The Longest Day

The Longest Day 24h AR

Cold Spring NY

Sept 6-7, 2014

Rev3 Team: Joe Brautigam, Jeff Woods, Greg Voelkel, Britt Mason

Report by: Britt 

The Friday before we made the drive to beautiful Cold Spring, about an hour from NYC, for The Longest Day AR. This year, the race would be a 24 instead of the 18 hour race it was the previous year. With nothing to do that night besides ready gear, we got a full night's sleep for once! At check in the next morning, we received pre-plotted maps. It looked like a good mix of mandatory and optional points. We received the entire course except the first foot and bike section. After some planning, we loaded buses and headed to the start at Depew Park in Peekskill.

Game face?

Prologue 2 miles 25:00 CP1-5 OCP A-F

At the start, we were given an envelope w/2 passports (1 mandatory and 1 optional), 2 maps, and instructions. For this section, we could split up to pick up CPs. Greg and I went for mandatories, while Joe and Jeff grabbed the optionals. We cruised through the park and made it to TA1 before Joe and Jeff, who had 6 CPs to collect versus our 4. By the time we readied their bikes and shoes, they were in. We left TA without seeing another full team in yet.

Nice outfit.

Bike O 10 miles 2:30:00 CP6-10 OCP G-L

We received another LIDAR map for this section, which had lots of CPs up for grabs. We headed out, immediately hitting sweet singletrack. The park was fantastic riding. As we neared the first CP, Joe asked for the clue. Jeff asked, which CP? 10. Nuts. From here on out, all mandatories had to be collected in order. We headed back towards TA, doing the ride of shame past the other teams there. Back on course, Joe worked his MTBO magic, whacking to points when it was faster. As we neared the end of the bike, Jeff ran over a stick on some 2track and mangled his rear derailleur. Not functional. Options were convert to singlespeed or try for a bike shop in town. No way to be competitive with singlespeed, so we opted to remove the derailleur and chain. Jeff and Greg took turns running and kickbiking the rest of this section. Back in TA, we found a shop called Herb's Bicycle and Auto a few miles out of our way that would be our only hope and headed there. "Auto" in the title should be the first red flag. We roll up to this place that is literally floor to ceiling, wall to wall junk and parts. We ask about derailleurs, and he unearths a few. Meanwhile, Jeff takes 2 steps in the door, makes a 360 and knocks a pile of stuff over. Herb then tells us not to touch anything. Long story short, we haggle over price, use all our cash, and end up with an Ultegra road derailleur. After installing it, Jeff had 6 gears. We'll take it. Time to get back in the race. We headed to TA2 in 3rd place.

Herb's. Seeing is believing.

Paddle 12 miles 2:45:00 OCP M

We hopped in 2 tandem sit on top kayaks and paddled upstream on the Hudson. Luckily the tide was going with us. I've never been on a river controlled by tides before. The paddle had some great views, and we even paddled past West Point. We also passed some luxury yachts and drag raced some speed boats. Around noon, it started raining and didn't stop until 9 or 10pm. At the end of the paddle, we picked up CP M located in an old mine. Joe tried to knock himself out twice on the low ceiling. 1/4 mile portage got us up to TA3. 

Low clearance in the mine

Trek 5 miles 1:55:00 CP 13-14 OCP N,P,Q

This was a linear trek 1400' up from the Hudson to Bald Peak. The fog and rain obscured the spectacular views. 

Bike 8 miles 1:15:00 CP 15-16

This was a short ride that was part road, part multiuse trail. We stopped at a gas station for water. Not much in the way of water throughout the course, at least not when we needed it.

Trek 4 miles 1:25:00 CP 17-18 OCP AA-DD

There were 2 trekking sections left, and you could divide the CPs up however you wanted. We chose to do a short loop here and save the rest for the end of the race after we got back to our vehicles. We got our first taste of the blueberries and laurel that would be the theme of the night. Returned to TA just as it was getting dark.

The look on my face is priceless. I had just restrung both of his lights, but 1 still didn't work.

Bike 31 miles 5:45:00 CP 20-22, OCP Y,Z

It was still raining as we hit the roads for some big climbs. We chose the shorter, hillier route early on, which included the dreadful Long Hill Road. It lived up to its name. We got no relief on the downhills, as the rain and fog were blinding, and the temps were dropping. Eventually, we got onto the multiuse trail again, which was very slow going due to the wet and slippery rocks. Rodney and Amy said afterward that the trail was almost all rideable in normal conditions, but with the rain, we did plenty of hike-a-bike. We grabbed a few mandatories and then bushwacked to CP Z to avoid a 2k switchback in the trail. Finally, we dumped out onto dirt and pavement for the remainder of the ride.

Dusty's first solo 24!

Trek 15.7 miles 7:40:00 OCP EE-UU

Final trek. I switched from Altras to Cascadias here in anticipation of the rocky terrain. My right Achilles was sore, and I wanted some more cushion. Laurel and blueberries were super thick, mainly on the north (first) half of this trek. Any time we got into a marshy area, the pace slowed to a crawl as the laurel and eye-high ferns closed in on us. I grabbed a nap on my feet for awhile before downing some caffeine that brought me back. I've barely been getting any sleep at work, and it showed this race. Joe came alive and put the hammer down an hour or so before sunrise. On the southern half, the woods opened up, and we were able to move faster. We realized we had a good chance to clear the course and picked up the pace, running whenever we were on trail. We hit the last 6 CPs in 1:40, and Joe went for the crush, pushing hard to the finish. We were the only team to clear the course, and a win for the final race of the regular AR season felt good. Goals and AAS finished right on our heels, but they left 3 and 4 CPs, respectively. I love love racing with these guys! Big thanks to Rodney and Amy of NYARA for putting on a stellar race. Their course design and layout is second to none. Also thanks to our sponsors Rev3Adventure, PowerBar, Epic Paddles, Pearl Izumi, and Honey Stinger for your support!