Pawling Mountain Road Race

[PJ McQuade]

Bored at work on a Monday? Read my novella about a bike race.

I made the trek out to Pawling, NY for this hilly one which isn't far from the CT state line (though I only spotted 2 non NYers in the Cat 3 field). The bikereg page stated, "39x25 gearing recommended," which was NO LIE. For the record my 26 was used on several occasions. Our race was 3 laps/60 miles. We staged with a field of about 80. Not for the lowlander, this beastly course featured 3 noteworthy climbs.

Lap 1: The first 5 miles or so were mild, the calm before the storm. Awaiting was Pleasant Ridge Rd, which should be called Unpleasant Ridge Rd, because though I'm sure the scenery was great, the climb was a monster. It's a 10min/2.5 mile climb with an average of just under 6%. It's a deceiving average grade because it false flats for a bit about midway up, but there are several steep kicks on this sucker with some switchbacks. This was the critical climb of the day, and it shattered the field every turn through. Since I didn't preview the climb beforehand I suffered the most on lap 1, though I limited my losses and stayed intact. The next few miles were descending, sweet stuff with switchbacks, which helped some guys catch back on. Climb 2 was on RT 55, a steady 5 minute big-ring type effort (think Blue Hills). We hit it hard each time and it was single file pain- filled fun. I was too far back on this one and when a few riders in front of me let a gap form and I ended up chasing on the descent to catch on. The tricky thing about the 3rd climb is there are only a few minutes of recovery between the last one and since it's separated by a screaming descent with some patchy tarmac you don't really get to sit up. The Old 55 climb is a two-part deal, with a wall on the final k, pretty similar to a Battenkill climb. Since I approached it on the chase I was pretty gassed so again I got detached. I formed a mini-chase at the top and caught back on before the feed zone (finish area). The finish is maybe 5 miles after the Old 55 wall, which is mostly downhill, so after lap 1 I learned that position on this last climb is crucial. The finish is a false flat. Thank god for neutral water here because it was HOT!

Lap 2: Field slimmed down a bit and I made the mistake of being too far back on the Pleasant Ridge climb. A gap opened a few riders ahead and quickly expanded. I pulled to the front of our group to try and stop the bleeding. A short chase on the descent put us back in contact, though the field is now cut in half. Climb 2, I moved up for better position having learned my lesson from the last lap. The Old 55 wall was shedding more riders this time through and I refused to get dropped and stayed in contact over the top. I haven't seen my heart rate spike so high all season. It did this twice today.

Lap 3: We're down to like 30 now. I'm a late starter, because I felt the best this time through. I had a feeling gaps would open again so I stayed about 10th wheel the whole way up. Sure enough, more attrition and we were down to around 20 now. Climb 2, strung out single file but it stayed together. We approached climb 3, the wall, and I knew it would be the decider. The pace lifted as the pitch lifted and I saw a gap slowly opening a few wheels ahead. No! I could hear the motor of the follow car close behind as it passed a few crushed souls and I guess it sort of motivated me to close the gap and snag a wheel at the top. The last pitch of the wall is very steep and I was deeply hurting, but the descent allowed me to catch my breath. We were now down to a baker's dozen. Now I'm not a sprinter but there were no pure sprinters in our small pack so I figured if I played my cards right I had an outside chance at a podium. Let's just say I need to practice my town line sprints because I went too early, and was gassed at 100 meters out. Luckily none of these climbers really knew how to sprint so I was safe with a 6th place finish and enough prize money to treat the wife and I dinner + beverage.

The best part of this race? There's a lake w/ swimming/beach behind the parking lot. Greatest swim ever. I'll be coming back to this race in the future. Beautiful area, great roads, and well-organized. For those of you who have done Housatonic Hills the profile is pretty similar.

[Smudger]

Outstanding PJ. Reading the report I was having flashbacks to Housatonic last year. Hot and hilly.

[Jacob]

Nice work!

[jraguin]

Fantastic result PJ! What I am impressed with and you have taught me is never to give up, even when you are slightly gapped or feel you are at my limit. That seems to happen to you multiple times a race and you find a way to hold on. Then you find a way to "sprint" at the finish! Oh, and this is definitely on my list for 2013!

[ahamilton]

PJ, nice report and nice finish! I really wanted to do this race, or the New Britain crit, because they both had 55+ fields, but because I just had too much non-cycling stuff on my plate for the weekend. Sounds like some sections of the climbs would not have been very good to me, but I still think I'll look for this one next year.

[JeremyC]

Nice PJ. Sounds hard, great way to gut it out. I like your comment "not for lowlanders"

[swawersik]

What I am impressed with and you have taught me is never to give up, even when you are slightly gapped or feel you are at my limit. That seems to happen to you multiple times a race and you find a way to hold on.

+1 on that comment. Congrats on a great race.

And for the record, I think we all learn from detailed race reports - I'm sticking my tongue out at you, Jeremy