is anyone here racing Tour of the Hilltowns on august 20th? have you done it before? i'm interested in riding it this year, but i have no idea what to expect. i don't race, and my "roadbike" is a 25lb CX bike. i don't have a problem keeping up with the "average speed" they have listed on the website, and 65 miles isn't much of a stretch for me. it *seems* like it could be a fairly laid back race, and a pretty good time, but it could also be a hammerfest. any thoughts/opinions/experiences would be appreciated.

thank in advance
the_dude

courtesy link (http://www.northamptoncyclingclub.org/hilltowns2005.html)

I have not ridden it, but I've ridden with some who have, when they say hilltowns they mean it, up and down all the way with a couple of nastys. I've ridden through most of the areas and average speed drops like the hammer some of these guys can dish out, I allways like when they advertise average speed, is that for the uphills? :p or the down hills? :rolleyes: .Have fun, it will be a good workout, good luck.

If you like hills you might like hilltowns. Not sure what category you'd be racing...sounds like Men's cat5. Racing is Racing though NOT touring. I know the women's Pro/1/2/3 race is definitely NOT laid back!

the race is fun and not too bad until you hit the big climb(east hawley i think), that's about 5k long and hurts like hell. after that it's rolling, though still tough, until the last climb which is about a 4 mile grind. it's a beautiful area and a great race course. wish i could do it this year. you'll have fun as long as you expect it to hurt.

thanks for all the replies. if i can free up my schedule, i think i'll give it a go. i may suck badly, and might even die, but it'll be fun. i know it's not a tour, and i expect it to be pretty fast and very painful. for the nominal entry fee, i think it'll be worth it. if i race it, i'll post back here and let you all know how it goes. thanks again.

the_dude

Against my better judgement I'm also doing it. Damn peer pressure from my teammates.

Against my better judgement I'm also doing it. Damn peer pressure from my teammates.

so....how'd you do? care to post a race report? i'd be interested in hearing how it all went. unfortunately, i couldn't make it, due to a visit from my out of town father in law. oh well. i'm looking forward to next year.

the_dude

It was raining, drizzling, foggy, and cool (62F). Which would have been fine, but I was unprepared for it (the forecast was wrong, way wrong). Essentially it was 20 miles of descending (some rollers) on crappy roads, I had never seen so many water bottles on the road. When we hit the first climb it blew the race apart. A group of about forty went ahead to contend the race, the rest hung on for dear life. This I expected because I'm not a climber, I'm just glad I put on 12-27 because I was at least able spin out the climb. More descending and rollers. I was pretty cooked when I hit the top of final climb, but at least I was able to out sprint some the others I was with (I couldn't believe people wanted to sprint for 45th place). After 56 miles and 5000 feet of climbing I finished 51st of 86 starters.
This will be on my calendar for next year.

It was raining, drizzling, foggy, and cool (62F). Which would have been fine, but I was unprepared for it (the forecast was wrong, way wrong). Essentially it was 20 miles of descending (some rollers) on crappy roads, I had never seen so many water bottles on the road. When we hit the first climb it blew the race apart. A group of about forty went ahead to contend the race, the rest hung on for dear life. This I expected because I'm not a climber, I'm just glad I put on 12-27 because I was at least able spin out the climb. More descending and rollers. I was pretty cooked when I hit the top of final climb, but at least I was able to out sprint some the others I was with (I couldn't believe people wanted to sprint for 45th place). After 56 miles and 5000 feet of climbing I finished 51st of 86 starters.
This will be on my calendar for next year.


sounds awesome. it's on my calendar as well. what category did you race? i knew deep down inside, that if i did race it this year, i would be crushed like a bug. half of me is glad that i didn't go out and humiliate myself, but the other half obviously regrets not giving it a go. anyway, thanks for the report!

the_dude

Cat 4/5 30+