Huracan 400 Ride Report Day 2

 We set our alarms to wake up at 5:45 am, but our twitchy, achy bodies had us awake at 5:30 am.  We moaned, we groaned, but got our stuff together and headed down to breakfast, where we made quick work of coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast.

As we got on our bikes, I believe we all winced when our nethers contacted the saddle. I was glad I applied some Boudreaux's Butt Paste as well as a pack of Chamois Butt'r. While I had no chafing or sores from yesterday, I wanted to make sure and keep it that way today.  While the skin was in great shape, the sit bones were tender.

We pedaled a few miles to rejoin the route from where we left the night before.  Temps were in the mid-60's and their was a slight cool breeze.  Traffic was quiet, being a Saturday, and we safely rode 16 miles through the neighborhoods of Apopka before hitting the Loop Trail around the lake.

Lake Apopka ... one of my favorite sections.

The Loop Trail was hard packed and fast.  Those 21 miles went by quickly, as we had plenty of wildlife and landscape to lay eyes upon.  So ... many ... gators! We finished this section with a switchback climb up Green Mountain.  We stopped and walked up several flights of stairs to the overlook; I could feel the weight in my legs.  At the Green Mountain Trailhead, we stopped, got water, and butt'rd our bits Even though it was from a fountain, it still tasted like beach sand.

Green Mountain Overlook

At mile 40 we entered the Florida Pyrenees.  All on asphalt, the next 20 miles was a series of small but punchy hills.  These were not rollers but steep climbs that had me saying, "I am NOT using granny, I am NOT using granny!"  

Florida is not flat

With a tender tush, I opted to stand on these climbs and give my bits some reprieve.  Oh, and a nice southerly wind kicked up during this time, which made those climbs even more challenging.

A nice little 100 foot rise along the horizon

After the Pyrenees, we fought a terrible headwind into Minneola.  We found a Publix and stopped to eat lunch and resupply.  I grabbed a banana and a King Size Snickers and PayDay. 

Sushi!

With full bellies, we slowly pedaled through neighborhoods fighting the winds the whole way.  And it was getting hot!  I was not complaining because at least the 15 mph headwind had a cooling effect. Finally we hopped on the South Lake bike path and enjoyed the views along Lake Minneola, including the beautiful old stands of live oak trees.

Lake Minneola

After 6 miles of paved bike path, it was another 16 miles of asphalt to the Van Fleet Trailhead.  All this flat after the Pyrenees was beginning to take its toll on my lady bits; mashed and smashed is the best description for how things felt down there. Lisa and Lindsey were also having the same problem.  In addition, Lindsey tweaked her knee trying to clip in her pedals.  Cleats that were brand spanking new for the ride had now been ground down to a point that made insertion and removal of her shoe most difficult.

We stopped to fill up with water at the Van Fleet Trailhead as this would be our last opportunity without filtering.  But watching that gray water come out of the faucet, I began to think about filtering even that. I applied more Chamois Butt'r, but was really wanting an injection of Lidocaine into my sit bone area.

Highs for the day were in the low 80's

After just a short 2 miles on Van Fleet, we entered the Green Swamp.  I have heard nightmares about this section: mud, water, more mud, soft double track, everything to kill your average speed.  And there was 45 miles of this, according to Lisa math.

beginning of Green Swamp, not too bad

The roads through the WMA were in extremely good shape.  There were a few mud holes to skirt around, but not enough to even warrant the 🖕. 

Lisa was so strong through the swamp

Lindsey really began to suffer as the miles drug on.  I felt so bad for her, but there wasn't a damn thing I could do except offer encouragement.  Both Lisa and I did most of the pulling through here to allow her to keep as much pressure off the knee as possible.  

We stopped at a small camping area just before we hit the paved Rock Ridge Road which was the most southern point through the swamp.  The camp host was nice enough to give us each a bottle of cold water.  The biting flies were fierce here, but I managed to pull up the route on Google and swat flies simultaneously.  I think I cried a little when I realized that we were not even halfway through the swamp. I began to dislike Lisa math. 

As we pedaled along Rock Ridge Road, enjoying the smooth asphalt, I did a little bike math.  Yep, our day was going to be a little longer than the projected 135 miles.  Lisa and I chatted about our situation; we didn't have the heart to tell Lindsey who was having to a dark place to keep on chugging along. 

The easy spin along Rock Ridge Road ended quickly and the course turned back into the swamp along a freshly plowed section of double track.  It was very chunky riding, but at least rideable: it could have been a lot worse had it not been for the moisture in the soil.

Why?  For a fire break, perhaps.

At least for Lindsey, the pain in her knee subsided when she was walking.  Fortunately there was only a mile or so of this and then we were back on some better double track as the sun slowly began to set.

With 30 miles left of the swamp and another 8 miles of pavement to the hotel, we trudged on as darkness enveloped us.  We were all quiet at this point, seeing the opportunity for a hearty sit down meal slip away from us again. We had a moment of losing our way when we did a complete circle in sugar sand around the boy scout camp, wondering where the hell the correct road was.  Upon retracing our path and looking closely at the track, I figured out that there was a single track that we were supposed to jump on. We had to go through the camp and and the trail was semi-hidden with some deadfall.  Whew! I thought we had entered purgatory for a moment.  And those buildings at the camp were CREEPY, as in B-movie horror film creepy.  Wish I had snapped at picture of them.

After the short bit of single track, we found ourselves on a section of double track that had lots of limbs.  Despite seeing the large limb in front of her and even calling it out, it latched onto her derailleur. Her derailleur/pulley cages managed to chew it up, but not before it tweaked her Transmission derailleur, which is supposed to be indestructible.  While it did not snap off, it did something to her shifting causing her chain to skip in the lower gears. So now she was relegated to the highest 5-6 gears.

It was smooth sailing on Ranch Road.  With miles still left to go and our water running low, Lisa approached a campsite and was greeted with two of the tallest Great Danes I have ever seen.  The owner grabbed them before they attempted to jump the fence and eat us.  Although a bit reluctant at first, they did give us each a bottle of water.  Thanking them profusely, we went on our way.

After several miles of more double track, we turned on Meg's Hole Road.  And soon enough there she was ... the hole we had to cross.

Meg's Hole

About 30-40 yards across, we navigated along the far right and it never got more than mid-thigh deep.  The water was warm as well.  After that was Lacoochee Road, which was deep with soft sand.  There was a little pushing involved, but then we found where a Razor had recently gone through and followed its firm'ish tracks, eventually turning onto Graveyard Road, which was in much better shape.  And we could hear civilization, meaning our ride would soon be over.  The 45 miles of Green Swamp was actually closer to 60.

Hitting Hwy 50, we turned on the afterburners, or at least it felt like it.  There was a Winn Dixie close to the hotel, so we were trying to make it there before closing.  Arriving at 9:45 pm, we were 45 minutes too late.  What the heck?!?  They close at 9 pm, on a Saturday?  Frustrated, we headed to the hotel, checked in, showered  (my lady bits 😱), and then headed to McDonald's, the only fast food restaurant open at 10:30.  I got a double quarter pounder with cheese sans bun and a Coke (Eric, don't judge me, as I was hoping for better at Winn Dixie).

Bonus:  we got upgraded to 2 rooms!

 

I still managed to eat and wash our clothes and get to bed by 12:30 am, although it was a very fitful sleep, as the legs were heavy with fatigue and achy.

Our 135 mile day was really 153 miles with 2900 feet of climbing.  So that should mean tomorrow ought to be a short day, right? 😏  

Elapsed time: 14:58        Ride time: 12:56

Here is the Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/10643994963/

Huracan 400 Ride Report -- Day 1

 

Summer kits in January!

Our day began with a 5 am wake up call, followed by several cups of Sleep Inn coffee ... meh! After throwing the gear we would not be taking with us into my truck, I said a silent prayer that Biggie G would not be violated during our 3 day absence. We pedaled 6 miles to the start of the course, praying once again that we would not be plowed by rush our traffice ... at 6 am!  

Nayls North Trail

The weather was very pleasant starting out at a cool 65 degrees. Going clockwise we rode about 25 miles of Santos single track, stopping at the campground to refill our water.  From there it was more single track over to Marshall Swamp.  The Studebakin Trail should be renamed Rodeo, as it was very lumpy and my bike felt like a bucking bronco beneath me.

There was a beautiful paved path lead in to Marshall Swamp.  The single track through the swamp I thought was in excellent shape, with a few sections of pedaling through water.  We then rode a short section of the Florida Trail before dumping out onto some paved roads.

Marshall Swamp

Marshall Swamp

At 54 miles into the ride, we stopped at the Solid Rock Church (mile 48 on the course) to filter water from the spigot (said non-potable).  I dropped an electolyte tab into my bottles, but it still tasted like ocean sand.  Soon after that stop, we rode some beautiful limestone roads, only encountering a brief stretch of sugar sand.  It was easily rideable as it still contained some moisture from last night's rains.

Fast as asphalt

Not as bad as it looks

We entered the Ghost Trail at mile 69 (mile 63 on the course). 3.5 miles of trail that was either covered in blow downs or overgrown with grass.  This trail skirted around the northwestern section of Farles Lake. The views were eye candy!  The water was down, so we were able to skirt around the fallen trees and ride close to the waters' edge, where the dirt was firm and the grasses shorter

.

Ghost Trail

Ghost Trail

As our water was running low, we stopped at Farles Lake Recreation Area.  The water pump was broken, so we filtered water from the lake.  That was the best tasting water of the whole ride!  The heat of the day was now upon us (82 degrees).  I thought I had been drinking enough, but started getting a head ache, so I took a couple of extra strength Tylenol.

Farles Lake

More miles of limestone and pavement brought us to the Paisley Mountain Bike Trail: 11 miles of open, flowy, and hardpacked sand/dirt which was very similar to Croom.  I was ready to be done by the 7th mile as it was getting redundant and I was low on food.  Fortunately, the town of Paisley was just a few miles beyond the end of that single track.  

Slim pickens for me

Lisa and Lindsey headed inside while I watched our bikes.  There was a sketchy dude on a clapped out Specialized CrossTrail that pulled in just as they went inside.  Glad I opted to be watch dog because I could see this dude eyeing our bikes pretty hard.  He didn't seem like the serial killer type so I talked to him and tried to tighten his handle bar, but the bolts were completely stripped.

I made due:  1100 calories

Leaving Paisley, we encountered Maggie Jones Road, of which I have heard nightmares.  Today we won the lottery, as it was hard packed and fast!  

Gopher tortoise on Maggie Jones

More fast pavement took us to Seminole State Forest.  Here, we were supposed to pay a day use fee of $2.  I had brought plenty of dollar bills to deposit at the pay station, but you had to use your phone to pay online.  After 10 minutes of attempts, including the website locking up on me, I said, "Fuck it, this is ridiculous!"  Even though I was not in racing mode, I did not want to waste precious minutes of daylight.  I wanted to just drop $2 on the ground and go.  (I later paid online, when I got back home and could do it without any stress.)

The roads through Seminole State Forest were beautiful. The sun was beginning to set, temperature was cooling down, my headache was gone, and the King Size Snickers was in my belly.

Seminole State Forest

Rock Springs Run was 8 miles of hell!  It started out with firm double track which soon became swampy with many boggy areas that involved pushing through or around deep water.  And then night fell. 

There was a short section of GPS track that had us deviating off the double track.  We quickly decided to follow the shit road we were on instead of bushwhacking deeper into hell.  That cost us a few minutes and some tears.  And then there was the Challenge Trail, aptly named not due to technical features, but because that it was completely overgrown with underbrush.  Our poor bikes and legs were lashed almost to death. I kept getting small sticks and vines wrapped around my cassette.  Our bike derailleurs were lucky to have survived.

What trail!?!

At 8 pm and 128 miles (122 miles on the course), we made it to the short rogue trail down to the  Wekiwa River crossing.  I was glad I had watched a few YouTube videos on daylight crossings. While Lindsey and Lisa were hem hawing, I saw the little strip of water on the opposite side, hoisted my bike on my back, and began the 40+ yard journey.  The water, being spring fed was warm, and it got no deepper than just above my belly button.  I could hear Lisa behind me as she began the crossing, telling me not to get any pictures as she was naked from the waist down.  As I made it to the other side, I could hear Lisa saying, "Where's the line?  It's tits deep!"  I was laughing so hard, I had a hard time getting my phone out to take a photo or two.

I have finished my crossing and this shows the long approach up the little inlet to the boat launch.

The light in the distance is Lisa and Lindsey

Even though Lisa took off her shorts to keep them from getting wet, she still managed to get them soaked.  We took a few minutes to gather ourselves while Lisa got dressed, and then began riding up the road.  Just around the corner no more than 30 yards from where we had crossed, were some campers around a fire.  They were probably caught off guard a little, seeing and hearing us 😂😂😂 coming out of nowhere ... on bikes.  We got a good belly laugh out of that!

We were now in Wekiwa Springs State Park on 8 miles of wide single track.  Heading out of the state park, it was now almost 9 pm.  We made a mad dash to the Publix on Wekiva Springs Road, but they had just closed when we arrived.  So then we went to the Publix on Hunt Club Blvd, as we found out they stayed open until 10 pm.  Here we grabbed some subs and bike food for Day 2.  

Needless to say, we got some strange looks.

We ended up rolling in to the Holiday Inn around 10 pm.  I was able to shower, eat, do a load of laundry, stretch, clean/relube the chain, and get to bed by 12:15am.  Man, what a day!

141 miles total, 131 miles on course, 3500 feet of gain, elapsed time 15:41, moving time 13:50.

Here is my Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/10636817418

Thankful to continue the crazy in 2024

While most people were in bed with angry livers, Honcho and I elected to ring in the New Year with a sunrise ruck run on the Eureka Trail. The 2 1/2 hours it took me to run 12 miles with a 20 pound pack allowed me to reflect back upon 2023.

Last year was filled with challenges, mostly self-induced, but a few unexpected ones.  I am happy to report that I survived and thrived through them all, save for one.  This last one, which I am still trying to figure out, has been a "thorn in my side" for the past 6 weeks, more of a fitness issue, but one that I will eventually conquer.

I have so much to be thankful for.  Most of my training is solo, and while I do enjoy the "me" time, I do long for others to share in the experience of pushing the body and mind.  I am fortunate to have Lisa Randall, John Switow, David Jolin, Zeke Lilly, Melissa Cooper, and Scott Morman share in my passion for all day adventures.

I am grateful for the amazing work family at The Animal Clinic.  This year was our first under the corporate umbrella of VetCor.  While we were all a bit skeptical of how working for a corporation would go, I would call it 100% success!  I have never seen our morale higher, despite a chaotic workload and a fair share of crochety clients.  I want to personally thank Mark Workman, the previous owner, and my mentor for the past 38 years, who, during the sale of the clinic, got me full time benefits (I work part-time).  

I have to pinch myself when I think of my bike sponsors, most of who have supported me for over 10 years.  

David Coulter, owner of Scott's Bikes, took me under his wing, when my LBS went out of business in 2017.  This bike shop has been a family owned business for 30 years, has weathered a lot of tough times, but with exceptional service and smiling faces, has pulled through, while many LBS's have gone under.

Industry 9 has kept "the kids" in shoes since 2013.

Christopher Bean Coffee has energized my mornings since 2015.

Chamois Butt'r has provided love for my bits since 2009.

Endless Bikes has SSupported me since 2012, with their beautifully durable cogs and chain rings.

Trucker Co has been keeping the tires full and the brakes worky worky with their sealant and pads since 2017.

I am happy to report that I will be in the Rescue Racing kit once again in 2024.  

And to Charlie and Carly, thank you for attempting to understand and allowing me to do these things that most people would call crazy.  But I LIVE for CRAZY!

Aspirations Over Limitations

Tis the time of the year when I start planning 2024 adventures.  There will be those that I will do again because of the fun factor, tradition, or redemption (PMBAR, Marji Gesick, Snake Creek Gap TT, War Daddy). As long as I put in the training, show up to the starting line, and my bike doesn't break, I will finish it.

The past couple of weeks, I had been thinking about an event that could top Marji Gesick on a single speed or the Death March Revival YoYo.

I wanted to find one that terrifies me.  Not in the scared I am going to die sort of way, but that puts me out of my comfort zone, where failure lurks around the corner, challenging both my physical and mental fortitude.  And then Lisa texted me Thanksgiving morning.

I answered her before I had the chance to process the enormity of this adventure, because I felt that if I let that question linger for longer than few minutes, the monkey in my brain would give me all sorts of reasons not to do it.

And so, I will be teaming up with one of our nation's best female adventure racer for the Warrior Sea To Sea Expedition Race in Florida in February of 2024. The race starts on the west coast and ends at Saint Augustine on the east coast, and according to the website, covers 300 miles. Jeff, the race director, is notorious for doing "Todd math," as last year's event covered 340 miles ... oh, brother!

Lisa Randall is a beast when it comes to adventure racing.  She has competed nationally on elite level teams as well as capturing the title of solo adventure racing champion the past two years.  Last March, I tagged along as her team mate at the Oak Mountain 10 Hour Adventure Race.  This was my first adventure race and it was so much fun.  But I didn't have to do any navigating.  It was amazing to see her in action!  How she was able to navigate while bushwhacking at significant speed as well as on the bike was mind-blowing!

During this year's race, there will be an orienteering relay section, where two members of each team (a team can be 2-4 people) will have to navigate alone. And I did not realize this until I started reading about the race details. This is the part that scares me!  I am a newbie to orienteering.  Yes, I was in the military, but any compass-type nav skills I learned 30 years ago were deleted from memory 28 years ago. 

My fear of failure is that I don't want to let Lisa down and look like a fool fumbling through the woods trying to find checkpoints.  I was hoping that I could be a great team member by being the best mule ever, while Lisa did the nav.  

But if the race doesn't challenge you, then what is the point of doing it?  So I have got two months to buckle down and figure this map and compass thing out.  The test shouldn't be too too hard, if I do the homework, right?  

Sometimes I wonder why Lisa asked me to do this, when there are other more capable adventure racers out there.  But, I am glad she did, I think.  She has been there to shove me into the deep end more than once, which has allowed me to grow as an athlete and as a person.

I just hope that, once on the other side of this adventure, I can look back and wonder why I was so worried.  Or perhaps that I should have been more concerned about the 75+ miles of trekking and 75+ miles of paddling.  And alligators ...😆

Dirty Duathlon

I have done this race four times now: twice solo and now twice as a duo, with me doing the bike portions.  For this edition, Lisa Randall, was going to do the 5k run in between the two 5.5 mile bike legs.  I must say I am absolutely amazed and inspired what Lisa is capable of.  Every year, despite doing a great portion of the course work prior (including leaf blowing the trails and signing them), along with her usual race director duties that seem to be non-stop the week of, she also manages to have the strength and time to do the race itself. Me, on the other hand, gets to take it easy leading up to the event, and still struggles with the high intensity effort that comes with this course. 

The race takes place at Rope Mill park in Woodstock, Georgia.  The course consists of biking the Mill Trails, running the Explorer trails, and then finishing it up with another bike on the Avalanche Trails.

After having no rain in the month prior, it rained, the day before, the night before, and the morning of.  I have not ridden in the mud, save for Gravel Worlds, all year.  And Gravel Worlds was essentially just holding a straight line, while this course was twisty turny.  

Lisa signed us up in the Coed Expert category, which allows either male/female or female/female.  We would be up against Lisa's daughter Jayden and her teammate who runs high school cross country, as well as some other fast kids.  Good Lord, what was she thinking?!?  

It was a drizzly 50 degrees at the start.  Lisa repeatedly reminded each wave to take it easy going across the bridge to enter the single track.  My wave consisted of my division as well as the duo Expert Men.  Needless to say, I was the LAST to enter the single track.  My mind was telling my body go, go, go!  But my body was saying WTF?!?  It hadn't gone 0 to 60 all year, so the legs and lungs were on fire!

I slowly watched the leaders get out of eyesight.  I struggled up that first 0.3mile climb.  It wasn't until I was about halfway through this lap, that my legs finally came around.  They actually felt better when I was able to stand and hammer up a climb as opposed to seated pedaling.  Towards the end, I was able to catch back up and pass two in my wave.

I bombed back down to the transition area, dismounted, ran through the creek, and tagged Lisa.  Jayden looked like she had been there awhile; her heart rate probably had already settled back down.  I slowly cooled down, but tried to keep the legs ready with some squats and high knees.

Lisa set a blistering pace and came through, as she predicted, 26 minutes later.  She had passed Kim Moore and gave me some breathing room.  I was not sure what place we were in at that moment, but thinking 4th or 5th.  I took off toward the Avalanche Trail.  Some yea-hoo got all stupid next to me, about taking me out as we approached the single track.  I slowed up and let him on by;  should not have done that, as it made me struggle up the slippery rocks and almost did not clean that hard left switchback.

That first climb up Avalanche was a grunt!  But at least now, my rain/mud skills were there and it did not feel as slick here. Even the roots were not bad.  I went as hard as I could, knowing Kevin Crowe, Kim's team mate, would be looking to mow me down.  About two thirds of the way through I caught a glimpse of him.  And at that point I was NOT feeling good; the legs were filled with lead.  I could hear him gaining and was hoping he would just put me out of my misery.  He finally caught up to me with about a mile to go.  Well, shit!  Now I had to at least try to stay ahead of him.  My rear wheel slipped on a tricky rooty climb, causing me to dab, and Kevin to dismount.

I managed to get a gap on him and gave one last big push, legs screaming and lungs burning.  Just ... get ... to ... the ... descent!  The rooty section just before that I had bobbled on during the pre ride, I cleaned it with perfection!  I saw the turn onto the descent and sent it!

I hit the finishing arch, with just 4 seconds to spare.  Lisa told me we got third!  Hallelujah!  I believe my new mantra is "will not stop."  I was glad to have dug deep and gave a final kick to the finish, whereas just prior to that, I was almost willing to slow down and just let Kevin make the pass.

Jayden and her team mate laid down a fast time and took first!  That kid has turned into a skilled little demon on wheels.  

Tellico Highlands ITT

North River Road

October 28 was the absolute perfect day to ride this route.  The foliage was at its peak, the temps were mild (55-75, low humidity), and the road conditions were close to primo.  And I started in good company with Lindsey, Courtney, and John.

I opted to ride my Niner Air 9 RDO with Maxxis Rambler 50's.  My lower back had been angry the past two weeks, and even though I had muted the pain by loading with Aleve the couple days prior, I wanted to limit the potential for aggravation.

Only a pound heavier than my CheckPoint

Lindsey and Courtney set a pretty brisk pace up Wildcat Road, FS 384.  I hung on towards the back, but far enough away to not draft.  I had to back off some on the Bald River Road climb, but was able to catch back up on the descent down to Holly Flats.  My bike handled the sketchy washboarding perfectly and I was so much more comfortable being able to stay seated some, as compared to when I had ridden this on my gravel bike a few weeks back.

Basin Gap at top of Bald River Road

Riding down River Road, I pulled off at the game check station to use the restroom and refill a bottle.  I lost contact with the gang, as they did not stop.  I slowly caught back up to them over the several miles of false flat on North River Road.  Once the climb began to steepen, I was unwilling to keep the pace Linsdsey and Courtney were setting, so I drifted back, but was still able to keep them within eye contact.

My gameplan was to keep it comfortably hard until I hit the Farr Gap climb, and then if I was still feeling good, I would ramp up the effort.  I made sure to fuel every 30 minutes and try to take in about 60 grams of carbs per hour.

John fell off the pace, too, but not before he mentioned that there was a piped spring on North River Road (the one we were currently climbing).  Hmmm, as long as I have been riding this road, I had never seen it.  But sure enough, about 4 miles from the top, I saw it on the left.  I know where I will be refilling now, instead of the game check station, as that water tasted quite awful today.

Once on the Skyway, there was still more climbing ... ughh!  Here is where I had my low moment.  Even though the Skyway is mostly downhill, there are still 3 ugly pitches that had me grumbling, to which my inner demon responded and enticed me to slow down, perhaps stop at an overlook and take in the view.  Nope, nope, hell nope!  This only made me dig deeper, stand and hammer, and aero tuck so hard on the subsequent descents that my neck and back began to cry a little.

Heading to Indian Boundary, I was looking forward to the lake trail.  Little did I know that this was the last weekend the campground was open and 2 busloads of church peeps had just unloaded and were walking on the trail.  It was wall to wall people that I had to maneuver around, all the while keeping a smile and talking pleasantries as I yielded to them.  I started to get pretty tense as I waited 2, 3, 4 minutes at the one lane bridge with chain link on both sides as people SLOWLY made their way across.  Finally there was an opening and I took it.

As I rode past the campground store, I looked for Lindsey and Courtney.  Not seeing them, I finished the lake loop and proceeded down Citico Creek Road.  I stopped to use the restroom just before the turn off to Farr Gap, and then took a 200mg caffeine pill.  I was hoping to catch Lindsey and Courtney on this loop, most likely on the descent, as Lindsey was riding her gravel bike.

Doublecamp Road was chunky and now covered in leaves.  Once again, I was thankful to be on my mountain bike.  And the dull ache in my lower back, which had been present the last 40 miles, was now gone.  Don't know why, but not gonna complain.  Feeling good, I ramped up my effort, and had my second fastest time up this climb.  Yea for small victories!

Farr Gap climb

By the time I had reached the top, I was feeling sparkly.  I just knew I would be able to catch them on the descent.  Despite the leaf cover and rowdiness of the gravel, I cautiously sent it!  A couple times I hit a rock hidden by the leaves hard enough for me to anticipate the sealant flinging out of my tire, but fortunately I did not puncture. As I was approaching the bottom, I could not believe I hadn't caught at least Lindsey.  She must have "Hail Mary'd" it off the top!

At the bottom, I filled my bottles one more time at the piped spring.  I hard charged it down to the Miller Ridge turn off, and began to climb.  For once, I was glad to see the climb profile pop up on my Garmin.  This allowed me to redline my effort on the climbs and recover on the short descents.  People often refer to this 9 mile section as "death by a thousand rollers." While the profile looks pretty tame compared to the rest of the course, it hits you hard, and if you haven't saved a little energy for this last section, it will gut punch you.

While I was climbing I kept looking for tire tracks.  There were spots along the course that I should have seen their tracks, but I was not.  I did question if somehow I had leapfrogged them.  It would have had to been at the campground store.  Believing they were still in front, along with the caffeine-induced euphoria, kept me pushing hard.

Once I finished up Miller's Ridge, I thought it was all downhill to the finish.  What I forgot was the section of Rafter's Road and Turkey Creek that undulated ... forever it seemed.  At least the scenery was spectacular!

Turkey Creek Road

Approaching the lower Turkey Creek Road closure, I was concerned about passage.  Was I going to have to put on my sweetest, most innocent southern belle voice I could muster and talk my way through?  

I had no problems accessing.  I put down the hammer and rode like a scalded dog.  I squeezed in between a pick up truck and a dump truck at the bottom and then TT'd it down River Road.  No one was gonna catch me now.  

As I approached my truck at the Oosterneck Overlook, Lindsey and Courtney, nor their bikes, were nowhere to be found.  I had been chasing ghosts for the past 45 miles!  Oh, well!  That was a good thing, as it made me push harder than I probably would have had I started this journey solo.

They showed up not too long after me.  They had indeed stopped at the campground store and got caught in a line at the cash register.  And then each of them had punctured on Farr Gap, but managed to plug their tires.  DynaPlug for the win!  Had it not been for those two setbacks, I would have indeed been chasing them all the way to the finish.  Such strong powerful and fun women to ride with!

Lindsey's nail

Our official photographer, always on the ready.

I managed to set a time of 8 hours, on the nose, which I believe is good enough for the FKT.  At least I get the chance to hold it for a bit, until Heather Jackson, comes and obliterates it 😆.  But both Lindsey and Courtney are fully capable of taking it, as long as they ditch the store stop, and keep air in their tires.

12 Hours of the Hill of Truth Race Report

This year was the 25th anniversary.  While there were several race/ride options this weekend, I decided to go back to my roots (both literally and figuratively).  This race was my very first 12 hour event, 20 years ago ... back in the days of 26" wheels and rim brakes.  

The race was handed over to Clinch Valley Trail Alliance in 2018, 2019?  And 12 Hours of HOT has become an annual fundraiser for the club, who maintain and build trails within Haw Ridge. And finally have the funds to put up carsonite trail markers.  

A couple weeks ago, I helped out at one of their trail work days, prepping the course, and getting to see the course before it was released. Unfortunately, TVA had laid about 6-12" of large gravel on the iconic powerline climb (THE Hill of Truth), and it was totally unrideable, even for the pointy end of the field.  So CVTA decided not to include it in this year's course.  Instead they replaced it with the almost equally painful East Ridge single track climb.

Just enough rain the day before made for near perfect trail conditions.  It was a chilly 50 degree start at 9am.  I opted to stay mid pack, not wanting to burn matches mixing it up with the young guns.  We started in the campground area and immediately hit the single track of Beaver Trail and Buzzards Bluff.  This section was a little slick and my tires were slipping off rocks and roots. It was still congested riding through Mike's Trail and East Edge, but at least the roots and rocks were dry.  

East Edge

Then began the 0.3 mile climb up East Ridge/Rainbow to Powerline.  This climb had several steep pitches throughout, where my nose was just above my bar trying to keep the front tire grounded. Fortunately it was wide enough to get around several racers who lost traction and were not walking.  

Once on Powerline, it was still a short push to get up on Ridge.  Traffic had thinned out by now and I was in my own bubble. This was a fun stretch of tight single track along a contour line.  From there, I took a hard left on to K2 Trail, a steep descent down to Roller Coaster. Aptly named, Roller Coaster was a series of tight and twisty steep ups and downs.  

Roller Coaster

Fox, Red Hill, Lake, and Twister were fairly tame. This was the time to take in nutrition and rest a bit before V Trail.  This was a mother!  A long steep climb, followed by an "eye-ball rattling" rocky descent.  The quads were worked on V and then I had what felt like a forever long technical climb on Upper Soccer.

Fortunately the last couple of miles back to the start were fairly mellow and I had a chance to chill and take in nutrition on the Dirt Lab trails and Old Edgemoor. Finishing that lap at a 55 minute pace, I stopped at my cooler and exchanged bottles and shoved a banana down the hatch.  

My pit area

On the second lap as well as all others, I was mostly by myself.  Occasionally someone would pass or I would make a pass, but everyone played nice and was so polite and giving words of encouragement.  Towards the end of this lap, my lower back began to ache.  Having known this was a possibility, I had loaded up on naproxen the 36 hours prior, hoping to avoid this, but damn!  I guess I was gonna have to deal with the pain.

Laps 3-6 the pain intensified.  It was hard not to ignore the demons in my head telling me just to stop and the pain would go away.  I fought against them, telling myself just to take it one lap at a time.  Just get to 6, I would say, and then reevaluate.  And each time I rolled through the start/finish, I said, just one more. Not gonna lie, the demon would speak at least once every lap and tell me to take a look at the results and if I was ahead, then I could slow down or quit.  But GGG (grit, gristle, and gumption) would say nope, nope, nope.  

So I kept on pedaling, not stopping, other than to grab more nutrition.  I did have to take a pee break after the 5th lap, and that damn demon kept picking at my brain.  But I did not give in. Fortunately, either my back pain began to lessen, or I had learned to ignore it

With 1000 feet of gain per 6.5 mile lap, it was beginning to take a toll on me on the 7th lap. I began to break down the lap into 3 sections, each one denoted by the 3 biggest climbs (East Ridge, Roller Coaster, and V). I permitted myself to walk two short sections; the steepest climb on Roller Coaster and the last little grunty climb on Twister at the intersection of Lake. However, I made it my challenge to clean the V climb each and every time, which I did.

Finally after lap 9, I allowed myself to look at the standings.  I had a 2 lap lead on second, and after doing some math, thought I could probably stop and hold 1st place.  But, GGG said nope!  You gotta do one more because you have always gotten at least 10 laps in every year you have done this race.  So after a minute of stretching the lower back, I got back out and finished my 10th lap.

Done, with 2+ hours to spare

Total time:  9:53

Mileage: Garmin said only 63, but it was actually closer to 70

Elevation gain: 9700 feet

I would have to say that of all 6 times I have raced this event, this course was the most brutal, due to the amount of climbing.  I am just not sure what percentage being 10-20 years older contributes to this decision 😆😆😆.  But I do know that I am 100% happy that I am still able to push this body as hard as I do and she still responds ... mostly.

A big thanks goes out to Lisa Mueller and the rest of the Clinch River Trail Alliance for keeping this race alive ... and hard.