Does this sound like you…?

Have you ever valiantly fought but eventually lost a battle attempting to remove your your pedals or cleats?  Have you ever had to hang your head and walk into your LBS or ask your non-judgmental bike mentor to help you remove your pedals because you couldn’t do it yourself?   If this sounds like you…today is your day to stop being such a loser.  Next time before you install a pedal or a cleat, add a generous portion of Phil Wood’s Waterproof Grease all up in and around the threads.  Don’t be stingy, get it in there good.  If after you install them a little excess squeezes out, simply wipe it off with a paper towel.

The other day, while I was preparing to clean my bike in the back yard, I found another helpful use for the grease:  I had difficulty removing the fittings on my garden hose so after I forced it undone,  I lubed up both ends of the hose with grease and am now able to quickly and easily unscrew it from the spigot and the sprayer head.   While this is perhaps not Mr. Wood’s original intent, it works great for this purpose too.  Perhaps you can think of other applications around your house.

So be a pal and run down to your local Spokes,Etc. and pick up a tube for yourself and for your formerly loser friends too.  Makes a great birthday gift, stocking-stuffer or pinata-filler.

Retails: $12.99 for 3 oz tube

Paul gets aggressive when he has his Whiskey

Report by Paul Ruchlin

Who’s been to Prescott, Arizona?  C’mon, raise your hands.  If not, it’s something you should really consider.  Even more so if you register for the Whiskey Off Road mountain bike race put on by Epic Rides.  And make sure you pronounce Prescott correctly.  It rhymes with “biscuit”.  This year, Michelle Faucher and I took part, she in the “50 Proof” (50 mile course) and me in the “25 Proof” (which was actually 30 miles).

Luckily, I have very good friends who live in Prescott Valley so lodging for the two of us was the easy, and cheap part.  Many thanks to Christina Carmody and Chris Hummel for a great week of hosting us.  We arrived, via Phoenix, on Wednesday afternoon.  I planned this to make sure, 1) I could get some good rest pre-race especially with the time difference, and 2) to acclimatize to the elevation, at least a bit, before race day.  Prescott sits at 5200 ft and the race would take us up in the mountains outside the city to a max of 7000.  Not terrible, but enough to make a difference to us sea level dwellers.

Thursday was a prep and tourist day.  I’d shipped my bike via FedEx.  That was, to say the least, COSTLY, at $225.  I have a somewhat unwieldy but sturdy bike box (which, by-the-way, I’m willing to lend out should any of you ever be in need) and it would have cost me almost the same and been a real pain to travel with.  Michelle brought her bike with her on Southwest Airlines for a very reasonable $75, each way of course.  Anyway, Michelle and I re-assembled our trusty steeds Thursday morning and then did some afternoon hiking around The Granite Dells of Prescott.  In the evening we all ventured up and over Mingus Mountain to the historic mining and now charming, artsy, tourist village of Jerome for a great Mexican meal at Quince.15.

Paul climbing and keeping on

Friday morning, Michelle and I did some more exploring around The Dells before meeting up with our friends to head downtown for packet pick-up and to enjoy the weekend festivities.  The race starts and ends, and all the festivities take place on the central square adjacent to the county courthouse in Prescott.  Packet pick-up was well organized and efficient and took all of 5 minutes, and the swag provided was some of the best I’ve seen.  Generous and useful products, such as GU (a huge race sponsor), Stans NoTubes Sealant, some other food/race products and for some reason a natural testosterone enhancement product.  So, if you notice a slight mustache on Michelle……………

After check-in we headed to a couple of local breweries/eateries (The Raven, and Granite Mountain Brewery) to imbibe some and await the late afternoon Pro Crits which would determine the Pro starting positions for their races on Sunday.  That was interesting and entertaining and afterwards, a great Italian dinner at Papa’s Uptown before heading back home to finalize prep and an early bed.

RACE DAY…….. WOOHOOO!!!!  Michelle and Chris were up and off early, as their start for the 50 Proof was 0730.  I slept in a bit and Christina and I got downtown about 0900 for my 0930 start on the 25 Proof on a PERFECT Arizona day; brilliantly sunny, a slight breath of a breeze here and there and about 65 degrees.  Temps would rise a good bit throughout the day, even at elevation, and “PERFECT” may have been a little cooler, but all-in-all a great riding day.

I was rested, I’d eaten (yogurt and granola breakfast, pre-emptive Ibuprofen and 4 pre-race Sport Legs capsules), all stretched out and ready to go when the gun went off.  With absolutely no knowledge or experience on this course, and having no illusions of being “competitive” in this “race”, I started off well near the rear of the 796 racer field. (There were 618 racers in Michelle’s 50 Proof).  If you’d like to see the course you can check out my Garmin download, but essentially it’s an 11 mile climb (the first 4.2 on city streets, then various fire roads, jeep tracks and single track) a 5 mile descent a 5 mile climb and a 10 mile descent.  Ok, ok, there may have been 500 or 600 yards of flat somewhere along the way.

Like with any race, it was hard not to get caught up in the adrenaline and excitement at the start, but I worked hard on not busting it out of the gate.  I need a notoriously long time to warm up and I’m not a particularly strong climber to begin with so I was really concentrating on keeping a reasonable, steady pace so I’d have enough to perform decently on the second long climb I knew was ahead.  Plus, we did get foreknowledge that the start into the single track always bottlenecks and there was no way I was beating the crowd up, so easing in to it was a good plan anyway.  Up and up and up we went.  It took me about 45 minutes to get the 6-ish miles to the single track and shortly in to that, the infamous bottle necking started.  For the next mile or so we would ride 50 yds, then have to stop and stand around for 4-6 minutes, then ride then stop.  It’s unfortunate because this part was through beautiful, smooth, gently up-and-down pine forest and it was frustrating not to be able to ride it out.  Eventually we got to the few small “technical” sections that were the cause of the bottlenecking.  I have two complaints about this race and this was #1.  Because this was a known problem, the race was lengthened a bit this year and this section was added to help avoid the fire road to single track transition bottleneck. Unfortunately it probably made it worse.  They do need to devise some sort of staged start to avoid this problem as all told, we probably lost 25-30 minutes of time standing around.

Whiskey with a splash of water

Eventually the riding opened up and there was not any more problems with stops the rest of the race.  BUT (and you knew there was a “but” coming) this is where things got pretty damn tough.  It’s Arizona, you know, the “dry” heat.  Well, heat wasn’t a problem yet, but the “dry,” which meant dusty, loose gravelly, sandy trail, along with the “steep” (and yes, still going UP) kinda was. Throw in completely exposed telephone poles used as trail water breaks and you can already guess, I joined the crowd in doing a fair amount of walking in this section.  Near the top, I took my first little break, stopping to get my heart rate down below 185 and eat a little food.  I had a Honey Stinger Waffle, some Hammer Gel and 4 Sport Leg capsules.  By this time, near the top of the first climb, about 2 hours in, exposed to the sun and still not really any wind to speak of, it was really getting hot.  I suppose I should mention, for this ride I was wearing my 70 oz. camelback and drinking generously.

I only stopped for 3-5 minutes and then headed out………up some more.  Not too much more though and then it was time for some SERIOUS down.  1300 ft in 4 miles.  Yep, there was some white knucklin’ goin’ on there.  Big rocks, drop-offs, sand pits………..  At one particularly nasty rock drop I got caught up and took my first spill (yes, there would be more).  I’m not sure if I was lucky or unlucky that I was going slow at that point.  I didn’t tumble off the mountain and die, or at least I don’t think, but it did bring me down on the rock pile, tearing up my left “hip”  which is more to say………buttock, and ruining my beloved THWT bibs.  DRAT!!!!  Actually, “OW….DRAT (except with a “F—!!!“)”.  Generally when this happens, assuming I’m not really hurt, I rub some dirt on it and move on.  This time, with the aforementioned sandy, dusty trail, this step was already taken care of, so on I went.

Paul near the bottom of the bottle...

At the bottom we came back to fire road for big climb number two.  Not technical and in pretty good condition, it was a 2 mile uphill slog to Aid Station #1.  This is the point where those on the 50 Proof would head west on fire road for 10 miles downhill to Skull Valley, then turn around and return making it Aid Stations 1 and 3 for them.  This is the only difference in the 50 and 25 Proof courses.  I stopped for a good 20 minutes this time.  My Garmin was reading close to 90 degrees, though I’m not sure it was really that warm.  I found some shade and ate again.  A couple of orange slices from the Aid tent, a Tropical Hammer Gel, an entire Pocket Fuel packet and finished off the last of my camelback.  I also took 4 more Sport Legs capsules and more Aleve.  As I went to re-fill my camelback I ran in to complaint #2.  The Aid Station was concerned about running out of water and ask us not to completely fill our bladders.  REALLY???  Of all the race logistics to be sure is properly stocked, that should be #1.  I filled up ¾ and started climbing again.

From here the road, although not paved, is a county road, so nicely graded and maintained.  That’s not to say it isn’t steep, just very ridable.  Again I set myself in to a nice, steady pedaling pace, not so much concerned with speed as with being able to ride the entire way to the top without bonking, cramping, or…….at this point……..puking.  I saw or heard some of each along the way.  Not far from the top was, as promised, a dude offering up whiskey shots.  It is the WHISKEY Off Road, after all.  I swore, before the race, I would stop partake, but shortly before getting there my stomach began to bother me a bit.  I probably over ate at the Aid Station, but no matter the reason I wasn’t about to jeopardize all my efforts so far with getting really sick, so I passed it up.  After 3 miles from Aid Station #1, you hit single track again, and the top, just under 7000 feet.

I gotta tell you, at this point, I was VERY glad to see down, and exhausted mentally and physically, which probably led, not too far in to this once again technical downhill, to spill #2.  I kind of registered the thicker sandy portion in front of me but not soon enough react properly and the next thing I knew I was slamming in to the trail at a brisk 16 mph or so, this time on my right side.  DRAT!!!!  Actually, “OW….DRAT (except with a “F—!!!“)”.  I’m sure the guy behind me had a pretty good show.  There was a wide area here and I was able to drag myself off the trail and recover for a minute or two.  A little bit shaken and feeling some trepidation about several more miles of hard downhill, I proceeded, but markedly slower and more careful.  More quickly than expected I regained some of my confidence and let my speed creep up the further I went, although I’m not sure I ever completely let off the brakes for a good few miles.  Somewhere in here, just out of fatigue, and stupidity, I fell over again, which is not remarkable other than managing to put my hand right in to a cactus-like stickery sort of shrubbery.  Another minute or two getting over being angry about it (we’ve all been in that mental state, I think) whilst pulling thorns from my hand.

Cramp Hill (yes, that’s really its name).  You know it’s there, if you look at the course ahead of time, but somehow you forget.  Just when you’ve adjusted to no more climbing…..there it is.  It’s not big, it’s not overly steep, and it’s only about a mile long, if that……..but it’s a mental crusher.  Ughhhhh, I don’t WANT to go uphill!!!! (in as whiny a voice as you can muster)  I walked a little bit of the steepest part of this, but…….no cramp.  I’m told many people did.

From the top of Cramp Hill it’s winding, flowing trail, sometimes rocky, down to and then along a creek and then finally, back on to paved road for the last 4 miles downhill.  I was rather surprised at what I had left to get me down this and I knew my mental state would soar once I hit pavement, which it did.  What a great way to end this race, screaming downhill in to town, topping out at 31.2 mph.  And finally, cheering, waving crowds at the finish.

Sweet victory...

A grateful and appreciative shout-out here to some of my gear and supplies.  First and foremost, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Stans No Tubes CREST wheels.  They handled all of the various terrain of this course phenomenally and gave me great confidence to ride, clearly, at the edge of my technical limits.  Since I’d forgotten to bring my usual electrolyte supplements, Sport Legs were recommended to me by a local bike shop and they were AWESOME.  I felt far better on my climbs than I expected, lasted longer and can truthfully say, although fatigued the next day, my legs were not the slightest bit sore.  Amazing!!!  I’m a convert.

And finally, great Congrats to Michelle.  Although I’m sure she has her own story to tell, she ROCKED this race. Unfortunately, she appears nowhere in the official results for this race so, of course, that means I WIN!!!!!!!!  But that’s a technical glitch I’m sure she’ll get worked out.  Seriously, she was awesome!

Despite a few hiccups, this was a great race and I’d HIGHLY recommend it be on anyone’s list of races to do.  It was a hard challenge and a lot of fun and the town of Prescott is a great place to visit.  Even if you’re not into the competitive frame of mind, the weather in this part of AZ makes it ideal for riding nearly year round and there are literally hundreds of miles of trails around the city, from flat paved bike trails to mountainous and technical single track.  Go West…..and Ride!

Mapboard mounted and ready to roll

By Brian

I love the ease and simplicity of this rotating handlebar-mounted mapholder from ARVnavsupplies.com.

I used this product for the first time the other day.  What a world of difference!  The 9”x 9” is the perfect size for AR. Having the map right in front of me increases speed, ease of use, and is incredibly convenient.

Having my old map case slap against my leg while pedaling wasn’t so bad.  That is until you’ve been at it for 4-6 hours, you’re tired, and the case has hit the same spot on your leg for the 7000^thtime!  The map board does away with all that.  One advantage I see with this board over others is the rotation.  It rotates easily to allow you to orient the map as you go.

I definitely recommend this product.  I think the 9”by 9” is the perfect size. Any larger and it would interfere with my shifting any smaller and it would not have enough coverage.  The handle bar clamp is a little inconvenient to close, but once it is, it stays solid.  I think the shipping (almost 20% of the total cost) was steep in an age of free shipping, but the product is still well worth it.

Paul sticks it to the snow-covered Snot

Vitals

This year marks Go Time Racing’s 5^thAnnual Snotcycle Mountain Bike Race – a “weather be damned” rain, sleet, the nastier the better, race.  In fact, the race directors even stated “we don’t want to hear any of the following crap:   my drivetrain will get dirty, my race skinsuit might get muddy, my toes will get cold, I don’t like hiking with my bike through two feet of snow or I ‘m running low on bourbon.”  Obviously, the tone of the race was set well before the start.

I was only member of TeamHalfwayThere.com to race at the Freedom Center, but was pleased to see so many familiar faces and especially the Veloworks riders from another Spokes, Etc. sponsored team.  I wanted to do this race to shake off the winter blahs and survive the snow covered trails.  The Snot, as it is sometimes affectionately called, is a great early season tune-up to test your mettle against other riders while suffering in the frigid cold.

The course built at the Freedom Center was a 5 Mile loop with 3 laps for cat 2 male 40+.  Each lap is 5 miles of tight, twisting trail with only a few short-burst climbs totaling 650 feet of climbing coupled with 650 feet of descending.  There are relatively few rocky/rooty technical sections, but plenty of stream crossings.  For more on the actual course please refer to the outstanding Let Freedom Ring: Trail Review by Barry.

Experience

My lingering image from the race was being chased by Joey Baird for more than an hour as he steadily gained ground on me throughout the first and second lap until he inexplicably crashed off the side of the trail and ended up in a heap on the ground during the third lap.  For all you cyclocross fans, I’m pretty sure I heard someone say, “I think Joey’s okay,” so I rode onward to the finish like any good friend would, right Joey?  My Snot experience was altogether a great one, but due to long lines at check in, I was late to the start of the Cat 2 Open race.  Thanks to Rob, the Race Director, for letting me race in the Cat 2 40+ division that I also qualified for and which started few minutes after the race I missed.

Recommendation

This Snot brings the best local area mountain bike riders together for an early season clash and is one of the first not-to-be-missed tests of fitness coming off the winter.

Shout-Outs

A special shout out to my teammate Barry (who at times suffers from Raynaud’s Phenomenon) for employing sound judgment to astutely size up the situation and realize that 26 degrees is fairly cold and thus returned to his warm bed instead of racing.  Thanks for wimping out so the rest of us that raced have something to heckle you about now.

Results

I finished 19^th out of 58 racers in Cat 2 40+ division with a time of 1:47:37 for 3 laps of the race course.

Lessons Learned

• Be gentle with your gears and brakes in sub-freezing temps as less is certainly more.
• Given this was such a short race (under two hours), I ate calories right before the race started and then relied only on some warm electrolyte drink from insulated water bottles during the race to keep me going which worked perfectly.
• Snow covered trails can in fact be grippy, as can rocks, but tree roots are a different story entirely.
• Going out strong early to get up front given it was a narrow race course and then being able to settle in and pass a few riders while racing within myself and actually getting stronger and faster each lap.

This February 7-19, 2013, Patagonia will hold its annual “Sale on Last Season’s Gear.”  I received word of the sale via a postcard delivered to my mailbox.  The postcard highlighted the sale of Patagonia’s Torrentshell Jacket at $58, down from $119-$129.

Now I have to say, LOVE this jacket.  It’s a super light, super dry, no-frills rainjacket that I don’t have to be concerned about destroying in adventure races because it’s not super pricey.  For reference sake, I was a very happy, very dry, and pleasantly warm racer in that Rev3 Epic deluge in 2011.  The attached hood has a tiny “visor” that’s a good compromise between the heavy, vision-blocking brims on some rainjackets and not having anything, especially if you’re like me and like to wear clear glasses on single-track at night and hate to have rain and water leaking down your face.  It’s definitely not an over-the-helmet hood, but it’s effective.

Large pit-zips allow for decent ventilation when it’s hot out and the jacket has small velcro patches intermittently placed next to the zipper that you can easily just semi-close for light sprinkles without zipping yourself in and overheating.

Freedom Center, home of the Snotcycle mtb race, which will be run on Saturday, January 26, 2013.  (This is the second year at this venue. In years past, the race was held on Rockland Farm–home of the Baker’s Dozen mtb race–though because these races were disrupting farm operations they relocated the Snotcycle. I for one, miss having to bunny-hop the frozen cow patties.)

For those of you who are doing or thinking of doing the Snotcycle next weekend, here is some trail recon.  Disclaimer: my memory is not so good so please take this review as a general flavor of the trail, though not a recipe.  I am not a cook, as the famous saying goes.

Dave and I rode out to Leesburg on Monday, January 21 to scout the race course. Our plan was to do two laps, though after the first lap the temp rose to 40 degrees F and the trail thawed which made it, as my pal Joey Baird described it, a greasy mess. We turned around and did not finish our second lap as it would not have been good for the trail (or us).

We were pleasantly surprised to see the race director Mike…or was it Tom?–I get those guys confused–on the trail blowing leaves with a friendly grin on his face. We thanked him for rolling out the red carpet for us. I think it is thoughtful of a race director to come out in advance to make the course more appealing and safe for riders.

Based on our ride and a quick driving tour, the camp and property at the Freedom Center seem pastoral and quaint–along the gravel roads, one can find about 20-25 old cabins/cottages/meeting halls with a couple of caretaker’s houses interspersed. No frills but looks like a good, low-budget venue to host retreats or a Snotcycle race…

In general, the trail wasn’t as unpleasant as I had heard, especially since it was frozen when we got there and we had decent grip. It kind of reminds me of a condensed Lodi Farm (near Fredericksburg)–lots of turns, quick ups and downs, not a lot of coasting, though nothing very technical. It does have more ruts in it than I would prefer from riders riding when the trails were too soft. As long as you’re paying attention, you can ride over or through the ruts without getting your wheels caught. Perhaps the trails would benefit from a more strict open/closed policy and posting such on the Freedom Center website and Facebook page. Brian may roll his eyes at this regulation, though I maintain that certain regulations are good for humanity.

I recall there are two log ramps: on the first log ramp–about a quarter mile into the trail–as Dave was rolling over it, I think he hit some frost on the top log and his bike slid out from underneath him, fast and hard though he popped up quickly, smiling. Other than a slightly sore elbow, he seems to be OK. The second log ramp, about a mile and a half in, has a go-around to the right, which I took and will probably take again during the race. There are also a couple of smallish-mediumish trees/logs you must cross, some of which are on slight climbs. They are all rideable though on one of them, I was in too big a gear and didn’t have the momentum to ride over it, so I had to quickly dismount and hop over it on foot.

There are some, though not a lot of passing opportunities. If you want to be competitive, you should muscle your way to front of the pack at the start. Otherwise, I think it will be a rolling ant train.

I was riding Specialized Renegade Controls on both front and back of my Epic. At the end of the lap I began to fishtail and slide. I also went down twice at Rosaryville Saturday on slickish spots, so I plan to switch to Captains before the race. If you have knobby tires, I recommend using them (and make sure they are clean so they are more likely to wick away muck or snow).

I believe I have a touch of Raynaud’s syndrome which quickly renders my hands and feet quite numb and useless quite quickly. I didn’t think it was very cold when we started though once we got moving, I lost feeling in my hands and feet.  Dave graciously loaned me the Hotties he had in his gloves and after a while feeling came back to my fingers and I could shift and brake again. If you have any such problems with the cold and it’s going to be freezing or below, bring your Hotties or drop me a line and I’ll bring you some from my stash. We experienced about a 10 degree drop from Falls Church to Leesburg.

Meteorological models are currently unable to predict with precision conditions on race day 5 days out. If the temp is 35 or below, I think the course will be OK. If it rises higher on race day, I predict the course will be a slimy, mucky mess. No one said Snotcycle was supposed to be easy or pleasant so realize that the conditions suck for everyone and roll with it and have some fun.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone

Submitted by Paul Morris

Magnus Gluteus Maximus is the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club’s annual “Fat Ass 50K” which is a fantastic tune up prior to the holidays. This year the trail run was held on Saturday, December 15th and is touted as an official Fat Ass 50K with no entry fee, no awards, no wimps and some aid. The Fat Ass 50K is an out and back course in which nearly 200 runners travel along Bull Run between Hemlock Overlook and Fountainhead Regional Parks, as well as the unmarked Do Loop. TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. had a strong showing at this year’s event with Andy, Victor, Paul, Barry, Michelle, Cathy and Kelly all participating (results). Congrats to all the finishers and especially the VHTRC folks for hosting another amazing Fat Ass 50K and check out the post race photo of Barry and Paul.

Dave, Liz and Jared give a quick pose before the final leg of Rev3's Frozen Foot

Submitted by Jared Macary | Race Date: December 8, 2012 | http://bit.ly/StQ4HV

Vitals

Rev3’s Frozen Foot Adventure Race places racers inside Willowsford, a 4000-acre naturally-planned community in Loudoun County, Virginia. Across farmland, freshly-made single track, gravel and railroad ties, racers trekked, biked, navigated and tackled unique challenges. Beginning at 9 AM, Teams had only 4 hours to complete the 15 – 20 mile course.  The Frozen Foot is a USARA sanctioned race: the winning co-ed team earns 20 points in the series.  Having finished #3 in this national series for the 2012 season, TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. wanted to start with success for 2013.  The Team recruited Dave Wall, who had never competed in an adventure race, but his triathlon training certainly came through.  Liz Notter also joined the squad, bringing positive energy and solid bike navigation.  Jared navigated land and kept the squad fired up with eyes on the prize.

Experience

The course map was pre-plotted and arranged in a fairly linear format spread out between bike and foot.  The topography was easy-going and without dynamic features.  Navigation from point to point coincided with established trails on the property, for the most part.

Although there was no paddle section, three challenges added a level of uncertainty and fun.  The race directors established the challenges as worth five points each and allowed teams only one shot at completion.  Two challenges could be completed at any point in the race, and reached by bike or foot; one could only be completed after the final bike stage.  We completed one early on, swept the checkpoints on lower part of the course and returned to the additional challenges at the end.  By spreading out challenge completion we avoided potential bottlenecks (e.g., waiting for another team to complete a challenge).  This cluster is typical of obstacle course events.  Since this is adventure racing, we have the ability to make strategic decisions.

The highlight of the race was seeing Dave hop into frigid water to swim to an island to grab the last challenge point and, at the same time, hear a young spectator observe that Dave was swimming in goose poop.  Cold and covered in liquid pooh, Dave carried us to the finish line.  I gave him a victory hug after he changed into post-race clothes.

Recommendations

This race is a great opportunity to bring a new racer into the fold.  It gives a taste of what adventure racing is all about.  The level of complexity empowers new racers to feel confident, make decisions and fail without harm.  Rev3 does a great job at making adventure racing accessible in that regard.  It’s also a nice mid-winter training race and is a no-brainer for teams engaged in the USARA point series.

Shout-Outs

• Thank you to all the great volunteers.  We all got to enjoy a wonderful day outside in the sun.
• Congrats to all the competitors new to the sport.  We hope that you continue to enjoy this great sport, expanding your mental and physical limits.

Results

TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. cleared the course and finished at the top of the podium with 1^st place in 3-Person Co-ed.  We finished with the second fastest time overall at 3 hours 8 minutes.

Lessons Learned

• Liz and Jared split up the navigation responsibilities; this worked well for the team. This gave each navigator a break and helped prevent errors caused by tiredness, and enabled the non-navigator to take a break and refuel.
• Good communication works every time.  And having teammates with similar goals and outlooks makes all the difference.
• When you pick a strategy that works, stay the course unless absolutely necessary.  Be confident in your decisions. At the same time, it’s important to remain flexible as the race progresses. Liz had mapped out a route on trail to get us back to TA1. As we made our way back, we came across a power line trail we knew was legal. It saved us quite a bit a time and effort.

Standing tall and holding our #3 in the nation USARA plaques

Submitted by Paul Morris | Race Dates: October 12-13, 2012 | www.usaranationals.com

Vitals

The 2012 United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA) national championships were held in New York’s Catskill Mountains.  The 100-mile, linear racecourse put racers between the towns of Downsville and Kerhonkson.  From Friday 8 AM to Saturday at 2 PM, racers tackled the modified rogaine course while paddling, biking, hiking, foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, and rappelling.

TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. earned entries into Nationals based on results in USARA Regional Qualifiers and was ranked #3 in the country for the 2012 season.  The Team wanted to field several squads at Nationals in hopes of having a strong showing at Nationals and preserving a top 5 finish in the season rankings for TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. in the 2012 USARA series.  This year squads’ at Nationals included 3 coed teams:  THT1 was Michelle, Victor, Jeremiah; THT2 was Susanna, Paul, Kevin; and THT3 was Shari, Jared, Barry.  Although, all three teams were comprised of experienced adventure racers, none of the teams had raced together previously, let alone at the championship level.

Experience

Without a doubt the highest point of the race was the awe-inspiring waterfall rappel that was not to be missed.  There’s nothing better than descending alongside the force of water on a clear autumn day.  Another moment not to be soon forgotten was biking into Blue Hill Lodge & Café after sunset and seeing 20+ mountain bikes parked in front.  Inside the café teemed with racers warming up, eating hot food and dreading going back out into the night for 22-degree weather.  Following our departure from the café, we faced some navigational challenges as we struggled to find mandatory CP9 and scoured the gorge above the swimming hole to no avail.  My lowest point was falling into the frigid Vemooy Kill Creek up to my waist at 4am with sunrise and the warm refuge of Lippman Park still 3 hours away.  And did I mention it was 22 degrees out?

Recommendations

Race Directors Rodney and Amy knocked it out of the park with their course design.  All of the terrain had never been raced before and was highly challenging.  Racers were left constantly wondering what would come next.  The answer was an amazing waterfall rappel and a terrific post-race awards banquet in the company of friends. TeamHalfwayThere.com/Spokes, Etc. would definitely recommend any race in which the NYARA cabal is involved and also look forward to competing in the 2013 USARA National Championships.

Rappelling beside the falls. A true happy ending.

Shout-Outs

• Have to give big up, as always, to all the volunteers that braved the cold conditions.  But have to give special thanks Charlotte and Cathy – the former for tolerating my pre and post-race crankiness.
• Special thanks to the staff at Blue Hill Lodge & Café as they truly were lifesavers for many teams.  Blue Hill offered a welcome respite from the brutal cold and stayed open until every single race team had passed through.  You guys and your tasty treats are the best!
• Congrats to Wedali on winning both USARA Nationals and Checkpoint Tracker Nationals.
• Team Tecnu’s 2^nd Place Finish and check out their amazing race video.
• Check out the work by photographer Vlad Bukalo.
• Lastly, we couldn’t have had as much success this year and finish the season 4^th in the country without the unrelenting support from our sponsors.  Sincere thanks to everyone at Spokes, Etc., Stan’s NoTubes, Crank Brothers, Adventure Addicts racing and OnPoint Foundation.

Results

http://www.usaranationals.com/results.aspx

Lessons Learned

• This was the coldest and wettest race we had ever done.  The brutal weather wreaked havoc on our team’s gear (especially bikes) and our bodies.  Thankfully we had prepared for the worst and had plenty of Little Hotties and Butt Paste with us.
• Eat good, real food, early and often and be sure to take advantage of delicious food resupply points like the Blue Hill Lodge & Café.
• Next time we’ll place our packs in dry bags during the paddle so they don’t get water logged and we’ll also have warmer, waterproof apparel for the paddle itself.
• It’s difficult to race Nationals with new teammates that are cobbled together last minute due to injuries and scheduling conflicts when there may be different goals, fitness levels and skill sets.  However, as long as you always treat one another with respect and actively listen to each other, good things will happen.