From: jdm@rmtc.Central.Sun.COM (Jim Moore)
Subject: Mt. Evans - some info.
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 20:13:10 GMT

The Bob Cook Memorial/Mt. Evans Hill Climb was held this past Saturday,
July 25, 1992. I haven't seen any postings on the race, so I thought
I would pass along some information. I was at the race and did not
see any summary in the local news paper, so I can only pass along what
I saw and heard. I assume accurate results and some write up will be
published in a future Velo News. Ron Larson posted an excellent detailed
description of the route last week. A quick summary here: starts in 
Idaho Springs, Colorado at elevation 7,540ft. and ends near the summit
of Mt. Evans at 14,140 for an even 6,600ft. of climbing along the 
28 mile course.

I got up at 4:30 am so that I would have time to eat something, have
a spot of coffee and be able to make the drive from Colorado Springs
to Idado Springs in time for the race. I met up with a friend that
was riding in the same category in Monument at 5:30. We picked up
a third rider in south Denver, and then headed west on I-70 to 
the start of the race. The weather was very depressing - overcast and
drizzle and very cool. That doesn't translate well at 14,000ft. 
But the clouds lifted somewhat and the drizzle stop as we approached
Idaho Springs. We got there at 7:00. It was a bit rushed since I had
not received my number in the mail and had to wait in line a late packet
pickup station (no same day registration). I got all that taken care of,
executed a quick potty stop, put on tights and arm warmers and started
a quick warmup ride. Only got in about 10 minutes before I had to line
up for the Cat 4/5 group that had a starting time of 7:45. Not very
worried since I figured I could warmup in the first few miles of this
2+ hour hill climb. The pro group was arriving and Alexi Grewal was walking
a puppy around the dirt parking lot.

The Cat 4/5 group was the first to start that morning and the next group
was the pros 45 minutes later. I had chosen this group in hopes that I 
could beat the pros to the top and then watch them finish. I have never
ridden this course, so I didn't know if that was feasible. My plan was
to ride completely based on my HRM and try to ignore the other riders.
The only exception to this would be the bottom few miles where the grade
was gentle enough to get some drafting. 

As the race started, I was at the very front of the pack. The old HR
quickly hit 170-172, and I let myself start falling back in the pack.
I maintained the 170 for a few miles until the grade got steeper, then
I let the pack go and dropped back to 165 for the remainder of the ride.
I would guess about 70 of the 114 starters were in front of me at this
point. I was hot in the tights for just a mile or 2 when the overcast
thickened and the temperature dropped. The temperature dropped more with
the climb and I never regretted the warm clothing. 

After a few more miles, I started passing people that had given too much
to stay with the fast climbers. Some were completely blown and looked
doubtful to even finish. A few were blowing chunks on the side of the road.
Most had just slowed down and gotten into a rhythm for the long task ahead.

Cyclist from the triple bypass were streaming down the road in the other
lane. The road was still open to auto traffic, but the dreary weather 
seemed to keep the flow at a minumum. Echo lake seemed to come very quickly,
but it really was about an hour into the ride. We turned onto the Mt. Evans
road at Echo lake and got out of the Triple Bypass bike traffic. It
didn't take long to get above treeline. From here, the ride looked
similar the rest of the way as far as terrain - a marshy tundra speckled
with rocks and bolders. Still no sunshine and ever dropping temperatures.
The views were great as there were no trees, and you could see a long way
beneath the cloud ceiling. I put on my fingered gloves (quite a struggle
as my hands had gotten stiff) and wished I had brought heavier gloves.

Next event was a slight descent around Summit lake and I quickly got in 
the big chainring and was pushing 30 mph. I actually had trouble making
the sharp left turn right after the lake. I then made record time going
from a very high gear to my very lowest gear as the grade quickly changed
to steep on the switchbacks leading to the summit. I had been keeping
the 165bpm on the HRM for 2 hours without perceiving much effort. My
legs were starting to fatigue in the last 2 miles, so I think I paced
myself well. The HR dropped to the 158-162 range for the remaining distance
just because I couldn't push hard. I never felt much effect from the
altitude and I was close to 14,000ft now. I rounded the final switchback
and crossed the modest finish line. Just a piece of duct tape across the
road by a van that was keeping track of finishing riders. Final time
2:25:58. I ended up 36th out of 114 starters (not sure how many dropped out).
Winning time for my group was around 2:04.

I quickly changed clothes an got my camera. The pros must have started
a bit late since it felt like more than 5 minutes before the winner arrived.
I was standing right in front of the finish when Mike Engleman defended his
title from last year. He took about 1 minute off the record set by Alexi
a few years ago. New record 1:45:30. Scott Moniger was second and a kid
named John Vodders(sp?) was third. I heard that all three broke the old record.
There was a $500 bonus for the first rider breaking the record.
Vodders was clearly upset when he finished as he threw his helmet at the
rocks then threw his bike and jumped in a car and slammed the doors. I
heard later that he had gone with Engleman when he jumped, but then the 
seat bolt on his bike broke off. He rode without a seat for over a kilometer
before getting one from the Coors Light support car. (He was not a Coors Light
rider). Alexi came in a few minutes later. He didn't seem pleased with things
and just sort of circled the parking lot and then rode back down. The top
finishers was dominated by Coors Light riders, although I didn't recognize
all of them. Davis Phinney was one of them.

It was very cold at the top - perhaps 35 degrees and foggy. It become
very crowded as the other groups started to finish and cars were everywhere
trying to shuttle riders down. I didn't catch the pro womens winner as
it was a zoo by that time. Someone said it was Lisa Goldsmith, but I'm
not sure. The rest of the time I helped call out numbers as riders finished
and catch the ones that were so exhausted they couldn't dismount by
themselves. Some needed oxygen and blankets. I started feeling guilty that
I felt so good. I must not have put out enough effort. I'll solve that
problem next year.

Jim Moore
Colorado Springs