Darkhorse Invitational

 

Chris Joice, the man behind the adventure

The Darkhorse Invitational is a mixed surface checkpoint race ... err, ride ... in the Cherokee National Forest.  Based out of The Fireside Outpost (thanks Kim!), it is a 10 hour choose your own adventure ride where you are given checkpoints to find within 200 square miles of the Tellico and Ocoee portion of the CNF.  

I teamed up with John Switow, Randy Kerr, and Lisa Randall.  It started at 8 am and the temperature was a brutal 17 degrees.  I was huddled around the small fire, attempting to stay warm for as long as possible.  I had 3 layers + a puffy jacket up top, along with chemical warmers on all the appendages, winter gloves, and shoe covers. The hum of the Hiwassee scenic train in the background had me yearning to go inside.  Last year, participants got to take a ride in the train with their bikes up to the powerhouse where the race/ride started.  So I was hoping for the same this year.

At 8 am, Chris said that we had to ride to the Childer's Creek TH to get our passport.  F*ck!  No warm train ride.  The windchill riding down Spring Creek Road was insane!  Although my core stayed warm, my fingers burned like they were on fire.  My brain froze and my legs felt like concrete blocks. We took Hambright Road over to Childer's Creek Road and grabbed our passport at the trailhead. John pulled out the map and we marked the CP's.

Our first CP

Childers Creek --> Perry's Branch --> Hwy 315 --> FS44 was our route to our first mandatory.  I was never so happy to begin the 4 mile climb up FS44, as my feet and fingers were blocks of ice.  It was nice to get to the CP with functional fingers and toes I could wiggle.

Even though I was not in the "in it to win it" mode, I was all about the keeping the stopped time to a minimum.  While Lisa was with me, getting John and Randy on board was like herding cats. After rounding them up, I was able to click off our selfie, which was mandatory at each CP.

Starr Mountain

From there we went down FS44 --> Bullet Creek Road --> Hwy315 --> Ivy Trail --> Towee Falls Rd --> Epperson Rd --> Hotwater Road --> Coker Creek Visitor's Center.

Our second CP

We took a brief pit stop at the visitor's center, did a little more route planning in the warmth of the building and then continued on Joe Brown Highway up to Unicoi Gap.

Unicoi Gap

As we were standing around, I happened to look down and what did I see right next to my front wheel? I swear, every time I ride in the forest, it is either those or a used diaper I find.

🤮

We backtracked down Joe Brown Hwy --> Cooper Hollow Rd --> Ironsburg Rd --> Duckett Ridge Rd --> Duckett Ridge Extension.  Duckett Ridge Extension was a 1.6 mile, 600 foot descent down to the CP.

Our third CP

While we took a few minutes to eat, pee, wardrobe change, Lisa and I pondered the idea of crossing the Hiwassee over to McFarland in order to go after the Smith Mountain CP. But fortunately we decided this would be not only foolhardy, but against the "no bushwhacking" rule.  So we gathered ourselves and began the pedal back up Duckett Ridge Ext.  Randy shot off like a rocket and waited for us at the top by doing push ups and bike overhead presses.  If you ride with Randy, you know that he likes to cross-train whenever he gets the chance.

Duckett Ridge 

From Duckett Ridge Ext, we went Duckett Ridge --> Fingerboard --> Towee Pike --> Childer's Creek.  Once we got to the turn off to either head out to the powerhouse to get the Smith Mountain CP or continue on Childer's Creek to head back to Fireside, we had a decision to make.  Knowing that it was 2:30pm and attempting a second bonus CP would probably take longer than the 2 hour time bonus we would get, we opted to head back to base.

We arrived back at Fireside at 3:19 pm, the first team back.  In total we had ridden 66 miles with 7500 feet of elevation gain. It was nice to be back with it still being #1 daylight and #2 warm.  I opted to take a shower while the others changed into street clothes.  

Afterwards we enjoyed a meal from Pepo's.  Their burritos took two hands to hold and must have weighed at least 2 pounds!  I enjoyed a burrito bowl (sans tortilla) and it was amazing!  Chris did right with the post-ride meal.  Someone had made mac-n-cheese which Lisa said was killer.  And plenty of beverages, both alcoholic and NA, were provided.  

Hands down, a well orchestrated and super fun event, despite the 17 degree start.  #careyapproved  However, with it being an invitational, those who have done it in the past get first dibs, and then any remaining spots are filled by recommendations from those who have done it.  So hit me up next year if you are interested.

And if you want a great place to stay, from which you can ride right out your door and hit some great National Forest gravel, make a reservation at the Fireside Outpost.  Cabins and camping spots available.