You got up at 4:00AM for WHAT?

by Bryan on July 20th, 2007

(Part I): Curse of the Dark Hollow.

by Jake Davidson [Evomo Sponsored Rider]

So last weekend I drove out to Michaux State Forest near Carlisle, PA to race the Curse of the Dark Hollow. This race is billed as the toughest endurance course on the East Coast, and let me tell you, it delivers. Here is a race report:It was early. The race started at 7:00AM, something IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to have to get used to if I am going to do more endurance events. No big deal though, except that my penchant for not being rushed at a race had me up at 4:20, and at the parking lot by 5:30. It is nice not to be rushed though. I did my warm up thing, and stretched and rode circles around the parking lot until the pre-race meeting. At the pre race meeting I was joined by some fast company. Local fast guys Harlan Price and Brandon Draugelis were there, as well as Chris Eatough fresh of his win at the BC bike race. There would be no contesting the top 3 podium spots. Whatever, it didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t matter. I wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t anywhere near that fast anyway. I would have to settle for top 15, maybe top 10 if I was lucky. Anyway, the race began with a semi neutral rollout up a dirt road, swung through the parking lot and dropped down the Wildcat Trail. What a wicked descent I passed two riders who, not ever a half mile into the race had flatted on the loose rocks of Wildcat. I did my best to stay in the group (my descending skills being mediocre at best), figuring that Eatough, Price and Draugelis were way ahead. Now, I would like to give you a mile by mile description of the course, but quite frankly, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t remember it all. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all a blur.

I do remember Lollipop though, it was the sweetest technical singletrack I have ever ridden (puts on list of things to ride a lot next year- I go to college 25min north of MichauxÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ heheÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). Just perfect flowing, with rocks, shutes, and drops. I was flowing like crazy until I clipped my foot on a tight right-hander between a fallen tree and an embankment. Totally killed the flow, and I was moving too. After that we rode another amazing singletrack along a lake. It was the textbook perfect pine-needle-covered trail by the beautiful lake. Then there was a long fireroad climb where I passed and dropped many people (climbing being my strength). I just settled into a rhythm and pedaled away. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t remember much of anything until the second aid station, where I stopped for a bottle trade and to eat some more food. My mom was there (yeah amazing race support) and told me that I was in 17^th overall. This was good. I felt good, and I was riding strongly.

Unfortunately, about four or five miles later, another racer and I got lost bombing down a dirt road. We missed a turn into the singletrack. We descended for a little more than a mile, realized that we were not on the course anymore, and turned back and climbed up to find the course again. I held back on the climb, trying not to drop him like I had on the previous two climbs. Spinning the easier gear threw off my rhythm and killed my legs. By the time I got to the next aid station (12 miles and another climb away), I was totally dead. And I had lost about 20 places. I was riding somewhere in the 30s now. My mom was there again (yeah mom), and I ate, stocked up on food, and watched as Jon Posner lubed up my chain and dumped water over my head. For those of you who donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know, Pos is Chris EatoughÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pit crew chief for his 24hr races. He has running a aid station down to a science. He had everything made up in neat rows, PB&JÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s, banana halves, cups with HEED, Cytomax, and water, power bars, GUÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s, tubes, tires, lube, and he would take care of everyone that was there, making sure they had exactly what they needed to keep racing, no matter how many people there were. Amazing guy, nice as hell. I hope to see him again at more races. AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t remember much of the next part of the race. Soon after seeing Pos, we passed through the start/finish area and started out second loop. There was about 30 min of high speed descending before some more climbing where in a deluded anaerobic haze I began singing to myself, out loud. It would have been embarrassing if I wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t alone. I have this strange habit of riding alone because the people who descend as slowly as I do climb at the same slow pace and I drop them totally on the climbs. Note to self: Descend faster! Grow balls!

The next thing I remember is the infamous 3 Mile Trail, which is basically 3 miles of struggling to pedal through a rock garden. Good, clean fun. Except for the fact that somewhere in there I caught a rock in the left chainstay and put a huge dent in it. Upon further inspection the entire swing arm is out of alignment and needs to be replaced before the next race (8/4, Wilderness 101). It will be done. The next thing I remember is Grave Ridge. More specifically, I remember walking Grace Ridge. It was way too technical for my totally dead body to attempt to ride, and I doubt I would even be able to ride it fresh. There are a lot of trials like moves required to clean it. After a gentle climb out of the Grave Ridge area, I stopped at the aid station for some water and headed up the final 2 mile climb to the finish. Joy fun.

I ended up finishing 35^th over, 18^th in the Senior Men 18-44 class. I think I would have done better if not for my little detour. I had fun though, and felt mostly strong for the race. It was good preparation for the Wilderness 101, which is two short weeks from now. Must trainÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all for nowÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ except this:

Things learned from racing at Michaux: