Preparation series #2 - Old La Honda bike climb

This week I raced a well known hill climb in the biking community named OLD LA HONDA. This is the benchmark climb in the region. It is neither terribly steep nor long, but the beauty of its narrow switchbacks and generous shade make it extremely popular. Almost all local riders know their best times up this hill, from the bridge to the stop sign.

Here are the statistics on Old La Honda: (courtesy of Lucas Pereira and Dan Connelly)Max. grade: 15% (18% inside switchbacks)
Avg. grade: 7.2%
Length: 3.37 miles (5.42 km)
Climb: 1290 feet (393 m)



My previous PR on this climb was 24min and 47 sec. The race started in time trial format, this means every minute a biker leaves to chase the biker ahead and trying to stay ahead of the bikers behind. My start time was 7:59am and it was friggin cold.

It was right around freezing temperature and that is very cold to warm-up for a time trial, also so cold that a large group did not even show up to race. When the feet turns numb during the warm-up, the biking community in general sees that as a bad sign. However after a full year of leg 'training' with Pete Kain using his Midevil Torture methods the results glooming.

I was able to improve significantly with 20min and 13 sec.

This looks to be a promising season!!!