Colorado Hill Climb Championship

Took a road trip out to visit family in Colorado and decided to do the Colorado Hill Climb Championship that was taking place while I was out there, The course (see the profile) was less than 11 miles in length and climbed from about 8500 feet to just under 12,000 feet - I figured I'd show those Coloradans they were no match for a climber from the Midwest! 

The race started with a few minutes (yes, only a few minutes!) of flat easy riding before we hit the 8-12% slopes. My plan was to stay with the front group, but that plan was quickly shot to hell as the combination of poor warm-up plus altitude and immediate hard climbing efforts had me redlined within the first 10 minutes of the race - not a good sign for an hour long climb! Fifteen minutes into the race I was ready to call it quits - so much for my pre-race bravado! :)

Since I had sent warm clothes to the finish with the support car (for the descent) and could not convince myself that it was OK to kiss my expensive clothes good-bye and just head back to the car, I trudged on eventually making it to the top. With dreams of glory long gone, I enjoyed the high speed descent back to the start.  Lesson learned - climbing at altitude is tough! :)