Adventure Race Mountain Bike Map Board

So after wrestling with the map around my neck during the mountain bike portions of the 2012 Yough Xtreme I've been thinking about a map board solution to facilitate bike orienteering. I didn't want to spend $50+ on a ready made product so after considering various ideas and thinking things through I decided to give the build a try tonight. This project came together surprisingly quickly and I ended up using some materials I hadn't even considered.

I started by cutting the front cover away from a hard cover binder. You can actually cut it in such a way that the outside sleeve is still functional.

There is my board.

Next, I needed to devise a way to secure the board to the bike. I noticed that my front reflector slides off the ring that attaches it to the handlebars and was the perfect solution. I took a small screw driver (any fine, sharp point will do as long as it is smaller than the screw you will use below) and bored a hole (be sure to carefully consider placement) into the ring like so:

 This allowed me to place a screw tightly into the ring:

Finally, I secured the board to the bike via the screw and ring combo. Again, carefully consider the placement before driving the screw through the board.

Map board with a map attached via clip:

Another view:

I have larger clips to use for the map and a second reflector ring to potentially create another anchor point - this should improve durability. Another option, if you don't have reflector rings, is to use conduit clamps:

If you go this route you'll need nuts and bolts instead of screws. All together this build took less than 30 minutes and cost me zero dollars. As I mentioned before, if you cut the board correctly, the sleeve is still functional. Here is a picture of the map placed within the outside sleeve:

You can cut away the plastic around the securing screw to open up the entire sleeve for use. I'll let you know how it performs after the next race!

Yough Xtreme 2012 Race Report

After weeks of hard work and preparation May 5th finally arrived - race day! It was time to test ourselves against nature and explore our physical and mental limits.

I started gathering my gear during the week to make sure I didn't forget anything. We would be camping the night before so that increased the number of items needed.

We drove up the day before, set up camp and checked in at 7pm. At check-in Team Liahona received our maps, instruction sheet and had to copy the checkpoints and unauthorized routes from a master map. Here is what a portion of the master map looked like:

The red represents paved roads that were designated off limits. This forced us to utilize the network of off road trails throughout the park. There were eight checkpoints that had to be obtained in sequential order. The exact course of travel was to be determined by each team for themselves.

We went to the local spot for dinner to review our instructions, maps and to determine optimal routes and strategy. We learned that the two events we considered our strengths had been removed from the race - the 9 mile flat terrain run and the Orienteering Course. Surprising for sure but that is all part of the adventure!

 

After dinner we returned to camp, made a fire and continued to review the maps and to strategize.

 

We woke up bright and early the next day to pack up camp and set up our gear at the transition area before attending the pre-race brief with over one hundred other racers.

Transition area with bikes ready to go.

Fuel and gear organized for quick access.

Eager to start the race and feeling great!

Listening to the 7:30am pre-race brief. Afterwards, we moved to the line to await the 8am start.

Waiting for 8am.

We're off!

The first leg was a fast paced 4.5 mile out and back on foot to CP1. We were up with the race leaders the entire way and enjoying the adrenaline that accompanies the start of a race! We returned to the transition area for CP2 and hopped on the bike for a 5 mile bike ride up Sugarloaf Mountain.

This bike leg was tough! Most our training took place in the Washington DC area on relatively flat terrain. I knew we would have to bike up Sugarloaf and that this would require a certain amount of strength but knowing and doing are two completely different things.

We probably pushed our bikes up more than we rode. Most other racers were relegated to do the same. We punched CP3 at the top and dropped our bikes to run 3.5 miles to CP4. At this point everything was hurting - legs, back and shoulders from pushing the bikes for so long while gaining about 2,000 feet in elevation.

We found CP4 with no problems and traveled 4.5 miles to CP5 by bushwhacking down the mountain to the rail trail. At this point teammate Ryan was feeling the altitude and his body was not responding. In fact, he was cramping up and not feeling well overall so we slowed our pace to accommodate. This leg led us to the paddle portion of the course. We hit the water and started wrestling with our inflatable kayak almost immediately. It took us about an hour and ample amounts of frustration to finally find our rhythm. Going in, we knew the paddle was not our strong point and were happy to complete the 8.5 mile journey in 2 hours.

We punched CP6 at the take-out and at this point we were out of water, soreness had set in from sitting in the kayak for hours and we were feeling pretty depleted over all. We jogged to the transition point, re-filled on water and downed as much food as possible! After a brief rest we ran/hiked 4.5 miles back up the mountain to CP7. At CP7 we reunited with our bikes and headed off for the last point, CP8.

This last leg was probably around 14 miles long and for me was the most difficult. We knew we had only one more CP to go and that the end was near; however, as soon as we set out from CP7 we encountered incline after incline that required us to once again push our bikes instead of ride. Rain started to fall and the trails became slick and muddy. My body felt like it had nothing left to give and had gone numb except for a dull ache that served as a constant reminder of what I was doing to it.

As soon as we passed over one climb it seemed like another steeper incline would follow. At one point I looked at the task ahead and thought that I wouldn't be able to make it up and over this time. I decided that it was better to stare at the ground below instead of the mountain in front of me. I said out loud, "One step at a time" and continued to put one foot in front of the other. Somehow we found the energy to continue and kept trudging along until we found the final CP. From there we bombed the downhill to the finish, passing a few teams on the way.

We crossed the finish line with about 45 minutes left of the 10 hour time limit and good enough for 4th place in our division. THISCLOSE to a podium finish. Here are some pictures from the finish line:

Smiles of relief more than anything else after nearly 60 miles!

Covered in mud!

The bikes, too!

The SWAG we won - new socks!

Overall we had a blast and were very pleased with our results. This was Ryan's first adventure race and my second. We were able to hang with the top teams pretty easily on flat terrain and know we need to improve our strength on inclines. Also, we could have skipped our transition and shaved at least 40 minutes from our total time. We both experienced some low points and functioned near or at our physical and mental limits for a significant portion of the race - in other words the race was as challenging as we had hoped. There were times that I thought of skipping the last CP or didn't think my body could give any more and I was able to push beyond those limits on sheer will and determination alone.

There were also a few times when the trails would open up into beautiful meadows and the sun would shine down on us to literally brighten everything up. In those moments I would forget the physical pain and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Working together with teammate Ryan was also a highlight. Our team went through various permutations as teammates came and went but Ryan was always committed - being able to cross the finish line together was a great reward!

Adventure Race Training: April 30 - May 4 Individual Training Sessions

This was the week before the race so there was a lot of rest and recovery.

April 30 Monday biked 14 miles to work in the morning:


And 14 miles home in the evening:

I never knew little girls could be so dangerous until this ride. About 6 miles in I noticed a large group of maybe nine year old girls running the trail. I passed a few small groups, peddled up a hill and started to bomb the downhill when I saw another small pack in the distance taking up both lanes. I hit the brakes until I noticed they cleared my lane with one girl moving to the grass on the outside while the others stayed on their side.

Everything would have been fine but the girl decided to cross the trail to the other side. She had enough time to do so but stalled in the middle of my lane and faked left and right - deer in headlights. I had no idea where she was going and no time to react so...boom!

All I remember is yelling and seeing her fold into my front wheel, feeling myself bounce off the paved trail on my left hip and left palm and then flipping over on my back and skidding to a stop. Luckily, I wasn't too banged up and made sure the girl was ok. She must have absorbed the impact perfectly because she wasn't crying and actually continued running. The chaperone with the group made her apologize to me but I told her that didn't matter and just wanted to make sure the little girl was fine.

Looking back, that chaperone was not doing her job - she never should have let the group take up both lanes and should have herded them away from the oncoming traffic lane. Some people don't know how to use the trails and that is dangerous!

I'm really glad everyone was ok. My bike was also fine. This was the third wreck and I have to say that it has been a beast - it takes a beating like a champ! After this I decided not to bike to work the rest of the week. I didn't want to risk getting hurt the week before the race.

Thursday May 3 ran 4.0 mi on the Treadmill in  36:53 for a 9:13 min/mi pace. Then I hit the gym for back, shoulder and core sets. Just a nice easy workout to stay loose for Saturday.

Adventure Race Training: April 23 - April 29 Individual Training Sessions

Wednesday April 25 ran 6.12 miles:

I was happy with how this run turned out - over 6 miles with a less than 8 mi/mile pace! I started out this run not knowing if I wanted to go fast or not but once I heard the splits through my headphones my competitive nature kicked in and wanted to get my overall pace under 8 mi/mile. Then, once I was around a 7:50 mi/mile at mile 4 and then mile 5, I wanted to see if I could keep it up for 6 miles - something I'd never done at that point. Success!

Thursday April 26 ran 2.0 miles on the Treadmill in 16:58 for an 8:28 min/mi pace. This run was meant to be at least 4 miles but I think I was paying for the 6 mile PR the day before and had to cut it short. I then sulked into the weight room for back and core sets.

Saturday April 28 ran 4.0 miles on the Treadmill in 31:40 at a 7:55 min/mi pace. This was a slow treadmill run that ended a sprint pace just to see if I could break the 8 min/mi pace barrier after starting off at a 9:30 min/mi pace. Success! I then swaggered my way into the weight room for back, core and leg sets.

Only 1 more week until Race Day!

Adventure Race Training: April 15 - 22 Individual and Team Training Sessions

Tuesday April 16 Individual Session. Biked 13.6 miles to work:


And 13.9 miles home:
 
Nevermind the first split distance - screwy GPS signal. What's more important is that I made it home in record time and kept my average speed above 15 mi/hr for the first time ever on this commute!


Thursday April 19 Individual Session. Ran 4.0 mi on the Treadmill in 31:30 for a 7:52 min/mi pace.

Saturday April 21 Team Training Session. This was a huge training day with maximum mileage to date! We started with a 15 mile run:


I bonked hard starting at mile 12 and gutted out the remaining mileage while teammate Ryan pushed ahead and finished strong. I made the mistake of having a protein shake for bfast and since that takes time to digest I felt heavy the entire time and subsequent nutrition never had a chance to be absorbed by my body. So I was running on empty after 11 miles and at the same time my body was working hard to digest the protein shake. I won't make that mistake again.


The worst part is there is really nothing you can do in that situation. I actually had to stop and walk a few times to try and let my body regulate itself. Up until that point though we were moving fast and strong. We were even getting faster with mile 10 at 8:28 and mile 11 at 8:19.


During the last few miles I seriously considered calling it quits after that. Knowing that we had 25 miles on the bike and an hour of kayaking planned I wasn't sure if I could make it through the day. However, I decided to suck it up and give it a go. I'm glad I did too because once I hopped on the bike I felt a lot better despite the still heavy stomach and aching legs.


So we biked 17.5 miles to the Thompson Boat Center:

The route we took encompassed the Mount Vernon Trail, the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail, the Custis Trail and the Rock Creek Park Trail. The Custis Trail was probably the best stretch since there were a number of uphills and downhills that allowed us to practice some climbs, even if they were brief.


And then we kayaked for an hour:

The paddle was ugly. I was spent energy wise and therefore my upper body didn't have much strength. During the race we will be paddling for 2 hours plus and I'm sure it will be the most boring part of the course. It would have been nice to see improvement in this area (last week we averaged 3.97 mi/hr) but at least we know that this will be our weak spot during the race and can strategize accordingly.


We then finished with a 7.5 mile bike back to our start position:

Again, the splits are a bit screwy but the overall numbers are fairly accurate. It was a slow, sloppy ride as fatigue had set in and we didn't have much left in the tank. When it was all said and done we had been going for about 6 hours straight.

Like I said before, this was our peak mileage team training session and while it didn't go as planned it was definitely a success in that we completed the mileage and continued even if we weren't feeling100%. A good overall test of mental toughness I would say. Going through these taxing training sessions has given our team confidence and has built up a trust between us - we know that neither of us will give up when things get tough. As the race gets closer and closer the excitement continues to grow!