Coastin’

Our next club meeting will be at 6:30 on Monday, August 6, 2001, at Alfred & Charlie’s, 815 S. New Hope Rd, Gastonia. Newsletter Updates: Contact John Price at 704 867 2669 or at coastineditor@yahoo.com.

 

Ride (& Run) Schedule  (Through September, 2001)

Monday – start 6:00pm – Forestview HS, S. Union Rd (25 miles) course marked with “M”

Tuesday – start 6:00pm - Warlick School, Ranlo, (32 miles), pace: 17-19 course marked with “T”

Wednesday – start 6:00pm – Forestview HS, S. Union Rd (34 miles) course marked with “W”

Thursday – start 6:00pm - Warlick School, Ranlo (32 miles), pace: 17-19 course marked with “H”

Sunday – start 6:30am – Bi-Lo @ Hudson & Union, ride 2-4 hours, 18  mph avg, no course is marked but will usually ride in Crowders Mtn & Kings Mtn area.  Call John Price 704-867-2669 Saturday evening until 10pm to confirm plans because this ride will sometimes be canceled because of other plans.

 

Monday & Thursday run – start 6:00pm – Food Lion @ Ashbrook S. New Hope Rd pace & distance will depend on who shows up.

 

Club Jerseys & Shorts –Wednesdays If you can make the Wednesday night ride, wear your club jerseys and shorts!

 

Race Results

Fabulous 4th Tryon,NC July 4th, 62 mile bike ride. 

Approximately 450 riders participated.  Representing the GCC were:  Margot Rott , Troy Bush , John Price, Jim Weant, Paula Weant, Ralph Rutledge, Melissa Magee, Chris Baucom, Reese Wilson, Frances Scott, & Don Burgoon.  Special alarm clock awards go to Chris Baucom and Don Burgoon who, travelling separately, arrived late and had to chase the pack all day.

 

Lowe’s Motor Speedway Time Trials  10 miles

July 27 (135 riders):  Don Hessler (Men 60+) 28:57 108 overall, Randy Mullis (Men 50-59) 23:51 49th overall,

 John Price (Men 30-39) 26:20 87th overall.

June 29 (125 riders):  Terry Arnold 23:28 34th overall, Dennis Hall, Sr (Men 60+) 23:07 24th overall,

Randy Mullis (Men 50-59) 24:25 51st overall, Don Hessler (Men 60+) 30:25 112th overall.

May 14 (90 riders):  Dennis Hall, Sr (Men 60+) 24:23 29th overall; Jay Beam (Men 40-49) 26:34 55th overall.

 

Special thanks to Terry Arnold for the following report.  –editor

June 16-17, National 24-Hour Challenge:  Terry Arnold 385 miles, tie for 17th overall out of 411 racers (and tie for 6th in the strong M35-39 age-group). The weather was great: sunny with a high of 80 F, some breeze and an overnight low of 55 F. This event is very well run and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to answer the question of "How far can I ride my bike in a day?". The National 24-Hour Challenge is an excellent first ultra-marathon event for a cyclist wanting a new challenge. The biggest drawback is that the Challenge is held in the Grand Rapids, MI area, so it is a long way from here in the Charlotte area. I have ridden the Challenge 9 times and would be happy to answer any questions you have about this event or other ultra-marathon rides.

Biker-Hiker Weekend  (July 20-22, 2001)   Eleven members participated in our annual Bryson City trip, enjoying various amounts of road cycling on the infamous “Road to Nowhere” – Fontana Rd, and mountain biking on the trails of Tsali Recreational Area, hiking in the Pisgah Forest.  Participating were Jim & Paula Weant, John Price, Margot Rott & Troy Bush, Suzanne Clemmer & Ronald Hutchins, Melissa Magee & Ralph Rutledge, Charlene & Hal Angel.

 

Results continued …

 

Lake Wylie 10 K Splash Dash Ronald Hutchins and Suzanne Clemmer:  Suzanne and Ronald both got 1st in their age group, finishing together in 42:15.  Hal Angel also competed (time not available).

 

The Bear 5 miler July 12, 2001  This is a 5 mile Thursday evening run which begins in Linville, proceeds up a gravel road to the hubub of the Highland Games activities in Macrae Meadows, and continues along the paved road from the entrance to the top of Grandfather Mtn.  The entire race is uphill, gaining approximately 3500 feet in elevation along the way.

Running were:  Jim Weant 45”, Hal Angel 53”, Suzanne Clemmer 1st in category; Ronald Hutchins (times not available)

 

Grandfather Mtn Marathon July 14, 2001  This incredible marathon is one of the hilliest around.  Paula Weant 4:11;  Ronald Hutchins (time not available)

 

Roan Groan  (sanctioned road race) Blair Craig, 5th in Category 5 race

Mooresville Cycological (sanctioned road race) Blair Craig 6th Cat 5, & won 1 prime

Beach Blast (sanctioned NORBA mtn bike race) Blair Craig 6th in sport class

 

 

 

Upcoming Cycling Events

 

 

Time Trials Lowe’s Motor Speedway  (August 15, September 20) Sponsored by the Tarheel Cyclists and Humpy Wheeler of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. 10 miles long.  $5 members, $8 non-members.  For more info. see http://www.tarheelcyclists.org or call John Talani 704-504-1875.

For August 15th, gates open at 5:00 pm, ride starts at 6:30 pm.  Sign in and enter at tunnel and proceed as directed.

 

Training ride for MS150 August 26, 2001 There will be 2 scenic routes, 30 and 60 miles,alongwith
lots of food, and sag vehicles to help you get the most out of your ride.  Start at Fitcare life center at Birkdale.  Take exit 25 on I-77 go west on Sam furr Road for approx. 0.3 miles turn left onto Birkdale Commons Pkwy.  Take your first right and Fitcare is directly in front of you.

Registration will be at 7:00am, ride will start at 8:00am.
The ride will be well marked and rest stops for those who need them with food and water.
There will be a fee of $15.00 for it is to raise money for the MS ride.
You can contact Chuck at Lake Norman Bicycles 704-875-2522 or Andy King at 704-822-6134.

 

Tarheel Cyclist Fall Century  Sept 8 (Saturday)  37, 63, & 100 mile options.  $12.  Bain Elementary School, 11524 Bain School Rd, Mint Hill Area, regis. 7am, start 8am.  www.tarheelcyclists.org (this is an excellent website).

Bridge to Bridge Sept 16  102.5 miles & 10,000 feet of climbing, Lenoir to Linville.  $45 www.caldwellcochamber.org

 

MS 150 Breakaway to the Beach, Sept 22 & 23  Rich Perlman is inviting all club members, friends and family to join his team, the Coasters, for the MS-150 Bike Tour, Breakaway to the Beach this September 22 and 23.  This is a huge event, typically 1500 riders, and extremely well supported with SAG and great volunteers.  Most importantly, it supports a wonderful organization, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  For more info, contact Rich at 704-813-1893 or perlman@cadpath.com, or the MS Society at 704-525-2955.  You can register by phone.  Remember to register as a member of the Coasters team!

Brochures for this ride are available at Cycling & Fitness, Gastonia.  Everybody should get to do this ride at least once!

 

Other Rides

Aug. 4 Tour de Furniture, High Point, NC Sponsored by Red Cross 336-885-9121 ledbetterj@northstate.net

Aug. 11 Off the Cliffs Metric, Kinston, NC 252-523-6881

Aug. 11 Bike Fest 2001: Rural Heritage Tour Hillsborough, Durham, NC 919-687-5066 www.tarwheels.org

Aug. 18 Blue Ridge Brutal 100 W. Jefferson, NC 336-246-4483 ashecivictr@skybest.com or www.ashecivic.com

Upcoming Cycling Events continued …

Aug. 19 Hilly Hellacious 100, Asheville, NC 828-891-9658 http://www.blueridgebicvcleclub.org

Aug. 26 Dog Daze Ride, Greensboro, NC 336-852-3972 blitzcat@mindspring.com or www.twbc.com

Sept. 6-9 Great Peanut Tour, Emporia, VA 804-348-4215 www.3rddoor.com/gpt.htm

Sep. 16 Bridge2Bridge, Lenoir, NC 828-726-0616 www.caldwellcochamber.org or cathy@caldwellcochamber.org

Sep. 29 Daniel Hibbits Memorial Joy Ride for Autism, Winston-Salem 336-725-3911 FulpTxServices@cs.com

Oct. 6-13 Cycle NC  “Mountain to the Coast" 919-361-1133 cyclenc@mindspring.com or http://www.cyclenorthcarolina.org

Oct. 13 Tour de Pig Lexington, NC 336-956-2952 kav@barbecuefestival.com

Oct. 14 Press on Regardless Gaston County Cyclists, Doug Fleming 704-854-9899 mrnobody @ gridusa.net

Oct. 20 3rd Annual Crowder Mt. Leaf Tour Picnic 30-45 ml leisurely ride; pack a lunch for a stop on Crowder Mt. Tarheel Member contact: John Talani 704-504-1875jtalani@carolina.rr.com

 

Upcoming Running Events - North Carolina

8/11/01  Great Waldensian Footrace  5k & 10k  Valdese  828-879-2116

Upcoming Running Events - South Carolina

8/4/01 Hot Summer Night@6:30pm 5k Columbia Mark Bedenbaugh 803/799-4786
8/25/01 Race For the Ark@7:45am 5k Summerville Lori Herman 843/851-2591
8/31/01 Midnight Flight@9:30pm 5k Anderson Mike Morris 864/261-6275
9/1/01 Huntington Beach Road Race@9:00am 5k Murrells Inlet Helmut Schmoock 843/357-6929
9/3/01 Applefestival Classic@7:30am 10k Westminster Wayne Terry 864/972-3354
9/22/01 Run For Sight@8:45am 10k Mullins Dr. Franklin Mason 843/464-9652
10/5/01 Harvest Moon@8:00pm 5k Parris Island Bill Brown 843/525-3301
10/13/01 (?)Taco Bell Cure@8:00am 5k Florence Jimmy Tassios 843/777-3093
10/20/01 (?)Ocktoberfest@9:00am 5k Walhalla Bill Nichols 864/638-3906
10/27/01 Great Pumpkin@9:00am 5k Rock Hill Dan Wellbaum 803/329-6913
10/27/01 Governor Cup@tba 13.1m Columbia Donna Desportes 803/929-1996
10/27/01 BI-LO Run For Kids@9:00am 10k Greenville Gordon Seay 864/467-0085

11/3/01 YMCA-Run For Life@8:00 5k Greenwood Angie Harrell
864/233-9622
11/3/01 Hilton Head Bridge Run@8:30 8k Hilton Head Mark Weisner
843/689-3440
11/3/01 Run for The Woods@9:15am 5.4m *, XC Aiken Dacre Stoker
803/642-5021
11/10/01 Run For Thanks@8:00am 5m Pinopolis Rob Meade 843/899-7419
11/10/01 Colonial Cup@8:30am 10k Camden Kathy Bradley 803/432-4841
11/17/01 Turkey Run@8:00am 5k Gaffney Kay Canaan 864/487-3733
11/18/01 Cedar Creek Trot@2:30pm 5k Aiken Steve Smith 803/642-7559
12/1/01 Paris Mountain @8:30am 20k * Greenville Bev Parlier
828/883-9278
12/29/01 Cold Winter Day@10:00am 5k ** Columbia Selwyn Blake
803/790-4049

 

GCC Marker At Martha Rivers Park

A marker has been placed at the playground of Martha Rivers Park in recognition of the significant financial contribution made by the Gaston County Cyclists in support of the Operation Playground project.  Club member Michele Jarbeau organized a bike ride on April 18, 1999 which raised the donated funds.  (This ride was the most well organized and supported GCC ride in which I’ve participated  –editor).  The $15 ride fee included a tee-shirt, energy bars, well-stocked feeds, lots of volunteers, and a post-ride meal at Bellacino’s.  Other sponsors included Mr Nobody Tire Service, C&M Interiors (tile & floorcovering), Gold’s Gym, & Food Lion.  Thanks go to Michele for bringing our club this recognition from the community

Now that Big Tex has just completed his 3rd consecutive victory in the Tour d’France, it seems appropriate to include an explanation of the rating system used to describe the big climbs that Lance Armstrong rode as he demolished the competition.  For those of you with access to Outdoor Life Network, I’m sure you heard many times over climbs such as the Alpe d’Huez, col d’Glandon, col d’Madelaine, & col d’Port Adet being described as Hors Categorie or Category 1 climbs.  This explanation followed the 1997 Tour, but is still very appropriate for this year’s race.

 

definition:  % grade, the steepness of a hill, this is obtained by dividing the elevation gained by the distance travelled.  Example:  If you travel 500 feet on a 10% grade, you gain 50 feet in elevation.   -editor

 

RATING THE CLIMBS

By John Wilcockson , VeloNews

The actual decision on the categories is a subjective one, based on: length of the climb; altitude difference from bottom to top; average (and steepest) grade; summit elevation; climb's position on the stage (early or late); and width and conditions of the road. After considering all these factors, the Tour's director sportif, and former pro racer, Jean-Francois Pescheuz, makes his recommendations after driving over the stage routes a couple of months before the race. He can classify climbs in any of five categories:

* Cat. 4: The Lowest category could be anything from a 2km-long hill with a gentle 5-percent grade, or a half-kilometer-long "wall" with a 12-percent average. (In 1997, there were 15 Cat. 4 climbs on the opening eight flat stages; and only four on the remaining 13 stages.)

* Cat. 3: This is the first "serious" category, and could mean a 5km climb with 5-percent grade on good roads. (In 1997, there were six Cat. 3 climbs in the Tour; typical was the Cote de Chatillon on the stage to Morzine, which is 6km long with a height difference of 240 meters, 787 feet, on a wide smooth highway.)

* Cat. 2: Most racers in North America would consider this one the toughest climb they would be likely to encounter. The former Tour DuPont's Beech Mountain -- which is about 5km long with an average grade of 8-percent, topping out at 5000 feet about sea level -- would be a Cat. 2 at the Tour, even though it was a Cat. 1 at DuPont. (In the 1997 Tour de France there were 10 Cat. 2 climbs. Typical were the first two of stage 18: the Cote de Gueberschwir is 4.5km long, has a height difference of 400 meters, 1312 feet, and an 8.8-percent grade; the Grand Gallon is 24km long, with a height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, but has a grade of only 4.1 percent.)

* Cat. 1: This is the classic mountain climb of the Tour, such as the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees, with an elevation of about 1600 meters, 5250 feet, a length of about 15km, and a grade of about 6-percent. (In 1997, the Tour had eight Cat. 1 climbs. They varied from stage 9's Val Louron-Azet, which is 11.5km long, with a height difference of 770 meters, 2526 feet, on a narrow, rough back road; to stage 10's Port d'Envalira, which is 30km long, with a height difference of 1680 meters, 5500 feet, on a wide, smooth highway with easy grades.)

* Hors Cat. (or "above category"): These are the most difficult climbs at the Tour. They have a minimum height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, and an average grade of 7-percent or more. (There were five Hors Cat. climbs in the 1997 Tour, including the Col du Tourmalet and L'Alpe d' Huez.)

 

So with the toughest climbs being rated at an average of 7 percent or more, what’s the steepest hill in Gaston County?  How about a knee-shredding 25%!  The “wall” in Bessemer City (West Virginia Ave) begins with a 200 foot long section at 19%, levels out slightly for about 30 feet, then increases to a 25% grade for about 200 more feet, before leveling out a bit again for the final 30 feet.  Of course, it has to be noted that our “climb” is only 1/10 of a mile, and not really a climb at all by Tour standards.  Furthermore, what makes the climbs so difficult in the Tour is that riders aren’t just trying to get over them, they’re racing over them, often in the big chain-ring when the grades are 4-5 %.

 

Editor’s note:  I obtained the gradient ratings for West Virginia Ave using a fairly crude measuring system, but believe these to be reasonably accurate.