...is what this race should be called. Went down Saturday and stayed at the very nice Leith Run Campground which is located along the Ohio River in the only National Forest in Ohio...Wayne National Forest. After I put the kids to bed on Saturday night, I hung out with Bill Braum and some of the RVMBA members who promoted the race and built much of the trail. They gave me the 411 on the course and let me sample half dozen or so glasses of yummy mico-brew from their keg. Somehow I always find the keg....just lucky I guess.
I opted for the 45 mile XXC over the 22 mile XC. The 45 miler had over 5,200 feet of climbing which I was by no means prepared for. The race started at just after 11am and the rain held off for the entire day, which was nice. I rode pretty strong for the first 25 miles then got a case of the "tireds" and kind of lost interest and put it into "damage control" mode after that. Got to ride with Brian Lennon for a while, which was fun, until he dropped me. After aid station 4 with about 10 miles to go, there was a brutal single track climb which ended with the hardest hike a bike I have ever had the displeasure of walking up.
In the end, I managed not to injure myself and rolled in just inside the top 20 overall. See results here. Northeast Ohio rocked the 22 miler with the Spisaks, Mike Fletcher and Darren Spence filling out the top 10.
The Marietta area has some great trails that I would like to ride again sometime. Lots of climbing!
Later,
BRD
2 comments:
I completely agree Brett - it was Ultra Hard. Good job finishing top 20.
The race was brutal! Even harder coming off the Lumberjack last week! Nice seeing you there. That hike a bike was UNNNNN-real! HA!
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