July 30
Race report: George Street Challenge
"There was a saying at the time that any bicyclist who could climb George Street hill, one of the steepest inclines in Worcester, had the makings of a high grade bicycle rider ... There was a big crowd on hand to see me make my initial attempt ... I made it on the first attempt and within fifteen minutes I repeated the stunt, riding down on both occasions. That was the first time a bicycle rider ever turned this trick -- and very few have accomplished it in the intervening thirty-two years." Major Taylor, 1896?, Worcester, MA
A wall. That is how I would describe George Street. Technically, it is 500 feet long, 90 feet elevation gain, at 17.5% gradient; in old money, that's 1 in 5. But this doesn't adequately describe George Street. George Street is the sort of street that you would totally avoid going down during the entire winter for fear of just careening out of control side-swiping car after car and exiting uncontrolled and unable to stop into traffic on Main Street. George Street is the sort of street you avoid going up all year long for wondering if the front of your car will impact the road, like hitting a wall, before beginning to tilt upwards. Normally rectangular windows, door frames, and bricks are transformed into bizarre trapezoids from the slope of the road. Something deep inside says "this is not right, this is not a good place for a road, I should avoid this place and go around another way." But here I am, and on a bicycle no less. I am going to ride my bicycle as fast as I can directly into the wall in the George Street Hill Climb -- the shortest bicycle race there is.
Nominally this is a race, a time trial; but for me it is more of a social event. As a race, I could not conceive of a race that I was less suited for. Hills are my Achilles' heel; and George Street is as steep as it gets. Most uphills are usually accompanied by downhills, and while the uphills are not so good for me I am usually partially compensated on the corresponding downhill which are quite kind to me; but there is no downhill in this race. On some hills, my weight can be construed into an advantage..I have some momentum carrying me into the base of the hills which lighter riders do not have; but on George Street, there is no momentum, everyone starts from a standing start. Numerically, hill climbing is about how much power you can generate per pound of body weight, usually measured in watts per kilogram. I'm reasonably good with the numerator, I can generate an average of 270 watts for an hour; but the denominator is not so good for me, I weigh about 100 kilograms. This gives me 2.7 watts/kg. 7 watts/kg is enough to win the Tour de France.
For people watching, it is a pretty good event. Old and young. men and women. Old steel frames and new carbon fiber. Tandems. Tandems for 3 (is there a word for this?) Fixed gear. Mountain bikes. Hybrids. Some people clad in lycra, others in gym shorts. Some rippling tanned and tattooed legs. As in life, appearances in cycling mean next to nothing. You can never tell who will ride well just from appearances. And I’m bumping into and chatting with friends and aquaintenances left and right from the Seven Hills Wheelmen, Team Bicycle Alley.
I take a few practice runs....try a 39x26 ...seems OK, but that is my last gear and no room to downshift if needed. I switch to my granny gear and find a gear with about the same gear-inches...I think that is my 21. At this gearing, my bike will move forward 39 inches with every peddle revolution of the peddles. To do the 500 feet, it will require 155 pedal revolutions...quite a different type of exertion than metering out my energy over the 10,000 pedal strokes on a longer ride. Besides my weight, I really don't have the explosive power for this type of event.
The horn blows for me and I start climbing out of the saddle. The crowds are fantastic lining both sides of the road and cheering everybody on. I was going reasonably well until about 2/3 of the way up. The gradient becomes a bit steeper, and by this time I'm running a little low on power. "Bridge to engine room, more power!" "Aye Captain, but I'm giving you all she's got." My cadence slows and it becomes a bit of a grind, losing huge chunks of time in just a few meters. Too big a gear. Not enough power. Too much weight. Take your pick. It all summed out to 52 seconds. Better than last year, so I am making some progress.
It's all for fun, and a good cause...funding to build a statue of in honor of Major Taylor, the 1899 World Champion.
Some good links:
- Some informative and inspirational reading at the Major Taylor Association website:
- Hill profile
- Telegram & Gazette article
- Pictures of the event at Cycling Pix:
· http://www.cyclingpix.net/cyclingpix.net.html
· Pics of me
· http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?shopperid=0AG6QTASF1AH8GJTPU2M1EC0R99M8RV4&userid=ecollierphoto&gallery_id=780147&image_id=55
· http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?shopperid=0AG6QTASF1AH8GJTPU2M1EC0R99M8RV4&userid=ecollierphoto&gallery_id=780147&tcount=253&scount=57
Mike
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