By Michael Bello
Published 02/07/2023; Updated 02/07/2023

For the sixth week of the NCC Zwift Winter Hill Climb/Time Trial Series, we visited Central Park.

This week, our challenge was the Park Perimeter Loop. This 6.1 mile loop includes 413 feet of climbing.

We had a good crowd despite the fact that I originally scheduled the time trial for 6 AM instead of 6 PM. We even had several solo riders who secretly rode strong times and disrupted the expected order of finish.

Our winner, Carson, broke the 14 minute barrier. To quote his Strava entry, “Not the best effort distribution in the world, but not terrible either.” Don’t worry, the rest of us feel demoralized by the time. Dusty finished 11 seconds back for second, while Jonathan edged Kevin by 1 second for third.

Henry III and Melissa believe their PRs tonight were due to the presence of Henry I. It may be coincidence, but they believe it was the contributing factor. Henry III finished 5th, while Melissa finished 8th.

Tim earned 6th. He would have ridden faster, but the song Thunderstruck came up on his playlist too late to boost his performance. Zinj finished 3 seconds back for 7th. His Varia radar was flashing throughout the race just in case his cat snuck up behind him.

Congrats to Henry III, Melissa, Lauren, and Keith on their Strava PRs tonight.

Here are today’s results:

Place,Name,Time,Speed,Points
1. Poe, Carson; Time: 0:13:59; 26 mph; 15 points
2. King, Dusty; Time: 0:14:10; 25.7 mph; 14 points
3. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Time: 0:14:19; 25.4 mph; 13 points
4. Weinman, Kevin; Time: 0:14:20; 25.4 mph; 12 points
5. Wheaton, Henry; Time: 0:14:41*; 24.8 mph; 11 points
6. Downey, Tim; Time: 0:14:47; 24.6 mph; 10 points
7. Guo, Zinj; Time: 0:14:50; 24.6 mph; 9 points
8. Warwick, Melissa; Time: 0:14:55*; 24.4 mph; 8 points
9. Weis, Henry; Time: 0:15:13; 23.9 mph; 7 points
10. MacDonald, Andy; Time: 0:15:54; 22.9 mph; 6 points
11. Cunniffe, Lauren; Time: 0:16:23*; 22.2 mph; 5 points
12. Wysk, Steve; Time: 0:16:33; 22 mph; 4 points
13. Stratton, Chris; Time: 0:16:50; 21.6 mph; 3 points
14. Streeter, Keith; Time: 0:17:41*; 20.6 mph; 2 points
15. Bello, Michael; Time: 0:19:44; 18.5 mph; 1 points

*Strava PR

Here are the series standings:

Place, Name, Events, Points
1. King, Dusty; Event(s) 6; Points: 77.5
2. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Event(s) 6; Points: 70.5
3. Guo, Zinj; Event(s) 6; Points: 65
4. Wheaton, Henry; Event(s) 6; Points: 56.5
5. Warwick, Melissa; Event(s) 6; Points: 50
6. van den Broek, Henry; Event(s) 4; Points: 38
6. Downey, Tim; Event(s) 5; Points: 38
8. MacDonald, Andy; Event(s) 6; Points: 37
9. Weinman, Kevin; Event(s) 3; Points: 29
10. Cunniffe, Lauren; Event(s) 5; Points: 27
11. Wysk, Steve; Event(s) 6; Points: 24
12. Stratton, Chris; Event(s) 6; Points: 19
13. Poe, Carson; Event(s) 1; Points: 15
14. Krause, Ross; Event(s) 1; Points: 12.5
15. Streeter, Keith; Event(s) 5; Points: 12
16. Weis, Henry; Event(s) 1; Points: 7
17. Bello, Michael; Event(s) 6; Points: 6
18. Lyons, Jim; Event(s) 1; Points: 4
19. Cole, Lloyd; Event(s) 1; Points: 2

Next week, we will climb Leith Hill in London.

Participants in the Hill Climb/TT series may ride any time during the day or participate in the group ride version at 6:00 PM. Please visit the NCC Zwift page for the series rules.

Here is the NCC Zwift schedule:

  • Tuesday 6:00 PM – Time Trial / Hill Climb
  • Wednesday 8:00 PM – Social Ride
  • Thursday Evenings – Road Race (times will vary between 5 PM and 7 PM EST)
  • Sat 9:00 AM – Social Ride

Join the NCC Club on Zwift or select the link in the discussion board/calendar for invite-only rides.

Check the NCC calendar for full details on all events. To learn more about the NCC and Zwift rides, please visit our Zwift page.