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