The Nearly Annual
Shartkozawa

This year we are holding this as a group ride so you will need to have a USCF license and sign a release form. The insurance fee will be covered by Carpe Diem Promotions. However if you need a one-day license, you will need to pay $10. Held in February so be there ready for fun in the mud when you ride in the dirt and the ice and the snow...

The Classic in Connecticut

Shartkozawa XIV
February 26, 2006 10:00 AM
USCF Permit: 2006-187

Hopefully this will be the most grueling ride you will ever have. Tchmil's Paris Roubaix? Nothing - mere mud and cow manure. Hampsten's Gavia? Child's play - what's a flake or two? Chiapucci's Sestriere? Hey, he was warm. So Hinault lost sensation in his pinkie during his 10 minute victory in Liege Bastogne Liege? Big deal. It was merely cold and, oh yeah, it snowed a bit. No, this is the race, ah, ride, to separate the, um, crazy from the sane.

Shartkozawa is "only" 19 miles long (30 km), only parts are dirt, and it's mainly flat. So what's the challenge? February weather in lower Connecticut (barely rideable), the normal fitness level of a New England rider in February (severely lacking) and the balance of road surfaces (smooth pavement, broken pavement, dirt, a shallow climb, two steep climbs). The goal - wet snow or rain, softened dirt roads, and riders rendered unrecognizable because of mud and salt. Of course, we'll settle for anything else except sheet ice - unless you have a set of spiked and studded tires...

In the past, we've seen crystal clear 20 degrees, rainy 38 degrees, balmy 55 degrees, and (the best!) freezing sleet, snow, and fog following about 4 inches of snowfall the night before. And of course, you know that dirt roads are plowed last. 2002 was perfect, starting under a light drizzle, progressing to sleet and even snow, then ending with sun shining on all the riders.

The course is designed to be challenging to a typical February New England rider, so the climbs, though not easy, are manageable. The longest steep climb is only about 250 meters, and the shallow climb is about 1200 meters. False flats account for much of the elevation change. Named for the 4 former riders working at the former shop that sponsored the former team that created this day, Shartkozawa has now moved into the new millenium from its roots in the late 80's....

Click on the link below to see directions, map, and topography of the course

Shartkozawa Course Map