Ouachita Challenge...

...or the Ouch-It-Taw, if you've ridden it, was a blast. 60 miles of single track goodness, with a smattering of rockgarden madness.

Race Report:

With over 400 riders lining the roads for the start, I knew a good spot on the start was a good idea. DoubleD and I quickly made our way to the front of the line after the riders meeting and settled in on the second row of one of the biggest fields I've ever lined up with. With a someone unceremonious countdown we were off on a neutral start behind a blue truck. We made good time on the first mile of pavement, dropping onto some gravel, all the while turning about 25 mph. I knew a separator of a climb leading into the first single track was approaching so I push my way to the front keeping an eye on the Ergon crew. The pace was fast and I hit the first single track climb about 15th. The trail continued up for another mile or so gaining some serious elevation. The front group of 10-12 riders gapped me as I was on the rivet and unwilling to put down that much effort so early on such a long race. Big mistake! After a short decent we were back on gravel facing a nasty headwind and the lead group was 40 seconds ahead of me, and I was stuck in no mans land with no-one to work with. A theme that would repeat itself again later in the day.

I pushed on, removed the arm warmers and began to go to work. After a some more single track and a switchback grave climb it was time for some serious section of the Womble. The Womble trail is serious fun. Bench cut contour trail built for slaying on a bike. I was making good time, catching roadies on the descents and climbing better than most. I forced a pair of riders into mistakes and made up even more ground. Some of the views from the Womble were choice, but I didnt have time to smell the roses. At about 90 min in, the Womble came to an end, and it was time for 16 miles of road section. I was just off the lead group and again facing the windy road alone. Had I known better I would have pushed harder to remain intact and road with the main group. Oh well.

After some hard efforts I linked up with a guy from Austin and we worked together until we hit the first section of Ouachita Forest. Here's were the pretenders get sorted out. Blowout Mt. is a section of 10-15 miles of trail most sane humans would not even walk. The trail is old school forest service trail, that totally lacks any planning or design, just go straight from point A to B. Think granny gear climbs moving at sub 2 mph, and rock gardens Hans Rey would walk. This section hurt. Bad. With each hike-a-bike I felt the resolve of my go-get-em attitude slipping. At this point in the race, it was as much mental as physical, as you really had to question your desire to keeping moving forward. Eventually it did end though and dropped me into the last check point.

From the last check, I knew it was around 8 miles of trail and an equal bit of road to the finish. I made my one and only stop of the day, 15 seconds tops. The support at the OC was top notch. Almost like a NASCAR pit stop, one lady grabbed my water bottle, another guy filled it, a third told me I was in 6th place, a fourth handed me two glasses of Cytomax, and yet another was reading off the split times to the next rider. Schweet! I rolled on with a new purpose, knowing I was close to a top 5 finish.

I was making good time on the Brushy Creek trail when I spotted and past what I thought to be 5th. I past and disappeared into the forest and was alone again. This is where the demons started to sink set in. My legs were still pushing well, but the overall fatigue was taking its toll. I finally made the last check point and hit the last 8 mile section of gravel. Lucky for us, the wind was at our backs, and I covered that 8 miles in under 30 min rolling into Oden School in 6th place, just out of the money.

This was a fabulously well exectued event with unbelievble support. Three meals, a T-Shirt, and help at every turn of a very long course. That being said, why the placed only 5 deep in a field of 250+ (60 milers only) is beyond me. Oh well, I had a blast and may go back, if the fear of Blowout Mountain is somehow erased from memory!