Last weekend was the second Okemo Hill Climb event of the season, and unlike last time the weather was spectacular–sunny, clear, and comfortable.

We arrived on Friday evening, and quickly settled into the condo rented for the weekend. Yet another nice thing about the hill climbs is that they are typically held in mountain towns that have skiing over the winter, so the condos are right there next to the event. This is great for those participating, as it means a comfy bed and access to showers, as opposed to camping. There’s nothing wrong with camping–Andrew and I enjoyed our trip out to Utah, which featured camping near beautiful Moab–but oh, the showers are nice after a long day.

The next morning was clear and beautiful, and after having breakfast at our now-usual haunt, Jabba Babbas, we headed to the hill for some racing

No, Chris did not race this bike.

On the first day, I was posted at check 4, which is a straightaway portion of the course. I was teamed up with Jackie, who had a radar gun, which she used to clock the speeds of the cars and bikes.

Andrew, fueling his bike. (Photo: Sandy Warner)

Each time I go to one of these events, I walk away with a new measure of respect for the drivers. There’s no way I could stomach some of the speeds I was seeing clocked!

Bikes at the top, Day 1.

Day 2 was just as sunny, and a bit warmer. I was on check 2, which was the same checkpoint I staffed on the second day of Okemo I. It’s a sharp turn, so the cars and bikes slow down quite a bit, and then speed up once they’ve cleared the corner. It’s a nice checkpoint as you really get to see the cars and bikes. The only problem this time was the rapidly deteriorating pavement on the approach to the turn–we could literally pick up the pieces of road that broke off each time a few cars went by. Annoying for the cars, but potentially dangerous for the bikes. The same issue apparently cropped up just before check 6, near the top of the course. There were a number of delays on Sunday as we had to sweep (and remove whatever road had chunked off) every so often to keep the course clear.

Oops, Peugeot-style. (Photo: Sandy Warner)

There were also other delays. Like when the Peugeot deviated from the paved path.

Marcus, showing off his ink.

Another hill climb, another great weekend–and, this time without wet socks (yay!).

Andrew, off the start! (Photo: Sandy Warner)

The hill climbs are a lot of fun, and that’s largely due to the wonderful people involved. I enjoy helping out and volunteering–and getting to know all of the people involved with Hillclimb.org is fantastic.

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