Racing up the Mount Baker Highway

Yesterday was another absolutely perfect day to have a bike race up the Mount Baker Highway to Artist's Point. This was fortuitous because yesterday also happened to be the day of the 2008 Ride 542 which is a bike race/ride up SR 542 to the aforementioned Artist's Point. I did this event for the first time last year and after having a very enjoyable day (and posting a time of 1:45:23 for the 24.5 mile/4300 ft. gain course), I didn't think there could ever be conditions more perfect than the sunny and warm day we had then. I was wrong. This year was even a little warmer.

Last year being my first time, I approached the race somewhat conservatively and didn't fight too hard to stay with a pack over the first "flat" 14 miles of the course. This tactic, I reasoned, would leave me with more energy for the steep remaining 10.5 miles to the finish. With nothing to compare to, after all was said and done, it seemed to work well and I was happy with my time.

This year, now that I knew the course, I decided I would be more aggressive early and try and hang with a pack. The competitive division consists of a around 250 entrants and ranges in abilities from riders like Ian McKissick and Ned Overend down (way, way down) to riders like me and beyond. Given this wide range of rider talent, the field tends to break into several packs almost immediately with countless smaller groups trailing behind those.

The first 14 miles of the course gains only about 1000 feet so being in a pack can help save some time. There are a couple of short climbs of about 6% in this section so it does cost some energy to try and hang with a pack that climbs quicker than you normally would. I hung in there on these early climbs and managed to avoid a crash caused by a touch of wheels that took down four riders and arrived at the base of the"real climb" feeling pretty good and in a group of about 15 riders. I sat on the group for another mile or so and finally eased off the back before I popped off. I felt strong on the climb and with about three miles to go, appeared to be a couple minutes ahead of last year's pace. I grabbed a bottle at the last aid station and settled in for the last couple miles.

This last bit contains the steepest sections of the ride and as you pass through 5000 feet the earlier efforts begin to take their toll. By this point, I was passing many of the recreational divison riders who had started an hour earlier than me. One of these impressive souls was pulling his child in a trailer. When I passed him, his child was wailing louder than my legs, but my wife reported that when the trailer passed her viewing point near the finish, all was quiet. As for my legs, they wailed all the way to the finish and left me trembling for several minutes after as well. Despite my fading pace over the last couple miles, I managed to better my time from last year by around 20 seconds or so. It was a fantastic ride again and I will definitely be back next year.