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Intro
Thursday evening spent too much time packing and only got 4 hours sleep.
PreRace
Friday morning met teammates at 4am to drive toward New York City.
We arrived at Bike Drop about 1pm. We had to drop bikes before going to pre-race gear check. We spent too much time at the drop. Dave’s bike was fine. Paul had to readjust his derailleur. Tom realized his brake pads had exposed metal. His replacement pads were not compatible. Therefore he put the better of the 2 in the rear and the most worn pads in the front. The plan was to only use the rear brakes during the race. We arrived at Chelsea Pier start point around 1 pm. The gear check went fine. We were nervous about the kayak throw bag because ours were custom made. But they worked just fine. During the rope cert the organizers did not like Dave’s and Tom’s harness since the leg loops and waist band were not attached. We solved the issue by using 2 each 1 foot slings with a girth hitch around the leg and waist portions in order to make a single point to attach the carabiner. Friday evening had a free race provided lasagna meal. The Balance Bar Elite team gave a pre-race strategy session. The tips were quite general and not that valuable. During the pre-race meeting received 10 topo maps and 5 auxiliary maps. We were quite nervous with so many maps because other races never had nearly this many. By chance team Epinephrine sat beside us. Tom had communicated with Paul Romero prior to the race and be chance they sat next to us. We noticed how quickly they marked the maps and cut them. They gave us an excellent tip about Sustained Energy. Tom pre-mixed with water his entire container on Thursday evening. The thought was to put pre-mixed bottles in the TA bins to save time. Unfortunately Paul, who has used SE for a long time, told us it would spoil and has a short shelf life. To caution us to dump all of it and not risk getting violent stomach cramps. Reluctantly Tom followed Paul’s advice. Luckily Tom brought extra food and felt he would be OK in the race. Marking the maps took longer than expected because the table was not big enough to spread them all out at the same time. Numbering the margins of each map worked well so we knew how to connect them. We also put the map number in the clue book so we knew which map went with which clue. This proved very helpful during the race. Looking back we should have trimmed the maps since some maps only had a small portion in the race and we could have saved valuable space in our map bag. The pre-race area closed at 10pm. We did not finish plotting all of our routes yet. We left for Tom’s friend’s apartment in New Jersey. It took over ½ hour to find a parking space. We continued to plot map routes at Greg’s apartment. We used a highlighter to mark our intended routes. We tried very hard to take routes around hills and not up and over them. Finished marking maps and got to sleep about 1:30a Friday. At 2:30a, while we were sleeping on the floor, Greg’s drunken roommates stumbled in and almost walked on us. They were quite voictrous and kept us up for a little while. Finally got back to sleep but work up at 3:30a so we could get back to Chelsea pier at 4a. Zero traffic so we got to Chelsea Pier a little early and had time to setup the Adventureheads banner. We received several nice comments. Our intention was to let the banner advertise for our club while we were racing. The buses to take us to the start we late and we did not board until about 5a. Our volunteer driver scared everyone by going down the wrong way on a 1 way straight in Manhattan. The driver quickly corrected and we got back on track. Tried to catch a little sleep on the bus ride. During the entire bus ride it was pouring rain and we were quite nervous that the entire race would be a washout. After about 1.5 hours we arrived at the start at Harriman State Park. Adrenaline was pumping while all the teams gathered at the mass start. The National Anthem was played; it was a very moving movement. The rain stopped, thank god. During the mass start we were shocked how heavy our packs were compared to the others. We kept asking ourselves how the other teams could get all the mandatory gear in a small Camelbak style pack. We concluded next race we would have to pack much lighter. We saw Paul Romero at the start and he made a comment that speed during the trek was directly related to light packs.
Trekking Section
The start everyone jogged and almost sprinted. Our plan was to bushwhack up and over the first hill and run into a trail. We noticed the majority of teams ran to the right around the 1st hill. Later we realized there was a good trail which lead around. Not sure if all the teams had the same strategy or they just followed the elite teams as long as they could. We found the trail. We started by jogging the level sections and pushing as much as possible up the inclines. On top of one of the hills we saw the lake were CP #1 was. Tom wanted to start bushwhacking to take a straighter path because the forest looked open and mature. We quickly talked about it but as a team we decided to stay on the trails and not bushwhack. As we approached CP #1 we passed several teams on the trail, but not really sure what place we were in. Got to CP #1 easily. The Elite teams got to CP #1 in 30-35 minutes. We arrived at 1 hr 17 minutes and were in 55th place. Our route to CP #2 we took a longer but flat trail. We did not see any other teams. We were able to keep a good jogging/fast walking pace on the fairly level trail. Soon we met about 6-10 teams which were going the opposite direction. We felt confident we were going the right way. After a few more teams passed us going the opposite way we re-checked our map and realized we missed a cross trail. We doubled back and got back on course. All in all we lost maybe 15-20 minutes. CP #2 was a ¼ mile swim to an island and back. The rules changed and only 1 teammate was required to swim. Dave volunteered since he was the strongest swimmer. The water was cold at about 50 degrees. While Dave swam Tom filled all the bladders with water and purified them with Pristine. Tom realized what a pain it was to fill the bladders even from the deep pond water. Dave finished the swim quite well. Then problems began. Dave got serious calf cramps. Tom did his best to massage the cramps out. We figured since it was hot and humid maybe Dave was low on electrolytes. He took some E-Cap endurolyte capsules. After about 20 minutes we continued. Dave was still suffering and we could no longer jog the flat sections. We also learned that Paul left his food in the TA bin and did not have any for this section. Tom and Dave had some extra so Paul was OK. We crossed a paved road and our strategy was to follow an unimproved road. We took a compass bearing and found 3 foot high stone walls which seemed like could be the curbs of an old road. As we followed this ancient road we tried to think who and why it was built. We saw a couple teams following a different trail. Later we learned the winning team took the same ancient road and we felt quite good. During the trek we all took 1 E-Cap per hour to keep our electrolytes at the proper levels. It took us about 5.5 hrs to trek/swim the 12 mile section at arrive at PC #3. At this point we were in 44th place overall.
Mountain Bike Section
PC #3 was also a Transition Area (TA) where we picked up our bikes. We tried to make a quick transition but ended up taking about 20 minutes. We spent a few extra minutes trying to find the 1st gravel road. After a couple minutes we found it now problem. After about an hour or so we arrived at a road intersection. Dave got a pinch tire flat. Paul was ahead and was not aware Dave and Tom were fixing Dave’s flat. Paul eventually turned around and helped with the flat. Tom patched Dave’s tire because we did not have a shraeder style spare tube. Tom reassembled the tire and tried to pump it up. Unfortunately the tire would not hold air. Tom took apart the tire and found a second hole in the tube. After patching the second hole the tire kept air. During the dual tire repair 4-5 teams passed us. Continuing on our route took us across RT 17A. Tom was the navigator during the entire race. Any good navigator must always know where you are in relation to the map. The road signs did not match the road names on the map. We back tracked a couple times, stopped a few times to get oriented. A couple more teams passed us. Eventually we ignored the road names and continued on our course by observing the surrounding hills and power lines. We were on the right road all the time, its just the names did not coincide. The road took us to an intersection with Sloatsburg Road. We saw a race official who was giving tips. He said we missed a turnoff and Sloatsburg road was off limits. We looked closely at the clue book which said Sterling Lake was really Blue Lake. The map showed Sterling Lake and that is what we were looking for. Tom remembered seeing a Blue Lake sign so we proceeded to backtrack. Unfortunately the back track required us to climb back up a significant grade 1 mile hill. We found the Blue Lake turn off and continued. Looking back we noticed during the OLNTV airing of the race that some of the elite teams made the same mistake we made. Down a small dirt rode we arrived at CP #4. We have been racing for about 8hrs now and dropped a few places to 52 place overall out of about 70 teams. Our plan to get to CP #5 was to follow the power lines. Our gamble paid off the trail was very rideable and brought us out to a paved road. Still on course we continued but missed a turn and hit Sloatsburg road again. Since it was off limits we backtracked about 10 minutes. We biked through some park paths and roads. In the park we saw an ice cream vendor and bought the most amazing ice cream and fruit bowls ever. Sure was handy that we had some spare money with us. At CP #5 we had a mandatory gear check. Passed no problem. The volunteers gave us a tip as we headed to CP #6. They said you might have luck if you follow the energy route. Many thought power lines but we looked at the maps and realized the preferred route was a gas line. This seemed like we should follow a marked gas line section. Leaving CP #5 we picked up a few places and were now in 48th place overall. The next section of moutain bike trail was quite challenging single track. Lots of small boulders prevented us from riding all the time. We had to walk in several sections. We even had to walk some of the steep
uphills. Dave seemed to be having a tough time and we rested every now and then. During a couple minor rests several teams passed us. During a steep, rocky downhill section Dave had a major crash. He hit a root ledge, lost control, flew over the handlebars, flipped and landed on a boulder patch on his back. Tom, just in front of Dave heard the scream, turned around, and found Dave in an unusual predicament. Tom gave Dave a hand and pulled him back up and over the boulder ledge. Dave was very lucky that his backpack cushioned his fall. Fortunately, no broken bones and no blood. After Dave collected his wits we continued. Shortly, after Dave’s crash Tom lost his contact. Tom could not continue with his poor eye sight so everyone had to stop. At this time the sun was starting to set and Tom had a tough time replacing his contacts. Luckily he had a spare pair and managed to get the one lens in his eye. After a few minutes Tom realized his contact did not fall out but instead was folded and tucked under his eyelid. He pulled one of the 2 contacts in his eye out and the team began riding again. The gas line trail was easy to follow be lots of up and down. The up sections we steep enough to force us to walk numerous times. Several teams passed us during this section. We finally arrived at CP #6 which was near a power generation station. At this point we have been racing for 10.5 hours and were in 50th place. According to the rules we had to walk our bikes from CP #6 to CP #7. Paul and Tom decided to change from clipless mt bike shoes to trail running shoes. At this time darkness was setting in. Tom had a 10W bike light we worked great. It allowed the team to easily find a cross trail. With the darkness and difficult terrain we had to walk our bikes quite a few times. Arrived at CP #8 near a lake in a park. The park had a drinking fountain which we used to fill our bladders. From the maps it appeared the next biking section would be about 20-22 miles on paved roads. We started off and soon realized Dave was struggling on the bike. As any good teammate Tom quickly connected his tow rope between their bikes to assist Dave. The roadways were not marked very well. We had to ask a stranger once for directions in order to find RT 202. We were a little nervous riding on the shoulder of these rural roads at night but felt our front and rear bike lights would keep us safe. The toe rope proved to be helpful for Dave but very taxing for Tom. Uphill we averaged about 8 mph and on the flats about 12-15 mph. At this point we had to push as hard as possible because the race mandated we must reach CP #9 by 11:30pm. Along the way we stopped at a convenient store and got Mountain Dew for Tom and a Coke for Dave. Then Dave and Tom shared a Gatorade. Wow what an energy boost. We picked up the pace and got to CP #9 at 11:15p, just 15 minutes before the cutoff time.
Kayak Section
CP #9 was also TA #2. Here we dropped our bikes and would begin the kayak. We quickly found our transition bins and changed into warm clothes for the anticipated cold night kayak. We also ate as much food as possible. Tom was having a tough time with “sleep monsters”. His judgment was off slightly and he thought he lost his neoprene gloves when in fact they were in his pockets. We looked at the tide charts and saw a positive tide started at 1am. Instead of fighting the current we decided to try and sleep for a short bit and get on the water at 1am. At midnight the race organizers tapped our shoulders, woke us and said we had to leave the transition area immediately. Reluctantly we collected ourselves and started kayaking at 12:30am. Paddling was tough against the tide until 1am. After 1am we noticed the paddling got easier. Tom was showing signs of sleep deprivation while sitting in the middle of the 3 person kayak. Apparently the constant navigating and the bike tow were taking a toll on Tom. He had the “head bobs” going and found it hard to stay awake and paddle. Paul was in the front and Dave in the rear. A quick Mountain Dew or sometimes referred to as “bonk-aid” proved to get Tom over the hump. Dave kept barking out orders for everyone to keep paddling in unison. At first our paddling was ugly; Dave spent a lot of time steering. It was hard to keep the kayak straight. From Dave’s perspective the faster we paddled the faster we could get it finished. During the kayak we stayed close to the shore. About a third of the way the map showed a point. At night it was hard to judge how far it stuck out. We ended up getting caught in a barrier where we had get out of the kayak and push the boat over the shallow section. We arrived at CP #10 in 2 hours and averaged 3 mph. Not bad considering we had been racing for over 19 hours. At CP #10 we spent a few minutes chatting with Hugo from NYARA. Tom had met Hugo via email and it was nice to associate a face with the email. We started getting chilled from lack of movement so we continued on. After another 2 hours we arrived at CP #11 which was also TA #3. The tide was low and the show was knee high mud. It took all the energy from all 3 of us to push the kayak through the mud onto shore. Tom lost his footing and tried to keep his balance by sticking his arm out. Tom did everything short of a face plant but managed to keep his head out of the mud. The rest of him was covered in the most unpleasant mud. At the TA everyone got very cold and full body shivers set in. We did our best for a speedy transition. Luckily we put some spare fleece jackets in the bins which came in handy. Tom and Paul changed into a new set of dry clothes. Dave did not have any dry clothes to change into. He managed to borrow a shell from Paul. We only spent 10 minutes in the TA but were still in 55th place.
Mini Trek, Roller blade, Rappell
Leaving CP #10 we carried our roller blades with the objective of getting up to the George Washington Bridge. The sunrise did not occur yet so everyone was quite cold from the night kayak. Paul did not have his trekking shoes so he was forced to walk in rubber bottom neoprene shoes. Normally not bad but we were unable to run to get our body temperatures up. After about ½ hour we decided to cover up in our emergency blankets for 20 minutes. We stopped at the side of the road and did just that. After the 20 minutes we felt pretty good. The challenge at hand was the extremely steep bank which prevented us from taking a direct path to the GW Bridge. We did not consult the maps at this point figuring it would be straight forward. Looking back we realized we missed a short cut to the bridge. Not using the shortcut we walked about 5 miles via paved roads around to the entrance of the bridge. We crossed the bridge at sunrise. Seeing the Manhattan skyline was majestic. We passed several joggers and cyclist as we crossed the bridge who were dressed in shorts and short shirts. On the other hand we had long tights, fleece jackets, and balaclavas. It was obvious to us that our bodies were depleted and needed extra insulation. Our packs were starting to get heavy from carrying the roller blades and life jackets. The race support crew at CP #10 gave us hand written directions how to get to the roller blade start after we left the GW Bridge. Thank goodness because there were quite a few turns which would have taken us considerably longer to navigate. Even though we could see the roller blade path it was far from a straight bushwhack. The sunshine starting peeking out and everyone was starting to feel good and get warmed up. The LEKI trekking poles proved to be a big advantage on the roller blade. It was surprising that after about 24 hours of racing and then roller blading everyone’s lower back felt fine. During the kayak and the trek up and over the GW Bridge all three of us were so chilled we convinced ourselves not to do the rappel into the cold waters. As the sun came out, our bodies warmed, and we approached the air craft carrier we got psyched for the rappel. After a few hours of blading we reached the aircraft carrier. At this point we were warm enough to only wear the tank top race jerseys. We changed into our harnesses and left our packs at the side. We gave our camera to race organizers hoping they might get an interesting shot. The rope setup was far from glamorous. Basically there was a small wooden plank off the side of the carrier. Each person had to climb over a railing and then attach their harness to the rope. Paul was the first guinea pig to go down. For some reason he thought he heard the race folks with the camera say to stop at the bottom of the rope before the free fall for a good shot. Paul did just that. His air acrobatics can best be described as a free fall with a funky bicycle kick, aka soccer lingo. Tom was second, he would have no part of stopping before the free fall. The rappel setup actually had a small cord and carabiner connected to the main rope. We were not sure of the exact knot the cord used but for safety reasons if someone got nervous and let go with both hands the knot would stop them from rappelling. Therefore Tom’s goal was to rappel as fast as possible. He held the cord close to his leg loop and motored non-stop till the end of the rope and then did a very graceful free fall. The water was quite warm and we made sure not to drink any due to the many years of NY pollution. Likewise Dave was quite graceful in his rappel. He did not go as fast as Tom, but in his own way did just fine. We all had a short swim with lifejackets to the pier ladder and got out just fine. We quickly put our socks and blades back on. The remaining roller blade was about 1 mile to the finish at Chelsea Pier. The small welcoming group produced some thundering cheers as we crossed the finish line in unison. All in all we were quite happy with the finish. We had hoped for a better showing, but considering all the mishaps we had just finishing under the time cutoffs was good this time around. Maybe next year we will do better.
Post Race
We quickly made it to our parked minivan and wanted to change into clean clothes. To say the least we had some good body odor going and wanted to take a shower. There were no public showers so we very politely snuck into the Chelsea Pier exercise room and used their showers. After 26 hours of racing the shower felt great. The post race party and food were gone so we were on our own. Luckily we had some good snacks in the van. Next we had to wait for the bikes to be returned. The sun was out so it proved to be perfect for laying and taking a quick nap. After the bikes we shared the load of driving back to Buffalo. The trip took about 6-7 hours, which seemed like an eternity. |
