Anchorage Daily News
(Published: August 24, 2003)
Ed Sniffen cruises through the trees on the trail to the finish line at Indian in the Up and Over Powerline Challenge. Sniffen finished ninth in the field of 16 riders. (Photo by Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Matyas leads Michael Wheatall up a steep hill on the gas pipeline trail. Matyas blew his back tire off the rim coming over the top of the pass but recovered to finish in less than two hours. (Photo by Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click on photo to enlargeINDIAN -- Things go downhill fast in the Up and Over Powerline Challenge, an expert-level mountain bike race that begins with a steep, 3,600-foot ascent of Powerline Pass in Anchorage and ends with an even steeper 3,600-foot descent into Indian.
The climb to the top of the pass is grueling enough. The trail is technical and relentlessly uphill, offering few opportunities for a rider to relax.
But it's the harrowing descent that provides the real test, and the real thrill. Brake pads get such a workout that most need at least an inspection and quite possibly a replacement when it's all over. Riders get such a scare that most get off their bikes and walk at least a little. And when they're on their bikes, they are constantly riding the brakes.
"If you don't,'' Anchorage racer Brian Bonney said, "you're gonna die.''
And that's just the kind of experience Darren Mattingley was thinking about when he nagged race director Reggi Parks to expand the Arctic Bicycle Club's mountain biking schedule.
Mattingley, 33, is one of the studs of the mountain biking community, something he reaffirmed Saturday by winning the race in 1 hour, 38 minutes, 19 seconds. Bonney was second in 1:48:06.
Mattingley and Parks established the Powerline Challenge last year, mostly in response to Mattingley's desire for a race close to Anchorage that would test expert-level racers more than the trails at Kincaid Park and Hilltop. They decided on an 18.5-mile race starting at the South Bivouac trail head on Campbell Airstrip Road. Riders went past Prospect Heights, onto Powerline Pass and over the Chugach Mountains to the finish line at the Indian House restaurant, about a 25-mile drive from Anchorage.
The trail goes in and out of woods, covers gorgeous terrain and serves up stunning views of Turnagain Arm for anyone brave enough to take their eyes off the ground during the descent. With just 16 racers entered, the ride offered moments of solitude, if not silence.
"My brakes were squeaking on the way down,'' Josh Blomquist of Bozeman, Mont., said "There are some steep descents on this side that you get outta control on. I was screaming and hootin' and hollering.''
Blomquist, 30, finished the race with a wide grin, took off his helmet and used his fingers to squeegie what looked like a pint of sweat from the lining inside the helmet. It was that kind of race.
"It lived up to its billing,'' Blomquist said. "It's fun.''
Of course, that depends on your definition of fun.
"It's a blast for anybody who likes to suffer,'' said Anchorage rider Greg Matyas.
Anchorage's Joe Weinberger had barely started his ascent when his race went downhill.
"I lost my water bottle before I even took a sip out of it,'' he said.
That was on the Spencer Loop, early in the race. But unquenchable thirst turned out to be the least of his problems.
Weinberger, 41, crashed shortly after cresting the top of the pass. He broke his front derailleur and bent his chain. Twice later the chain slipped off and he had to stop to fix it. Finally, the chain broke and Weinberger's race became a chainless downhill.
That wasn't too bad, he said, except for portions of the descent interrupted by small uphills.
"When you hit the bottom of that hill, you're done. You have to get off and kick up the next uphill and then get back on,'' Weinberger said.
Matyas, 37, found trouble of his own when a tire went flat at the top of the pass.
"It blew the tire clean off the rim,'' he said.
After six or seven minutes spent fixing the tubeless tire, Matyas was back on his bike chasing the couple of racers who passed him during the repair job. One of them, Jacob Noah, managed to hold on to beat Matyas by one second.
Noah, 30, thought he had an advantage because he was in front. "There's a code,'' he said. "If you're behind somebody, you can't run them over. You have the right of way because you're downhill.''
But Matyas though he had the edge, because by watching Noah he had a better sense of what was coming next. He said stayed about 10 to 15 feet behind Noah, a safe enough distance to prevent a collision.
Not that a risk-free ride is what these people are after. Matyas wasn't rooting for Noah to take a spill right in front of him, but he wouldn't have panicked had that happened.
"That's the best part,'' he said. "Another obstacle.''
Spoken like a hardcore mountain biker. Then again, this was a race for the hardcores. About half the riders returned to Anchorage by cycling home on the Seward Highway.
Even Bjarne Holm called his wife to tell her not to bother picking him up; he pedaled home instead. That was remarkable not because Holm is 57 years old, but because the race was his seventh in nine days. Holm competed in all five stages of last week's Tour of Anchorage and threw in a time trial on Tuesday. Today, he's digging post holes for the deck at his home.
And then there was Mattingley. Once at the finish line, he drank some water, spent about 15 minutes talking, got back on his bike and headed back to Anchorage the same way he came. Up and over Powerline Pass.
Daily News sports editor Beth Bragg can be reached at bbragg@adn.com.
Up and Over Powerline Challenge
1) Darren Mattingley, 1 hour, 38 minutes, 19 seconds; 2) Brian Booney, 1:48:06; 3) Ben Kolean 1:55:05; 4) Jacob Noah 1:57:08, 5) Greg Matyas 1:57:09; 6) Nick Enos 1:57:21; 7) Michael Wheatall 2:01:18; 8) Josh Blomquist 2:03:38; 9) Ed Sniffen 2:08:08; 10) Gene Till 2:12:41; 11) Jeff Dusenburh 2:13:52; 12) Leonard Fancher 2:18:43; 13) Tol Fishburn 2:27:44; 14) Ferenc Takacs 2:29:13; 15) Joe Weinberger 2:38:27; 16) Bjarne Holm 2:49:57.
The Anchorage Daily News - Get the whole story every day - Sign up for home delivery!