, even 60s. pretty cool. i mentioned the "regardless of age" thing simply to provide context for the 1:15 time. as you know, mortals are divided into start groups by age. the older you are, the later you start. but if you do less than 1:20, you start up front, "regardless of age." in that context, age means quite a bit - at least to me. i'm gonna be 50 this season and i'd be damn proud to be starting up front!
i'm not sure ned's ride made a sham out of the age classifications. i think ned's a freak, in the best possible sense of the term. what he does hardly applies to regular folks like me who'd be happy to claim a mid-pack result in my age group!
i like your thoughts about 1:15 just sucking for 45 minutes less than 2 hours. kinda like pulling off a band-aid. thing is, i'm capable of tearing off a band-aid quickly. as a cyclist, i guess i'm stuck in the slow-tear group. bummer.