Return to Berryman, or Team Godzilla Attacks the Trails!

Tomorrow after work Beth and I will be headed down to Southern Missouri for the Berryman Trail 50 again.  Actually I am going for the 50 and Beth is going because she loves me.  We will be staying at the Super8 motel in Potosi, again.  This is all sounding like a flash back to 2008 when I first ran the 50.

My training sort of fell off last month after Double Chubb so I am not as physically prepared as I would like to be but mentally I am in the zone.
 
The big difference between 2008 and 2011 is that this time I won't be running alone.  Jim Donahue will be running the 50mile course with me.  It is funny to hear us talk about the race because we both know we are not prepared but I say Jim is more ready and he says he thinks I am.  We'll find out who was right, Saturday.
To be fair I did run the Marathon last year with Chuck and Robin.  We had a good time, but the Marathon is not the 50.  This time everything will be different.  I am not sure if Jim and I will run the whole race together or if we will split up and run our own races but either way it is going to be an adventure!

In honor of the momentous occasion I have decided to bring back the Haiku.

Running fifty miles
Rocks,  roots, trees, and streams for hours
Repeat second loop

Berryman Trail Epic Mountain Bike Race

This race was physically the most demanding race I have ever done.  Robin, Chuck, Darrell, and I all rode together and were trying to get it done in eight hours.  We came in at 8:49 so we didn't quite make it but it was a great ride anyway.  The guy who won finished in about half the time it took us.  I can't imagine riding that fast up those hills.  Up the hills is where we lost most of our time.

Before the Race

I thought this was a 50mile race but as it turns out it was 56+miles.  I didn't figure this out until late in the race when I was starting to countdown the miles left to go and Robin's total was significantly different than mine.  Sure I was using the computer on my bike and she was using her Garmin (brought to her by the awesome wellness program at Boeing, it wasn't free, but all I get from my wellness program at work is a stupid water bottle and a cooler), but she couldn't have been that far off.  Note to the reader:  GPS systems are great but when you are out in the woods running or riding they will measure your total distance a little short because they don't pick up all of the switchbacks.  Try it out for yourself if you don't believe me, but the wheel doesn't lie.  I think I dealt with the race extension reasonably well.  It's not like I could stop at 50 and be done.  No matter what I was going to have to ride back to the finish.

The start of the race was pretty sketchy, a loud explosion that pretty much came without warning, then on the first turn someone pretty much stopped right in front of me when their chain came off.  So not 100feet into the race I almost went down.  I hoped this was not a sign of things to come.  Riding out of Bass River Resort we took one of the roads that we used in the Berryman 36hour.  Back then I described it thusly "Heading out of Bass it seemed like there was a never ending climb not too steep just up forever and it also seemed like the down was not proportional to the up.  I just sucked it up and dropped to a lower gear to spin my way to the top."  The only difference being between then and now fresh gravel had been put down.  Traction wasn't too bad but I was definitely glad we were going up instead of down (<-- foreshadowing).  

I can't imagine how they do it!

We climbed and climbed and ate a lot of dust, literally.  The forecast had been calling for rain, serious heavy rain complete with thunderstorms.  We were expecting to get wet not dusty.  Dust was the theme of the day though.  There were times on the single track that the guys in front of me kicked up so much dust that the fine details of the trail were obscured and I wasn't even following that close.

The single track was great and the first two sections were really fun.  I did have a flat which pierced my sidewall, and a minor crash, but that couldn't dampen my spirits.  I was also still in the comfort zone of a distance I had ridden before.

The flat I changed pretty fast in fact I changed it so fast I surprised my self, maybe it was too fast (<-- foreshadowing).  In the course of changing the flat I set my pump down next to my bike to be sure not to forget it.  Guess what, I forgot it.  I should have known better.  Putting something somewhere specifically so you won't forget it is a sure fire way to forget it.  How many times have you put something in a place so it won't get lost then when you need it all you can remember is that you put it somewhere where it wouldn't get lost?  This is the same concept.  I hope someone finds it and get years of good use out of it.

Trek Down...

The crash was going uphill so I wasn't moving very fast, and thankfully it was on my right side.  It made for a good photo op though.

We arrived at the Berryman campground which was one of the race checkpoints and the bag drop.  Some of the faster riders were coming in from the second loop.  Imagine the course like a figure 8 with the campground in the middle.  I noticed that they all looked really clean.  We were all filthy from the trail dust.  I wished I was clean.  We grabbed our bags and some food, refilled our liquids and headed back out on the trail.

I had been warned that this third section was full of really steep climbs.  I knew it was going to be bad but first we got to ride one of my all time favorite sections of the Ozark Trail.  It's not that long but it is mostly down hill and just has a nice flow to it, which I believe is pretty close to how I described it from the Berryman 36hour.  We ended that section of trail and crossed Hwy 8.  I was starting to remember this section from the first time I ever came to Berryman.  I was with my nephew and we made a wrong turn and ended up on the OT instead of the BT.  In our defense the sign-age wasn't as clear then as it is now.  Like I was saying I was starting to remember, and what I remembered was the monster hills.

The hills were no joke.  The first one we came to I feigned an attempt to ride up, got off and walked, I figured the sooner I got off and walked the less likely I would be to tip over and slide back down.  The word steep really doesn't convey my meaning effectively.  It wasn't near vertical by any means but anyone who knows me knows that I am all about going down.  Going up is a weakness of mine that was about to get exposed.  I did a lot of walking and really slow riding in this section.  When my calves started burning too bad from walking I would ride, and when I came to a particularly steep or technical section I would walk.  These were the rules by which I lived during this section.  I felt bad for holding everyone back but my legs just did not have it in them to do any more.  I caught up with the group and told them they didn't have to wait for me but they were in agreement  that no one would be left behind.  I was not happy with this decision and thought about refusing to move forcing them to go on a head.  But in the end I realized that if it had been one of them whose legs were about to explode I would have said and done the same thing.  I also thought of some advice I read about the MR340.  'stay in your boat as much as possible.  Time on land is wasted time, if you need to rest do it in the boat.  The river moves along at 3.5MPH so if you rest and don't paddle for an hour you are 3.5miles farther than you would have been had you rested on land.'  I took this advice and figured as long as I was moving no matter how slow I was closer to the finish than if I had stopped.  I also thought of the best advice anyone has ever given me "never make a decision on an up hill".  I was hurting pretty bad, and the gremlins were working their way into my head wanting me to give up, but I've heard their siren song before and it would be a lot more tempting if they offered a ride back to the finish.  I kept on moving slowly but always forward.

I caught up to the group again and I kept on riding past them into a short downhill section.  I was trying to rally and didn't want to stop.  I was having so much fun with the hops and jumps in this section that I got a pinch flat.  I had been wondering for quite few miles if I had put in enough air when I changed it previously, and as it turned out I didn't.  I was not too happy about having to fix it but I was happy about getting to rest for a while.  I told Beth on the way home that it was the pinch flat that saved the race.  It took me forever to change too, not because I was milking it but because this time nothing was going my way.  The whole tire came off the rim and as I was trying to get one side on in preparation for the new tube the part I had put on would just come off again at the bottom.  So there I am sitting there turning the wheel around and around like an idiot.  Finally I got it on and pumped up.  Darrell asked if I wanted him to pump some,  and I figured since I didn't put enough in last time more wouldn't hurt.  I also came to the realization that I need to ride at higher pressure than my friends because my riding style is different than theirs.  I like to get a little air now and then and they like to keep the wheels on the ground.

After the rest I felt a little better but we still had quite a way to go.  Finally Finally Finally we made it to the gravel road that would take us back to the campground.  There would still be hills but hills on flat predictable terrain at this point were a godsend.  There were some downhills too, one of which was on a paved section leading down to Hwy8.  We flew down that hill reaching speeds of 35MPH maybe faster I was trying to focus more on the road than checking my speed.  

When we got to the bottom we crossed the road and prepared ourselves for the long climb up to the campground.  I was feeling a lot better by this time but it was not a surprise to notice everyone spinning so "easily" up the hill while I was really having to put a lot of effort into it.  Instead of spinning my way to the top I was having to pedal hard.  After a while of wishing I had more gears I looked down and saw that I was on my middle chain ring.  Wishes do come true!  I shifted into the small chain ring and everything was fine.

I dropped my shorts into my drop bag.

We made it to the top and much like before we handled our business and rolled out knowing we were on the home stretch.  This last section of trail was like the greatest hits, it had everything tough winding climbs, creek crossings (mostly dry), fast downhills, rocks, roots, fast rolling sections in the bottoms.  I mean it this section was like a smaller version of the entire course, and it was fun.  Robin had been having some stomach issues and now her legs were starting to cramp on the steep sections.  I hung back to make sure she didn't have any more serious problems, which allowed Chuck and Darrell to go on ahead a little faster.  At one point Chuck pulled to the side and told me to take a turn chasing after Darrell.  We were in a fast downhill that ended in a rolling bottom section.  Darrell and I were killing it flying over the terrain.  I don't think I have ever gone that fast on single track.  That section was a real high light of the ride.  We regrouped at a wide ATV trail that would take us to the gravel road leading to the finish.  It did not take us long to regroup Chuck and Robin must have been flying too.

About 100 yards from the finish!

We rode up the ATV trail and got on the gravel road where we were assaulted by dust from a group of ATV riders.  Not really their fault mostly bad timing that we ended up on the road together at the same time.  However they did pass us then pull over for whatever reason and then pass us again.  Some of them were apologetic about the dust they were stirring up.  I figured there was nothing we could do about it, plus we were close to the finish, and soon it wouldn't matter.  After a while the road turned downhill for the final time and yes it was the same road we climbed at the start.  I am still nervous about thick gravel combined with high speed.  I let off the brakes and let her rip any way because you can't conquer a fear without facing it.  I was white knuckling it the whole way down.  As the road turned I went wide and ended up in the center of the road where there were some deep grooves these almost shook my eyeballs right out of my head I have no idea how I didn't crash.  I didn't though and now we were at the bottom.  Nothing left but a short ride around the backside of Bass to the finish.  As we rode up I saw Beth taking a picture with her phone.  I stopped and gave her a kiss as is the custom when she suffers through a long race like this, and hauled ass to catch up so we could all finish together.

Everyone clapped and cheered for us as we came into the finish and there were a lot of people there partying, drinking beer, eating food, listening to the band, and just having an all around good time.  We were filthy and I felt a little weird about it since most people were already cleaned up so I went and showered while the rest of the group ate.  That shower was the best $.50 I ever spent.  

This was a truly awesome race! I don't know if I will be able to do it next year but I will do it again.

Berryman 36hour Adventure Race Slide Show

Team POW/MIA Adventure Pt. 1

We all agreed that a dress rehearsal with all of our race gear was a good idea and Megan really wanted to ride the Berryman trail, so we decided to take a trip down there to test the waters.  Unfortunately Ryan had a family commitment and was unable make it out there with us.  He was definitely missed, misery loves company.
We met at White Castle at 9:30am Saturday morning, and convoyed out to Berryman.  We arrived at the campground around noon and quickly set up camp.  While setting everything up I discovered that one of my tent polls was broken, and realized that I need a new tent one that is free standing.  It was next to impossible to get my tent pegs into the ground but without them my tent doesn't stand up.
After setting everything up spirits were high as we prepared to go ride the trails.  The status of my wrist was cause for concern since I haven't been on my mountain bike for so long.  All I could do was give it a try and see how things went.  I was also under the impression that we were going out for a much shorter ride.  This is how I know my team makes up in determination anything they lack in skills and experience.  I'm the veteran the guy that gets out and does this stuff, and it was the other team members who are pretty new to this kind of thing who had no question that we were going to leave camp, ride the complete loop, and grill pork steaks when we were done.

Mark before the mechanical issues

We decided to ride in a counter clockwise direction because I thought that would be the easiest.  I forgot my Garmin, and my gloves, the gloves turned out to be no big deal but the Garmin would have been useful toward the end.  At first we were taking it slow as Megan and Mark got a feel for the trail but they came up to speed fairly quickly and I wasn't worried that they were going to do anything beyond their abilities.  It doesn't make sense to get hurt on a training expedition so close to the race.  Surprisingly my wrist felt fine, the brace really shored it up where it was needed and as long as I was careful there it didn't hurt a bit.  Somehow Megan mananged to hurt her wrist though.  She said that she just twisted it the wrong way.  I could see her going into therapist mode checking her range of motion and gauging the severity of the injury.  She said it would be ok and we continued on.  This team is full of tough individuals. 
At some point we stopped and discussed how far we were going to ride.  The only easy marker that I knew of was Brazil Creek which was roughly 10miles from where we started.  This was my first inclination that this was going to be a much longer ride than I thought.  I was game though.  We rode for what seemed to be a long time and came across another group of riders who told us that we had about a mile to go before we hit the creek.  The short stretch of road from the trail to the creek was a very welcome change especially for Mark since his bike had a rigid fork (Mark is hardcore for riding the trail on that bike). 

Megan Crossing Brazil Creek

Once we arrived at the creek I broke out my water filter and we filled our water bottles and bladders.  It was pretty hot out and we were drinking quite a bit of water.  I was glad that my pack had room for 2 bottles (I only brought 1 though).  The filter worked great and the water tasted good too.  Looking back if we hadn't had the filter we probably wouldn't have made it.  We took the opportunity to take some pictures riding through the creek even though the water wasn't very high, maybe 6-8inches at the crossing.  After a quick break we made our way up out of the creek.  This section is by far the steepest on the trail and we pushed our bikes to the top it was so muddy we couldn't have ridden even if we had wanted to. 
The second part of the trail seemed to be easier with long downhill runs that you could really fly down.  At times I was pretty far ahead of Megan and Mark because I just wanted to let it rip.  At one point I caught a pretty good sized stick in my rear wheel/derailleur area resulting in a severely bent derailleur hanger and a broken spoke.  Megan and Mark caught up to me and I told them that's usually what happens when you are the farthest away from the trail head.  Luckily I could bend the hanger back in place and the shifting was good for the most part.  There was really nothing I could do for the spoke, but anyone who knows me knows I have plenty of experience with broken spokes so I wasn't too concerned since it was just one.

My Trek

We rode on for a while without incident until we came to pretty good drop.  It wasn't huge or anything maybe knee high but it had to be ridden with a decnt amount of speed to avoid getting tossed over the bars.  I rode over it without a problem and Mark looked to be doing the same until his rear wheel came down.  I'm guessing that the vibration from the trail loosened his quick release and his wheel almost came off.  We stopped and made some adjustments, then rode and made some more adjustments.  It seemed like the wheel did not want to stay in place. Eventually we got it to stay but the I noticed that his front brake was unhooked.  Apparently it had been like that from the beginning.  He said he couldn't get it adjusted right so he went without it hooked up.  He said it would be ok, and since he made it this far without it...
We were all starting to wonder exactly how far it was to the end because daylight was in short supply.  Megan and Mark were smart enough to bring their lights so I wasn't that worried about the darkness.  I did have my headlamp so if it came down to it I did have a source of light.
After a long while we reached the Edward Beecher recreation area and once again had to refill our water supply at the spring.  When we stopped I was very worried because I could see an "aura".  This normally is a precursor to a migraine, and I didn't know how I would make it back if a migraine set in.  I grabbed some Aleve from Mark and hoped for the best.  Luckily a migraine never developed but I am at a loss for what caused the "aura".  Daylight was fading fast and we were anxious to get back so we didn't stay long.

Which way?

We hadn't gone very far when Mark had another mechanical issue with his bike.  He said his rear (only) brake wasn't working.  I checked it out and found that his brake cable had snapped.  This was real downer for all of us because it would slow our progress considerably.  We didn't know how far it was to camp or how long it would take us to get there but we all knew it was going to take a little longer.  Mark got back on the bike and started to ride.  Luckily the section we were in wasn't steep or technical so it worked out.  When he could ride he rode and when he couldn't we walked.  Sure it was a less than ideal situation but no one complained and we just kept moving forward.
At one point someone asked who would be the first person to hallucinate in the race.  I guessed it would be me because I have hallucinated at Berryman before when I thought I saw a bear that when I got closer turned out to be a log.  I know what you are thinking "If you thought it was a bear why did you get closer?" The answer is simple, I had run about 40miles at the time of the "sighting" and I was to tired to care about being eaten by a bear.  So as we were riding along I thought I saw someone standing on the side of the trail.  I was wondering what he was doing out on the trail.  Once we got up to where he was I realized he was actually a post.  So needless to say I am super excited to find out what hallucinations a 36hour race will bring on.
We kept going and going and going.  Keep in mind I had no watch and therefore had no concept of the passage of time other than now it was dark.  Even with lights it was too dangerous to ride since Mark had no breaks so we went into death march mode.
On and on we kept going.  When we saw the sign for the turn back to the campground we were very excited because we knew we were close.  It seemed to take forever to cover that last stretch of trail.  Finally there it was Mile marker 0 just a few more yards to the campground.  We were so relieved to be back. It was around 8pm so we had been out there on the trail for 7hours.
Megan and Mark got the fire going to throw down some pork steaks and I heated up my Chik'N.  The food tasted great.  We were too tired for s'mores and we went sleep in our tents.  Sunday we were going to meet up with Ryan for some paddling.
Before I settled in for the night I sent Beth a text to let her know that I was still alive.  I slept restlessly but woke up refreshed, without any soreness at all.  Mark and Megan felt refreshed too.  A blessing from the trail as a reward for our hard day.

We broke camp and headed to the Bird's Nest to meet up with Ryan for Part 2 of the weekend's adventure...