Re: great article on Aspenmike

Again such a portal where you have to fake your USER_AGENT to pass the
'gate-keeper'.
Or just hit the printable version which is even less unprotected:
http://tinyurl.com/7qq83

(this article allready appeared just after publishing in the "unicycle
articles" thread)

Touching the sky on one wheel

Longtime Aspenite sets new record at Mount Washington Hill Climb

Click to Enlarge
Aspen local Mike Tierney pedals his unicycle up Mount Washington in
northern New Hampshire Aug. 20. Tierney set the new course record for a
unicyclist in the annual Mount Washingon Hill Climb, finishing in 1
hour, 45 minutes. (Philbrick Photography)

By Nate Peterson
September 3, 2005

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The fog, like wisps of cotton, was so thick it cut visibility to 15 feet
at most. Lashing wind roared across the bare mountainside, at times
coming in bursts so fierce, it knocked riders to the ground. And, once
off the bike, it was almost impossible to get back on and resume
climbing.

With an average gradient of 12 degrees, including stretches with 18
percent grades, the amount of kinetic energy required to resume pedaling
forced scores of riders to start back downhill, then quickly swing back
around.

They were typical conditions for the Mount Washington Hill Climb in
northern New Hampshire on Aug. 20 - renowned in cycling circles as one
the toughest hill climbs in the world.

What was atypical was the 45-year-old man from Aspen on his unicycle who
continued to pass packs of cyclists as he strained toward the top of the
6,288-foot summit.

When the race was finished, Mike Tierney, a ski patroller at Aspen
Highlands in the winter and part owner of Aspen Solar, had eclipsed a
third of the riders in the field of 600, finishing 399th overall. His
time of 1 hour, 45 minutes and 27 seconds on the 7.6-mile course, which
featured 4,700 feet of vertical climbing, set a new record in the
unicycle division. The previous record of 2 hours, 19 minutes was
recorded the previous year by the first unicyclist to ever complete the
course.

Tierney didn't make the trek out to Mount Washington to set a new
record, however.

"My whole goal was to have fun and finish," said Tierney, who easily
beat the other two unicyclists in the field. "It's the steepest road
I've ever been on. We had to sign up in February, so I knew for six
months that I was going to do it. I had no clue how steep it really was
until I drove [the road] Friday just before the race. It had me shaking
in my boots."

For good reason. The private paved road that winds its way up to the
mountain's summit is only open to cyclists one day a year - for the Hill
Climb - and is so steep that riders are not allowed to ride down because
there are no guard rails.

Two-thousand feet of the ascent is above tree line, leaving riders
exposed to the harsh winds and fickle weather indigenous to the rugged
Presidential Range in the northern part of the state. The average wind
speed atop Mount Washington is 35 mph, but gusts regularly reach above
100 mph. The fastest wind speed ever recorded was 234 mph in 1934. The
mountain also receives an average of 225 inches of snow each year.

"There's 500-year-old trees on that mountain that are 3 feet tall,"
Tierney said. "It's a really rugged landscape. It's unbelievable to
think that anyone would ever want to build a road there."

While Tierney didn't have to contend with any snow during his arduous
ascent, he did have to fend off the unrelenting wind. The dense fog near
the summit also gave him a sense of being alone at the end of the world
somewhere.

"I got blown off my unicycle by the wind," Tierney said. "Because it's
so steep, you have to almost be plumb to the earth. It was really hard
to get going again. It ends up that your whole upper body is leaning
forward."

Aimee Vasse of Grosse Point Park, Mich., spent more than five minutes
trying to get back on her bike after the wind knocked her down, yet
still managed to be the first female racer across the line with a time
of 1:12:38 - an anecdote Tierney recounted to illustrate the Hill's
Climb's difficulty.

Maybe the most memorable thing about the Hill Climb, aside from setting
a new course record, Tierney said, was being able to spend a few minutes
with Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton of Boulder, who won the race
with a time of 51:11.

Hamilton, who was suspended by the International Cycling Union in
September 2004 for alleged blood doping, was allowed to compete in the
race because it is unaffiliated with the ICU. His appeal to be
reinstated into the professional ranks is scheduled to be heard by a
standing panel of three judges in Denver on Wednesday. Hamilton had
entered the Hill Climb with hopes of beating the course record of 49:24
set by Thomas Danielson of East Lyme, Conn., in 2002.

"It was pretty cool to hang with the winner," Tierney said. "Overall, I
had a great day. Coming from altitude, it always helps."

Nate Peterson can be reached at npeterson(sur)aspentimes.com

--
leo - Leo Vandewoestijne

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Also I've never heard of the I.C.U. (explained as International Cycling
Union).
I do know the http://www.uci.ch/ (union cyclisme internationale) where
they refuse to speak english.
The Dutch I.O.C. (International Olympic Commitee) member Hein
Verbruggen -and yes, I've met him- is still president of it.

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leo - Leo Vandewoestijne

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leo said:

*Again such a portal where you have to fake your USER_AGENT to pass
the 'gate-keeper'.*

I do not understand this, but I'm sorry if I did something uncool.

leo said:

*Or just hit the printable version which is even less unprotected:
http://tinyurl.com/7qq83*

And I also do not understand this.

leo said:

*(this article allready appeared just after publishing in the
"unicycle articles" thread)*

This I finally understand and am sorry for not searching first.

--
steveyo

--
steveyo - Last will be first

steveyo

"I complained I need new shoes, until I met a man with no feet." -
unknown

"Do whatever steps you want if
you have cleared them with the pontiff"- Tom Lehrer

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steveyo said:

*I do not understand this, but I'm sorry if I did something uncool.

And I also do not understand this.

This I finally understand and am sorry for not searching first.

--
steveyo *

That USER_AGENT thing is just about faking your Google... and suddenly
you can access to content you otherwise can't.

The printable version of the article don't even has any protection.

I'm not blaming you for not searching, just exposing that thread is
interesting and has articles you might not want to miss.

Anyway you post was usefull for all others who might have missed it.
So thanks for posting. I just apple-c/apple-v'ed it (aka ctrl-c/ctrl-v)
so others can read it, without needing to sign-up.

Cheers!

--
leo - Leo Vandewoestijne

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He crushed the record by around 30 minutes. Good job Mike.

--
juggle508 - Street unicyclist.

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.

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