week 9
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Mt Hamilton

Week 9 of the 2011 Low-Key Hillclimb Series

Brian Lucido and Jennie Phillips killing it on the climb for Sisters and Misters of No Mercy (Lahary Ravuri)
Thanks to coordinator Kevin Winterfield, with help from Bill Bushnell, Daniel Connelly, Lisa Emmerich, Laura Hipp, Christine Holmes, Martin Hyland, Howard Kveck, Chrisian Paquet, Lane Parker, Pat Parseghian, Bill Preucel, and Lahary Ravuri for making today's climb possible!

Photos

Report

Thanksgiving, and as is often the case at the tail end of a series, Low-Key danced with the weather and won.

All week the forecasters were predicting heavy rain for Thanksgiving morning, but when Kevin Winterfield checked out the course at 5:30 AM, the night's rains had passed. The temperature at the summit was increasing, up to 42F by 9 am, and the barometric pressure was moving steadily upward. The climb was on!

And what a day it turned into!

The main story at the head of the field was Ireland's Ryan Sherlock and Melanie Spath. Last year they had produced the top times for men and women. But this year, with windy conditions at the summit predicted to produce slower times, each shattered their respective Low-Key records from last year. Ryan and Eric Wohlberg separated themselves from the lead group, to finish in blazing fast times of 71:01 and 72:19. While Melanie cracked the 80 minute barrier with her 79:53, producing the second-highest single-day score for this Low-Key series (behind Jesse Miller-Smith from steep Sierra Road, a climb more conducive to high scores). Melanie also established herself as the "top-rated" climber of 2011 with this result.

But the other big story was for the Low-Key standings. Brian Lucido trailed Tracy Colwell in the overall, while his team Sisters and Misters of No Mercy was behind Pen Velo. It was going to be very, very hard for Brian or the Sisters to prevail with just this one climb left, a climb which traditionally produces relatively low scores at the top due to the dilution of the descents. Yet Brian had a plan: he and teammate Jennie Phillips arrived on his Co-Motion tandem. Jennie's light weight and solid power-to-mass ratio combined with Brian's raw power (he's second in the mass-adjusted climbing ranking, behind Ryan) to produce one heck of a fast-climbing tandem. And together they shattered the Low-Key mixed tandem record for the hill, finishing in a blazing fast 77:11. It was enough to take Brian to the top steps of the men's overall podium. On the team side, the tandem was supported by Kevin Keenan's excellent ride today, arguably his best of the series, to take the overall win.

In the women's overall, the story was the fast-charging Lisa Penzel (team Low-Key) and women's overall leader Helen Casabona. It wasn't going to be easy for Lisa: she needed to finish at least 3:16 ahead of Helen by my pre-day calculations, or the same gap ahead of the pace required to score close to 120 points, whichever was faster. But Lisa showed up ready to play today, scoring an incredible 126 points, exceeded in the women's ranking only by elite-level mountain biker Melanie and Jennie on her tandem. As a result, Lisa is the women's 2011 Low-Key women's champion, and team Low-Key's second person ever to win the overall (Bill Bushnell continuing a 6-year streak as hybrid-electric winner).

The Johnny Hoogland award for 2011 goes to Nils Tikkanen. Nils admits he went too hot into the final corner before the bridge at the start of the final climb and crashed hard on the wet road. Leg bleeding from cuts from hip to ankle, shift lever out of alignment, he was quickly back on his bike to rejoin the lead group, finishing in a spectacular tenth place, locking up tenth overall for the series.

The conditions didn't scare away our junior riders today. Andrew Biscardi was the fastest up the hill with an excellent 82:11, while Andre Swart was next just a minute behind. Adrien Costa stuck to his prescribed training zones, still finishing in a strong 1:25. Riley Auten, Justin Leong, and Andy Giang also had excellent rides on this epic climb.

But another big story for the week was our volunteers. While conditions for most of theclimb were overcast, the summit was locked in the clouds, producing wet, miserable conditions for volunteers. But Howard, Kevin, Pat, Christine, Bill, and Lahary remained at their posts for close to two hours. It was an epic day all around.

Results

Strava T-shirt qualifiers indicated with orange background.

Men
pl # name team cat time mph fph score
1 523 Brian Lucido Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy Tandem 77:11 14.30 3420 129.64T
2 825 Ryan Sherlock Cycleways/Zipvit 25+ 71:01 15.55 3717 127.55
3 956 Eric Wohlberg The Brown Zone 45+ 72:19 15.27 3650 125.26
4 25 M. Appelman Dolce Vita Cycling 40+ 76:16 14.48 3461 118.77
5 510 Clark Foy San Jose Bike Club 45+ 76:19 14.47 3458 118.69
6 824 Kieran Sherlock Western Wheelers 45+ 76:23 14.45 3455 118.59
7 106 McLovin The Brown Zone 1 76:40 14.40 3443 118.15
8 7 James Porter Western Wheelers 3 77:37 14.22 3401 116.71
9 308 Rune Dahl Western Wheelers 45+ 78:18 14.10 3371 115.69
10 144 Nils Tikkanen Bike Trip/Symantec Honey Badger 78:40 14.03 3355 115.15M
11 226 Tom Gardin Western Wheelers 45+ 78:40 14.03 3355 115.15
12 325 Kevin Keenan Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 55+ 78:49 14.01 3349 114.93
13 44 Tim Clark Low-Key 40+ 79:40 13.86 3313 113.70
14 133 Dai Sieh The Brown Zone Robusto 79:46 13.84 3309 113.56
15 251 Dan Perry Bike Trip/Symantec 40+ 79:52 13.82 3305 113.42
16 114 Steve Peck Western Wheelers 45+ 80:29 13.72 3279 112.55
17 261 Joe Sullivan San Jose Bike Club 35+ 81:07 13.61 3254 111.67
18 63 Joe Fant San Jose Bike Club 50+ 81:45 13.50 3229 110.81
19 432 Ken Sato Bike Trip/Symantec 45+ 82:04 13.45 3216 110.38
20 905 Andrew Biscardi San Jose Bike Club Junior 82:11 13.43 3212 110.22
21 935 Alan Nevin IronData Thirsty Bear 40+ 82:15 13.42 3209 110.13
22 66 Klaus Fleischmann   40= 82:36 13.37 3195 109.67
23 952 Dennis Van Hoof   82:44 13.34 3190 109.49
24 512 Mario Hernandez Audi 3 83:15 13.26 3170 108.81
25 950 Andre Swart LGBRC Junior 83:19 13.25 3168 108.72
26 919 Steve Fielding Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 45+ 83:29 13.22 3162 108.50
27 61 Steven Enns Dirkless 84:28 13.07 3125 107.24
28 70 Bruce Gardner Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 40+ 85:01 12.99 3105 106.55
29 928 Jonathan Krier Third pillar U23 85:13 12.96 3097 106.30
30 807 Adrien Costa Chipotle Junior Development Junior 85:14 12.95 3097 106.28
31 240 Paul McKenzie Marc Pro - Strava 55+ 85:40 12.89 3081 105.74
32 105 Russ McCrary Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 50+ 85:50 12.86 3075 105.53
33 943 Dan Ross Rad Racing 30+ 85:54 12.85 3073 105.45
34 126 Denin Sahovic The Brown Zone 35+ 85:58 12.84 3070 105.37
35 92 KP The Brown Zone None Of Your Bee'S Wax 86:26 12.77 3054 104.80
36 96 Bennett Chi Lee Speedy Bees 45+/Ponytail 86:36 12.75 3048 104.60
37 127 Naoto Sato   45+ 86:40 12.74 3045 104.52
38 941 Martin Pieprzyk   30+ 86:47 12.72 3041 104.38
39 78 Tick Houk The Brown Zone 50+ 87:10 12.67 3028 103.92
40 924 Arturo B Galindo San Jose Bike Club 87:44 12.58 3008 103.25
41 942 Manuel Puentes San Jose Bike Club 5 Age 25 87:47 12.58 3007 103.19
42 936 Chris New   45+ 88:03 12.54 2998 102.88
43 944 Mike Salameh Soviet Flyers 55+ 88:21 12.50 2987 102.53
44 257 Takanobu Seimiya Nikon Cycling Club 40+ 89:08 12.39 2961 101.63
45 702 Nate Cauffman UID 30+ 89:18 12.36 2956 101.44
46 95 Dean Larson The Brown Zone 45+ 90:29 12.20 2917 100.11
47 312 Rick Ferrell Bike Trip/Symantec 50+ 90:41 12.17 2911 99.89
48 267 Alan Weatherall San Jose Bike Club 90:45 12.17 2908 99.82
49 965 David Kelly   90:52 12.15 2905 99.69
50 311 Brian Edwards Dirkless 91:22 12.08 2889 99.14
51 933 Peter Merrill Western Wheelers 55+ 91:34 12.06 2882 98.93
52 932 Steve Matson   60+ 91:37 12.05 2881 98.87
53 722 Peter Tapscott Webcor/Alto Velo 60+ 92:08 11.98 2865 98.32
54 310 Giles Douglas Google 35+ 93:15 11.84 2830 97.14
55 929 Weston Lane yippee 20+ 93:54 11.76 2811 96.47
56 120 Vinay Ravuri Georgia Tech 94:04 11.74 2806 96.30
57 117 Bill Preucel Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 45+ 94:44 11.65 2786 95.62L
58 964 Ryan Gibson Google 95:14 11.59 2772 95.12
59 148 David Vrane Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 45+ 95:16 11.59 2771 95.08
60 418 Miro Miklos   30+ 95:40 11.54 2759 94.69
61 963 Blas Garcia   95:58 11.50 2750 94.39
62 331 Christopher O'Keefe Atomic Bonk 45+ 96:32 11.44 2734 93.84
63 55 Jon Degenhardt Alameda Velo 50+ 96:52 11.40 2725 93.51
64 153 Jim Williams Alberto's Steak House 60+ 97:53 11.28 2696 92.54
65 305 Gino Cetani 99% 40+ 98:09 11.25 2689 92.29
66 232 Franz Kelsch Alberto's Steak House 60+ 101:37 10.86 2597 89.14
67 266 Jonathan Walden   45+ 101:43 10.85 2595 89.05
68 35 Nic Brummell Atlas 50+ 102:05 10.81 2586 88.73
69 313 David Fitch Western Wheelers 65+++ 102:07 10.81 2585 88.71
70 724 Walter Wang Peninsula Bible Church Cupertino 35+ 102:20 10.79 2579 88.52
71 962 Oscar Garcia   102:26 10.78 2577 88.43
72 717 Cory Roay Pen Velo/Pomodoro 50+ 102:51 10.73 2566 88.07
73 28 Jan Berka   45+ 103:21 10.68 2554 87.65
74 57 Frank Drobot   60+ 103:57 10.62 2539 87.14
75 274 Riley Auten Silicon Valley Triathlon Junior 104:20 10.58 2530 86.82
76 931 Stephen Martin   40+ 106:38 10.35 2475 84.95
77 97 Justin Leong San Jose Bike Club Junior 107:46 10.24 2449 84.06
78 913 Florian Costa San Jose Bike Club 107:58 10.23 2445 83.90
79 76 Jerry Hitchcock Wolfpack 55+ 108:25 10.18 2434 83.55
80 403 Bernard Bell   50+ 108:25 10.18 2434 83.55
81 412 Jon Glancy Dirkless 110:37 9.98 2386 81.89
82 951 Gary Swart LGBRC 55+ 110:52 9.96 2381 81.70
83 531 Plamen Velikov SLACer 50+ 113:52 9.70 2318 79.55
84 146 Luis Valente Palo Verde Velo 50+ 113:57 9.69 2316 79.49
85 915 Jesse Dill   25+ 114:56 9.61 2296 78.81
86 68 Stephen Fong San Jose Bike Club 5 119:46 9.22 2204 75.63
87 223 Bill Dvorak   55+ 120:42 9.15 2187 75.05
88 46 Kevin Colagiovanni Team DUD 25+ 122:22 9.02 2157 74.03
89 914 Thierry Costa San Jose Bike Club 123:19 8.95 2140 73.46
90 118 Alec Proudfoot Google 45+ 124:15 8.89 2124 72.90
91 954 Jim Wholey   65+ 124:30 8.87 2120 72.76
92 906 David Bradley ACTC 50+ 125:56 8.77 2096 71.93
93 925 Andy Giang   Junior 138:17 7.98 1909 65.51
94 904 Jason Beck Team Death Before Suckass 30+ 140:29 7.86 1879 64.48
95 22 Michael Ahern LGBRC 45+ 142:37 7.74 1851 63.52
96 948 Thomas Stevenin   50 Yrs Old 143:36 7.69 1838 63.08
97 29 Sachin Bhatia   30+ 144:12 7.66 1830 62.82
98 517 Ashutosh Kaushik   25+ 157:58 6.99 1671 57.34
99 923 Steve Froess no team 45+ 160:46 6.87 1642 56.34
100 927 Liubomir Krastev   165:00 6.69 1600 54.90

L : late start
M : mishap
T : tandem score

Women
pl # name team cat time mph fph score
1 947 Melanie Spath   30+ 79:53 13.82 3304 137.12
2 423 Jennie Phillips Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy Tandem-Onium! 77:11 14.30 3420 129.64T
3 250 Lisa Penzel Low-Key 45+ 86:53 12.71 3038 126.07
4 40 Helen Casabona Pen Velo/Pomodoro 50+ 92:37 11.92 2850 118.26
5 812 LT The Brown Zone This Is The Off Season? 93:57 11.75 2809 116.59
6 714 McLovely The Brown Zone 1 94:05 11.73 2805 116.42
7 957 Robin Young   20+ 96:21 11.46 2739 113.68
8 131 Lynn Sestak San Jose Bike Club 50+ 97:52 11.28 2697 111.92
9 934 Lucia Mokres LGBRC MIA 99:43 11.07 2647 109.84
10 912 Katelyn Connell   25+ 103:27 10.67 2551 105.88
11 520 Kstiv The Brown Zone 40+ 104:19 10.58 2530 105.00
12 922 Gabrielle Friedly   127:04 8.69 2077 86.20
13 306 Alison Chaiken Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 45+ 131:49 8.38 2002 83.09
14 955 Louise Wholey Freeze your buns 70+ 138:46 7.96 1902 78.93

T : tandem score

Teams
pl team score riders
1 Sr's & Mr's of No Mercy 374.20 Jennie Phillips, Brian Lucido, Kevin Keenan, Steve Fielding, Bruce Gardner, Russ McCrary, Bill Preucel, David Vrane, Alison Chaiken
2 The Brown Zone 360.00 Eric Wohlberg, McLovin, Dai Sieh, Denin Sahovic, KP, Tick Houk, Dean Larson, LT, McLovely, Kstiv
3 Western Wheelers 350.98 Kieran Sherlock, James Porter, Rune Dahl, Tom Gardin, Steve Peck, Peter Merrill, David Fitch
4 San Jose Bike Club 342.28 Clark Foy, Joe Sullivan, Joe Fant, Andrew Biscardi, Arturo B Galindo, Manuel Puentes, Alan Weatherall, Lynn Sestak, Justin Leong, Florian Costa, Stephen Fong, Thierry Costa
5 Bike Trip/Symantec 338.94 Nils Tikkanen, Dan Perry, Ken Sato, Rick Ferrell
6 LGBRC 300.27 Andre Swart, Lucia Mokres, Gary Swart, Michael Ahern
7 Dirkless 288.27 Steven Enns, Brian Edwards, Jon Glancy
8 Google 265.16 Giles Douglas, Ryan Gibson, Alec Proudfoot
9 Low-Key 239.77 Tim Clark, Lisa Penzel
10 Pen Velo/Pomodoro 206.34 Helen Casabona, Cory Roay
11 Alberto's Steak House 181.68 Jim Williams, Franz Kelsch
12 Cycleways/Zipvit 127.55 Ryan Sherlock
13 Dolce Vita Cycling 118.77 M. Appelman
14 IronData Thirsty Bear 110.13 Alan Nevin
15 Audi 108.81 Mario Hernandez
16 Third pillar 106.30 Jonathan Krier
17 Chipotle Junior Development 106.28 Adrien Costa
18 Marc Pro - Strava 105.74 Paul McKenzie
19 Rad Racing 105.45 Dan Ross
20 Speedy Bees 104.60 Bennett Chi Lee
21 Soviet Flyers 102.53 Mike Salameh
22 Nikon Cycling Club 101.63 Takanobu Seimiya
23 UID 101.44 Nate Cauffman
24 Webcor/Alto Velo 98.32 Peter Tapscott
25 yippee 96.47 Weston Lane
26 Georgia Tech 96.30 Vinay Ravuri
27 Atomic Bonk 93.84 Christopher O'Keefe
28 Alameda Velo 93.51 Jon Degenhardt
29 99% 92.29 Gino Cetani
30 Atlas 88.73 Nic Brummell
31 Peninsula Bible Church Cupertino 88.52 Walter Wang
32 Silicon Valley Triathlon 86.82 Riley Auten
33 Wolfpack 83.55 Jerry Hitchcock
34 SLACer 79.55 Plamen Velikov
35 Palo Verde Velo 79.49 Luis Valente
36 Freeze your buns 78.93 Louise Wholey
37 Team DUD 74.03 Kevin Colagiovanni
38 ACTC 71.93 David Bradley
39 Team Death Before Suckass 64.48 Jason Beck
40 no team 56.34 Steve Froess