2015 Race Season Starts For Real: Death March Race Report

 

Death March 2015 is in the books, and what a race it was.  Following last year’s good result, I once again teamed up with Aaron for this year’s iteration, with both of us under the banner of Team Matthews Racing. 

The Weather

Snow covered Indiana the two weeks prior to the race, with heavier snow fall to the south. However, a quick warm up started to do away with the snow, although the Tuesday before saw a significant rain run through the state.  The next two days were mild with sun, but Friday saw a huge storm system come through which dumped up to 2 inches of rain across the southern portion of the state.  Flood warnings and watches were all over, and reports began to filter in about roads in the race area being flooded out. 

The morning of the race found rain still falling in Indianapolis, although radar showed the rain had ended at the race venue at the Midwest Trail Riders Camp (MTR).  Heading south we ran into occasional showers, although the fog was quite bad.

Traveling across the causeway over Lake Monroe en route to Midwest Trail Riders camp.

By the time we got to MTR, the rain and stopped, but fog persisted, as did the generally wet conditions.

The Plan

Last year, Aaron and I took a clockwise approach,   The mandatories this year were Hawkins, Thompson and Robertson. Surprisingly, Elkinsville, the northernmost cemetery, the fastest route for which goes through Combs Road, a long retired county road that is often nothing more than a dirt pathway through numerous creek crossings, mud bogs, and creek crossings. (and that is on a good day.)  With the prospect of warm temps, and heavy rains, the route to Elkinsville promised to be horrendous, and the creek portions likely flooded.

So Elkinsville would likely be out. Additionally, we had planned to tackle Callahan, the only checkpoint not accessible by a gravel road, but due to the rain, we nixed that plan. Different from last year, we chose to go to Gorbitts Church and Cemetery. This was one of the far outlying cemeteries and I hoped its 45 minute bonus would give us an advantage as many teams skipped it last year.

Otherwise, we would go through Houston, head west up to Tower Ridge Road, before crossing 446 and bagging the cemeteries on the west side of the high way before getting back to the finish.

 

The Race

Despite initially forgetting my helmet at home, Aaron and I managed to get the sopping wet Midwest Trial Riders Camp with plenty of time.  After changing and getting registered we hit the start line for the announcement of the last two mandatory checkpoints just before the start time at 9:26 a.m. All of the sudden, there was a huge BANG, followed by a chorus of groans. I looked around, and then down and saw that the rear tire on Aaron’s bike had blown off of the rim.  It has been set up tubeless with Stan’s but somehow it came off.  We both turned and ran (well I rode, Aaron ran) back to the car to get the tire remounted. 

At the car, we removed wheel, and Aaron decided to toss in a tube.  The tube went in, but remounting the tire was terribly difficult.  While doing this, the horn went off and the race started without us.

After several minutes of wrestling, the tire finally popped on, but when we tried to pump it up, air was still escaping. Apparently the tube had a hole somewhere. Once again the tire came off the rim and a new tube went in. This one held air and we roared off, with a quick stop by the mess hall to find out what the other two mandatory stops were: Chrisley-Hillneburg, and Lutes, to go along with Robertson, Hawkins, and Thompson.  Good, no Elkinsville this time around.

Our route would take south from the MTR, and up McPike Branch Road to Hickory.  Our good luck continued as we neared a retired iron bridge less than a mile from the MTR. The bridge is blocked off by two metal barriers, which are easily climbable. However, the bridge service is wood. Aaron dismounted first and as he stepped onto the lip of the wood surface to climb over the barrier, he slipped and went down hard, with his bike falling on top of him.

Worst case, Aaron was hurt and second worse case, his bike was damaged. Luckily neither was true. Aaron got up and we shuffled across the ice like wood surface. Once on the other side, we set off up McPike.

We hit gravel for the first time as we climbed McPike. Immediately it became clear things would be tough, since the road surface was saturated and our tires were sinking. I went through the rest of the day thinking I had a flat tire. 

Soon enough we bang to pick off teams on McPike and made good progress through the very scenic foggy conditions. Our first stop was Hickory Church Cemetery, where they were actually preparing for a funeral.  These cemeteries we visit are in some cases pushing 200 years old. With the small number of people living in the area, I can't imagine the cemeteries see many burials these days. 

After Hickory, we headed south, past the Hickory Ridge Horse Camp, and towards Norman. En route we passed several more riders and made contact with Our original plan was to drop onto trail and head for Callahan Cemetery, the only stop that was accessible only by trail.  However, due to the exceedingly wet conditions and the prospect of having to fight mud and swollen creeks to get there dictated that we skip it. Instead, we headed south and hooked onto Highway 58, a two lane paved road which ran east to Kurtz following a long descent.  Before we hit Kurtz, we took a left and headed north to get Hanner Cemetery and its 20 minute bonus. There had been some reports of flooding in this area, although we saw no sign on the way to the cemetery

Our next stop was Gorbitts Church and Cemetery, the farthest south east of the checkpoints. It was worth 45 points and for good reason considering its out of the way-ness, and because it was at the top of a rather nasty climb. We had skipped it last year, but Gorbits and its bonus figured prominently in our plan.  Instead of heading back south to 58, we looped north, and then dropped south to the road to Gorbitts, a route which saved about a mile of riding.

However, first, we had to decide whether to go get Cornett Cemetery. It was only a 10 minute bonus, and while a short distance away, there were a few short punchy climbs on the way there. I referenced my Gravel Grovel 2014 GPS track (the course went along the same route) and saw that from where we would turn to go to Cornett, it took me about four minutes and forty five seconds to ride to Cornett. Figuring a return trip into the equation, Cornett just wasn't worth it. For others, who tried for Cornett from the north, they found flooded roads which required walking and wading through the flooded road. The worst we found was evidence of flooding overnight, and a short section where about two inches of water was flowing across the road. No biggie.

Still smiling...and still wearing last year's team kit.
The Team Matthews kits haven't arrived from Voler yet,

As for Aaron and I, we climbed to Gorbitts, and then cut north on a gravel road to the paved road which descends from the Mount Baldy Climb (see Gravel Grovel), before taking a left and picking up the mandatory Thompson Cemetery. At this point we ran into the J Bikes crew coming down from the Buffalo Pike climb, the eventual co-ed winners, as well as the men's team we had expected to be in first. They appeared to be behind us, which was somewhat confusing at the time.

After Thompson, we headed north to the town of Houston, and picked up the mandatory Lutes and the 15 minute bonus.  We'd seen numerous dogs so far during the race, but between Lutes and Houston we came across what looked a Coon Hound, who was very friendly. On the way back from Lutes we passed him and a friend of his as they trotted down the middle of the road, just strolling along.

Picking up Lutes....and me looking way too serious.

From Houston we had a nice long paved stretch and made great time. We started to see a lot of other riders passing us going the opposite direction, presumably those team who had chosen the clockwise route, as opposed to our counter clock wise course.

We picked up Fleetwood, and once again made contact with the J Bikes crew. Next on the list was the mandatory Robertson Cemetery. The most direct route was a low road which ran along a creek. On a good day, this route is usually muddy and rough. But, the alternative was to start climbing up Tower Ridge. The J's Bikes group counseled against this plan, thinking the road would be under water.  We decided to try but just after 200 feet, we turned around.  We had come around a bend in the road and sure enough, the road was underwater. Despite my water proof boots, I was not keen on riding through deep water. So we turned around and made it to Robertson the longer, but definitely more dry way.

The next leg was the climb of Tower Ridge Road to the Hickory FIretower, and then a long gravel section along the road to Hwy 446/Kinightridge Road. The climb was slower than normal, hindered by tiring legs, and numerous soft and muddy sections.  I did notice an interesting phenomenon during this portion of the ride. We caught up to a tandem about this time, and while riding behind them, I was focusing very intently on their rear wheel. As I watched, it seemed that the ground they rolled over was rippling and moving. I assumed it was my imagination, or a byproduct of fatigue, but found at the post race meal that several other riders had seen the same. Hooray for not hallucinating.

The Hickory Fire Tower is a 30 minute bonus if you climb to the top for a photo, and was also the site of one of the SAG stops. Physically, I was feeling, with no cramping. I had started off with a gel, and two bottles of HEED water. I'd had another gel at Houston Cemetery, and had mostly gone through my water bottles. At the SAG, I filled my bottles and picked up some Clif Gummies and we got back to it.

From this point, we were mostly alone. The road had been crowded for the previous 40 minutes as we passed many teams who had been taking the clockwise approach.  Now we had passed those folks, and saw no one else from the fire tower, to Todd Cemetery, and to 446. At the highway, we headed south to Dutch Ridge Road to get the last two mandatories, and one bonus, on the western side of the highway. Just before we got to the mandatory Chrisley-Stephenson Cemetery, we passed the tandem we had been riding with earlier, but they were it.  After getting Chrisley, we headed south to Hawkins Cemetery, where we passed two more teams, before we headed south again to go to Gil Gal Cemetery. 

Evidence of the wet conditions on my glasses and helmet, while Aaron is
developing a thousand yard stare while at Todd Cemetery.

At this point, the sun had come out and the day was quite pleasant. Unfortunately, our legs were getting worn, as we were more than 50 miles in.  To get to Gil Gal, we had to surmount one more large climb (I swear it didn't look all that rough on the GPS elevation profile from my pre-race planning) which took more of a tool than we expected. We made it to Gil Gal although post race analysis showed that we only had about a 2 minute benefit from the stop.

Was Gil Gal worth it? Maybe not....but I'm starting to show the strain of the race.

From Gil Gal, it was a short return ride to Hwy 446, and we were rewarded with a blazing downhill towards MTR, a short climb, and then another downhill to the right turn off the highway for the camp. Our day wasn't over, as instead of turning towards the camp, we went straight to pick up Mitchell Cemetery, the last bonus for the day.

In the end, we rolled across the finish line at 1:57 pm with 57 miles behind us. We were definitely one of the first 20 or so teams back, but Aaron and I figured the 15 minute delay had killed any chance of a good result. We changed, and got some Yats and chatted with friends and fellow racers and watched as other teams came in. The times were still being tallied up, but we decided to head out before the awards.

The bike wasn't in that bad of shape post race. I've seen worse, and at least I wasn't riding through
water up to my hubs.  Still waiting on a sponsorship call from Orbea and Subaru. C'mon Orbea, can't be that
many people racing on an Alma in the US.

The top three results were posted later that night, and not surprisingly, we were not in the top three. The next day, full results were posted.  I ran down the list, thinking we would be around where we had been last year, 19th, due to the tire issue. I didn't see our names and got all the way to the end of the list before starting at the top.  And wow. We didn't make the top three, but we were sure close with a fantastic 4th place finish. I was shocked. We had run a good race, but I had figured the tire issue had knocked us out of contention. Apparently our roaring comeback almost worked and it was clear that our decision to go to Gorbitts certainly paid off.  In looking at the final time results and with all bonus checkpoints accounted for, turns out we were only 5 minutes behind the 3rd place Nebo Ridge Team, who had gone to Elkinsville. 2nd  place was only 15 total minutes ahead of us. Our excitement by the result was tempered slightly by the realization, that but for the tire issue (or for my map checking stops or that last climbs), we could have possibly gotten 2nd. 

But, as I have said in many other posts, that is racing. Shit happens, and all you can do is respond the best you can and soldier on.  We did just that, and still had a great result and a great start to the season. Thanks to my teammate Aaron for a great race and to DINO and Sub 9 for hosting this fun event.  We'll be back next year gunning for the podium again.

Aaron and I pause for a very quick photo at Robertson.
 

 

 

 

DINO Fatbike Friday Race Report

 

 

Glad my expectations weren't too high for this past Friday's DINO fatbike race.  The results were not there for me, but it was still a hell of a fun time.

Despite the threat of a low single digits at race time, the temps were actually around 15-16 degrees.  I didn't want to waste my batteries, so no preriding was done, although I'm quite familiar with Southwestway's trails, even at night. The status of the snow on the trails would be the wild card.

The fatbike field was an Open category, so there were some seriously tough riders in the group )Cat 1 and Pro/Elite), and a large proportion of the lined up bikes were fancy carbon machines.  My 40 pound steel Surly was overmatched, as was my skill level.

The race kicked off at 8 pm and while I thought my right boot was securely clipped in, it was not and as soon as I took a pedal stroke it popped off the pedal, and I ground to a stop. So, 10 seconds into the contest, and I was last. No, worries, this was for fun anyway. I got rolling and found the starting chute a mess of tracks with no clear packed down area.  That, and my handling skills taking their leave of me, resulted in my slipping all over the place. 

The first three photos courtesy of Bryan Wyatt.

The course was set up to climb up Mann Hill via one of a the north flow trail, and then desceidbg the southern flow trail.  I actually made up some time on the climb, and hooked up with Eric Lewis with Spearing and Son Racing. I passed him on the climb, but he nearly caught me on the descent, I then let him pass on a steep downhill to the river bottoms which kind of freaked me out. The course then followed the wide levee trail, although if you got outside the worn groove in the trail, things got squirrely. We dropped onto the horse trails below the levee and right along the river for a bit, and then back to the levee trail before heading back up the ridgeline to a point near the start finish line.

I was right on Eric's wheel prior to the climb up the ridge, when we came up on a rider with a mechanical.  As we passed, he asked if anyone had a pump.  I actually did, and seeing how I wasn't going to be contending for a podium, I stopped and gave him my pump, before setting off in pursuit of Eric. I made contact with him on the climb, but he displayed superior skills once we dropped into the tight SWW single track and got a gap.  After the singletrack, the course led onto the wide gravel pathway which runs through the northern section of the park. While wide, the rideable line was only about a foot wide. Loss of concentration meant you were off into the deeper snow and struggling for control.

Photo: Ultra Event Photo

The second lap started with me on Eric's wheel and things went much better. My handling was much more on cue and my control more solid. I passed Eric and a few other racers on Mann Hill and made it most of the way down the steep downhill to the river bottom. I hit the gas and pushed hard on the levee and the horse trails and back up to the single track. I saw lights in the distance, but couldn't close and the gap, and instead focused making sure no one passed me.

I ended up finishing the in 1:06, and in 10 place out of 16th. Not exactly a dominating performance, but it was a fun ride and a great workout. If DINO decides to do another race next year, I will defitnely be there, perhaps not for glory of a podium, but for the fun of it.