Bogus Basin Hillclimb 2011

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A new epoch begins

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My daughter, Mariel, wanted to ride the Bogus Basin Hillclimb. I don't know why... people just do. So I offered to ride it with her. Here we are waiting to start with about 300 other people.

I should apologize now for the pictures here: they are either from my cell phone or from Idaho Sports Pics, a web site selling photos they took on the course.
1976

I've ridden the hill a few times. This is from the 1976 Bogus hillclimb.

 1976
We spotted a few friends, who were also waiting. This is Art, a friend since high school (and frequent hiking partner). He is modeling a jersey I gave him a long time ago. Yes, it's advertising a bike shop from Nebraska. You know--- Free Stuff!
Camas Prairie

This is Ralph, who claims Art and I are youngsters. Ralph and I have done some riding together, plus a ton of skate skiing going back almost 30 years.

The Start

Our whole group started near the back of the pack. Mariel and I started together, as agreed. We wove through some of the folks, then settled in to a good pace.

At about the 7 mile mark, I was feeling it and instructed Mariel not to wait for me. At the Forest Service sign she was only a couple hundred feet ahead.

 
Camas Prairie

Meanwhile, Ralph had dropped a chain. In this picture taken at around the 11 mile mark, Ralph and Art are together... I'm not sure if that had been the case all along, but there you go.

 
Camas Prairie

I have about a dozen excuses, none of them really legitimate so I won't bore you, but I was hurting. I was still ahead of Art and Ralph, but not by much. Shortly after, they passed me.

Camas Prairie

Meanwhile, Mariel was pounding it out and had moved out of sight ahead of me.

The Finish

As you near the top of the climb, the road flattens out. Art grabbed a passing wheel, which allowed him to catch and pass Mariel.

But Mariel kept Art in sight, and just shy of the finish she did a hard surge and jumped Art at the line for "the win." (I taught her well!)

Camas Prairie

So here we are at the finish. The epoch has officially ended, and a new one has begun; Mariel has beaten her Dad. She was most gracious about it, and even bought me lunch to make me feel better.

Mariel was 222nd, good for 3rd place in her category of Women 19-29. I was 248th, good for not much (as Art would say).

The Spondoro web site has all the official results. (Sorry- it's a slow-loading pdf file).

 
Camas Prairie
As said earlier, I've done this ride a few times. This clipping talks about the 1977 version.
Camas Prairie