Story of Newton

Sir Isaac Newton really isn’t an angry fellow. But, he’s still upset about the apple. Not just that it landed on his head and gave him a nasty lump. But because all anyone ever remembers is that he fell asleep under a tree and got conked on the noggin.

“I wasn’t napping!”

Sure, you weren’t.

In his defense, ol’ Isaac was a pretty smart guy. Optical theory. Differential and integral calculus. Method of fluxions. And, a whole bunch of other genius-type stuff. But, the one he’s most remembered for is his universal law of gravitation. Go ahead, hop on your bike and try to pedal up hill for almost 8 miles and see if he was wrong.
What? You’d love to?
Once a year, he gives you that chance–Newton’s Revenge. It’s a bike race up the Mt. Washington Auto Road, and Isaac is pulling out all the stops. It’s long, it’s steep and it’s really hard. Are you up for the challenge? Sir Isaac is waiting.

HISTORY

Completed in 1861 as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road, the winding all-uphill Mt. Washington Auto Road holds a perennial appeal for athletes with a taste for challenges. Each summer since 1973, cyclists have converged at the base of the Auto Road to contend with what professional riders have called the toughest hillclimb in the world.

By 2006 the original Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb became so popular that the Mt. Washington Auto Road company created a second race on the same course – Newton’s Revenge – to accommodate the excess demand for this opportunity to test one’s pedaling strength against the Auto Road’s 12 percent grade.

BIKE UP the MOUNTAIN POINTS SERIES (BUMPS)

Newton’s Revenge and the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb are part of the BUMPS series, ten uphill bike races, which begins in May at Mt Wachusett in Massachusetts and includes ascents of Mt. Ascutney in Vermont, Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts, and other uphill races, concluding with the Allen Clark race in Vermont.

ENTRY FEES AND PRACTICE RIDE

The entry fee for Newton’s Revenge is $300. That fee covers the cost of substantial logistical support, food, commemorative shirt and other expenses involved in staging the event, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the local Mt. Washington Valley Bicycle Club. Riders who are already registered for the Hillclimb may enter Newton’s Revenge for $150.

Anyone registered for Newton’s Revenge may also register for the Practice Ride, which will take place on June 15th between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. There is no additional fee for the practice ride, but the number of riders is limited to 300, and the ride is open only to riders who are already registered for Newton’s Revenge. Registered participants will receive Practice Ride registration instructions via email.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, which also serves as the major annual fund-raising event for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Albany, NH, will be held on August 16 (with a possible weather postponement date of the 17th).