Las Vegas Valley Bicycle Club - Home of the Las Vegas Century Ride


2006 Mount Charleston Hill Climb September 16th was a beautiful day! The previous day's gusty winds had dissipated, and the air was pleasantly cool. A perfect day for a race! I had been eagerly awaiting this day for the past six or eight weeks. Sometime in early August, I was convinced by fellow LVVBC rider, Darren Hardy, that the Mount Charleston Hill Climb was a "must enter" event. He assured me that I'd have a great time. Being the skeptic that I am, I did a little investigating….. Several web sites described the Hill Climb as one of the toughest races in the country. Nearly 5400 feet of climbing over 17.5 miles, an average grade of nearly 6%! What was I getting into? A few other riders described their past experiences as, "not particularly fun" and "a real butt kicker". A more realistic and objective synopsis was given to me by fellow Sunday-ride regular Paul Harrington. He said the Hill Climb is just one of those things that you'd be glad you completed, once it was over. It would be another feather in your cap, as a major accomplishment, he assured. Well, race day arrived. I had already decided that this was going to be a "ride" and not a "race" for me. My goal was not lofty---I just wanted to complete the course. Shortly into the ride I found out how tough the afternoon was going to be. It was going to be a long one, and not a barrel of fun as well. My lack of sufficient training was haunting me. My weeks of climbing the hills of Sun City-up Lake Meade Blvd, up Thomas Ryan, Villa Ridge, and Clear Meadows, were not enough. It's one thing to power up a one, two, or even three mile hill. It's quite another to face a sustained climb of 17.5 miles. Things being what they were, I tried to make the best of it. My two compadres for the day, "Big Gear Sam Spleen" and Jim Haile were slowly drifting ahead and soon out of view. I found solace in a few riders sharing a similar pace near the back of the pack. There definitely is a sense of camaraderie when you share a tough experience with others---it was enough to push me to the finish. There were a couple of times (around mile 5 and 11) when I seriously considered abandoning. Thanks to words of encouragement from fellow riders, we were all able to conquer the mountain! Cheering spectators along the route also gave us a boost! In the end, Sam represented the LVVBC superbly, finishing 5th in his category. Jim was just a few minutes behind, finishing in just over 2 hours. My hats off to you, gentlemen! Awesome job!! As for myself, I completed the ride in 2:26. Not a particularly good time, but I did make my goal of finishing! Paul was right. At the finish, I did feel good about my accomplishment. I felt as though I had battled a beast, and won! I'm proud of what I did, and would even recommend this ride for anyone else contemplating next year's Hill Climb. Will I do the Climb again in '07? That remains to be seen. I've got a year to think about it. For now, I'll sit in my hot tub, pop a couple of aspirins and reminisce about a glorious day on Mount Charleston. Submitted by, David Salmon

September 16th was a beautiful day! The previous day's gusty winds had dissipated, and the air was pleasantly cool. A perfect day for a race! I had been eagerly awaiting this day for the past six or eight weeks. Sometime in early August, I was convinced by fellow LVVBC rider, Darren Hardy, that the Mount Charleston Hill Climb was a "must enter" event. He assured me that I'd have a great time. Being the skeptic that I am, I did a little investigating…..

Several web sites described the Hill Climb as one of the toughest races in the country. Nearly 5400 feet of climbing over 17.5 miles, an average grade of nearly 6%! What was I getting into? A few other riders described their past experiences as, "not particularly fun" and "a real butt kicker".

A more realistic and objective synopsis was given to me by fellow Sunday-ride regular Paul Harrington. He said the Hill Climb is just one of those things that you'd be glad you completed, once it was over. It would be another feather in your cap, as a major accomplishment, he assured.

Well, race day arrived. I had already decided that this was going to be a "ride" and not a "race" for me. My goal was not lofty---I just wanted to complete the course. Shortly into the ride I found out how tough the afternoon was going to be. It was going to be a long one, and not a barrel of fun as well. My lack of sufficient training was haunting me. My weeks of climbing the hills of Sun City-up Lake Meade Blvd, up Thomas Ryan, Villa Ridge, and Clear Meadows, were not enough. It's one thing to power up a one, two, or even three mile hill. It's quite another to face a sustained climb of 17.5 miles.

Things being what they were, I tried to make the best of it. My two compadres for the day, "Big Gear Sam Spleen" and Jim Haile were slowly drifting ahead and soon out of view. I found solace in a few riders sharing a similar pace near the back of the pack. There definitely is a sense of camaraderie when you share a tough experience with others---it was enough to push me to the finish. There were a couple of times (around mile 5 and 11) when I seriously considered abandoning. Thanks to words of encouragement from fellow riders, we were all able to conquer the mountain! Cheering spectators along the route also gave us a boost!

In the end, Sam represented the LVVBC superbly, finishing 5th in his category. Jim was just a few minutes behind, finishing in just over 2 hours. My hats off to you, gentlemen! Awesome job!! As for myself, I completed the ride in 2:26. Not a particularly good time, but I did make my goal of finishing!

Paul was right. At the finish, I did feel good about my accomplishment. I felt as though I had battled a beast, and won! I'm proud of what I did, and would even recommend this ride for anyone else contemplating next year's Hill Climb.

Will I do the Climb again in '07? That remains to be seen. I've got a year to think about it. For now, I'll sit in my hot tub, pop a couple of aspirins and reminisce about a glorious day on Mount Charleston. Submitted by, David Salmon

2006 Mount Charleston Hill Climb