Ouachita Challenge 2015

This year was my 8th year doing the Ouachita Challenge. My first was way back in 2006, when my little brother Luke and I did the Tour together. We were pretty much "noobs" to cycling, but we made it through the ride and had a lot of fun. I was still riding 26" wheels; and although I had a full suspension bike I found out a week before the OC that one of my shock linkages was broken. I stripped the frame down and built up my old hardtail frame. Hard to imagine riding a hardtail 26" bike on the OC now!

26" wheels; that just ain't right.

After '06 I went back in '09 with my friend Brian to do the race and I've done it every year since. I battled flats and stomach issues for several years, and never could get under the 6hr mark that I had taken as a goal. Finally in 2013 I broke through and finished in 5:58:28, squeezing just under the mark. In 2014 I had an ok race until the very end and managed to set a nice new PR of 5:42. This year I was hoping I would be able to get under 5 1/2 hours, but I hadn't been doing any long rides and felt like I had been struggling with my fitness. I decided that I would ride with my friend Patrick if he was feeling good and try to get him under 6hrs.

We did our usual drive up Saturday morning, in a packed Suburban with 6 guys, 4 bikes on back and 2 on top. Spending time with friends on the way up and back, besides while there, is always a highlight of this weekend. We checked into our cabin and did a short spin, then cooked dinner and got ready for Sunday morning.

Top of the Womble Trail on our Saturday afternoon ride

After breakfast we headed to the school for the start and dropped our drop bags that would be taken to the halfway point. Patrick and I lined up near the front, and then we were rolling behind the truck for the neutral start. After the truck pulled off, the pace went up, but I tried to keep it civil and keep Patrick on my wheel. He lost contact a couple of times as the rollers started on the gravel road, but I waited for him hoping he would get warmed up. After I dropped him again I could tell he needed to ride his own pace and I ride mine, so I kept going. I felt like I was struggling in the first ten miles before we hit the singletrack, losing lots of positions. I tried to just keep a steady pace and hope that my legs would come around. Big Brushy was uneventful, then we were up and over Blowout. I thought I could climb the whole thing but I was stopped by a walker who wouldn't move so I had to dismount and join the line to the top. I rode some new rock gardens I haven't done in the past, then it was on to Chalybeate. This climb is always tough, as it is very steep and seems never ending. I usually have to walk a good portion of it and this year was no different. I ended up stopping halfway up as I discovered that my stem bolt was loose, luckily it hadn't spun on any of the technical rock gardens on Blowout or the fast descent! After Chalybeate is the long road section through the halfway point in Sims. I felt pretty good on this section and made good time up to the Womble Trail.

Through the first section of Womble I felt like I was starting to fall apart. My legs felt ok but I was tired and my stomach was unsettled. Eventually I decided to just stop or else I thought I was really going to be in bad shape. I rested for what must have been 5 or 10 minutes, drank some Skratch and then got back underway. This helped settle my stomach to where I felt ok to keep riding. As usual I was getting close to survival mode by this point in the race. The next big climb was Mauldin Mountain, the last real obstacle to the finish line. I've ridden it several times in the past, but this year it wasn't happening and I walked more than I was happy with. After the big climb up Mauldin you have about 18 rolling miles left, with one steep climb on the road 5 miles from the finish. I started the last climb with a group of 4 that had rolled up behind me after we exited the last singletrack. I tried to stay with them but just didn't have the legs so I rolled over the top on my own and then was off for the fast run-in to the finish. There is an aid station at the top of the climb where the course crosses over itself, Patrick was there as I rolled through and he gave me some words of encouragement. I made it to the finish in 5:38, a new PR by about 4 minutes and 35th place out of 159.

I hung around the finish to watch all my traveling buddies come in, then we went back to the cabin to relax for the evening. We took a swim in the river right below the cabin, then made our way to the hot tub on the back deck. Justin cooked us a delicious dinner and we turned in for the night. Monday morning we woke up and packed, then hit the road back home. It was a good trip and I'm alread looking forward to next year, chasing a new PR and spending a great weekend with my friends.