Great Catskill Divide Road Race 2012, Here We Come!

Some 30 racers registered for The Great Catskill Divide Road Race which kicked off Sunday morning, with equal parts of anxiety and excitement.  The Catskill Mtn Velo Club put together a course that was sure to be different than anything road racers were to encounter here on the East Coast.  Many racers weren't quite sure what to expect, so there were many different equipment setups, from 23mm slick road tires, to 35mm knobby CX tires.  Some followed the beta for MTB shoes while others scoffed at the notion of walking / running. 

The route consisted of 33 miles of some of the most remote roads here in the Catskill Park region, and two of them were dirt road mountain passes, with one being a steep dirt descent.  The famed Townsend Hollow pass is 20% grade dirt road that is so steep, many racers were forced to walk it.  However, it is remarkable to think a good many others just pedaled right up it.



Catskill Divide RR Pack at the famous Slide Mtn Road in Big Indian, NY

The start left Glenbrook Park and made its way up to the famed Belleayre Ski Center climb on Rt28 at Pine Hill, NY.  This is were the weak are shelled out the back, and the strong (or miscalculated) move up.  With a nice descent down onto Main St. in Fleischmanns, NY, the group gets scrabbled again climbing the twisting Little Red Kill climb up to Basil Todd Road, which is the first section of dirt.  Basil Todd Road is a slight gradual climb of about 1.25 miles that grows steeper as you go.  It has a quick head-wall climb at the end which then dropped them down over onto Kaftas Rd.  This is a section they really zipped along.  However it was also the first section to claim a few riders with punctures.  Those who rolled along then meet up with West Settlement Rd (paved) to drop down into Halcott Center.  Those still together at this point would work together toward the famous Townsend Hollow Climb. 

Townsend Hollow Road instantly starts as dirt, starts steep, and gets steeper as the racers made their way toward the top.  For many inexperienced racers, they would feel this would be a section of road for a CX or even a Mtn bike.  But for hardcore road racers like those found at the Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge, NY or the Koppenberg Race in Boulder, they didn't even blink an eye at it. 






Down toward the paved section of Townsend Hollow they sped, and then onto Upper Birch Creek to the ultra long / steep descent of Gooding Road.  With the recent rain storms, this section of road had a few rain ruts that we felt compelled to mark.  Racers headed the warnings. 

If you can believe it, the Cat 1/2/3 elites did two laps of this course.  Everyone else only had to complete one.  Our course was cut short about 2 miles from the resent storms, but based on what the racers came over, no one complained.

Durrin at the finish - doing what would seem super-human to many

A complete list of the results can be found on BikeReg.  It was unanimous that the race is something everyone is excited to come back for next year.  Many racers pledged to spread the word to others about how amazing this event is.  I apologized for the in-your-face climb up Townsend Hollow Rd, and several racers made me swear I wouldn't change a thing.  So we won't. 

We had plenty of prizes and prize money to give away, and we have full plans to keep it that way in the years to come.  This event is hard, brutal, relentless.  Anyone who can keep fitness, grace, and luck together on one bike truly deserves a good prize.

Next year we welcome those looking to get in on the grass-roots level to sign up to participate.  We will be looking for:

• Photographers - ready to shoot dirt sections
• Riders with HD Go Pro Cameras
• Wheel / Mechanical Car Support 

This race is all about the right equipment, and the lessons learned this year are as follows:

• CX tires are too slow.
• Stan's Juice in your tubes is worth it.
• Something like a Vittoria Zaffiro in widest tread that will fit on your bike is a good choice.
• Never let your speed get away from you on the descents.
• Cork brake pads w/ carbon wheels may not be the best idea.
• This is the start of something big!

Divide RR Tire of Choice

We would also like to take this time to thank our volunteers and sponsors, because without them, this whole endeavor would be pretty lame.  Please know that the volunteers listed below are who made this possible:

• Shandaken Police Dept.               Shandaken Ambulance
• Margaretville Hospital                 Frost Valley YMCA
• Becky & Mike Porter           Marty & Gary Gailes
• Laurie & Charlie Frazier  Al Boubrava/Fleischmanns Fire Co.
• Billy Allison                                      Kyle Andersen
• Norm Pearson                                 Bill Rudge
• Fred Woller                                     Lucci Kelly
• Bike Brother of Kingston           Myrna & Bob Greenhall
• Emory Creel                                    Jesse, Madison, Mallory Storey 
• The M.A.R.K. Project                  Central Catskills Chamber
• Jennifer Wentland                       Wentland Custom Millworks
• USAC official - Erin Thomas     USAC- Sue Diller & Gary Toth
• Chris Bouchard                              Town of Fleishmanns
• Town of Halcott                             Town of Shandaken
• NYC Velo

If you missed the Great Catskill Divide Road Race this year, you missed something historic.  Hope to see you there next year.  Get out here!