Joe's ORAMM

Race Report:Started the day at 3:30 from Cola. Got to the check in area around 6:30 and started the pre-race routine. This was my first attempt at ORAMM, so completing it was the goal and my hopes were to be in the top 100 within 8 hours.

The start of the race was a bit intimidating due to the fact that there were 360 riders started at the same time. I knew I did not want to get stuck behind the slows or over exert and blow up 2 hours into the race. I set my pace and rode on. About 3 miles in I caught Laroy and we hung out for about 1 mile and then I was off. He is a little more gravity challenged than I am and we were climbing for what seemed to be 10 miles. Then I hit Kitsuma for the first time. Holy switchbacks!

The line of riders just went up the trail as far as you could see. I understand now why the other riders (Toby, Russ, Jamie, and Damon) took off so quickly from the start. Finally at the top it was time to have some fun. The single track is tight and fast. Unfortunately, going down is a bad time to pass. Made it the bottom with no problem and cruised past the first check station. From there I knew what to expect, Thanks Toby, from the pre-ride weeks earlier.

After the next 150 switchbacks there is another single track descent with some more tight switchbacks and log crossings. Well on the pre-ride I went over the handle bars on one of the logs, and actually lost my water bottle. That is the reason I brought an extra bottle on by pack for the race. This time I considered walking that same log, but instead tried riding it again. And again I went over the handle bars. This time I checked the bottle and it was there. So down the trail I went. Then I looked at my computer, but it was gone. Obviously it was lost in the crash. Now I had no idea of ride time, mileage, or time for nutrition. This was great!

I waited at the bottom for some riders and asked if they picked it up, after #4 I could wait no longer so I got going. I was feeling great and did a lot of passing at this point. Check point #2 stopped for some caffeine and Gatorade and went on. At the road I was greeted by Kristen and Mr. Laroy (Jonathan’s Dad). I asked about the other Harrell’s riders and she laughed at me. She said they went by over an hour ago. I thought “damn this is going to be a long day”.

To the next check point is up THE 9 MILE CLIMB. I knew what to expect and felt great. I was putting the hammer down. I probably passed 15 racers on this climb. At the top I took a break at some food and started to #3 which was up another long climb. I do not know what happened at this point but about 3 miles from the summit I blew up. As I went around every switchback I was looking for the parkway. This was the longest hardest climb of the day for me. All 15 people I passed on 9 MILE + 10 more passed me in the next 3 miles. When I was passed by the woman, I almost asked for a hug. Everyone that passed was burdened by “how much further to the summit?”, “what is the ride time?”. Then Finally there it was.

Check point #4. Ate some food, made some jokes and headed up the Parkway. Once at the top it was time to have some fun. Bombed down Heartbreak and down to #5 in short time. Took another break then started back to Kitsuma. I knew I had ~12 miles left and ride time was around 6:45. I thought I just might make my goal of 8 hours. Jumped on the bike and up to Kitsuma. The switchbacks this time were very lonely. Got to the top and flew down the other side. It was going good until I fell off the side of the mountain. Luckily I did not hit any trees or boulders, climbed back to the trail and rode on. Hit the pavement and off to the finish.

I made it in 8 hours 3 minutes and 111 of 360. I am fairly happy with the results, but plenty of room for improvement. If Damon would have only had 2 more flats I probably could have caught him.Congrats to all that finished. That is a hard race. Results are up on www.biowheels.com.