What it takes to compete in the Gunstock Hill Climb

GILFORD — A group of around 80 amateur dirt bikers attempted to reach the top of the 360-foot tall Torger Tokle Memorial Ski Jump Wednesday, vying to be the fastest in the annual Gunstock Hill Climb.

Kyle White, of Claremont, riding a 2006 Suzuki GSXR 750, participated in two categories. The stroke class, where he earned a best time of 8.866 seconds, and the open class, where he posted a time of 13.001. White practices for hill climbs on other inclines, doing some test tuning on his bike. But ultimately, he said, it comes down to proper technique.

“Squeeze your knees, pull back, hold it wide open. Straight line, as straight as possible,” he said.

Started in 1938, the hill climb has continued annually, more or less, at what is now Gunstock Mountain Resort. This year's fastest time of 7.134 seconds in the open class was put up by James Green, of Charlton, Massachusetts.

Larry Debenedictis III competed for his second time at the hill climb on his 1973 Honda CB750 Hardtail Chopper. His bike suffers a disadvantage, as it has no rear suspension, which means he has no assistance on the two jumps up the hill. Many other participants use modern bikes with that support.

“There's no rear suspension, so when I hit it, I'm like all over the place,” he said. “Where these guys, they hit it and they get cushioned.”

Debenedictis has owned this bike for over 20 years, making it a big part of who he is, and also his bike of choice for these hill climbs. He bought it as a stock motorcycle, then cut the frame and made his own modifications. After the bike suffered damage in a fire in 2016, instead of throwing it away, he rebuilt it from scratch and got it up and running again.

Aside from the customization, the only other thing he did to prepare for the hill climb was slap some dirt tires on. He participated in the Tower Street Hill Climb on Tuesday with a pair of street tires.

He hasn't made it to the top of the hill yet. He got as a high as 307 feet before losing control and falling off the bike. He hopes to set a personal record next year.

“To my knowledge, there hasn't been a hardtail that's made it to the top yet,” he said.

“I might be the first one to do it.”

For next year, he might invest in a more aggressive dirt tire, and a bigger sprocket in the back.

Nick Briggs, of Belmont, is one of few professional hill climbers to participate in Wednesday’s event. He has been riding in the Gunstock Hill Climb for 22 years, since the age of 10. He said anyone who is serious about hill climbing needs to maintain a good regimen.

“If you want to be competitive, you should be riding. If not, every day, every other day. Lifting some weights, eating healthy,” he said.

To prepare for hill climbs, he does a lot of motocross, and practices on hills at properties owned by family and friends. He said many dirt bikers switch a normal dirt bike engine for a motorcycle engine to increase power. A dirt bike engine can get up to 450 cubic centimeters, while a motorcycle engine can be more than double that, at 1,000 cc, with some Harley-Davidson engines having up to 1,400 cc. This measurement refers to the amount of air and fuel that can be pushed through the cylinders in the engine. The higher the number, generally, the more powerful the engine.

Briggs has been out of the professional circuit for a couple of years, and since having his 9-month-old daughter Addyson, he decided to participate in this year’s hill climb for fun.

In fact, his whole family participates. His parents rode in this year’s climb, his wife used to ride, and his father-in-law helps, too. Now, he’s waiting for his daughter to hope on a bike.

“I had my daughter, and now we just try to come have fun,” he said. “Hopefully she gets into it one day, too.”