The race report is really not set up for a multi-hour relay type event. My team placed 3rd in the Grande division (5-8 member teams) From my perspective the race the race went well for my team. We fought hard and our efforts were rewarded. We were able to complete 25 laps in 24:44:20. Each lap was about 9.72 miles which would give us a total of 243 miles

The race started at noon Saturday Oct 22. The shop I ride for brought four 8-person squads to race in the Grande division. I was on team 2. Big Bad Marine Corps Brant had point duty and was to do the Lemans start. Our strategy worked well, Brant was in 5th place on the run and was 2nd or 3rd when the group got into the woods. My turn would not come until later that night; as captain I placed myself last in the line up. The course was shorter than last year’s event , 9.72 mi. vs. 11.something. Also, this year the course was bone dry and not cold and wet like last year.
The team’s early charge put us in about 5th place by midafternoon. We were creeping up to 3rd as the night drew on. The battle for 1st and 2nd raged throughout the ENTIRE race. Our 8 man team 1 eventually won 1st place by only 6 minutes. Both the 1st and 2nd place teams had 2 laps (~19.5mi) on us the 3rd place team. Team 3 was closely following us (team 2) for most of the day. We finally were able to put a full lap on them in the wee hours of the morning. By 4am we had 3rd place firmly locked.
I was fortunate to have talented and capable teammates. My own performance was less than par in my opinion. I was plagued by mechanicals like I have been in several earlier races and practice rides this year. I had the next to slowest lap times on the team. The slowest laps were done by our rookie rider. His efforts were stellar and he left nothing on the course. Every bit of energy and strength was spent when he crossed the line each time.

I had anticipated going out on my 1st lap between 8:30 and 9 pm. My 1st lap actually came around 7:20 pm due to the blistering fast lap times put in by my teammates. This lap was pretty uneventful. I felt my tempo was hampered by me braking too much. I did not feel as smooth as I did during the nighttime pre-ride earlier this month. I managed to clock 34 mph in the dark on the final stretch of downhill and a lap time of just under an hour. Fun stuff , ear to ear smile due to the fast decent . The bike functioned FLAWLESSLY. I felt any loss in time was pilot error. I did not get passed by a single rider. I did all the passing. I think I counted 12 or 13 riders. I remember really looking forward to the next lap and hoping to drop my lap time further. Ha. Had I know what was in store I would have looked over my bike more closely in the pit.

My 2nd lap- ~02:40 – zero dark 30. Started the lap feeling pretty good. Moderate pace at the start. About a mile in noticed my seat was lower than it was during the last lap. Stopped raised the seat and hopped back on . Several minutes later the seat was slid down again…WTH? I stopped again and really tried to crank down on the qr seat post clamp lever. I Freegin bent the thing like a paper clip trying to do so. It would not even bind half way. ARGH. Fark. What to do now? No choice but to let the seat drop all the way down and either stand or ride the bike like the BMX kids do when they sit while trying to pedal. I sat at times to give the legs a rest which was a mistake because on one particularly hard unexpected hit , my ass must have contacted the rear of my seat pretty hard causing the seat to tilt up. Fantastic. Now my seat is in the perfect position to jab me in the taint on technical sections. I was surprised I didn’t get passed on this lap and passed a handful of riders. A friend of mine that I passed towards the end made a friendly chide and comment about how the seat works better if it is not pointed upwards unless I like things that way. Made me laugh despite my legs feeling very heavy . Lap time 1:05:sumthin

My 3rd lap 09:34. This would be my 1st daytime lap. I was feeling good despite maybe 2 hrs sleep and having to stand the majority of my last lap. I fully anticipated a 53 or 55 minute lap time. I started welland felt strong and fluid. Towards the end up the 1st 1.5 miles of climbing I started to hear my rear deraileur skipping. I tried to shift hoping maybe it was just stuck in between gears but it did not help. I should have hopped off the bike to check to see what was wrong but kept mashing forward. I ended up snapping the chain. I managed to quick link it together and start to roll agian. A quarter mile later the chain snapped again. This repair called for to me to shorten the chain tremendously. The chain was so short I lost the climbing gears I needed. The lowest cog I had was a 15 and since my bike is set up as a 1 x 9 I was pretty much stuck having to mash up the hills. Needless to say I was not very happy, I tried my best to make my sub 1hr lap time but ended up missing the mark due to the necessary repairs and having to walk up lots of the climbs. Lap time 1:08:20.

Despite the mechanicals on my laps I had a good time. My friends and teammates are the best. The camp conversations were always light hearted and festive. The guys have a good balance of competiveness and casualness. The overall vide at the race was mellow but still had an ”electrical charge” or a race. I’d highly recommend any MTB’er who has not tried one of these events to find a group of friends and give it a go. For those of you roadies that have not had a chance to try an off-road event you definitely need to give getting dirty a chance.


check over bike CAREFULLY prior to arriving at race and between each lap.

showered under water hose because line to showers was too long. Lifted a cold one with the rest of the guys of Team 2.


Mechanical issues.


Great race, fun times, and good people. Can't wait till next year!!!