62-year-old Robert Fleckenstein, of Sonoita, won a first-place ribbon in the 45th annual Mt. Graham Hill Climb on Sept. 22. Fleckenstein competed in the ten-mile climb, which takes place over the most difficult portion of the 20-mile course up the mountain, with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain.
He won first place in the 60-64 age group by finishing the course with a time of 1:20:46. “I shaved 7.5 minutes from my time last year,” Fleckenstein said. “For me that was a huge gain.” Fleckenstein bested 12 riders in his age bracket. Approximately 100 riders competed in the race.
Ranked as the toughest bike race in Arizona, the Mt. Graham course has been described as relentless. The overall climb gradient is 6.6% with extended sections at 10%. In cycling terms, “gradient” refers to the steepness of a section of road. (For comparison, Mt. Lemmon averages a 4.9% gradient.) The road up Mt. Graham is ecologically equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada, from desert scrub to pine trees.
The starting line for the race was near the Arizona State Prison Complex near Safford, AZ, which could perhaps be viewed as a metaphor for the punishment to come.
Training for an event like this requires dedication. Fleckenstein, who has suffered both a broken collar bone and a concussion while riding, trains on both paved and gravel roads around Sonoita and Patagonia. His favorite local routes are gravel biking to Lochiel and biking the 60-mile round trip ride to Parker Canyon Lake and back. “There’s no shoulder there, but very little traffic,” he said. “And there is a 4,000-foot gain in elevation.” He wears a Garmin device to track his speed, distance, elevation and GPS position.
Doing a tough virtual ride once or twice a week, using a “virtual climber,” helped prepare him for the Mt. Graham climb. He also lost five pounds over the three months preceding the event. “Gravity is not your friend when climbing on a bike,” he said. “The lighter you can be, the better off in the sustained effort of a long climb.”
Fleckenstein, who owns five bikes, does six races a year, competing in New Mexico and California as well as Arizona. He is a member of the Summit Velo racing team in Tucson.
Fleckenstein began his riding career when in lifeguard training in high school. “I fell in love with riding my bike and I’ve been doing it all my life,” he said. He started competing in triathlons in college, a sport that includes biking, running and swimming.
He is focusing on his triathlon training for now, having competed in two triathlons this year, one in Tucson and one in Phoenix, both of which he won in his age bracket. His current goal is to compete in the U.S.A. Triathlon Nationals in Omaha next June.
Older cyclists, like the 84-year-old man that completed the climb up Mt. Graham this year, keep him motivated to continue to train and race. And Fleckenstein will most likely be back next year to once again climb Mt. Graham. “I just enjoy the physical part of it, I’ve always liked that,” he said. “I’m really blessed to still be able to do it, so why quit?”