Rev3 “EPIC” Adventure Race
April 16, 2011
Front Royal, VA
This race certainly was “epic.” It was a test of gear and hypothermia avoidance for most of the day. Hard rain for twelve hours was no one’s idea of a good time, though memory will probably make it seem a lot better as time goes by.
This time Richmond ASR: Raging Burritos consisted of me, my brother Robin from Boston, Andrea Randle, and Daniel Rodriguez. We were already worried about the weather for at least a week since weather.com kept saying that Saturday would be awful. Of course, Friday was gorgeous as we drove to Luray, VA for check-in, and Sunday after the race was also a beautiful day. Race day was special! We woke up a 5AM to a steady drizzle and temperatures in the high 40s. They had predicted higher temps as the day progressed but it never got above 60. We drove to Bentonville, VA in a steady rain and were toeing the line with everyone at 7:30AM. The prologue consisted of 4 mile run into Shenandoah State Park to pick up our passports from a cabin. Navigation was not hard since we all just followed the hoard of racers along the river’s edge and up the hill to the cabins. We would travel this same trail at least four times during the race…it got pretty familiar.
The prologue was really the only part of the race that was in the original plan. Flood warnings had forced a cancelling of the paddle section and problems with permits the Monday before the race forced the designers to scramble and develop a completely different bike course in the George Washington/Massanutten area west of the start area. They also had to transport us by bus from the old canoe put-in point back to race central and probably had to alter the O-course and trek sections after the initial bike. I’m glad that we hadn’t had to deal with all of that.
After the prologue, we quickly transitioned to bikes and headed west across a bridge that was already a foot underwater. The next few miles were a test of gears, chains, and shifters. Many teams were delayed by mechanical problems. We had a couple of incidences of jammed chains and non-functioning shifters, but escaped any major problems. The real test was staying warm. We had three large hills to climb and descents through a constant downpour. Climbing heated you up nicely, but descending cooled you off badly. We all had to add clothing during the ride, and though we were constantly wet, we were semi-warm. After 54 miles of hard riding, driving rain, one fairly costly navigation mistake, and yo-yoing team emotions we arrived at the Bixler Bridge canoe put in and waited for our bus to leave. We huddled under a pop-up tent with a few other teams for about 20 minutes and then all crammed into the bus. Our bikes were laid out on a flat-bed trailer behind as we tore up route 340 back to Bentonville. Our driver must have been a NASCAR wanna-be as we sped around corners and up hills. No one wanted to look out the back for fear that all the bikes had been spilled in some huge pile somewhere back along the highway.
We spilled out of the bus into a cold driving rain and immediately began shivering and chattering teeth. A quick change of shoes got us ready for the next trekking section. We immediately started running, back across the same submerged bridge, to try and get warm. We had just two points to find on about a 7 mile trek, but the rain really started coming down and we were worried about getting back across that bridge if the river rose too fast. Luckily the bridge was still there when we returned and over the next few minutes the rain let up a bit.
We got to the car and changed into some dry clothes. The weather was looking better so we were hoping for the best as we plotted the 21 points for the O-course and started out. Lady luck was not in our corner. The skies darkened and you could see the sheets of rain coming over the ridge. It started to hail! I think this is where even Daniel lost any remaining positive vibes as we trudged on into the Shenandoah Park. We hoped to nail all 21 check points and we started out well. We had gotten six points before it got dark, had a stop at the overlook for a beautiful view of the river valley, saw a complete rainbow, and were heading to CP 39. There it was, on the other side of a raging river that probably was usually a small stream. We could find no way across. Later, when we returned to the TA, we found that the race directors had expected us to swim across the river. Frankly, this was the last straw for the team. Getting wet on races is OK; but fast moving water, 50 degree weather, and encroaching darkness….probably not very smart to be swimming across rivers. Our tactics changed. We headed off for the last two remaining mandatory points and decided to just return to the TA. We had one more “AR moment” as the full moon broke through the clouds and illuminated the landscape beautifully. Andrea’s cough was worse and her throat was really sore; my left knee was unusually painful and starting to swell; Robin’s ankle was hurting. None of these things were show-stoppers, but the elements had defeated us. We got to the TA, took a look at the mountain bike map for the next section, and decided to pack it in. Later, we talked to a team who had done the mountain bike section and they were all expecting to have to replace their gear sets.
It was about 11PM so we picked up our bikes, removed as many wet clothes as possible, and climbed into the car for the ride back to Richmond. Red Bull helped me stay awake and we were home by 2AM. It was disappointing and maybe we could have gutted out the last bike section, but no one was having any fun. The elements had defeated us this time. Phil Dawson
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