PMBAR Race Report

With no rain the day before, night of, or morning of, I questioned whether of not I was in Pisgah, or some altered dimension, as I was standing at the Start/Finish, in just a jersey and shorts, not shivering. Waiting for the shenanigans to begin, I was in my happy place.  While PMBAR is both physically and mentally demanding, it is also SO GOOD for the soul.  

Four weeks ago, I was trying to come up with another partner for Lisa, as my knee was so swollen and painful, it hurt to walk, and I could only spin at a recovery pace.  But there was still hope and I did all the things: ate well, slept well, mobility exercises, ice/heat, and many easy spins on the local rail trail.  Fortunately, healing vastly improved in the two weeks leading up to the event.  And just two days before, I got good news from my MRI:  a grade 2 tear of the MCL.  My doc said no surgery needed and I was halfway there to being fully healed, and to keep doing what I had been.  Hallelujah!  No meniscal tear and my ACL was happy!  

So I was ecstatic to be able to play bikes all day with my number one bestie.  Although my fitness had tanked the past 4 weeks, what no better way to get back at it than this.  Time was drawing near to the 8 am start, and I noticed there was no box of passports lying near Eric Wever's feet.  Josh, who was down from Ohio volunteering for the day, only snickered when I made mention.  Hmmm ... where were we gonna have to pedal to get our passports, I wondered?

Eric began the pre-race meeting and said the passports were at the intersection of Buckhorn and Black Mountain ... and that we had to take Black Mountain all the way there.  So up, up, and away we went.  It was a mad start as 200+ racers began sprinting up Black.  I put it in chill mode, as chill as one can get climbing 2800 feet in 6 miles, and let the wild bucks go.  The knee felt great, even at the higher torques; I was only disappointed that I could not do any wheel lifts or pedal out of the saddle when needing to get that extra "oomph."  So I had to dismount several times and HAB some sections, that under normal circumstances, were rideable.  

Black was in awesome shape, only a few spots of wetness, from springs. The re-route was so enjoyable and rideable.  The HAB's of middle Black were still SOB's and some of the descents were frustrating as there were conga lines and riders up my ass, who wanted to pass.  Trying to be patient and polite, I let them go, even though it stalled my forward progress ... by minutes.  Why couldn't they be all like Gordon Wadsworth and Scott "Smooshie" Harper, who knew this was NOT the day to try to "clean" the descents, but rather just allow the race to thin out and then enjoy putting your skills to the test?

I let Lisa ahead of me mid-way up, as I had a slightly easier gear and wanted her to ride at her pace. Six miles and a little over 2 hours later, Lisa grabbed the passport and we pulled out the map and began plotting our course.  We opted for a clockwise route, grabbing the mandatory CP at Club Gap first.  My only request in the days leading up to this race were to plot the best route with the least amount of HAB, as that is when my knee would get angry.  So we chose to go for only 4/5 CP's and leave out the one on Laurel Mountain, as the net gain in getting a 2 hour time bonus (for going for 5) would only be minimal, if not canceled out altogether, by the time it would take us (especially me) to grab that 5th one.

Upper Black was in primo condition.  On one hand, it sucked not being able to ride the rideable sections, but on the other hand, I realized how lucky I was just to be out here, in spectacular weather, and around great people. Putting the ego aside, I started calling myself  "Cripple Carey,"  after a Barbie doll my Dad had given Carly years ago, nicknaming her Cripple Becky.  Those fun memories, as well as making fun of myself, made getting off and on the bike a bit easier.

Club Gap CP passport puncher and SS extraordinaire, Chris Joice

After nabbing the mandatory, we rode down Club Gap (a first time that direction for me) and hopped on 276 up to FS 1206. We rode gravel over to Pilot Cove-Slate Rock and once again connected with Gordon/Emily and Scott/Todd.  It was a joy to ride and HAB with them up to the next CP.  Gordon talked almost the whole way; boy, did I feed off his good vibes!

Goodies from the CP volunteer

We stayed only long enough for Lisa to refill her bottles from the volunteer's BeFree water filter bottle.  The remainder of this trail was in the best shape ever!  So dry, so rideable, and so beautiful as it ran next to Slate Rock Creek.

Popping back out on FS 1206, we decided to not to go down Bradley Creek Trail, but to continue on the gravel over to FS 5015.  Why we had even thought about doing the trail I do not know, other than it appeared quicker on the map.  We were rewarded for the extra miles with Eric Nicoletti's grilled cheese stand at the intersection of 1206 and 5015.  Stephen Janes would be proud!  While I could not participate in the cheesy goodness, I did find an ice cold Dr. Pepper that went down the hatch mighty fine.

Lisa made inhaled her grilled cheese and then we made quick work of the gravel descent.  At the intersection FS 5015 and Bradley Creek Trail, there was a meeting of the minds as we came upon Gordon/Emily, Scott/Todd, and another pair.  We decided to go up Laurel and then do an out and back on Squirrel Gap to grab the CP.

But first, Lisa and I stopped to filter again.  This was the first time we used her BeFree water filter and I noticed hers did not flow near as fast as the volunteer's at the previous CP.  Needed some Popeye forearms to fill up my bottle.

I 💓 Smooshie!

That was the first time I had ridden Laurel in this direction.  The bottom half was not too bad, just a little laurel whacking on the shins and negotiating oncoming racers.  The upper half was a pretty steep HAB, to which my knee, now over 4 hours in, was beginning to complain. Lisa patiently waited for me on all the HAB's today, as I was a lot slower than the "Usain Bolt" of hike a bike. Although the pedal on Squirrel was only 2 miles to get the CP, it felt more like five, as it was all uphill.  It was here that I had my first "whine" out loud.  I sounded like a fussy 7 year old who was tired of walking with her Mom at the mall 😄.  It was short-lived, as I could only laugh at myself.  

Riding down Squirrel Gap was super fun and the fun continued on Mullinax.  We turned onto South Mills River and I could not believe how dry the trail was.  South Mills was like a highway!  We motored quickly over to the CP, grabbing our 4th and final one for the day. We continued on South Mills, crossing two nice bridges, and thinking how fast we were gonna go, heading to the finish.

Mullinax

We had ridden the first 3 miles of South Mills in just under 30 minutes.  And then as we continued left on South Mills at the intersection of Cantrell Creek, the adventure began!  Unbeknownst to us, we were entering Purgatory, the section of South Mills that you just don't go.  Never having ridden this section, you don't know what you don't know.  And so I say to all my cycling friends that are veterans of Pisgah, who never mentioned this "purgatory"  ... F*ck y'all!  

After cresting that short climb, we descended into hell!  And for the next 90 minutes it took us to cover that 4 miles, we battled thick laurel undergrowth that lashed our legs, crossed the river 12 times, of which 6 of those were waist deep and slick as snot, and rode/pushed through 6 bogs.  Oh, and negotiated no less than 30 downed trees.  Poor Lisa had to hear my sailor's mouth a few times.  

The 11th crossing of South Mills River

Despite how arduous this section was, it was amazingly beautiful.  With some massive trail love, this section could be outstanding!  I have no regrets making this choice; Lisa might beg to differ!  Now, I can say I have ridden ALL the trails in Pisgah ... yep, including Riverside and Vineyard Gap.  There ought to be a buckle for that!

The Forbidden Zone

Finally we made it to Wolf Ford.  My knee and I survived, although a downed tree did grab my foot and yank me down backwards, tweaking it some, with me exclaiming, "I am officially tired!"  Pisgah was determined to not let me go completely unscathed.

Filling up our bottles one last time, I struggled with Lisa's filter.  Fortunately a fellow Marji masochist, Richard, lent me his.  My forearms and hands thanked him.  I ate the last of my food, two gels, with 100 grams caffeine each.  Vroom! Vroom!  Back on the good portion of South Mills, we seemed to float up it to Buckhorn.  I couldn't believe how smooth and hard-packed it was!

Then down Clawhammer gravel and back up to Black on Maxwell gravel.  It was so nice to be able to keep on riding instead of the short HAB in year's past.   Once at the tippy top, it was 2 miles and and a 1300 foot drop down to the finish.  The trail was primo, but the caffeine burst I had the past hour was gone. The descent hurt.  My eyeballs were bouncing around in my head and my brain felt like it was being concussed. I had to slow down as I was getting dizzy ... weird.

We rolled across the finish line in 9 hours and 33 minutes.  Having ridden 52 miles with 8000 feet of climbing, I was exhausted but my soul was full.  

Thanks, Lisa, for an amazing day in the forest, and being patient during my struggles.  You are one helluva partner, and I look forward to our next adventure.

I am grateful for my healing.  I am grateful for being able to do what I love.  I am grateful for all my trail friends (and hope we still are Gordon and Emily, after that little bushwhack 😉). I am grateful that Eric continues to take pleasure in pushing us to our limits. I am grateful for my I-9 wheels who chewed up and spit out an unknown amount of sticks on the South Mills "forbidden section."  Lesser spokes woulda caved!  I am grateful for Chamois Butt'r coming to my taint's rescue after being submerged during all those river crossings.

Strong women up there!

Pisgah "ride all the trails" completion buckle