I’ve been an endurance athlete for about 25 years now (USAC racing age is 40!). We took the long drive to Burlington, IA this weekend to participate in the Snake Alley Crit. If you are a roadie this is a must do bucket list race (unless you are fat!). Man what a cool race and course. I’ve pretty much done it all from 5K’s, half marathons, marathons, HIM, IM…stage races, Pikes Peak / etc. This was real real tough to beat, but it probably helps that I won. Below is a copy / paste of my RR. Hope you enjoy.
I’ll start with this. I’ve been an endurance athlete all my life. I don’t think I’ve ever done something as unique as Snake Alley. This race has lots of history and is very well known around the country. Google it, Youtube it, Facebook it. Lots of great videos and info out there. Anyway we did a great job of arriving in plenty of time. The weather was perfect. Maybe 75, mostly sunny, a little humid, with a light breeze. We parked “up top” only a couple blocks from “The Snake.” The Snake is known as the crookedest road on earth. Obviously first thing we did was check out the snake and wow it delivered to expectations and more. We looked from above and below. What most folks can’t see in pictures / etc. is the block before the snake. That alone is steep. I’d guess 10% or so for a block and flattening slightly right before the entrance to the snake. The snake is brutal. It’s rough, it’s average about 12% grade, it has 6 switchbacks plus the hard left hand turn to enter the snake. It’s about 12’ wide compared to maybe 75’ street width the block before! It’s very rough due to being brick many of which have heaved in different directions / angles over the years. Many times you aren’t riding the flat surface of the brick, but rather riding on the corners of the bricks! Now think about dealing with that in a huge peloton when guys are bumping, falling over, losing momentum, running (yes), and other stuff! I knew it was going to be crazy!
With Joe racing in 2 Thomas and I were alone in 3. As always we wanted to be together at the end if it worked out that way. Due to being called up in order of registration we were near the back. 82 call ups. Thomas and I were about 50th. We started at the finish line which then was a straight 2 blocks then a 90 degree turn at which point we were one block from the snake. So 2 blocks into the race the hill kicks up. Let’s compare to Chilkoot. Chilkoot climbs about 70’ in just over a block straight up. That’s hard. We all know it. The snake itself also climbs 70’, but doesn’t go straight up at 20% like Chilkoot. See above. It’s a LOT harder because it’s constant surging around the switchbacks. There are probably 40% pitches in the snake. Just for a few feet, but momentum crushers. I was using 39-25 gearing and needing all of it standing at the end of the race. I was doing wheelies and skipping my rear tire, and jumping gears. Also keep in mind the block before the snake climbs about 10-15’ over one block. So that’s steep before you even enter the snake. So you come into the corner flying over 25mph and while in the corner can swap directly to the small ring! Yup!
There is huge incentive to register early in this race. Thomas and I found that out real fast. When I got to the snake first lap there were guys at the top of the snake when we entered the bottom! I like to start in the back to avoid the scrum. I like that because we race with a lot of young kids. Young kids (not all) have no fear, no wife, no kids, and just scare me to ride around for good reason (see below). I always have confidence in my abilities to move up as guys get tired. But after a lap or 2 of this race I found it was different. There is little use of a peloton in this race due to the demanding nature of the course shredding everyone! The snake is hard. Guys in the snake make it hard (see above). Then due to the lap being under a mile and 100’ of elevation all you do after the snake is descent. REALLY fast, and on gnarly pavement! So fast in fact that the Midwest Flyover leader Dominic crashed on the first lap at high speed ending his weekend after 2 minutes of racing! So there I was basically dead last for a lap or 2 with the group completely strung out, shredding itself up the snake, then descending with no fear. It was hard to make up time. Was I riding just to be pack filler? But I was picking guys off one by one. I’d get a few in the snake, then generally a few more descending and finding faster and faster lines each time, but it still felt a bit for naught. The descending was crazy. Mid 30’s, and rough pavement, but with very wide streets. With the race being “only” 15 laps it’s not a lot of time, but 15 laps and 35 minutes still makes it very aerobic exercise. About 5 laps in I could tell guys were shredded. I could see I was gaining on the lead group very quickly. Confidence was coming back.
With about 7 to go I caught the front which was a group working together as much as they could in this race. I latched on near the finish line as most were sitting up drinking and hurting bad. I put in a smallish dig, pedaled around the group and there was zero response. Nobody ever threatened to bridge up. I rode through the snake and in that 3 block period probably put in a 10 second gap. I figured with 8 to go the race was over. Just like that I went from what I thought was pack filler to don’t crash and win the race! I came through the finish the next lap and it was eerily quiet. No mention of a gap, little cheering. Huh. When I got to the snake I found out why. Folks started yelling to me the “gap” was 30 seconds! There was a guy up the road!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was getting pretty tired from “catching the front” and I was so far behind I couldn’t even see the leader! Next lap same, but the folk in the snake were yelling the gap was now only 20 seconds. I was in full TT mode (my favorite). Grind up the snake, about 10 hard pedal strokes to get up to speed, descend like a pro. 😊 Lap after lap the gap got smaller and I believe with about 4 to go I could finally at least catch a glimpse of the leader at times. First on the long start / finish straight, then at the top of the snake when I was at the bottom. 20 seconds became 10. Now I knew I was going to catch him. He knew he was going to be caught. Let the cat and mouse begin. With 2 to go the cat and mouse got going in earnest. I’m not going to share all the details of my tactics as it’s lengthy and “proprietary.” 😊. But I caught up and we swapped leads with 2 to go. He got a gap at the top of the snake, I’d close it down in the “aero tuck” descending (and burning fewer matches than him in the snake). One to go the crowd was now wild, he put in a huge effort in the snake and got a gap. Again I closed it down with aerodynamics and race car lines while descending. I was on his wheel with 5 blocks to go. I was going to have to sprint (yes). He was clearly waiting and I was waiting for him to hit. Hard. He never went until the last straight and got a slight jump. I reacted, worked to get back on his wheel, dug, dug, DUG, and got along side now over 1000 watts, 1100+, and at the line won by about 8 INCHES! I timed it perfectly! Absolutely epic finish and the crowd was crazy and they didn’t know who won! I knew who won. After the race I found all but 15 riders were pulled from the race. They don’t joke around with lapped traffic there so pulled everyone not “in the money.” Wow! There were some strong dudes including Thomas and a couple of the Loon State guys that got pulled with one lap to go. Those guys are strong riders. But this was a strong climbers course! Maybe (probably) the coolest win of my entire endurance career and I got a brick and a snake as a trophies. COOL!!!
