Written by Alex Sanchez, Duke’s Cycle Cannondale LapDogs Racer.
We headed south to test our endurance and climbing legs on one of the most popular races in the East Coast (it sells out in minutes). This 50 mile course proved to be an epic adventure with around 500 racers.
The early start (6:00 AM) in late September meant we needed lights for the first 30 minutes or so. After that some riders dropped their lights at the first feed zone and continued. The first half of the race featured very long climbs on gravel roads, it was a foggy morning so the top of the mountains was covered, but as the sun came out we were treated to beautiful views of the Vermont country side from the top, then we had some exhilarating descents.
On the second half of the race, a plethora of sinlge track provided racers with fun but also with more challenges as some sections were very technical lots of rocks, roots and tight switch back climbs. By the end of the race it started to rain again and the temperature dropped considerably, but there was one more hill to climb: the top of the Ascutney ski resort. The finale was going in zig-zag from the top on wet slippery grass on a ski slope. Few times finishing a race felt so rewarding.
Looking forward to next year!