I ride City Creek Canyon at least three times a week. So, I figured I should probably do the City Creek Sprint. This is a very short bike race up City Creek Canyon. The entire distance is only 5.7 miles, but it is a steady grade with very few breaks. It is also a very fast pace–just think of it like a 27 minute interval.
I sort of forgot it was a road race, and I jumped out in front like I usually do in my mountain bike races. This was a mistake. There is no single track or slow riders in groups ahead–just pavement and headwind. I would have been better off letting someone else set the pace. Oh well, it was fun to lead the race for thirty seconds or so.
I ended up having a personal best of 27.29. That was good enough for fourth place in the 40 to 50 category and 17th overall. Before the race, my best time to the top of the canyon was somewhere around 29.30. The best part was that I rode to the start line from my house (2 minutes 37 seconds) and I rode home from the finish line, which was almost entirely downhill.
Photos of the race are available here:
I guess I won’t be attempting to pass you next racing season. BertNErnie are on the move again. We’ll be taking up residence in Australia beginning in January. Thanks for the competition!
We will miss you Mike! On the bright side, I guess you get to start riding the trails again sooner than the rest of us. I am sure you will have some surprises for us when you get back. We wish you safe travels.
Reed,
I will be moving back to Las Vegas on the 1st of Febuary to open a business. I will see you at St. George and Hurricane and well, we will just see how many northern races I can make…I will try to do 2-3 0f them just to get some riding in and see old friends. I was going to move up to expert for a new challenge, but I think with the elevation here I’d better stay in sport and enjoy the year. Mike leaving, now me…things change but memories remain. Look forward to seeing you and keep up your blog so I can stay up to date.
P.S. 1st place or nothing for you this year…This is your year!
Thanks for the update, Brad. Good luck with the new venture in Vegas. I’ll see you on March 6 and we can catch up then.
By the way, the way our group keeps getting faster and faster, you don’t necessarily need to move up for a new challenge.