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Saturday, June 6, 1998 is the day the road bikers came out in West
Virginia to battle the cold, the mountains and the clock, as they
entered the Mountain State
Road Series Snowshoe Time Trial. The course was a 7 mile uphill
climb with an elevation gain of 1820 feet from the Snowshoe Visitor's
Center to the top of the mountain. "When you think you've finished,
there's one more mile to go," was the warning given to each racer as they
registered for the race.
The first racer began their ascent at 1:01PM with each consectively
numbered racer following one minute apart. Just prior to race time,
the fog lifted from the top of the mountain permitting the racers to
see where they were headed. At the starting line, temperatures were
not as would be expected for a June day in West Virginia, but were in
the upper 40s. As the racers climbed, the temperatures fell into the
30s, making for a "Cold, ... Really Cold" ride. Coming back down was
even colder and most riders opted to tough it out riding their bikes
back to the start rather than climbing aboard the many vehicles
waiting to bring them warmly back to the Visitor's Center.
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Matt Timpermen looks relaxed at about the 3 mile mark
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Most of the racers entered today had also entered the Snowshoe
Road Race the next day and quotes heard after the race circulated
around fantasies of ending the road race with a 7 mile climb up the
mountain. That would show those who didn't brave the weather to tackle the
time trial today!
Newcomer to the series, Stephen Simpson, climbed the mountain in an impressive
28 minutes 37 seconds taking Cat 1-4 Men's first place award. He was closely
followed by Dave Wehger and Thomas Samples, second and third respectively.
Katina Sayers was the only woman who ventured out to take on the mountain,
and she did so valiantly, with a time of 38 minutes and 55 seconds.
[More
Photos]
[Results]
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Nate Ferguson battles the mountain for a Cat 5/Cit first place win.
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Walter Tate pushes for 4th place Cat 1-4.
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This is fun?
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