San Bruno Hill Climb
San Bruno is the traditional start of the NoCal road season, on Jan 1. I had a completely miserable time at this race in the 80s- wet, cold, couldn’t see or feel my fingers on the descent. I vowed to never come back. The race is too short to be interesting, or for me to be any good. It’s after the Christmas eating season but long before any races that mean anything. It’s totally meaningless, and if you’re good for this race, chances are you’ll suck later on in the season.
But I’ve gone back recently. I did it in 2008, skipped 2009 due to being sick, and did it again in 2010. And I have to say, I had a really good time.
I slept in the day of the race- it’s only an hours drive and starts at 10am. I weighed myself for the first time in two weeks and discovered that I was at the heaviest I’d been at in a year. Oops, I guess I ate too many of those Christmas cookies I made. The weather looked like rain, so I brought the rain bike. It did rain a bit on the drive up, but it was dry at the start. Most of the racers were warming up on trainers, many starting an hour before the race start. I hate trainers and don’t warm up on them well, so I rode up the mountain. I got a bit past halfway before it was time to turn around.
I got a decent start and went hard up the first steep pitch, then let the lead group go. I was doing ok for a while but when the climb leveled off a bit a few more guys who looked like they were in my group went by. Then the lead 55+ guys went by (they started 30 seconds behind us). After the turn to radio road the grade got steeper and I started catching guys who were fading. Approaching the finish the guys I’d passed were far enough behind that I didn’t need to worry about them, and there was one guy up ahead. I sprinted for the line (as much as I can sprint, which isn’t much) and managed to get him right at the line.
I did it in 19:46, which isn’t that spectacular- the best 45s are in the 16s. But it’s 45 seconds faster than I did it in 2008, and I finished in the top half. Most important, I had a really good time.
As for the weather- it sprinkled for about 15 seconds while I was warming up, and that was it. I could have ridden the race bike instead of the rain bike.