Rolling into the parking lot, right away is was apparent this was a perfect place for a race, big green hills, right on the beautiful Ohio River. Went through registration said hey to Andrew Forron from New River Bikes and Andy from Pro Bike Outfitters. While looking my bike over I noticed the bearings in bottom bracket were shot, resulting in lots of play in the crank. The pedals still moved and the wheel still rolled, so nothing too major. Finally got the bike right, loaded up the camelbak with nutrition, repair tools and I was ready to roll.
The race starts with a neutral roll out down towards the first climb of the race. The promoter honked his horn and off we went. The first climb starts out fairly gradual on asphalt. Then you take a tight right hand turn and it shoots straight up on to gravel. After 4 miles or so I finally made into the singletrack and heading into bonk land already. The first bit of singletrack was straight up and down with flat sections in between that were littered with rocks. At this point I had to just sit back and recover or I'd blow up. On this super sketchy downhill, I crashed sending my bike partially down a dropoff. Once I got my bike back onto the trail I noticed that the hydraulic lockout on my fork had broken off, so I was riding the last 25 miles with no squishy up front.
After the first bit of singletrack there is a short 2 mile road connector to first Aid Station, which allowed my geared comrades time to catch bike up to me. I rode the next 10 miles or so with Mandi Riddle (Joey's Bike Shop) and two other dudes. Eventually I passed Mandi and the two other dudes after the getting tired of their granny gear madness. At this point I'd say I was the seventh singlespeeder.
The second batch of singletrack then leads towards another section of pavement and gravel climbs, maybe 4 miles. The gravel climb in this section, sucked to the max. It was steep and the gravel was thick and loose. At the crest of this climb was the second aid station which unfortunately had no beer. The descent out of the aid station was straight and fast. Also there was some country looking fellas on the side of the trail hooting and hollering. My kind of guys, I bet they had all the beer. Then there was this rock garden, that I saw some dude eat poo poo on. I asked if he was alright but all he said in pain was "ahhhhh ahhhh yeah." I said "alrighty then" and keep moving. Then I caught my new West Virginia and singlespeed friend Andy who was cramping. On the climb up into the last aid station I passed two other singlespeeders. Putting me into fifth.
The last four miles, were a breeze with nothing but fast flowy singletrack, the perfect way to end a race. The course then passed through a tunnel, that was under the road we started on. Finally I was home free with a half mile of singletrack that was slightly downhill. At the very end I caught up to an Athens Bicycle rider who I out sprinted to finish.
I'd finished in 4:58 33rd out 72 overall and the fifth singlespeed. I can't say more about how awesome the course was. It had everything, fast and flowy singletrack, tough rock gardens, steep and gradual ups. Sketchy steep downs, and good gravel and paved connectors. River Valley Mountain Bike Association also did an awesome job of setting up the race. Well marked with stocked aid stations. They paid out well too. 1st-5th in Masters, Women and Singlespeed all got paid and 1st-15th in the Overall got paid. Seriously these trails are a hidden gem. Also I hear Mountwood (Parkersburg), North Bend (Harrisville) and Lake Hope (Athens) are also sweet trail systems with awesome races that are near by to the Wayne National Forest. Check out any these systems or races that's put on by RVMBA and WVMBA.
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