Back in January, I decided that I would attempt the Dirty Kanza 200 gravel road race in Emporia, Kansas on June 04, 2011. I get registered along with about 300 to 350 others. I figure if everything goes perfect for me, it should take me from 18 to 20 hours to finish. In hindsight, that was mighty hopeful thinking for me. For perspective, several friends did the 2010 DK and one took about 16.5 hours and the other about 20 hours to finish.
I get a bit of distant racing in prior to the DK. In March, I do a 6 hour race at Northshore on my ss and clock about 66 miles. I do the OC on my ss in early April which takes me about 7 hours. At the end of April, I do a Spinistry event up near Muenster on my Waltworks with the rigid fork, the setup I plan to use at the DK. I get in about 105 miles in about 9 hours and determine that I need to put some skinny tires on my bike instead of the Crossmarks I currently have on it. I do Syllamo's Revenge in mid May on my ss and get about 6.5 hours of saddle time plus another hour of flat time. Two weeks before DK, Kevin Lee and I get about 75 miles of gravel riding in about 6 hours. I ride my WW's setup the way I plan to roll in Emporia. Everything seems to be about right.
About a week before the race, I start monitoring the weather and see that on race day they are predicting temps from the high 80's to the the low 90's in Emporia. I know temps in this range are going to kill me because I will have to scale my effort way back. The normal high in Emporia for June 04 is 81 degrees.
On June 03, 2011, Kevin and I head up, drop his Spinistry Trailer at the second checkpoint in Florence, Kansas and then drive on to Emporia. We get checked in to the hotel, go pick up our registration packets, bump into some other folks from DFW, eat dinner, attend the rider's meeting and then back to the hotel at a decent hour.
Kevin and I get all of our gear ready and then lights out. We get up a little before 5 am on race day, get loaded and make the 3 mile drive to the race start.
We make it to the start line and at 6 am, the race is on. The first check point is in Cassoday which is 58 miles away. Knowing this is going to be an extra long day, I had decided that I am going to keep my effort pretty low, heart rate in the 140's and draft off of folks for as long as practical. After about 3 or 4 miles of pavement, we are dumped onto gravel. I settled into my comfortable pace and jump into a decent pace line.
Clean and I end up riding around each other for 10 or 15 miles and for the first 20 miles or so, their are lots of riders around. I ride up on Matt Kocian during this time and ride with him a bit as well. After a few rolling hills, Kansas is not near as flat as folks say, the groups start thinning out pretty good. I find myself with 3 or 4 other riders and we each take a pull at the front of our group. During my pull, I ride harder than I intended to, but I felt obligated since I had sucked wheel while the others in the group did their turns at the front. After a few miles, I decided that this effort was too hard this early on and let the group ride away.
Around mile 25 or so, we get to a climb they call Texaco, presumably due to the gas well that are prevalent in the area. Although it is not real steep, I believe it goes on for several miles. By now, most folks are either riding by themselves or in groups of two or three.
As far as the weather, it was probably in the mid 70's when we started at 6 am with a 15 t0 20 mph wind out of the southwest with higher gusts. Just so happens that the first 58 mile leg of the race had the riders riding in a southwestern direction.
The scenery up to now is beautiful Kansas grasslands, no trees to speak of, lots of cattle, very few houses and even less vehicle traffic.
About mile 30 or so, I stop at the top of a decent climb and place a bandanna under my helmet and let it drape down to cover the back of my neck, head and sides of my face. It is probably around 8:30, temp in the low 80's, a stiff wind and barely a cloud in the sky. And since the start, I have been drinking my Poweraid Endurance drink, spiked with light salt and eating Honey Stinger Waffles, which is giving me around 300 calories an hour.
I take off after only a few minutes and start ticking the miles off. I am passing far more riders than pass me and overall, I am feeling really good with only a few issues. My left knee, which as been aching a bit over the last few months, is aching a bit. My left hamstring, which has been feeling a bit tight over the last few months as well, is feeling a bit tight. And lastly, my bib shorts, which I have not had a problem with in the past, are cutting into my seat area where the chamois meets my skin at my upper leg and lower buttocks. This is really annoying and getting a bit painful. I even stop and reapply chamois cream that I am carrying with me.
For the next 20 miles or so to check point 1, I continue knocking down the miles, mainly riding by myself but almost always have riders in sight, either in front or behind me.
I roll into checkpoint 1 at 10:30 am, 58 miles, and get my map to the next check point. I see Foster and Charity and Foster asked if I need anything. They are both supporting several riders in the event. I tell Foster I will take some water if he can spare it. I had planned to buy water at the convenience store but it looked to be overwhelmed. Foster helps me fill up my camelbak and bottles, I dump my powder in them. Charity gives me several orange wedges and I consume them. Foster tells me I am about 20 minutes behind Rev and about 5 minutes behind Clean, Chaos, Ocean and Green. I roll out, probably being stopped less than 10 minutes.
By now, i guess the temp is close to 90, nary a cloud in the sky and the stiff wind is still blowing, primarily in my face. The heat is really becoming a factor and due to the strong wind, I cannot tell if I am sweating or not. So, periodically, I put my hand inside my jersey to assure myself that I am still sweating.
On the first leg, I probably rode past 40 to 50 riders fixing flats and half that many seeking shade at the few tree's on the route.
Now, almost every tree that I ride upon on the course, and there are not many, there was almost always a rider seeking the shade it offered to cool off.
About mile 65, I follow a group of riders thru a 4 way intersection and we continue on about a mile when we observe a group of riders riding towards us. As the groups meet, we determine that some knuckle head had moved the course markings at the intersection and we should have tuned left. The group returns to the intersection, makes the appropriate turn and continues on.
Probably around mile 70, our group rides up on another group of stopped riders at a t-intersection. The riders are consulting their maps, smart phones, and making phone calls trying to determine the correct direction we are to travel. Apparently, the knuckleheads had removed the course markings here as well. While this is going on, I chat with Clean and Ocean, who are in the group. Clean appears to be finishing up fixing a flat. I talk with them a minute, others in the group determine the right direction. I bid Clean and Ocean farewell and take off.
Around mile 80 or so, my back tire goes flat. Considering I have seen probably 50 or 60 people repairing flats already, I figure I was due. I go about the business of fixing the flat. About halfway thru the fix, Clean rides by, laughs a bit and keeps pedaling. I get a tube in, was initially rolling tubeless, get it aired up and get going again.
It is probably around 1 pm now and the temp is in the low 90's with the stiff in your face wind still. It is really hot and miserable and I am tired of drinking my drink because it is tasting too sweet along with my Honey Stinger Waffles, which are really sweet too.
By now, folks are laid out under every tree I pass trying to cool off. I continue on and come upon a BMW SUV on the course that is picking up a rider around mile 88 or so. I ask if they have any water and the driver gives me an ice cold bottle of Ozarka which I down. Another rider rides up and they give him a bottle of the same. I ask if they could spare another bottle and they give me another one without hesitation. I down it as well. The driver of the SUV tells us that he was handing out water all along the course while en route to pick up his rider.
I thank him for the water, pedal about 10 feet and flatten my rear tire for the second time. I set about changing the flat, place a new tube in, get it pumped up and then off again.
About mile 95 or so, I fly down a rocky section of road and cut my front tire. My third flat in about 15 miles. I go about changing this flat. Several cars pass me heading onto the course and appear to be looking for riders. I get the flat changed and get going again.
About now, I decided that I would throw the towel in at checkpoint 2. The heat has to be in the mid 90's, the wind is still unrelenting, my ass is feeling pretty raw from my bibs and I had gotten a bad case of chills for a few seconds. And, to make things worse, I had erased all the info on my bike computer about 2 hours earlier so I am guesstimating my mileage and asking riders as I pass them or them me. For some reason, I keeping erasing the info every time I punch a button on it. Oh well.
Finally, around mile 100 or so, I hear a train. I know there is a train track near the second checkpoint. My spirits raise a bit and I keeping trucking on. I then roll into the second checkpoint around 3 pm, which is 1.5 hours before the cutoff, tell the race folks I am done and then head towards the Spinistry Trailer that is parked at the store just down the way.
Once at the trailer, I open it up, down some ice cold water. Get a few towels that we have iced down in some coolers and cool my body with them. I then lay down in the shade of the trailer and continue trying to cool down because I am about as hot as I have ever been. I then check my phone and the temp reads 98 degrees.
I chill for about 1.5 hours and then finally determine that I need to head back over to the checkpoint area and see if I can find us a ride back to Emporia, which is about 40 miles away. Specifically, I am looking for Ben Wright's dad, who is crewing for him. I ride over, locate him and he agrees to give Kevin and I a ride back to Emporia. He then tells me that Ben is being sagged in and that he was told that about 1/2 of the riders are bailing out of the race due to the conditions.
In a few, Ben makes it in with the help of a local Jeep Club that is assisting on the course. Ben tells me that Kevin is a few miles from the finish. I ride back onto the route and find Kevin about a mile from the finish. I ride in with him. He makes it to checkpoint to about 5 pm. Kevin tells me that Ocean was out on the course in bad condition and that Charity was on her way to pick him up.
We get to the trailer, get out bikes loaded, get it locked up and get picked up by Ben Wright and we are on our way to Emporia.
Back in Emporia, we get showered up, grab a pizza buffet, and then head to the finish line. We find out that a tandem finished first in about 12:58. The second place came in at about 13:10 and was a solo rider.
Ben Thorton finished in a little over 16 hours. Mike Smith finished in about 20 hours. Clean, Chaos, Green all bailed around mile 130.
Out of about 270 that started, only 68 finished.
All in all, it was a good day. Did not wreck or get hurt. Did not tear up my bike. Brutally hot. Very nice scenery. Learned that Kansas is not as flat as one thinks. Saw a lot of heart and effort.
Who knows if I will go back. I would like to finish, but 100 degree endurance events are not my thing.
Steven
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Syllamo's Revenge 2011
Head up to Mt. View Arkansas a few days early for Syallamo's Revenge which will be on Saturday, May 14, 2011. My mom is in tow which is usual for these events. Haven't been to this race since 2008.
I get to Mt. View, get checked into the hotel and head over to the trail to take a little spin. I am on my ss and running 32x21. I spin around a bit and then take on the 1 mile climb with about a 11 percent grade. I don't kill myself on the climb. Once at the top, I turn right onto the single track and ride it for a couple of miles before it startes getting muddy. I turn around and ride back out to the jeep road climb, go furter up it and then head back to the car. I get about a hour of riding in. Get back to the hotel and mom and I go and get some dinner.
Friday morning, I head back to the trail and catch the Bad Branch section, which is about 13 miles of the sweetest flowing single track of the entire Syllamo's trail. I ride it at a pretty chill pace, finish up and head back to the hotel. Mom and I then go up into town where she can check out the shops and I pick up my registration packet. We catch dinner and get back to the hotel.
A storm rolls thru and it rains a good 2 inches or so before morning.
I get up Saturday morning to temps in the low 50's with a stiff northish wind. I get over to the race start and boom, it is on.
I ride pretty hard for the first 1/4 mile to make it do the climb before all of the really slow folks. I enter the climb and then set into my pace grinding out the next 1 mile. I make the top of the climb and then take the right turn into the single track.
The trail, which usually drains really well, is showing signs of the 2 inches of rain the nite before and the 10 or so inches of rain in the last 10 days or so. It is not long before folks are dismounting and making their way over mud and water slickened rocks that are virtually unrideable. The going is pretty slow due to all of the riders in front of me dismounting and navigating the rocks. All is well because it is doubtful that I could of ridden these sections anyways.
About mile 6 or so, I see Cope pushing his bike against the flow of traffic. He tells me that his steerer tube has cracked and he is done.
A few miles later, I have to stop and remove my long sleeve base layer because I am heating up bad, even thou the temps are still in the mid 50's.
I get going again and a few miles later, I notice my front tire getting really soft. I stop and air it up and get going again. Probably 1 mile later, I pull into the first aid station at about mile 15 and the tire goes completely flat. I put 1 of the 3 tubes that I am carrying into the front tire and get going again.
In probably less than a mile or so, I hear the rear tire loosing air every now and again. My sealant is trying to seal the tire so I am hopeful. The tire keeps loosing air and I stop and add air to it a time or two.
At around mile 25, I come back by the first aid station and use a floor pump to add more air to the tire. I then see a Big Pig rider, roady, who is out of the race due to a mechanical. I ask him if he has any tubes he can spare and he gives me 2.
I take off and within a couple of miles, the rear tire gets really low so I stop and put my second tube in. I get rolling again and within 3 or 4 miles, the rear tire goes flat again. I stop again and put my third tube of the day into the rear tire.
The next 5 or 6 miles are pretty uneventful. Just lots of mud and really misreable trail conditions in the bottom areas that we are riding.
I make it to checkpoint 3 which is around mile 37 or so. I now get to do the Bad Branch section which I had ridden the day before. I knock this section out in little more than an hour and roll back into checkpoint 3 which is now checkpoint 4.
From here, I have about 1 mile or so of single track and then I get to bomb down the 1 mile climb that started this thing.
I roll across the finish line in 7:35.
It goes without saying that I never got into a rythm on this one. Probably wasted atleast 1 hour dealing with the tire and flat issues.
Oh well. I did not hurt myself or destroy my bike so all was good.
It will probably be another 3 years, if ever, before I go back to Syllamos. All 3 times I have done this race it has been a wet and muddy mess and I hate those type of conditions.
Later,
Steven
I get to Mt. View, get checked into the hotel and head over to the trail to take a little spin. I am on my ss and running 32x21. I spin around a bit and then take on the 1 mile climb with about a 11 percent grade. I don't kill myself on the climb. Once at the top, I turn right onto the single track and ride it for a couple of miles before it startes getting muddy. I turn around and ride back out to the jeep road climb, go furter up it and then head back to the car. I get about a hour of riding in. Get back to the hotel and mom and I go and get some dinner.
Friday morning, I head back to the trail and catch the Bad Branch section, which is about 13 miles of the sweetest flowing single track of the entire Syllamo's trail. I ride it at a pretty chill pace, finish up and head back to the hotel. Mom and I then go up into town where she can check out the shops and I pick up my registration packet. We catch dinner and get back to the hotel.
A storm rolls thru and it rains a good 2 inches or so before morning.
I get up Saturday morning to temps in the low 50's with a stiff northish wind. I get over to the race start and boom, it is on.
I ride pretty hard for the first 1/4 mile to make it do the climb before all of the really slow folks. I enter the climb and then set into my pace grinding out the next 1 mile. I make the top of the climb and then take the right turn into the single track.
The trail, which usually drains really well, is showing signs of the 2 inches of rain the nite before and the 10 or so inches of rain in the last 10 days or so. It is not long before folks are dismounting and making their way over mud and water slickened rocks that are virtually unrideable. The going is pretty slow due to all of the riders in front of me dismounting and navigating the rocks. All is well because it is doubtful that I could of ridden these sections anyways.
About mile 6 or so, I see Cope pushing his bike against the flow of traffic. He tells me that his steerer tube has cracked and he is done.
A few miles later, I have to stop and remove my long sleeve base layer because I am heating up bad, even thou the temps are still in the mid 50's.
I get going again and a few miles later, I notice my front tire getting really soft. I stop and air it up and get going again. Probably 1 mile later, I pull into the first aid station at about mile 15 and the tire goes completely flat. I put 1 of the 3 tubes that I am carrying into the front tire and get going again.
In probably less than a mile or so, I hear the rear tire loosing air every now and again. My sealant is trying to seal the tire so I am hopeful. The tire keeps loosing air and I stop and add air to it a time or two.
At around mile 25, I come back by the first aid station and use a floor pump to add more air to the tire. I then see a Big Pig rider, roady, who is out of the race due to a mechanical. I ask him if he has any tubes he can spare and he gives me 2.
I take off and within a couple of miles, the rear tire gets really low so I stop and put my second tube in. I get rolling again and within 3 or 4 miles, the rear tire goes flat again. I stop again and put my third tube of the day into the rear tire.
The next 5 or 6 miles are pretty uneventful. Just lots of mud and really misreable trail conditions in the bottom areas that we are riding.
I make it to checkpoint 3 which is around mile 37 or so. I now get to do the Bad Branch section which I had ridden the day before. I knock this section out in little more than an hour and roll back into checkpoint 3 which is now checkpoint 4.
From here, I have about 1 mile or so of single track and then I get to bomb down the 1 mile climb that started this thing.
I roll across the finish line in 7:35.
It goes without saying that I never got into a rythm on this one. Probably wasted atleast 1 hour dealing with the tire and flat issues.
Oh well. I did not hurt myself or destroy my bike so all was good.
It will probably be another 3 years, if ever, before I go back to Syllamos. All 3 times I have done this race it has been a wet and muddy mess and I hate those type of conditions.
Later,
Steven
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Ouachita Challenge 2011
On April 02, 2011, I head up to Oden, Arkansas for my fifth consecutive year of the 60 mile Ouachita Challenge that is on April 03, 2011.
Race day, I leave my hotel in Mena, Aransas, which is about 30 miles from Oden, about 6:30 am and arrive in Mena right about 7:00 am which gives me plenty of time to get ready for the 8:00am start. This year, I hear that there would be about 8 miles of pavement and then dirt roads before we reached the single track. Since I would be riding the race on my singlespeed, gearing 34x21, I knew that the beginning would be relatively slow going in relation to the majority of the riders that would be on geared bikes. I line up near the back of the 200 plus riders just prior to the 8:00 am start.
At 8:00 am, the race starts and we are led out of the Oden School parking lot with an escort. The start is downhill and within a 1/2 mile or so, the vast majority of the riders have easily ridden away from me as I spin like crazy just to keep them in sight. After about 2 or 3 miles I guess, I don't have a computer on my bike, the pavement turns into dirt. Since the race started, I have been passing a few riders here and there but nothing to really brag about. Once the road turns to dirt, we start getting some rolling hills and climbs. On most of these hills and climbs, I start catching and passing some riders that are slowing way down on them. Around this time, I also get into a group of three geared riders who let me draft off of them on some of the flat sections which is a big help. After 2 really big climbs, riders are directed to take a right turn onto the single track that is the Big Brushy portion of the Ouachita Challenge. This road portion took about 45 minutes for me to knock off.
Once into the single track, I get into a group of about 10 riders and seem to be making decent time. They are slowing me up at most of the small climbs and inclines but I do not see much of a reason so take chances to get past the rider in front of me only to have 7 or 8 more directly in front of me still. After probably 5 miles, we come to a down hill section and there is a rider that is down and 3 or 4 that are assisting him. It appears that he wrecked really hard and his right shoulder is slumped awkwardly. One of the assisting riders is on the phone calling for help so our group soilders on. A few miles later, I do a slo-motion endo as I am creeping along slowly and my front tire abruptly stops against a large rock. My hands stop my forward motion and I kinda land sideways on my feet. No harm no foul.
At about the 1.5 hour mark, I start smelling smoke, then see smoke and then fire. I then see Cope, Chaos, Brad and Dana and they are attempting to put out a forest fire that appears to have started right at the trails edge. I yell and scream at them, them at me, and then I continue on. A mile or so later, we get dumped out at the first aid station which I think is about 20 miles or so. I refill one bottle, get some gel put in my flask and take off.
Best I remember, I travel a mile or two on a dirt road and then enter the Blow Out Mountain portion of the ride. This section is probably about 8 or 10 miles and has lots of rock gardens. I am with a group of about 5 riders. Some of the smaller rock gardens we ride thru. Many of the rock gardens with large rocks are to0 sketchy for me to ride, as well as the other's in this group, so we hike thru them. This section is painfully slow and always has been for me on my four previous rides here. I make it through Blowout Mountain and guess I am around mile 32 or so and probably close to the 4 hour mark. A volunteer tells me I have about 10 miles of road until the Womble section of the race.
By now, the temp is probably close to 80 degrees, humid, and a strong southernly wind gusting to around 30 mph which is far from ideal for a long race. I set forth spinning like crazy again since my choice of gearing was not for these road sections. I pass a few geared riders and they seem to have no interest in developing a paceline and working together. After several miles, I see two riders gaining on me. As they catch me, it is a male a female on geared bikes and in Bicycle Plus outfits. They tell me to jump in behind them as they go by, which I was planning on doing anyways. I jump in and automatically gain 3 or 4 mph drafting off of them with the same amount of effort. The male pulls for a mile or so, then the female, and then my turn. I pull for a while and as we go thru Sims, the wind is pretty much head on. I look behind me and I have ridden away from my two companions who are now about 100 yards behind me. I continue pushing a good pace for another mile or so and then back back off a bit.
I have been drinking pretty regularly form the two bottles on my bikes which I had filled with water and Poweraid Endurance mix. I had refilled one at an earlier stop with Heed which was provided by the race. I dislike the taste of heed but oh well. I had also filled a gel flask with some Hammer Gel at the same stop. The flavor was some coffee variety which I really can't stand. Oh well again. I am still behind my self prescribed calorie intake of about 300 calories an hour but I usually always am. I make it to the next aid station which is right around the 40 mile mark. I fill a bottle with water, eat a few pickles, some orange pieces, some banana pieces, grab some cookies and cliff bar pieces.
The volunteers tell me that this is the last full aid station before the finish but there is a water station in about 5 or 6 miles. I believe I get my first check point zip tie at this time from an elderly female volunteer. She does ask me about my bike not having gears and I confirm that it does not. She seems dumbfounded. Right about now, I am feeling pretty dumbfounded as well. The heat is pretty bad. My legs are cooked. I have not cramped yet but have been nursing my legs for about the last hour or so to keep them from cramping.
I now enter the Womble portion of the race. The Womble section is generally considered the crown jewel of this event. It is real flowy, not a lot of climbing and just a real pleasure to ride. Odddly, right off the bat, there is a long incline which I walk most of to keep my legs from cramping. I get passed by a few geared riders that are riding along just a bit faster than I am walking. Once at the top, I get back on my bike and get after the Womble. I catch up with a few riders and we ride most of the trail for the next 4 or 5 miles together. Our group stops for some of the steeper climbs and walk them. I make it to the next dirt road crossing and the volunteer instructs me onto the singletrack across the road. He says I have about 5 miles of singletrack and I will come back to this crossing that he is watching. Then, about 10 miles to the finish which is all road, both dirt and pavement, and mostly all downhill.
As I am talking to the volunteer, I see several riders coming up the steep dirt road climb towards him and wishing I were them. I take off and the next 5 miles or so are pretty uneventful. Nice flowing single track, not a lot of climbing, but some. Not a lot of walking, but some. By now, the temp is probably in the mid 80's, or warmer. After about 3 miles, I come to the second and final check point and receive my last zip tie. The volunteer tells me that I have about 2 miles back to the last crossing and then 10 miles to the finish. I ride about a mile or so of the singletrack and then out onto a dirt road. I then ride for a bit and come to a really steep climb that is probably 1/2 mile long and ends at the last aid/water station. I ride about half of it and then my legs start getting a little twitchy. I get off my bike, to keep my legs from cramping, and push the last bit up to the aid station. I fill both of my bottles with water, dump some water on my head and take off for the finish.
I have about 3 or 4 miles of dirt road that is mostly downhill or flat. I get pasted by several geared riders once again, including a big dude that told me he weighed 285, who I had battled back and forth with for the last several hours. I would pass him on the uphill portions of the single track, and even the uphill portions of the roads. Once things would flatten out, or turn downhill on the roads, he would zoom past me like I was going backwards. This dirt road finally dumps me out onto pavement.
Thankfully, the wind is mainly at my back and helping to push me along. I get passed by about 3 or 4 more geared riders. After about 4 miles of pavement, I am directed back towards the Oden School where the finish is. This year, the race promoters put the finish line at the top of a grass hill that I believed they are calling vomit hill. No way am I going to get off of my bike and walk this hill to the finish. I make the 100 yard climb without any problems and cross the finish line in 7 hours and 16 minutes and about 60 miles.
The heat was a big factor today and for sure the hottest endurance race I have done to date. My fitness level was about what I expected. I have only been doing aerobic rides since last August except for two 1.5 hour XC races back in September and October which had me redlined for the entire efforts. I have a really good base but not much top end fitness currently.
All in all, I was very pleased. I was not injured. Did not have any mechanicals. And, enjoyed some of the best singletrack in the southern hemisphere.
Steven
Race day, I leave my hotel in Mena, Aransas, which is about 30 miles from Oden, about 6:30 am and arrive in Mena right about 7:00 am which gives me plenty of time to get ready for the 8:00am start. This year, I hear that there would be about 8 miles of pavement and then dirt roads before we reached the single track. Since I would be riding the race on my singlespeed, gearing 34x21, I knew that the beginning would be relatively slow going in relation to the majority of the riders that would be on geared bikes. I line up near the back of the 200 plus riders just prior to the 8:00 am start.
At 8:00 am, the race starts and we are led out of the Oden School parking lot with an escort. The start is downhill and within a 1/2 mile or so, the vast majority of the riders have easily ridden away from me as I spin like crazy just to keep them in sight. After about 2 or 3 miles I guess, I don't have a computer on my bike, the pavement turns into dirt. Since the race started, I have been passing a few riders here and there but nothing to really brag about. Once the road turns to dirt, we start getting some rolling hills and climbs. On most of these hills and climbs, I start catching and passing some riders that are slowing way down on them. Around this time, I also get into a group of three geared riders who let me draft off of them on some of the flat sections which is a big help. After 2 really big climbs, riders are directed to take a right turn onto the single track that is the Big Brushy portion of the Ouachita Challenge. This road portion took about 45 minutes for me to knock off.
Once into the single track, I get into a group of about 10 riders and seem to be making decent time. They are slowing me up at most of the small climbs and inclines but I do not see much of a reason so take chances to get past the rider in front of me only to have 7 or 8 more directly in front of me still. After probably 5 miles, we come to a down hill section and there is a rider that is down and 3 or 4 that are assisting him. It appears that he wrecked really hard and his right shoulder is slumped awkwardly. One of the assisting riders is on the phone calling for help so our group soilders on. A few miles later, I do a slo-motion endo as I am creeping along slowly and my front tire abruptly stops against a large rock. My hands stop my forward motion and I kinda land sideways on my feet. No harm no foul.
At about the 1.5 hour mark, I start smelling smoke, then see smoke and then fire. I then see Cope, Chaos, Brad and Dana and they are attempting to put out a forest fire that appears to have started right at the trails edge. I yell and scream at them, them at me, and then I continue on. A mile or so later, we get dumped out at the first aid station which I think is about 20 miles or so. I refill one bottle, get some gel put in my flask and take off.
Best I remember, I travel a mile or two on a dirt road and then enter the Blow Out Mountain portion of the ride. This section is probably about 8 or 10 miles and has lots of rock gardens. I am with a group of about 5 riders. Some of the smaller rock gardens we ride thru. Many of the rock gardens with large rocks are to0 sketchy for me to ride, as well as the other's in this group, so we hike thru them. This section is painfully slow and always has been for me on my four previous rides here. I make it through Blowout Mountain and guess I am around mile 32 or so and probably close to the 4 hour mark. A volunteer tells me I have about 10 miles of road until the Womble section of the race.
By now, the temp is probably close to 80 degrees, humid, and a strong southernly wind gusting to around 30 mph which is far from ideal for a long race. I set forth spinning like crazy again since my choice of gearing was not for these road sections. I pass a few geared riders and they seem to have no interest in developing a paceline and working together. After several miles, I see two riders gaining on me. As they catch me, it is a male a female on geared bikes and in Bicycle Plus outfits. They tell me to jump in behind them as they go by, which I was planning on doing anyways. I jump in and automatically gain 3 or 4 mph drafting off of them with the same amount of effort. The male pulls for a mile or so, then the female, and then my turn. I pull for a while and as we go thru Sims, the wind is pretty much head on. I look behind me and I have ridden away from my two companions who are now about 100 yards behind me. I continue pushing a good pace for another mile or so and then back back off a bit.
I have been drinking pretty regularly form the two bottles on my bikes which I had filled with water and Poweraid Endurance mix. I had refilled one at an earlier stop with Heed which was provided by the race. I dislike the taste of heed but oh well. I had also filled a gel flask with some Hammer Gel at the same stop. The flavor was some coffee variety which I really can't stand. Oh well again. I am still behind my self prescribed calorie intake of about 300 calories an hour but I usually always am. I make it to the next aid station which is right around the 40 mile mark. I fill a bottle with water, eat a few pickles, some orange pieces, some banana pieces, grab some cookies and cliff bar pieces.
The volunteers tell me that this is the last full aid station before the finish but there is a water station in about 5 or 6 miles. I believe I get my first check point zip tie at this time from an elderly female volunteer. She does ask me about my bike not having gears and I confirm that it does not. She seems dumbfounded. Right about now, I am feeling pretty dumbfounded as well. The heat is pretty bad. My legs are cooked. I have not cramped yet but have been nursing my legs for about the last hour or so to keep them from cramping.
I now enter the Womble portion of the race. The Womble section is generally considered the crown jewel of this event. It is real flowy, not a lot of climbing and just a real pleasure to ride. Odddly, right off the bat, there is a long incline which I walk most of to keep my legs from cramping. I get passed by a few geared riders that are riding along just a bit faster than I am walking. Once at the top, I get back on my bike and get after the Womble. I catch up with a few riders and we ride most of the trail for the next 4 or 5 miles together. Our group stops for some of the steeper climbs and walk them. I make it to the next dirt road crossing and the volunteer instructs me onto the singletrack across the road. He says I have about 5 miles of singletrack and I will come back to this crossing that he is watching. Then, about 10 miles to the finish which is all road, both dirt and pavement, and mostly all downhill.
As I am talking to the volunteer, I see several riders coming up the steep dirt road climb towards him and wishing I were them. I take off and the next 5 miles or so are pretty uneventful. Nice flowing single track, not a lot of climbing, but some. Not a lot of walking, but some. By now, the temp is probably in the mid 80's, or warmer. After about 3 miles, I come to the second and final check point and receive my last zip tie. The volunteer tells me that I have about 2 miles back to the last crossing and then 10 miles to the finish. I ride about a mile or so of the singletrack and then out onto a dirt road. I then ride for a bit and come to a really steep climb that is probably 1/2 mile long and ends at the last aid/water station. I ride about half of it and then my legs start getting a little twitchy. I get off my bike, to keep my legs from cramping, and push the last bit up to the aid station. I fill both of my bottles with water, dump some water on my head and take off for the finish.
I have about 3 or 4 miles of dirt road that is mostly downhill or flat. I get pasted by several geared riders once again, including a big dude that told me he weighed 285, who I had battled back and forth with for the last several hours. I would pass him on the uphill portions of the single track, and even the uphill portions of the roads. Once things would flatten out, or turn downhill on the roads, he would zoom past me like I was going backwards. This dirt road finally dumps me out onto pavement.
Thankfully, the wind is mainly at my back and helping to push me along. I get passed by about 3 or 4 more geared riders. After about 4 miles of pavement, I am directed back towards the Oden School where the finish is. This year, the race promoters put the finish line at the top of a grass hill that I believed they are calling vomit hill. No way am I going to get off of my bike and walk this hill to the finish. I make the 100 yard climb without any problems and cross the finish line in 7 hours and 16 minutes and about 60 miles.
The heat was a big factor today and for sure the hottest endurance race I have done to date. My fitness level was about what I expected. I have only been doing aerobic rides since last August except for two 1.5 hour XC races back in September and October which had me redlined for the entire efforts. I have a really good base but not much top end fitness currently.
All in all, I was very pleased. I was not injured. Did not have any mechanicals. And, enjoyed some of the best singletrack in the southern hemisphere.
Steven
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