War Daddy

This race is one of my favorite mixed surface events.  It is touted as the hardest MTB race in Kentucky for good reason.  Normally it is 68 miles with 9000 feet of climbing.  Even though there is roughly 20 miles of pavement and 15 miles of smooth'ish gravel, the remaining miles are filled with enhanced gravel, moto trail, and single track. It is rare to see a gravel bike at this event.

This year, due to torrential rains in the week leading up to the race, a good portion of the trails were unrideable.  So John made the decision to shorten the race to 58 miles, leaving out the mud boggin' moto trails and the last 6 miles through the old strip mine. I still made the decision to race my SuperCaliber with 2.1 Bontrager Saint-Anne tires.

I stayed at the Wendover B&B, which I have always done in the past.  It is the historic home to the Frontier Nursing Service, dating back to 1925.  It was only Nick and I who stayed here; surprising, because of its peaceful location and inexpensive rates.

This year the women's field was the biggest ever.  With some heavy hitters and unknowns, I had no expectations.  I was just gonna leave it all out there and let the chips fall where they may. The temp at the start was 60 degrees and by the end was 75.

9 am was the shotgun start by Trevor, who knifed open a can of cheap beer and chugged it.  Throwing the empty can down on the ground signified that the race had begun.  There was a police escorted 5 mile lead out down the highway and through the town of Hyden, at a pleasant warm up pace. I positioned myself towards the front, but as soon as the car pulled off, people attacked like it was a short track race.

I let all the greyhounds by, knowing that I would reel some of them in on the Owl's Nest climb.  This was the first gut punch of the day.  I settled in and over the next mile, reeled a couple women back in.  Once over the top, it turned to gravel.  I flew down the backside picking off a few more racers and then motored the rollers.

On the flat gravel section next to the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River, a fellow racer pulled up to me.  He looked familiar and told me that he used to ride the Outdoor Store Tuesday group ride back in the day. I had to ask for his name, to which he replied David Haines.  He now lives in Kentucky and has gotten back into riding.  That was so cool!  We took turns pulling, which was a blessing on this section.

Once we hit the second gut punch, War Baby, David lost my wheel and I was with a couple of single speeders.  It was here, only 20 miles in that my legs felt like 💩. Not really a surprise, as I haven't been doing any structured training this year. Too much time running with my doggos does not equate to being bike fast.  No regrets, however, as my life is evolving away from everything bikes and more towards a blend of adventure racing, hiking, running, strength training, and hanging with my "kids."

I had already drank one bottle, so I grabbed my second one.  As we all do, we grab the valve with our teeth, pull it open and then take a swig.  Well, the valve on mine broke off in my mouth.  That made it very interesting over the next miles trying to get water out of that broken bottle.  Fortunately that was the only mechanical of the day.

Once on top, it was an action packed descent, dodging mud holes and wash outs.  The Elkhorn section is always spicy, and even more so today, with the rivers of mud and water.

The third gut punch was War Dwarf.  This was the longest climb on the day at just over 2 miles, but felt like twice as long.  It felt like most of my watts were going into the ground as opposed to moving forward. It was definitely a slog. Once along the ridge, I began to feel a little better and then let'r rip on the Hell For Certain paved descent.  I came in too hot at the "T" in the road and overshot the turn.  

Twist N Sourwood was the next climb.  I felt somewhat better, reliving the 2019 edition where I met Jordan Sands for the first time on this section.  We were crushing it then and so I focused on this memory to see me through. At the top, around mile 34, I stopped at the aid station to swap bottles and slurp a gel.

I love the ridge riding of Grannie's Branch.  The gravel up on top is in perfect shape and you can rip on the rollers; hell, it feels like you are on an e-bike! I got some of my mojo back here, passing a few on the descent down to Big Creek.

I popped out on pavement for a 6 mile cruise. It was here that I befriended Yianni, a SS'r from Cincinnati.  Poor guy was spinning a 120+ cadence.  I got in front and pulled him along to give his knees and hips a break. I think he ended up 2nd in the single speed class.

Once we hit double track, the War Daddy climb was looming just ahead. But first I had to work my way along Mother Nature's cobbles (baby heads) of FR1600.  I believe the devil sprayed Miracle Grow on this section because these rocks had grown! Once I hit the War Daddy proper, my focus was on turning the pedals and not coming off the bike.  I have always been able to ride this and today was NOT the day for a hike a bike.

When you think you are at the top of War Daddy, the climbing is not finished.  There are a few more kickers along the ridge trying to break you.  But by now, I was smelling the barn, with 8 miles to go.  And there were a few carrots in my line of sight.  As bad as I felt, I just put my head down and time trialed it to the end.  When the legs started barking, I would stand and hammer some pedal strokes before settling back in the saddle.  This seemed to work and I slowly picked off a few more racers.  

At mile 55, it felt good to turn left instead of a right, signifying the beginning of the climb to the moto trail. I was kinda glad I did not have to slog through it and the strip mine section, as I was at my limit.  It was nice to finish off the final 3 miles on a paved descent.

I rolled across the line in 4:26, rounding out the podium in third place.  Mary bested me by 3 minutes and Sam slaughtered me by 29 minutes (silly strong youngster!). Although not my fastest time, I was pleased with the result.  I rode as hard as I could, had fun, and did not eat dirt ... all victories in my book.

There was plenty of post race food, a bike wash, and a shower.  I showered at the bike wash, after cleaning up Taz.  Hung out awhile for the podium and then headed back to Wendover for a proper clean up.  Later that evening there was an after party at the podium.  It was good to hang out with everyone and eat a home cooked meal.  Best after party of many a race I have been to over the years.

Those guys can play a mean guitar!

Put this one on your schedule for 2026.  And hopefully we will get to race the full monte.  And bring your mountain bike or you will have a 50% bad time.  You will NOT be disappointed.  And book a room at the Wendover.

Thanks to John Maggard and family for showcasing the hollers of Hyden, Kentucky where I was all smiles (well, maybe a few grimaces) all day.  And if you are an ultra runner, they are having the War Bird 100 in March.  Check it out!  

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Cerberus 3 Day Expedition Stage Race - Day 3

Mack Creek

After a fitful night of sleep, I awoke with a mild bike hangover.  Nothing that a 20 ounce mug of Christopher Bean coffee couldn't fix.  I had brought my electric kettle and so was able to heat up water for both Lisa's and my french press.  The smell of coffee permeated the dank air of our cabin and made our bunkmates jealous, as they awaited the opening of the dining hall at 6 am and their Sysco-branded coffee.

While Lisa partook of scrambled egg whites in a carton and well done bacon, I finished off my farm fresh hard boiled eggs and home made chocolate chip banana bread.  Although breakfasts and dinners were included with our sign up fee, it was a little lackluster.  

The forecast for today had been rain showers, but fortunately they rolled through last night.  And some heavy ones at that.  Although the terrain would be wet and potentially sloppy, the skies were blue and the forecast was low to mid-70's once again. This morning was just a bit chillier and with almost 24 hours of racing under my belt, I was chilled at the start.  So I opted to wear my rain jacket.

Stage 3 started out with another 2 CP trek prologue at camp.  Lisa and I were first out of the gate, but did not realize there were 2 bridges crossing the creek.  We took the one that cost us just enough time for about 3-4 teams to jump ahead of us on the steep climb up to C-1.  We managed to scramble up the cliff face and get around a couple of them, punch the CP and then butt slide our way down to C-2.  This one was in the middle of a creek.  I don't know why I spent so much time/energy drying my gear, as each day and at each TA, we would immediately get soaking wet.  I am surprised that through it all, our feet remained happy and healthy.

The dining hall that served as a TA and the Start/Finish 

We were the 4th team to arrive at the TA (dining hall) .  I stuffed my jacket into my pack and changed into my cycling shoes.  Then we were off down the gravel road.  I shifted down ... and nothing happened.  Again, nothing.  AXS battery was dead.  I could have  kicked myself as the night before the thought about recharging it, but did not.  I called out to Lisa to stop.  I quickly took my battery from my dropper and replaced the one on my derailleur.  

All was good again, except a number of teams passed us.  But on the climb up Greenwood, we quickly passed many a team and were once again up with the top mixed teams. Lisa informed me of her mechanical, which was a broken Boa on her shoe. Since I was the CP gopher and we only had 2 on this bike leg, we decided we would duct tape her shoe once we finished the O course.

We were the 2nd team to  arrive at the Ottari O course.  11 CP's, in order.  And once you missed one, you were done and could not proceed collecting any more. 

Lightning Lisa continued her CP quest and we were nailing each one. However O4 had pink flagging under the incorrect building.  So while we were searching all the nooks and crannies of that building for the punch, two mixed teams caught up to us.  But they did see the punch on the building next to the one that we were searching.

From there we all kinda teamed up for O5-O10. Here I was, a newbie to the sport, and running alongside THE Mari Chandler.  She even offered me a swig of her Mountain Dew, which I gladly accepted.

Once at the lake, we split ways.  We went CCW around the lake while the other 2 teams went CW. I elected to do the 30 yard swim to the platform to get the final point.

Killing 2 birds with one stone ... nabbing the CP and ?? (hint: made a warm spot)

Once back at the TA, I went to fill bottles while Lisa worked on her shoe.  Mari's and Britt's team had already taken off.  We took the higher North Ridge route.  There were 3 high points and CP 8-3 was at the 3rd high point. We eventually caught up to Mari's team and saw where Britt's team dropped their bikes at the 2nd high point ... whoopsie!  After nabbing 8-3, the road/trail conditions slowly got worse with a infinite number of downed trees, some we could hop and others we could not.  The trails in the boy scout camp reminded me of Pisgah: steep and technical.  I was definitely getting my cyclocross practice in.  Finally we started to descend, but unfortunately I had a nonfunctioning dropper, having taken that battery to keep my derailleur functioning.  The descent was very similar to Cantrell Creek in Pisgah, only steeper. Lisa was having a good time shredding this section, while I was being conservative.  I did not want our day to end here with a crash or bike mechanical.  

So many derailleur demons during this 7 mile, 2 hour section, my patience was getting tested.  I may have thrown out a cussing rant or two. On the final descent, I heard someone behind me.  Turning around it was Jesse and Andrea.  WTF?  I thought they were ahead of us.  Jesse said that they had mis plotted the corrected O7 at the O course, so it took awhile for them to find it. We collected 8-4 together.  Man those two are like deer running through the woods. From there we hit the gravel road and made our way over to Lowman's Ferry Road to start our paddle, nabbing the final bike CP on the way

There was a gas station at the paddle TA.  As we were approaching, I hesitantly asked, begged, to be allowed to go in the store and fill our bottles, as opposed to filtering from the river.  Being the Transition Nazi she is, barked back, "As long as it doesn't take forever."  Oh, she's a hard one 😥. I managed to hit the solitary bathroom just before a couple of teams also stepped in  to fill bottles.  So I filled quickly, pee'd quickly, and then bought us an ice cold Coke.  Nazi Lisa became Mother Teresa Lisa once she saw that Coke.

I took off my pack and reached to get my rain jacket.  I wanted to wear this as I had gotten shivering cold on yesterday's paddle.  But the zippered compartment was wide open and my jacket was gone.  F*ck me!  I think I was more concerned about losing a $200 jacket than getting cold.  I quickly pushed those negative thoughts from my mind and got our gear ready to paddle.  This paddle was on Claytor Lake and their were 5 CP's. 

We were the second ones, of the leading teams, to start the paddle.  Jesse and Andrea were no where in sight.  I was the gopher for these CP's, all of which required exiting the canoe and going for a short trek.  Having witnessed just how skillfully tricky Mark Lattanzi was in placing these CP's (think nooks and crannies, not hanging where they are clearly visible), I made sure to walk with purpose and have my head on a swivel.

CP 9-4

Going after the 9-4, I felt like I needed a tetanus shot.  I had to make my way through muddy muck and find which rust bucket had the hidden flag. CP 9-3 was the trickiest, as there were multiple downed trees in the re-entrant.  When I came to the first tree, I did not see it, so I started making my way up the re-entrant to the second tree.  But something told me to turn around and look back.  Sure enough, the baby flag was hidden amongst a bunch of brush that had gathered up against the fallen tree.

Once we nabbed the first 3, we turned around and were met with a brutal headwind.  It was so strong it was interfering with my paddle stroke.  And I started shivering. For 4 miles we fought our way back to the TA, nabbing the remaining 2. Once I saw the bridge, signifying where the TA was, I was able to stroke it up a notch.  

I was a shivering mess once we reached land.  And my legs did not want to work.  But I was smelling the barn.  All we had left was a 5 mile pedal back to camp, no more CP's. Once we hit the climb on Julia Simpkins Road, I found more watts.  By the time we had crested the hill, I was warm again.  Even though we had first place in the bag, "racers will race."  We emptied the tanks those last miles, passing several teams, who had not cleared the course, on our way back to Camp Powhatan.

We arrived at the finish with 2 hours to spare.  With another 26 CP's collected today (26 must be our lucky #), we secured first in the women's division (78 CP's total), and 6th overall.  Today's totals were 42 miles (10 paddle, 7 trek, and 25 bike) and 6300 feet of gain.  And my $$$ rain jacket was awaiting me at the lost and found ... another victory!

No teams cleared the course.  Britt's team won the overall with 85 CP's; Andrea and Jesse came in second with 84, and Mari's team came in fourth with 81. The podium prizes were a hodge podge of goodies, including a rain kilt and a 1/5 of moonshine.

For its first year, this was a well run and organized event.  It was also frigging hard, which is great!  The trekking rogaine was the hardest discipline due to its vastness, the technical terrain, and the tricky off trail points.  The single track was very technical in the camp.  I just wish that some trail maintenance could have been done prior; the boy scouts take care of that once their summer camps kick off.

Although the food was mediocre, except for the final meal, a taco bar and ice cream, which was amazing and the bus hiccup on Day 1, I give this race 5 stars!  I don't come for the food and the additional 3 mile trek was icing on the AR cake.  

I want to thank Mike and Mark for a FUn 3 days of putting our bodies and Lisa's mind to the ultimate test of durability and resilience.  

Race HQ with grandmaster Mike Lattanzi at the helm

I want to thank Lisa for once again pushing us to victory.  I just wanted to point it out that initially on the drive up, we were just gonna focus on our division.  She specifically said, "So many big hitters coming that we needn't pay the other divisions any mind."  Well, that quickly went out the window on Day 1 when we were up there with the best.  And so, despite her initial ho-hum nature towards the other divisions,  she was "balls to the wall" ... the ... entire ... time.  Just one of the many attributes I love about her; I can now say that after a week of recovery.  During the race, if you had asked me, it might be a different story 😄. 

As the mighty Cerberus retreats to his place at the gates of Hades his anger grows. These souls came too close to securing a clear course back to earth. He is reminded of his solemn duty: no mercy to those who wish to escape from this realm. 

And so he plots. Studies. Trains.

Committed to redouble his efforts to protect the Underworld.

The Cerberus will return.

                                   Put this one on your calender for next year:  May 1-3, 2026

Cerberus 3 Day Expedition Stage Race - Day 2

After a solid 5 1/2 hours of sleep, Lisa and I were ready for redemption. Morning temps were perfect at 50 degrees, with highs in the low to mid 70's. 

First off was the trek prologue at camp.  We crushed it and were first back to our bikes.  We headed out with the leading mixed teams just behind us. The pedal up Big Mack's was the biggest climb of the day ... on bikes. Surprisingly, after that 1 mile prologue sprint, my legs were opened up and it felt like we were flying up that climb.  It also helped that we had some some heavy hitters (Britt Mason and her team, the dynamic duo of Jesse Spangler and Andrea Larson, and  THE Mari Chandler, and her mixed team) hot on our heels.  The 5 CP's on the bike were relatively easy, especially with several teams on the look out for them.

We rode to the Allisonia boat ramp, where we had to disassemble our bikes and put them in the canoe for the 10 mile paddle on the New River down to the TA at Lowman Ferry Road. Having practiced this at Lisa's house last month, we were like an F1 pit crew and were the first team in the river.  Our lead did not last long as the mixed teams were just stronger and more skillful paddlers.  But we had not seen CheckPoint Zero and they were the team we needed to beat.  

There were 3 CP's on the paddle.  The first one I nabbed, but the remaining 2 were kinda tricky as they were on super steep technical terrain and very close to private property.  We made the decision to let Lisa out at CP 5-2 and then I would paddle around the point and pick her up at the re-entrant where she would come down through after nabbing CP 5-2 and CP 5-3.  She took the map, but gave me a Day 1 map with the same area.  However, I did not realize that the map I had did NOT have the paddle points on them.  Frack!  I knew the general area of the last paddle CP, but there were 2 re-entrants.  I picked the first one.  After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I started yelling her name.  Two other teams passed on by.  I asked if they had seen her up river (in case I paddled too far); they had not.  But then they made it to the correct re-entrant, where Lisa was waiting for me.  I finally heard her cry out my name.  It was as if I heard an angel calling my name.  I paddled over to the second re-entrant and there she be, a sight for sore eyes.  I was like a dog being reunited with its owner!

Reassembling the bikes.

Once we arrived at the TA we made quick work of getting our bikes off the canoe and back together.  We then headed out for the pedal back to Camp Powhatan. There was a mandatory crossing point at the top of Duncan Hill Lane.  We would be on private property for about 1 mile. There was also a CP here as well.  As we were traversing this area, we could hear a lot of screaming and cussing at the racers as they passed through.  I don't know if the property owner was just messing with us or truly pissed off, but we didn't want to hang around to find out.  But the map of the CP was at 1:35,000 and the trail was just a black smudge on the map.  We over ran the CP, going downhill, but corrected quickly, and found it.  It was much easier to see pedaling up a 15% grade as opposed to bombing down it.

After snagging the final bike CP back in the Boy Scout reservation, we pedaled on into the TA at the dining hall.  We dropped our bikes and headed out for the trekking rogaine. We had 5 hours to collect as many CP's as we could. But first we headed over to the string course and the climbing wall.  We did the string course first as the climbing wall was occupied.  This was a 1/2 mile obstacle course where you were zip-tied to a string and had to negotiate through trees, under fences, down steep embankments, through creeks, and over logs.  Being small was an advantage as some of the things we had to weave through and under were quite tight.

The climbing wall was pretty straight-forward.  We could belay each other or let the volunteer do it.  We opted to let the volunteer belay us as it was a better management of time. Then we headed off to get CP-R19.  Attacking from the south (as opposed from the North yesterday), Lisa had redemption #1 finding R20.  We continued North and R2 was quickly gotten, redemption #2.  Lisa was on fire!  

We headed up Shelby's Dream Trail, with its infinite number of switchbacks.  My glutes and quads were on fire and I had a hard time keeping up with Lisa.  She was a bloodhound and was hot on the scent of R12, R5, R8.  After R8, we began a bushwhack over to R3.  We overshot it; Lisa was having a hard time making heads or tails of North and South.  I believe her brain was low on glucose; she needed a ketone shot! We found it, working our way back up the spur.

Heading down Burke's Run, we nabbed R2 and R1. and then headed back to the dining hall to finish the day.  We finished with 23 minutes left on the clock.  Once again, we nabbed 26 CP's.  This put us first on the day.  We were now ahead of CheckPoint Zero with 52 points; they had 47.  We also managed to snag the QOM/KOM of the day (CP 4-1 to CP 4-2).

Day 2, although still hard, felt easier.  The shock and awe of yesterday was gone and my body had settled into that adventure racer rhythm.  I was very impressed with Lisa, as her body was firing on all cylinders.  I was doing all I could just to keep up.  It probably didn't help that I had raced a 2 day gravel race the weekend before and then played bikes in the week leading up to this event.  Hello, my name is Carey, and I am an addict 😂😂😂.

Today's numbers were once again 50 miles (10 paddle, 12 trek, 28 bike) and 5700 feet of gain (1/2 bike, 1/2 trek).

Dinner was chili.  I opted out and once again had chicken salad sandwiches and homemade cookies.  Although we were able to get to bed a bit earlier, the sleep just would not come and when it did, it was a toss and turny kinda night.  It felt like I was still on course.  But, it was still another 6 hours of rest.

All we had to do tomorrow was stay focused and finish.

Cerberus 3 Day Expedition Stage Race - Day 0 and 1

 

After having done PMBAR 2 years in a row with Lisa, we wanted something different.  I happened upon this adventure race while doom scrolling on FaceBook last fall.  3 stages, each 12 hours long, and sleeps in between ... sign us up! The race was staged out of Camp Powhatan BSA, located south of Claytor Lake in BFE Virginia.

Day 0

We arrived Thursday afternoon and checked into our cabin.  Pretty much as I thought ... dark, dank, and with leaves, mouse poop, and a few dead critters on the cabin floor.  I quickly took the broom that was in the corner and tidied up. There were 3 rooms in the cabin and we were sharing a room with a 3 person female team.  Fortunately, we had one side that had 2 bunk beds so that we both could sleep on the bottom.  We wiped down the plastic covered 2 inch mattresses and then put our own linens on the bottom and our gear on the top. The bath house was within a short walk.

While waiting for the official check-in, we prepped our gear and bikes.  Lots of decisions on what to pack based on the race schematic. Most of those decisions had already been made in the weeks leading up to the event, as both Lisa and I are planning demons.

Upon checking in, we were told that the Day 1 prologue was not going to be a trek at the start, due to a bridge out.  Instead we got to pair up with another 2 person team and play carnival games, which we are not very good at:  ball toss, frisbee golf, and hula hoop toss.  For each game you won, you scored a point.  We ended up winning one and losing two, which gave us a 10 minute time penalty on Day 1.  Once we finished the silly games, we were given our maps.  

We also had to transport our bikes down to the Allisonia boat ramp that evening. So while I drove the 30 minutes to the boat ramp, Lisa began plotting our route.

By the time we had packed our gear, taken our paddle bags to the box truck, and dropped off our bikes at the boat ramp, it was close to 9 pm. We were in bed with the alarm set for 5:30 am, but our cabin mates were not as efficient or as quiet as us, so sleeps did not come until around 10 pm and then were interrupted with the sound of others: talking, snoring, gear prepping.  

Day 1

Motorcoaches were gonna drive us to the start.  However, they could not negotiate the tight twisty gravel road and the multiple extremely narrow bridges leading to camp.  So we got to walk the 3 miles to where they could pick us up.  Just a small hiccup in the race's first year.  This also delayed the start by an hour.

3 mile trek to the bus

With our 10 minute penalty, our start time was 9:14 am.  We had a 1/4 mile run to the canoes.  The paddle was on the Big Reed Island Creek.  What with not much rain leading up to the race, the 12 mile paddle ended up being a "canoe-cross."  The creek was low and there seemed like a bajillion places where we had to get out and drag our canoe across the rocks.  Since we were both small, we at least could make it over more sections than most.  There was only one tricky rapid, where a canoe ahead of us flipped.  They got out of the way just in time as we hit it cleanly.

I was the CP gopher and hopped out to snag them.  The first 3 were on the creek and the last 3 were along the New River Trail.  For those, I hopped out and ran the trail to punch them, while Lisa paddled to the take-out.

CP # 1-6

At the Allisonia Boat Ramp, we quickly transitioned to bikes.  As I loaded our paddle gear in the box truck, I counted only 6 other paddle bags.  We had made up a lot of ground in our weakest discipline! There were 4 CP's in the small Hoover Mountain Bike Area.  What with all the access roads and trail intersections, it made navigation a little tricky. 2-1 was an SOB as we had to scramble through a huge pile of boulders the size of Mini Coopers, trying not to break a leg as we searched every nook and cranny for that damn orange/white flag.  Once out of the MTB park we continued on the New River Trail. 2-5 was at the end of a peninsula on the New River.  We dropped our bikes and ran out to the peninsula in energy-sapping sand.  Once we found it, we then decided to ford the creek (as it wasn't over our heads as we thought it might be). As we were halfway across the creek, my old foggy brain couldn't remember if I had punched it or not.  To be sure I trudged my way back through the shoe-sucking mud and punched it ... again.  

New River Rail Trail

The remaining CP's on the bike were pretty straight forward and we managed to nab them without too much wandering.  However, what really burnt a lot of matches was the bike-whacking climb up Chimney Mountain along a re-entrant.  Think 1/2 mile with pitches of 30% through thickets of rhododendron. It was a 20 minute push of death.  By the time we reached the top, our lungs were screaming and our hearts were beating out of our chests.  This extreme effort caused Lisa to go right instead of left.  She quickly regained her sense of direction once the oxygen hit her brain again and we corrected quickly.

From there it was a mostly downhill pedal back to Camp Powhatan that was serving as TA2. After a quick transition where I beat Lisa ... finally 😄, we headed out on the trek.  We had 4 hours remaining. It was a rogaine.  There were 24 CP's.  We could get a max of 14 today.  Then tomorrow we had the remaining to go after. This section was extremely difficult as there was no clear right way to pick them up.  They were either at high points or low points, so it seemed.  And the elevation  ranged from 2000 to 3200 feet; these hills were steep AF! R9, R24, R18, R16, R22, and R21we nabbed within 2 hours. I've got to hand it it Lisa, she was spot on through here. I was a hurtin' buckaroo trying to keep up with her on the steeps.

Unfortunately, we spent 90 minutes looking for R4 and R20 and came up empty handed. Lisa was pretty frustrated, but I was trying to keep her spirits up.  If only I had her experience and mad nav skills, I could have been a better partner.  She was burning calories not only physically, but mentally as well, like a master chess player. 

We hoofed it back it with 18 minutes to spare.  This put us in 2nd place with 26 checkpoints, and just 1 checkpoint behind the 4 person female team CheckPoint Zero.  

Day 1 was a shock to my system.  We paddled 12 miles, biked 28 miles, and trekked 10 miles with 5000 feet of elevation gain, with the majority of that on the trek. The course was physically hard, what with the steep terrain of Appalachia.  Most of the trek was bushwhacking, either straight up/down or off-camber side cutting hills.

I consumed at least 1000 calories at dinner.  Unfortunately the only thing I could eat that the kitchen staff cooked was green beans.  But I had a hearty supply of chicken salad,  GF bread, and home made protein powder cookies in my cooler.

Neither of us had any issues falling asleep Friday night.  Exhaustion, full bellies, and an edible did the trick.  We both got a solid 5 1/2 hours of sleep.

Reliance Deep Woods Gravel Race - Stage 2

After a restless night's sleep (achy legs), Sunday morning I drove back to the venue with my Trek Checkpoint sporting 45mm Continental Terra Speeds.  They would be a little sketch in some areas of the course, but with 23 miles of pavement and mostly smooth'ish gravel (relatively speaking), this bike was gonna be fast, as long as I had the legs to power it.

Today's course was 60 miles and 7300 feet. It was another fast start uphill on Hwy 30.  Having a 45 minute lead over 2nd place, I took it easy and settled in behind a group of ladies.  Chelsie took off like a missile.  I miss those days where just one good night's sleep and I was ready to hammer again the following day. I spotted a fellow Scott's Bikes jersey and introduced myself. It was Sara Fletcher, who I follow on Strava and kinda knew about, but finally got to meet her in person.  We chatted briefly during those pavement miles.

After some initial rollers, I felt my legs begin to come around.  Having happy legs made the 10 mile Kimsey climb more manageable and I was able to pull away from the group of women I had ridden the first few miles with. There was a fella riding just slightly harder than me on this climb, so I stuck to his wheel and let him tow me up the mountain.  A nice comfortably hard pace, but not one that required any match burning. Once at the top, I prepared myself for the chunky descent down Ditney, which we had ridden up yesterday.  Those 4.4 miles I settled into a conservative "don't wanna flat" speed.  Halfway in, I came across two ladies, one helping the other who had flatted.  I think I may have slowed down a bit more after that.

My pacer just up ahead on Kimsey

Heading down to Farner, I was in no man's land.  Very lonely for this 5 mile stretch of rolling pavement. Turning right onto Hiwassee River Road, I was on a dirt road as smooth as a baby's bottom.  Man, if only I had the power on the flats, but I had to settle into a nice tempo pace. Sara ended up catching me on Shuler Creek Road and we chatted a bit to pass the time on the flats.

Shuler Creek

Once we turned left onto the Unicoi Turnpike (Joe Brown Hwy), so began a 3.5 mile climb up to Unicoi Gap where the aid station was.  I thought Sara was behind me, as I heard a second set of wheels, but it was the fella that paced me up Kimsey Mountain.  So I hopped back on his wheel and finished the climb with him.

At the aid station, Matt partially filled a bottle for me. I was in and out in less than 20 seconds. The descent down Joe Brown to Cooper Hollow was fast and furiously smooth. Legs were feeling fairly good so was able to make quick work of the pavement over to Ironsburg Road.  Ahhh ... fresh buttery smooth pavement!

I struggled a bit on the initial climb up Duckett Ridge.  But also ran into the owner of the Swedish looking red house on the right.  Paid him a nice compliment as I passed by as I have always admired that house.

Along the second half of Fingerboard, with all those short punchy climbs, the wheels started to come off.  My low fuel light came on. But I could smell the finish.  Just get up this final friggin' tar n chip climb.  Ooomph!  I hit the Towee Pike descent to Childer's Creek.  Who the f*ck put all those rollers on Childers?  I didn't remember those!  Yep, I was tired and ready to be done.  Up and over, up and over, up and over I pedaled until my legs filled with lead.

Rolling past the JMT trailhead, I was at 4:55.  I challenged myself to get to the finish under 5 hours.  It hurt like hell, but I managed to squeak it in at 4:59.  I had to yell out my number at the finish.  This was old school watch timing.  And the timer was busy talking to someone who had finished just before me 😆.

And with that, I wrapped up a win in the Master's category with a combined time of 11:06.  

With the win, I scored some $$, a cool trophy, and a free entry to next year's race.  

Once again, I want to thank Shannon and Celeste for a wonderful weekend of fun sprinkled with a wee bit of suffering.  Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my performance.  These past couple of years have been a bit of a struggle having sparkly days.  You know, the kind of race where it feels almost effortless.  But with dialing in my sleeps, nutrition, recovery, strength training, and trail running/hiking, this body has become stronger and more resilient. Just gotta stay on track.

Reliance Deep Woods Gravel Race - Stage 1

 

Shannon Burke, who operates TennesseeGravel.com, started this 2 day gravel race last year.  With a few tweaks this year and a lot more sponsors, he had upped the game and I had a feeling this was gonna be a great weekend to race, swap stories, and even party a little. You could race the long routes, or you had the option of riding 2 shorter courses each day.  Afterwards, you could clean up at the campground, chow down on some grub, and have a beer or NA beer, or two. This was as much a festival as it was a race.

Saturday's course was burly: 66 miles and 9200 feet.  And with a good bit of chunky gravel/double track, my 2016 Niner RKT RDO with 2.2 Race Kings was the right bike for the gnar.  It had dumped rain the night before, so sections of the course could be particularly spicey. The starting temperature was 60 degrees ... perfect!

The start was faster than my legs wanted to go this early on, but I knew I needed to hang on to enjoy the draft going up Childer's Creek and Power House Road.  Five miles of mostly free speed on pavement ... I will take it!  Just that one stiff little climb, where I was able to pull away from a few ladies, as the diesel engine was warmed up ... much sooner than I expected. The 3 mile climb after the swinging bridge went by quickly.  Well, hello there, sparkly legs!

The Smith Mountain climb was a beast at 6 miles of chunky double track.  Fortunately, I was having a great day and ended up passing another woman on a short descent.  This section was quite wet and a little muddy, but the Kings were hooking up well.  Wish I woulda tried these tires years ago!  

I followed Scott, aka "Sugar," down the Kimsey descent to Piney Flats. This descent is WAY more fun after only 20 miles in your legs as opposed to 120 miles when doing the Dirty 130.  Piney Flats was wet but grippy.  There were a couple of severely rutted out sections where you had to carefully pick your lines.

The aid station was at mile 32.  I stopped briefly to eat a banana and refill one bottle.  Then I was off to tackle the 10 mile Wolf Creek-McFarland climb.  The Wolf Creek section was smooth, 6-8 % average grade.  Legs were still sparkly ... huzzah! From there, I made the right turn onto McFarland and continued climbing another 5 miles, but with horribly steep pitches, washed out road beds, and chonky bedrock to negotiate. Still motoring, I made it to the top in record time, a new PR for me!

Then it was back to Smith Mountain, but this time I got to descend it.  Got a chance to recover a bit, although I still had to stay focused, as it was wet and chunky. As I turned right off of the Smith Mountain descent, Randy Kerr came riding up behind me.  WTH?!? Apparently he had ridden the Piney Flats section twice instead of coming down Smith.  Man, I hated it for him.  When the course has lots of criss-crossing, you have got to be astute in doing your homework, as well as watching for the upcoming turns, so that you don't end up repeating a section or going backwards on the course.  Ask me how I know ... Gravel Worlds 2023 😣

I passed by the aid station without stopping and then began the short climb on Lost Creek.  I could not believe how good I was still feeling. The last 13 miles seemed to fly by, standing and hammering the climbs and raging the descents.  I tried to stay conservative, as tomorrow was another hard day, but I was having so much fun. I ended up PR'ing the Lost Creek section, too.

I rolled into the finish line, 1st Master's and 2nd woman, with a time of 6:07.  Chelsie Tan had finished in 6:04.  I had heard about her and finally got to meet her.  Tiny, she's lucky is she stands 5'1", but I bet her watts/kg is phenomenal.  Previously a World Tour level athlete, she has found that mountain biking is much more fun. And today's course was a mountain bike course, for sure!

Unfortunately, I could not stay and join in the afternoon camraderie and festivities, as I had to go home to let the kids out.  Both Carly and Charlie had to work today.  But it also gave me good reason to get home and try to recover for tomorrow's stage.

This year's Day 1 course was so much better than last year's.  Long climbs and technical descents made for a great day of racing and adventure in my backyard.  If you want champagne gravel, head to the middle of the country.  If you want to do hard things and destroy your limits, then this race is for YOU!

Boondoggle Forty5

 

Saturday John Switow and I headed up to Kentucky for the Forty5.  It is a mixed surface event, that has 16 miles single track, 2 miles of double track, 13 miles of pavement, and 14 miles of gravel. This year, due to torrential rains, the Middle Ridge double track was left out.  Middle Ridge is infamous for its mud holes (who knows what's at the bottom).  Normally you can skirt around them, but this year would have required a flotation device.  So an additional mix of gravel and pavement brought the total mileage to 49, instead of 45.  

Waiting to start, even though the temperature was 41 degrees, I was shivering.  When the Keith blew his truck horn, I was warm within 100 feet, as the start was a 2.8 mile paved climb to the single track. The legs were feeling pretty good, but I still held back some, as I did not want to blow a gasket.  I entered the single track behind a few guys, but they were moving fast enough that I did not have to scrub any speed. 

With the rains in the days leading up to today, that first descent was sketchy.  For one, the trail was blown out, there were diagonal roots everywhere, and it had been a minute since I had raced in the mud.  It felt like I was riding on ice. The first 2 miles were the most challenging.  This 8 mile section of single track is very similar in feel to Brush Creek at the Ocoee Whitewater Center.  You can really haul ass when it is dry.  But man, those roots could be treacherous.  There was only two small punchy climbs that I came off the bike, mainly because of traffic ahead of me.  I made it down the root ball plunge of death in one piece ... whew!

The latter half of the trail was blistering fast as it shed water well and was mostly dry.  There were 3 guys just ahead of me going at EXACTLY the same speed as me.  I tried hard to bridge the gap, but could not quite get there.  And once they popped out onto the pavement, they slowly pulled away even further.  So I was in no man's land for that 5 mile stretch of pavement.  

Once I hit the gravel loop, I began to slowly reel them back in.  Two pulled off at the aid station at mile 15, and then there was just one.  I finally caught up to him, Denny was his name.  He was super strong ... and 67 years old.  I met him at the start of the race.  He was proud of his Specialized Epic 8 and I could tell he loved that bike.

We played leap frog throughout that 20 mile loop which was mostly gravel.  And buttery smooth gravel it was.  It rolled well and was fast!  There were only a few stout climbs, but none that lasted more than 1/2 mile.  The young bucks caught back up to me and I rode with them for a while, until they petered out. I was alone once again; Denny was behind me as well.

I was still feeling good and light in the legs.  So began to stand and hammer the climbs.  All that winter/early spring strength training was paying off.  Only one thing made me mad during this gravel loop and that was the clusterfuck of cars at the bottom of a descent.  One in front of me came to a complete stop and another was turned sideways in the middle of the road.  So instead of a blistering descent, I had to scrub ALL my speed, coming to a complete stop, and losing ALL my momentum for the climb just beyond this madness.  Deep breaths, Carey.

I stopped at the aid station at mile 34 and swapped one bottle and slurped a gel.  From there it was backtracking on that 5 mile section of pavement.  I saw a rider just behind me and slowed up a little.  It was Denny.  Together we took turns pulling on that pavement.  It made the effort so much easier.  Once we got near the entrance to the 8 mile single track section, Denny pulled off to grab a bottle from his wife.  I yelled out to her that she has an awesome husband.

The single track had dried out considerably and the roots played much nicer on the way back.  Before we parted ways back out on the pavement, Denny mentioned that his grandson would get on to him if he was beaten by a girl.  So I tried to get a little gap on Denny in the first 2 miles or so.  But he was like a horse fly and would not relent.  His fitness and skills are something I hope I can hang onto when I am his age.  I did let him by, twice, but passed him back along a techy section of the trail.  He later told me that he just couldn't hang with me on those last few technical climbs.

I cleaned everything on the way back, including the gnarly root ball section, now a climb.  But only because it had dried out.  There wouldn't have been a chance in hell, had it been wet like on the way out.  The last mile began a painful slog uphill.  The legs were now tired and ready to be done.  One final climb up to the finish and I rolled through in 3:47:30, first woman and 20th overall. 

I want to give a shout out to Tracy Cook, who took second, and was only minutes behind me.  She is another OG, who has been putting in the training, and it has paid off.  She is getting fast!

Instead of the traditional podium pics, we got ours taken individually as we finished.  There was an amazing spaghetti dinner for the racers.  I did not partake, but brought my own post race food. John had a good day on his gravel bike.  We actually met in 2019 at this race, when he introduced himself to me at the start line. All I could think was, "This idiot is on a gravel bike."  But our friendship hit it off and we have had many adventures since.  This year there were a lot more gravel bikes, but much different that the one John rode 6 years ago.  With mountain bike tires, mtb gearing, progressive geo, and some with front suspension, they are way more capable of handling that 16 miles of single track.

I would like to thank Keith for one of the coolest trophies I have ever received.  He just couldn't be one-upped by John Maggard and his War Daddy trophies.  And for continuing to have this race in a time when it has become extremely difficult for race promoters to break even. It was a great day to play bikes in Kentucky.

Snake Creek Gap TT

The March edition was moved to April after high winds and storms were forecasted for March 15.  I was tickled pink that the race was rescheduled. For once in a long time, I felt ready to dig deep and go hard. Race temps were going to be 72-83 degrees, perfect for me.  My muscles just don't function as well when the temps dip below 50, and the sauna sessions I had been doing at my gym had me prepared for the heat.

Happy to have his company once again, John spent the night and then we drove down together to Dalton. Probably the one and only time I will wear a sleeveless jersey at The Snake, I was able to get in a proper warm up.  I lined up close to the front, as I wanted as clear a course ahead of me to hopefully work some magic and finally get a sub-4 hour time that has eluded me for 6 years.

As Kevin Crowe pulled up behind me, he said, "Ah, good, someone to pace me."  Taking that as a compliment, but knowing how strong he is, I figured he would pass me on the flat 2 mile lead out to the first double track climb of the day.  Sho' nuff, he did come around me and I could only hope that I might see him later on in the race.  

I knew that I needed to settle for the first half, keeping something in reserve, as well as keeping the engine from overheating.  I kept a comfortably hard pace up that first climb. When I entered the first single track, I was pleasantly surprised that trail fairies had blown the leaves off and removed the loose rock, making the trail highway fast! 

As I made my along the first half, I could feel the sun's intensity between the cloud breaks.  Fortunately there was a nice cool breeze, so I never felt hot.  I cruzed along, cleaning all the techy bits, save for that one little creek crossing that had two lines, both of which could potentially end disastrously for me, so I chose to dismount and jump over the higher line.  This did not sacrifice any time, but kept me from having to waste energy by hitting that grunty climb hard enough to clear the ditch on the bike.

Having raced The Snake a gazillion times, saving energy where I could would allow me to hit that last and most difficult single track section fast and efficiently.  So after gassing myself a bit during the harder parts of the first section, I would recover on the "flatter" sections by soft pedaling a minute or two before ramping it back up to tempo.

I cruised into the aid station at 1:43, slurped a gel, and grabbed my bottle of LMNT.  I was out of there in less than 30 seconds. I went at a steady endurance pace up that first climb.  Once I topped out, I picked it up and began focusing on "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast," mantra.  Being able to see the trail allowed me to pick the smoothest most efficient line and not bumble around wasting energy.

I caught sight of Kevin during one of the climbs just before the descent down to Swamp Creek.  Finally a carrot I could latch onto.  I caught up to him, he said something like, "You suck," which just fired me up more.  I did let him by on the descent, but then caught back up to him on the gravel climb.  As I passed him the final time, I told him that he shoulda followed his own advice back at the start line.

I entered the final single track at 2:41, giving me 1 hour 18 minutes to finish the last 10'ish miles.  It ... was ... gonna ... be ... close! I just kept envisioning a sub-4, which kept me focused, steady, and positive.  I felt great, I felt zen, I felt the flow!  I cleaned everything up to The Wall.  And The Wall was in the best shape ever.  If ever was the time to attempt a clean ride up this beast, now was it.  But, old and wise Carey was playing the long game.  Having never cleaned it during a race ( I have cleaned it twice in my life when JRA), I knew I would waste valuable time and energy trying to stroke my ego.  But I did a HAB FKT! 

Once at the top, I remounted and tried to push just a wee bit harder.  Once I got to the Dug Gap fire pit, I realized I was going to have to TT it to the finish as I had 22 minutes left.  So I gave it my all!  A few spots I ran it, knowing that was the faster way.  In races past, by this point, I felt like a pinball.  Not today, as I was in the groove!  I came upon two racers just as I was about to hit the "gunsight pass" section at the end.  They dismounted to walk; I yelled out, "I am going for it!"  They moved aside and cheered me on.  In the past, it was a 50/50 chance of making it.  Today, I had to clean it, and I DID!  From there, just another minute of suffering and I could enjoy the final descent.

In those final minutes, I super tucked when I could and pedaled when I needed to.  Sprinting to the finish, I passed through the arch in 3:58:03.  Hot damn!  Last time I had this fast of a time was 2019 with a 3:53. I attribute this to perfect weather, perfect conditions (what with a clear trail), stepping up my strength training this winter, and sauna sessions at the gym, and the wisdom I have gained over the 21 years of racing this beast. 

John had a PR and earned a buckle to be proud of.  This was the first time he has raced The Snake and he said on the ride home, quite possibly the last.  I give him a month to forget the pain.  And, he had raced the Waucheesi 90 last weekend in absolute horrid conditions (rainy and brrrr cold).  

Once again, thanks to NWGA SORBA for an amazing day playing bikes.  From the cool schwag to the volunteers at the aid station to the smorgasboard of post ride food and beverage, you guys have one of the best events in the SouthEast.  

Oak Mountain 10 Hour Adventure Race

Lisa and I once again teamed up for OMAR.  Two years ago, this was my first adventure race, where I barely managed to hang on to her maniacal pace.  Now, having a few more under my belt, I felt more confident about keeping up as well as being able to help out with nav, should Lisa need it.  

60 teams of 1-4 people had signed up.  There were a total of 36 checkpoints up for grabs.  There were 2 treks, 2 bikes, 1 canoe paddle, and 1 paddle board section.  Having arrived at 6 am, Lisa had 2 hours to plot CP's and determine our course.  There were two TA's (Transition Areas). TA 1 was at the Start/Finish.  We decided to start with the first trek, since it was a nippy 42 degrees. 

When the gun went off, Lisa took off like a bat out of hell.  Oh, Lord, my legs were not quite ready for her speed.  We took the CW approach of collecting the 6 CP's on this first trek, starting with CP2. A 1/2 mile in and I was thinking, "There is no way in hell I can keep this pace up for 10 hours."  The first 3 controls were easy peasy.  We bushwhacked to where CP4 shoulda been, but there was nothing.  We traveled further up along the creek, then back tracked further down the creek, to no avail.  Lisa finally made the call that the control was NOT put in the correct spot, so we headed to CP 5.  Along the way, we found a post with a punch, but no tape.  I punched it, thinking that this was probably #4.  We then nabbed CP5, and ran the road back to the Start/Finish and did an out/back to get #6.  We over ran CP6, only seeing it when we turned around and headed back; didn't cost us but a minute or two.

Heading back to TA1 after the first trek

Quickly changing shoes and acquiring more food at TA1, we then headed out for the first bike leg.  Heading up Peavine Road, Lisa's greyhound speed leveled off to more of a wolfpack running down a caribou; a much more sustainable pace.  We picked off the first 3 CP's with ease.  CP10 was only difficult to find because our navigator jumped from Map 1 Bike to Map 3 Bike.  So we started looking for it too early, but being the Queen that she is, Lisa quickly figured it out and we found 10 quickly thereafter.

From CP10, we bike whacked up a steep ass re-entrant to hit a hiking trail that eventually took us to CP11.  That was a killer short cut and my glutes and calves let me know it!

25% grade up that re-entrant

After grabbing CP11, we motored down to TA2.  We decided to do the second trek before the paddle board segment.  We quickly changed into trekking pants, as we did not want to have to run around for a couple hours in clammy shammies.  

Lisa planned a near perfect route to nab CP's 14-22. She was like a blood hound on this section while I was a lemming. There was a sh!t ton of off trail bushwhacking, but her skillful nav landed us darn near every CP, or at least within 30-40 meters, where then my eagle eyes would take over and locate the orange control flag. A majority of the controls were on the tippy top of ridges and knobs.  So much so that Lisa began singing "Take this Knob and Shove It." It took us 2 1/2 hours to collect all the trekking CP's.

Heading out on the second trek

Just one of a 1/2 dozen rock scrambles 

Once back to the TA, Lisa was feeling some impending cramps, so I let her drink what was left of the LMNT in my bottle.  She then went out on the paddle board to collect the 2 CP's at the opposite ends of the lake.  While she was doing that, I changed back into my bike shorts, drank a Coke and ate 2 bags of potato chips. I had eaten all my food, save for 1 gel, on the trek.  So, for the bike back to the Start/Finish, all I had nutrition wise was Skratch (160 kcal) and 1 caffeinated Gu (80 kcal).  Lisa asked me to find a packet of LMNT in her feed bag and refill her bottles.  Unfortunately, there was no LMNT to be found (insert foreshadowing here).

Back on the bikes we headed down Belcher Byway Trail, one of the new trails at Oak Mountain.  It was way FUNNER the direction we were headed (all downhill) than the directions quite a few teams were taking. The CP's along this trail and Lunker Lake were pretty straight forward, although CP24 had us wandering and wondering a little bit (we overshot it) before we found it ... across the creek.

Once we started on BLT, that is when the wheels began to fall off Lisa's bus.  The lack of LMNT was wreaking havoc on her legs and feet, as she continually had to slow down to stave off cramps. Fortunately the remaining bike legs was on mostly flat flowy trail.

CP28

The CP just off Garret's Gulch was overhanging a creek.  Not willing to reach precariously down and grab it, I opted for getting my feet wet and getting in the creek to punch it. Despite Lisa's struggle, her brain was still firing on all cylinders, allowing us to nab the remaining biking CP's with surgical precision.  That damn Jekyll trail went ... on ... forever!  

We finally rolled back to the Start/Finish, where we quickly transitioned to the paddle.  5 CP's to acquire on Double Oak Lake.  I fought with the spiderweb of PFD's to grab one for myself.  It took a frustrating moment to put the straps back through the PFD correctly. Meanwhile, Lisa was ready to go, telling me in the nicest way possible, with all of her muscles wanting to seize up, to get my a$$ in the canoe! 😆😆😆

Lisa let me take over the navigation after we punched CP32. The remaining CP's were not on our map.  We had to view a hanging map at CP32 to see the location of CP33, and so on and so forth for the remaining 4 CP's.  It was all on me to memorize each location.  Even though the nav was easy and straight forward, I, still being new to this game, was so nervous I would let Lisa down.  I wavered a bit on CP34, to which Lisa helped me get to the correct re-entrant.  But after that, I invoked my inner bloodhound and found 35 and 36 fairly easily.  I was glad for all the gym work I have put in over the past year, as I figured out how to use more of my core and less of my arms to paddle more efficiently.  I just wish the canoe had foot pegs.

We ran to the finish line with a time of 9:25, 35 minutes to spare.  We ended up winning the overall (out of 60 teams and solos), and were 1 of  2 teams to clear the course.

Our win was was over 95% Lisa and 5% me.  Watching her navigate and putting us right on top of the CP's most of the time was just magical! I can only hope to be 3/4 as good as her in the future.  I am definitely looking at some solo adventures, in which I can hopefully hone my skills.  We have the Cerebrus 3 Day Expedition Stage Race coming up in May and there are some heavy hitters showing up for this one.  I am nervously excited about this one.