7000 feet of elevation over 44kms with 1 bike.

Tracy and I were talking about how fun and beneficial it is to have set training goals in mind -be it to lose weight, train for a race etc- is always a great motivator to not only train hard but properly. You want to maximize your training to have the ability to reach those goals and/or to excel at your sport. The great thing with goals is that it is usually set to a specific time period i.e. "in three months I will lose x amount of weight" or "On November 15th 07 I have a race to be ready for". This will give you that gauge to push harder if required or continue on to reach your desired goal what ever it may be.

Tracy and I have been into x-country mountain biking for over a decade now and still love it. We love it so much that our bikes and gear reflect that passion. Bc of the cost of our bikes we are waiting till I am working again before we purchase road bikes. Once we do summer days will be filled with 40, 50, 60 km rides that leave your legs completely empty of energy.

I enjoy reading about cycling and of course watching the races like the Tour de France and hill climbs. I was reminded of one such race as I came across it looking at the gym jones site. The Mount Evans Hill Climb, had its first annual run of cyclists in 1962. The climb runs from Idaho Springs Colorado, 35 miles from Denver, to the summit of mount Evans at an impressive 14,135’.

In mountaineering it is known that many people start feeling the effects of altitude at approximately 8000’. Some feel it a little sooner but 8000’ is usually where it can really start affecting breathing and mental clarity. Not only does a cyclist need to be in excellent physical condition to complete this ride they must be prepared and have trained in altitude.

It is a constant incline over the entire 44km, there are no breaks or plateaus it just keeps going up -profile and map http://www.bicyclerace.com/BCMHC_Map_3.pdf. The current men’s fastest time, set in 2004, for this grueling climb is 1h 41m and women’s at 1h 59m. I could not imagine being able to do that in less then 5 hours. Depending on physical abilities and training the average is said to be somewhere near 3 to 4 hours.

In 1981 the race name changed and became the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb after Bob Cook, a 5 time winner of the race, passed away after losing his fight with cancer. Bob held the fastest time of 1h 54m from 1975-1980.

So what does one do to prepare themselves for this type of challenge? Many have varying ways of attacking their muscles and sharpening their will to succeed. It all depends on what works for you. Since 2003 Mark Twight (gym jones) completely changed his training style to include aspects of power/endurance/strength, in short (25min) circuit workouts.

Along with this there is a great deal of sprint and long distance cardio, with 250m to 10,000m rows, cycling for hours up hill or running. *By the way if you want a great cross trainer, that I have never given a chance until this year, ROW. At first it was kicking my ass, and now I am proud to say that my 2km row sprint at 85% of my max was 8min 2 weeks ago and is down to a little over 6mins.

Mark Twight will be attempting this race and he -like others- have training days that are extremely brutal. One of Twights cardio training sessions for example can be; 3 hours of 60 Miles 5100’ elevation gain. His total for the last nine days is 330 miles with 30,000 feet of climbing. Not a small task by any means. This might not be everyone’s goal but no matter what it is, you can accomplish whatever it may be with proper rest, diet, training and determination.