With Page Mill under my belt, I was the leader of the Endurance Award by 30 minutes. Mt. Hamilton was to be a long 18 mile ride, however, and many things could change on its wintry slopes. I had to be tactical!

With the ride being held on Thanksgiving, I knew that I was to feast and gorge in the evening, so I made the decision to ride primarily in the aerobic zone for maximum calorie burning! Another thing that I have been missing from previous climbs were teammates. By riding in a group, I figured we could also pass the time more quickly through conversation. I was fortunate to ride up most of Mt. Hamilton with Tim and JT, and I had a great time conversing with them about life and work.

Mt. Hamilton was long, and it took me 128:40 minutes to reach the top. Had I gone all-out, I think I could have made it in about 110 minutes. Perhaps next year Low-Key will make another trip up the mountain. One thing that I’ll remember to bring next year is a jacket! It was freezing up at the 4000 foot peak! Fortunately, some riders had an extra vest which I wore on the descent with descending buddy Stephen Fong.

As stated on the Low-Key recap, I “withstood a late charge from unicyclist Nathan Hoover to take the coveted top position” in the Endurance competition. They correctly noted that I had been “arriving at finish lines a lot fresher than most” and would most likely not repeat in 2007. With proper conditioning over the next year, I hope to improve on all of my times and get back to the fitness level I enjoyed back in 1998!

See you all at the awards ceremony later tonight!