Monday, May 31, 2010

Wild and Wonderful 2010 Race Report

This weekend I competed in the Wild and Wonderful 24 Adventure Race hosted by Odyssey Adventure Racing. The race was important to get additional points in the Check Point Tracker AR series and keep our first place standing in the USARA rankings. It was my first race this year and with a team that had never raced together before and with some members I had never even met. No pressure.
 The drive down to West Virginia took about 5 hours. The race was head quartered at ACE adventure. I managed to find Timm, one of my team mates from the North Carolina tags on his truck, and Greg found me as I was wearing a Trakkers shirt. A bit strange thinking I was going to be racing with these guys I had never even met before.
 We managed to pickup our maps and start the check-in process as we waited for Veronica. Greg started to plot points and work out the route. Veronica arrived with her boyfriend, Tucker, and the team was complete. Tucker was volunteering and going to help on the race course.
 We reviewed the course which started with 10 miles of class 3-5 white water. We would then transition to trekking to locate CP2 through CP8 on the East side of the New River Gorge. At CP8 we would transition to bikes and ride back to the West side of the New River Gorge and down the Fayetteville trail to CP12. At CP12 we would transition to a trek, collect four more check points before returning to CP 12/16, transition back to bikes and head back to the main HQ (CP18) via another check point (CP17). At HQ we would do a 13 mile timed bike loop on single track that was used the previous weekend for the Xterra race. The fastest time in each division would pick up two extra points. There were to be two groups in the time trial, riders who started before 8pm and those who started after. This was because pre 8pm riders would have a daylight advantage. Anyone reaching CP18 after 2am would not be able to do the time trial and would be short coursed. After the time trial there would be a trekking O course with 2 mandatory and 3 optional points followed by a biking O course with 2 mandatory and 5 optional points. The winner would be the team with the most check points. A tie would be broken by fastest time.
 After plotting and strategizing we assembled some of our gear and staged the bikes that would be transported to CP8. We attended the pre-race brief and Ronnie did his usual excellent job of outlining the course and letting us know how brutal the following day was going to be. As we headed to bed Veronica noticed that she had some problems with her rear brake and after I looked at it I noticed she was missing a rear brake pad. With help from Timm we managed to swap in a set of pads with some that I had on my 26” bike I had brought along as backup. It was a total miracle that the brake pads were the same and fit correctly.
 After listening to most of the camp site party until 2:30 am and the trains roll through the valley blowing their horns at 4am I arose at 5am refreshed and ready for the day. We assembled, dropped off gear for pick-up post white water, suited up with life vests, helmets and paddles and were loaded onto busses bound for the river. We headed down to Cunnard boat landing and the race began.
 There were three waves of five rafts. We were in the second wave and after the prolog where one person from each raft had to run up stream 100 yards and then swim back to the boat before we dug in hard and began our paddle down the gorge. During the last class 5 rapid everyone in the boat got dumped except the guide. We did have an amazing recovery and were all back in the boat within 60 seconds with only one paddle missing. The guide was impressed.
 After the exciting rafting experience we did a quick transition to foot and headed out at a fast pace up the road and out of the gorge. An initial wrong turn took us and a lot of other teams on a fruitless bush whack back to the same road we had been on. Luckily we didn’t pass CP2 and punched in with a lot of other teams. We passed quite a few teams and then the trail began to fade. We got to a point where the main trail took a sharp turn down and the trail that continued around the gorge looked very sketchy. We decided to stay high. Topo on the map showed CP3 was at the top of the gorge. We scrambled through the rocks and undergrowth and ended up at the foot of a climbing area. I think a lot of teams followed the trail down which would later cause many to drop out. From the climbing area we found a climbing trail to a power line which we were used as a navigational backstop. We followed the power lines and found a trail that, after a few false starts and about turns, brought us to CP3. The clipboard at CP3 showed we were the first team to check in. From CP3 we hit CP4 and CP5 off trails. From CP5 to CP6 Greg did an amazing job following a bearing and doing pace count over 1300m while bush whacking to CP6. A short trek brought us to CP8 which we passed straight through to do some heavy bush whacking through Rhododendron to optional CP7 which was right next to a most beautiful and welcoming stream. Retracing our steps we headed back to CP8 to bike transition. I managed to shoot out a tweet and some pictures. This was pretty cool and was one of the first adventure racers I have been able to do this on. Ronnie allowed tweets from any manned check points. You just had to stand in front of the staff while you tweeted to make sure you were not using GPS or asking for assistance from someone else.
 Veronica and Timm were doing great at this point. I think our pace was a little fast but to have the lead was a great feeling. It was nice to transition to bikes and get off our feet. The ride to CP9 was a pre-subscribed route along paved roads. CP9 to CP10 took us from one side of the gorge to the other via the bottom. The ride down to the bottom of the gorge was awesome. We had two cars pull over to let us pass.
 The ride up the other side was not so fun. The first part was on paved road and then we moved to single track and some hike a bike as well as some technical riding. We had a slight detour that gave us the opportunity to fill up with water from a hose bib but on the turnaround disaster struck and Veronica lost her rear brake. On inspection one of the rear pads had popped out again. We spent a fruitless five minutes looking for the brake pad before regrouping with Greg boldly riding on the bike with only a front brake and Veronica taking Greg’s bike. We rolled into CP10 shortly after, happy to find we were still the lead team. Tucker was there to great Veronica which was a nice surprise and we got to see Ronnie again and let him know how great the course had been so far. I had previously ridden the section from CP10 to CP11 in last year’s Wild and Wonderful and gotten lost along the way. Fortunately that did not happen this year. We rolled into CP11 happy to see the volunteers who were great and full of enthusiasm. Greg’s front brake was beginning to fade which I knew would be a problem as we headed on to the Fayetteville trail. As we headed down the double track looking out across the amazing views of the gorge, Greg found he had to ride with his front brake fully on and drag his foot to prevent himself from running away. To prevent injury and also speed up our decent we did a reverse tow. I clipped Greg into my bike and as we descended I provided his braking power. As crazy as it seemed to do at the time the technique worked really well and we were able to get through the main decent of the trail without Greg wearing his shoes completely out or killing himself riding off the edge.
 We arrived at Cunnard and took the orange trail into the ACE property. The track was rock strewn and steep. We spent some time pushing our bikes up the trail and ended up taking the first decent break since the start at CP15, which we would later return to on the next trek section. It’s always a bit demoralizing knowing that you are going to have to retrace your steps to the same point but also comforting that you know where one of the next check points is. Biking onwards we came to a clearing and a short way from CP12. We noticed another check point flag up on a rise and rode up to see what it was. It ended up being CP29 which would be an optional mountain bike checkpoint for the O course later in the race. From here we hit CP12. On arriving we found two other teams pulling into the check point. I was shocked. How had they caught us? Then we realized the nasty single track we had followed from Cunnard was not the only route to CP12. There was also a gravel road. Kicking ourselves we quickly transitioned to the trek and headed out to CP13 ahead of the other teams, one which was team ROC racing in our division and at this point our main competition. From CP12 we took a series of trails and cut a few switch backs. As we cut one of the switchbacks, Veronica howled in pain as she badly twisted her ankle. I thought we would be out for sure but to my amazement she limped along and within 20 minutes had brushed it off and pushed through the pain. After finishing the race her ankle swelled up to about three times its normal size and took on a purple hue. Looking back CP13 was a “give me” check point but we managed to kill about 45 minutes looking for it. We didn’t travel down a trail far enough (by about 50 yards) to see an easy trail to an overlook. Instead we stopped short and hunted down the side of what can only be described as a cliff for the majority of the time. With other teams doing the same thing we thought we were on the right track. After rechecking the map and eventually finding CP13 we easy hit CP14, 15 and 15A with some bush whacking and about 7 miles of fast trekking. On the way back to CP12/16 we got to trek on the gravel road we could have rode on early. I figure we lost about 30 minutes by taking the single track instead of the gravel road with our bikes earlier in the day.
 Another quick transition at CP12/16 and we were back on bikes. Night was approaching fast and we powered on our bike lights. We followed a double track to CP17 which was next to a pond. The wild life at the pond was truly deafening. Frogs and other chirping creatures were so loud we literally had to shout at each other. Here the map became a little sketchy as there were a lot of unmarked trails and also a lot of marked trails weaving all over the place. We rode the same trail three times before we finally found the right route back to HQ and CP18.
 With some time to regroup we managed to get the brakes fixed on Veronica’s bike ready for the time trial. Team ROC had already checked in and had been out on the mountain bike time trial for 40 minutes. We refueled, took on more water and headed out on the time trial. We knew with two points at stake we had to go as fast as possible. No one had made the 8pm cut off for the time trial and so everyone in the same division was competing for the same two bonus points. Even at night with the trail lit from our lights the single track was excellent. ACE resort is very hilly but the trail was setup with relatively few long climbs. With lots of turns and trail crossing the clear trail markers made the path easy to follow. We took it in turns to lead and made great time. Veronica and Timm are very new to mountain biking and did an outstanding job. Greg who has only just recently switched to clipless peddles had more wrecks more from not being able to unclip than anything else. Timm had a nasty fall on Rigormortis, one of the nastiest sections of the trail. It was one of those falls where there is a steep drop off on one side and he came off his bike and disappeared over the edge. His bike remained on the trail but he fell about 10’ off the side. Shaken up and with cuts on his legs, Timm shook off the wreck and carried on. Outstanding. After what seemed like an endless amount of time we completed the time trail in 2 hours 16 minutes and ultimately had the fastest time overall and earned two extra bonus points. ROC had already headed out on the trekking O course so we knew they could pick up extra points there.
 Greg made quick work of plotting our points and we were off again on foot. By now it was 2am. With this being Veronica’s first adventure race and Timm and Greg’s first 24 hour race everyone was doing great. There had been some low points with hydration and nutrition but everyone had got back on track and at this point felt pretty good. Greg continued to do an outstanding job with navigation and we hit the two mandatory trekking O points and decided to head back, plot the biking O points, get the mandatory bike check points and with whatever time was left get as many optional bike points as possible. Also Ronnie is the king at putting trekking O points where heavy bush whacking is mandatory. We figured that the biking O points would possibly be on trails and easier to find.
 We rolled back into HQ with the sun on the rise and found ROC was still out on the O course. We quickly plotted the biking O points and were heading out when ROC came in. We tried to figure out how many O points they had but they wisely did not let us know. I figured if they had picked up two optional O points we could get the two mandatory biking O points and beat them back to the finish and win on time. I was counting on the fact that the optional O biking points would be too far for them to get. For the final biking leg Greg sported a bike shoe on his left foot and a trail shoe on his right foot as he was so frustrated about not being able to unclip and we did not have time to look at or adjust his peddles. I figured at this point whatever works, go with it.
As we reached the first main intersection to locate CP25, the first mandatory biking O point, team ROC caught us. We all charged up the trail to a radio tower where we had to write a letter down on our passport from a trailer serial number that was parked next to the tower. Greg read the number off but didn’t write it down as ROC crested the hill and we headed back down. He yelled “don’t let me forget to write zero as the answer on the passport”. We tore down the double track and back onto a gravel road and onto CP26. It was located down a section of single track we had previously ridden on the time trial. During the plotting I had transposed the CP location from one map to the local trail map and plotted it in the wrong location and thought we had ridden past it and not seen it. We stopped on the trail to check maps. As we were checking the map ROC tore down the trail past us. We decided we were doing the right thing and the CP was further down the trail. We continued on down and found ROC checking their maps also. We continued on passed them now confident that the CP was further down the trail. When we got to the end of the trail we found the CP on the other side of the creek. Greg leapt off his bike and bounded across the stream. With his one biking shoe and one trail shoe setup he was able to quickly climb a steep rock and punch just as ROC arrived. Greg came back across the stream making a daring jump across a water fall making a solid landing and once again being saved by his one sneaker shod foot. We franticly pushed/rode our bikes back up the single track and back to the road and onward to the finish line. We quickly debated on how many optional O points ROC may have and if they would have time to get more if we punched in. As we frantically decided what to do, ROC came through the finish line. Greg quickly handed in our passport remembering to add the clue for CP25 at the very last second. ROC submitted their passport right behind us. ROC had done an amazing job and collected two optional O points on the trek putting us in a tie for points. I think their strategy was to hope that we had been in the first wave of rafts put into the river a full 24 hours earlier and have a 5 minute time advantage on us. Fortunately we all were in the same raft wave and ended up taking 1st place by seconds. Truly a nail biter
 Full kudos goes out to the rest of the team. Veronica, Timm and Greg were awesome. We worked well together through the entire race and I would happily head out for another 24 hour race with any of them again.
 The win moved Trakkers into first place in the Check Point Tracker series (very briefly) and maintained our first place standing with USARA.
 Ronnie and his team once again put on an excellent race and a big thank you goes out to the truly tireless work of all the volunteers that helped out with the race.
Congrats to all the teams the participated and addition pats on the backs to those who finished

Monday, May 10, 2010

SPROUTE AR

Team TRAKKERS place first in the 3 person/co-ed division and second overall in the SPROUTE AR on Saturday.  On the team were Monika Sattler, Greg Voelkel and me.
On Friday night we set up camp, dropped off the canoe, plotted the coordinates and came up with a tentative game plan. The pre-race meeting was at 7:30am, and then the race organizer met with the team captains at 7:50 to give the remaining set of coordinates which were key to planning our route.  We had reviewed the map and guessed on where these unknown coordinated might be, so when we got the list and plotted them, we knew which routes we would take. We were the 4th team to hit the course after plotting.
Onto the bikes for some dirt road and paved county byways for about 90 minutes of hard riding and collecting some easy checkpoints.  Then we dropped the bikes in a state park and did some bushwhacking for about checkpoints.  Greg had calculated the distance and azimuths the night before and he did a fantastic job navigating, our pacecounts were sometimes dead-on.  A few checkpoints gave us some trouble, but by putting our heads together we were able to figure it out and clear the course.   We had dropped our bladders for the run, and although it was hot, no problems and it was a relief not carrying that extra weight.
At that point, Team Too Many Kids was slightly ahead of us, but we heard them in transition after the o-course that they missed checkpoint 17.  OK, we thought,  we just have to have flawless nav and clear the rest of the course by cut-off time and we’ll win!
The race officials did random gear checks at some of the checkpoints, including a bike headlight.  Greg had forgotten his, so that morning he had zip-tied a micro-light to his handlebars, and they accepted it.
Back on the bikes for some more road riding.  We killed Too Many Kid’s lead when they got stopped by a train, then Greg managed to tow Monika up the hills and drop me and Too Many Kids at the same time.  In mid-afternoon, we pulled into the paddling transition area and left the bikes after a total of 47 miles.  Thank God we had portage wheels for the canoe, since we had to portage that thing for about a mile.  We had decided to not put in on the smaller channel, but run cross a bridge onto a large island and portage another half-mile to the main river.  It was a steep put-in but it paid off.   Most teams put in at the channel but when we got to the place where the channel and the main river merge, we saw that we were about 10 minutes ahead of Too Many Kids.
So then a long, windy slog with only two of us paddling…the bucket for the middle person collapsed but Monika grabbed the map and saved us about 5 minutes with some great navigation.  After 90 minutes of being blown around on the river, we beached the canoe, fueled up and transitioned for the zip line and last o-course.  The zip line landed us in a lake so it was a good chance to cool off and drown some ticks.  We now had three hours to hit 10 checkpoints.  Again, prior planning, pacecounts and azimuths, and Greg’s navigation all paid off.  One point gave us fits, but we cleared the course and were at the finish line a few minutes past 7pm, after 11 hours of non-stop forward movement.
Here’s what I think are some key lessons:
- Plotting the distance/azimuth on the o-course maps the night before saved us some time while on the course.
- Portage wheels!
- Gear…it was a one point penalty for each missing piece, so two missing pieces could have cost us the race.  The night prior we went over the list a few times and passed some gear around to make sure we all had what we needed.  A lot of race directors don’t check, but don’t risk it.
- Teamwork.  Greg was the lead navigator and did a great job, but for a lot of the points it was a team effort and we can all take credit for at least a few skillful (or lucky) finds that saved us some time.
Tim, Monika and Greg
Team TRAKKERS after the SPROUTE AR victory

Friday, May 7, 2010

Overnight training session Old Rag

On Friday night I headed out to Shenandoah to do a night training session at Old Rag. I met up with Veronica at around 7:30pm at the bottom parking lot. We started on bikes with a long climb up to the Sky Line drive up Weakley Hollow Road and then up Old Rag Road. After about 5 minutes on the bike I realized I had forgotten my GPS. I should have turned around and got it because the elevation gain was a doozy and I would loved to have tracked it and seen the profile. The climb was approximately six miles of pure hill on loose gravel. It was a great way to start the evening. The descent retraced our climb and was fast and fun. It was only the fourth time out on a mountain bike for Veronica and I was impressed with the speed she flew down the hill. Half way down my rear tire blew out. On inspection, a big tear in my new rear tubeless tire. I think I am going back to tubes from this point on. A quick change of the flat, a detour down a hill we shouldn’t have gone down, and we were back onto the decent propper but it wasn’t long before I managed to lose the front end of my bike on a washed out section and wrecked. No major injuries but did end up trashing my helmet. It was beginning to become an expensive training session.
Back at the cars we transitioned to the trek and started up to the peak of Old Rag. I love the Old Rag hike. Climbing up through the rocks is a lot of fun. I kept on telling Veronica about all the great views we would have seen if only it wasn’t the middle of the night. The weather was perfect and even the strong winds along the ridge were warm and refreshing. We descended to Weakley Hollow Road on the West side of the mountain and jogged down to base of White Oak Canyon and started up the brutally steep canyon trail. At some point I want to come hike this trail during the day. I have only ever done it at night. The sound of all the waterfalls is nice but a visual would be even better. Toward the top of the trail we cut off on the horse track and ended up back on Old Rag Road. By now it was 3am and we had been biking/trekking for six hours on some pretty hilly terrain. This is the real witching hour.
We jogged back down the fire road to the Corbin Hollow Trail head, trekked back down the trail to Weakley Hollow Road and then picked up the pace back to the parking lot and finished at 5am.
Veronica did a great job. She was a great companion and really held her own throughout the whole session. I am looking forward to doing some racers with her in the future.
This is probably the last over night/long training session before the Wild and Wonderful race coming up at the end of May. I felt good for the whole session and feel ready for the race. I just need to go and get a new helmet and rear tire.  This sport really is a never ending money pit.
Total bike was 15 miles with a total elevation gain of 3,000’. Trek was 16 miles with a total elevation gain of just over 4,700’. Hike route here.