Once a Wheelman – Always
a Wheelman
Cliff Notes December 2001
by Cliff Clermont
 Sunday
morning in a haze of pain I proclaimed "READ my lips, I
will finish, just so that I will
"N"-"E"-"V"-"E"-"R"-NEVER
have to do it again!"
Just
its name "Everest Challenge" grabbed my attention. A
two stage road race for the mentally blind and for those who
have forgotten the painful taste from eating the ol’ Humble
Pie. In it’s first year the race advertised as the
"Unofficial California/Nevada Hill climbing
Championships", a title it would soon earn for the 2002
encore, would far exceed anyone’s expectations.
The
race is basically three different climbs each day, from the
start you ride to the base and up each climb, returning down the
same way. At the top of the third climb each day was the finish.
Each rider, upon gaining some semblance of coherent-ness would
descend back to starting area and their cars. Down-hilling never
was so challenging. On "Day One" after 4-7 hours of
actual climbing, the 1.5-2.5 hours of descending was as much of
a challenge because errors here would lead to some form of
scaring. On one such descent, I held 57mph for what seemed like
5 minutes and peaking out at just over 60mph!
With
the total climbing is exactly 29,028 vertical feet, just like
Everest, word of the race spread like wildfire amongst the pain
hungry and fool-hearty portion of the cycling community, which
includes me. With four weeks to hone my 190lb non-climbing
skills and refine the true climbing skills of my partners in
pain (Brent, a Pro mountain biker and Emilio, 2001 Expert 35+
NORBA Champion) we began our training in earnest. We’d do 120+
mile days with 8,000+ feet of climbing on the weekend and heal
during the week. I told Colleen (my wife) that no Pro 1-2 women
were signing up and she’d be the only one guaranteeing a
victory. She responded by saying that the women were all too
smart to take part in such a insane event.
Well
one Pro gal showed up, Pam Schuster from AutoTrader.com. I’d
take a few minutes on her on day one but she took enough out of
me on day two to beat me in the GC. Have you seen this, aaahem,
"woman"? Christ, aside from the tone of the skin,
Johnny Card and her could swap legs with no one knowing the
difference. Jon’s might be a tad bit smoother though. Another
thing with this Ms. Schuster, she used a 39x23! Most of the Pro
1-2 men used 39x25 or bigger and no other male even dared to try
it using only a 23. She was on a mission of strength and she
made it. Hell, I know a guy who races at the top of the Sport
category in mountain biking for California and he bailed on the
second day while using a 12x32 rear cog!
Back
to the race itself, it was epic in all respects. The temperature
in the valley between the climbs was 102°+. This alone made you
want to climb faster to reach the cooler 80° summits. In this
inaugural year the promoter did many things right. But one thing
he over-estimated was the ability of us mere mortals to race
and/or even complete this death march with little or no aid
before the summits. Changes were made on the fly for the second
day that likely kept me out of the hospital. I’d been to
hospitals before for over excursion and that’s not so painful,
it’s the bill that my HMO inevitably flubs-up and I get stuck
with the tab, now that’s painful!
Following
the relative ease of day one (only 13,400’), seven of us
gathered at the local Italian eatery for some story telling. We
were all demoralized and in total awe of the event. At sometime
during this gab session I asked "Alright, it is time for
thee big question – Who is going to continue the death march
tomorrow?". No one would decisively answer so moments later
I asked it again. Still only a couple of committed riders would
confirm their start for tomorrow. The rest of us literally
waited until early the next day to quit or saddle-up.
Day
Two: Two of the original seven opted to provide support from
the seat of my air-conditioned Civic and one would soon join
them after the first climb of 22mi. to the Cima Coppi @ 10,250’.
These climbs are truly beautiful with running rivers of glacial
runoff, crystal blue alpine lakes and shear granite walls
reaching skyward. Somewhere near the base of climb #2 I realized
that I’d already been on the bike for 3.5 hours and with that
I new it would be much harder than Day One.
This
was survival. It is a true race of attrition. The last climb of
the race was another Hor category climb up to South Lake at
9,235’ with the last 0.5 mile at 15%. The two of my friends (aka
DNF-ers or former participants) walked along side of me like
Italian tifosi (fans), preaching words of encouragement
and accomplishment "Dude you look good – when Brent came
through he did not know his own name…really". Soon it was
over and I recanted ……"NEVER again!".
Its
been four months now; the pain has vanished and stories are
still being told. I highly recommend visiting BikeReg.com
and giving it a look-see. Maybe I’ll see you there.
In
love with the Everest Challenge, Cliff
PS
Doing the race did land me on the 2002 White Lightning
catalog with this photo.
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