Course: An out and back course on Pinole Valley Rd. and Alhambra Valley Rd.
Course Description: The new course covers most of a lap from the Berkeley Hills Road Race. There are two significant climbs in this race, Mama Bear and Papa Bear.
Distances: 14? miles for everybody.
Road Surface: Generally good roads.
Gearing: You're going to need some climbing gears for this one. Nothing too serious, but you will certainly use the small chain ring.
Facilities: I'm not sure about the new start area. I would assume (ass-u-me) that there are bathrooms at the boat ramp.
Weather: It will probably be pretty chilly in the morning. Bring warm clothes to warm up in.
Feeding: N/A
Rules Specific to this race: You read the add... "No cry babies!"
Make sure that you know the course. It follows the bottom portion of the Berkeley Hills RR except for one turn. Waaaaay back in '85 I was in one of the first teams off and the turn marshalls weren't all out yet. We made a wrong turn and ended up at the bottom of Mama Bear. The promoters were kind enough to let us ride again even though they are under no obligation under USCF rules.
Race Advice: Be a little careful on the way out as you go over the rollers. Especially since there are two of you. If you press too hard over a roller and crack your team mate, you'll lose a lot of time waiting for them to recover. It's VERY important to communicate. If one person is stronger than the other, that person should take longer pulls, not ramp the speed up each time they hit the front. If you ramp the speed up each time you hit the front you will slowly kill your team mate. If you're the one who's hurting, try and take a short pull at the same speed as your partner. The idea is to give your partner just enough time to recover without letting the speed drop. It's the speed changes that will kill you.
It's a great idea to bring a stationary trainer to warm up on. Especially with the expected cold morning temperatures this will give you a much better warm up.
Specific advice for women racers:
Back to the Race information Page
Corrections and additions, please email me!
Kevin Metcalfe
[email protected]