2008 Koppenberg Circuit

The Koppenberg Circuit Race in Superior, Colorado was canceled this morning because the 17% grade dirt climb that is the race's namesake was deemed unridable. I've ridden my road bike in really dangerous conditions and braved frostbite many times before, so after the race was called I decided to ride the course to see what the fuss was about. Yeah, it was cold and braking wasn't as easy with ice on my rims and calipers, but that's to be expected in wet and snowy weather. How bad could the hill be, and can a "Classics" race be too tough?

I thought that the farm road leading up to the climb was pretty ideal. It was a little wet, which was good because it meant no dust, and the road was more smooth than most paved roads I've encountered in southern Michigan. Also, gravel size was pretty small, so I don't believe that pinch-flatting would have been much of a concern. Everything looked perfect, until I got to the hill.

The hill wasn't too steep to dismount, but because the road's clay base had turned into mush from the moisture traction was impossible. I committed to the climb when I pedaled past the U-shaped tracks of the riders who had decided to turn around. I didn't make it much further when I finally had to jump off the bike and run up the hill in my road cleats. There was a photographer standing halfway up the hill taking pictures of me with his white Canon "L" series lens. I'm not sure if he knew the race had been canceled yet, but I felt pretty ridiculous.

When I reached the top of the climb, the bike would not roll because mud had embedded itself between my tire and fork. So, I opened up the brakes, tried cleaning them out with gloves on, but despite my efforts, they were still pretty useless. Someone on a a cross bike, and with considerably more tire clearance, rode past me. When I finally got enough mud out to start rolling, my feet kept sliding off the pedals because my cleats had accumulated tumorous globs of clay. After a few hundred meters of unsuccessfully trying to clip-in, I admitted defeat and made my way back to the parking lot

Conclusion: Even if you were a super hard-ass, there was no way a road bike could have lasted more than half a lap on this course. We may have been able slog our way around the 5.5 mile circuit, but it would not have even resembled racing.

Everyone who had a cyclocross bike could have raced, but that would have defeated the purpose of the whole event. Before the race was called, the riders who had brought their cross bikes were talking about how they had made a clever decision, but I think that bringing a cross bike to a road race is akin to bringing a mountain bike to a cyclocross race.... And everyone knows how lame that is.

The race is being rescheduled for possibly either the 6th or 20th of April.

Carnage.

You may notice blue 3M masking tape on sections of the frame. Yesterday, I decided to try some improv damage protection specifically for this race. I placed the taped on the down tube, seat tube, drive-side chain stay, and most importantly on the seat stays and fork near the brake calipers to protect against this type of mud/rock abrading the carbon. It may be ridiculously over-protective or dorky, but it was pretty discreet and I'm glad I had it. The tape held up very well while wet, and the trick will probably come in handy in the future.