The 10th Annual Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell (ORAMM)

The 10th Annual Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell ORAMM

From Blue Ridge Adventures: The Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell is a 63-mile mostly off road Bicycle route with close to 11,000 feet of climbing. The race starts in Old Fort and climbs over the Blue Ridge Parkway two times and just below Mt. Mitchell on beautiful Forest Service roads and unbelievable N.C. single track. Mt. Mitchell peaks at 6684 ft and is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi river. The town of Old Fort where you start and finish sits at around 1400 feet. Have no illusions you can escape some type of injury on 60 miles of rough terrain. Whether in be an abrasion or a mental breakdown, everyone suffers in one way or another.

Chris and I set out for NC early on Friday for some R&R before Sunday’s race. We checked into our hotel, watched Tour de France highlights, drove to Old Fort, pre-rode Kitzuma, and then went out for Thai. Saturday we spent the day working on my bike. My rear shock wouldn’t lock out and Chris rebuilt it, adjusted the lever, and nothing worked. So he pumped it up to 175 PSI and I wanted to forget about it. We got to visit w friends and had a few hours of sleep Saturday night.

Race Day: We only slept about 6 hours each but were up early and got to the race in enough time to get a good position in line. The weather was beautiful and at 8:00 am and with 350 others set off. This was my second time at this race. I attempted ORAMM in 2008 but DNF'd at rest stop (RS) #2 because I was overly anxious, didn’t sleep well the 2 nights before the race and simply didn’t think I could do it. Not this year though…

The first section, Old 70 was paved since last year and riders were moving fast. I was able to keep ahead until the road climbed but since I was in front I never fell back to the end. My legs were tight and that was painful. We had to dismount to get over a gate and took the opportunity to stretch and move my seat and legs felt better.

We got to Kitzuma and I knew I had 15 nasty switchbacks to climb. The train of hie-a-bikers was already backed up so I got off my bike and hiked w them. I did ride when others would ride which kept me moving faster. All of the sudden I saw my friend Julia come back down the mountain. I got scared because her face was swollen and I hoped she hadn’t broken anything. She told me she was stung by a bee and crashed trying to get it off of her. Her knee swelled up and she also had minor allergic reaction and decided to opt out of the race, thank God. Seeing her like that shuck me up but I pushed ahead faster. Yellow jackets were abound and I didn’t want any part of them.

I cooked it down Kitzuma fast and onto the road over to RS #1. I was moving at a good pace and I felt great. Lots of folks were at RS #1. I added more water to my camelback, grabbed some of my food and rode away while I was eating it. The dreaded Star Gap was next. I was eating still and once I got to the railroad tracks walked much of the way to the top along with 25 others. I was glad that was over because Star Gap is the section I like least. I cooked it down and got onto Jarrett Creek Road. I lost time on this next section which was a very overgrown doubletrack . The sun was hot and I didn’t remember it being so long. The gravel was tiny and my Kenda Small Block 8’s didn’t perform well so I had to concentrate so I didn’t slide out.

Finally RS #2: I was with a pack of riders which include one gal who yelled WHOO HOO every 5 minutes or less and I burned time here so she and her crew would move on and way ahead of me. I refilled some water, gulped down some soda and replenished my stash of snacks where I could easily grab them while I rode.

My nutrition was working out wonderfully. I have given up gels, Heed, and previous nutrition since my stomach bug in late June early July. I am convinced some of the stuff is requiring my body to work too hard to digest it and bogging me down. For this race I took in 40 ounces of H2O between rest stops, 6 ounces of Coke a Cola at each stop, and in total 5 Soyjoy bars, 1 bag of GU Gel Blocks, ¼ Kosher Salt Bagel, ¼ cup beef jerky, spilt up throughout the ride and it worked great.

Now it was time for the 9-mile forest road climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I put on my music and cranked away. I road a great pace for the next 4.5 miles when I hit the first hill which sat in the blistering sun and where I gave my sore arse a rest and walked for a few minutes. I lost time during the next 3 miles getting on and off the bike when I was losing momentum. Finally I got on and stayed on to the top. That climb wasn’t so bad after all and I took too much time being cautious.

Rest Stop #3 was busy with noisy auto traffic on the Blue Ride Parkway which surprised me. I refueled and then descended then next section of forest road for a few miles to the bottom and the had to climb back up it again. A lot of time lost on this section mostly because I was a little sleepy and bored of climbing forest roads!

Finally RS #4 had arrived. The guys here were wonderful. I didn’t spend much time but refueled, told the peeps I’d been riding with that I would see them on the next descent, and caught a second wind for my climb up the parkway heading towards Heartbreak Ridge.

Good God the climb up to the top of HBR was hard. My bike is heavy and I was weak after pushing it up the very sunny and hot BRP. I knew it was short and pushed ahead. Finally I stood at the very top, hooray! I made some adjustements on my ride and headed for a very, very long descent. The ride down was glorious. I did take one bad line and flew off camber to the left and off the mountain. I yelled help but no one was around. With a mouthful of dirt I climbed up the mountain, got my bike, realized I was okay albeit very banged up legs, and then finished the descent. I lost some time attempting the swtichbacks down HBR. I conquered all that swtiched to the left but wasn’t so lucky when they turned to the right and were steep. I realized I was coming down portions of Star Gap that I’d hiked up earlier and put in extra effort to move faster to make up for lost time earlier in the day.

Off that mountain and onto RS #5, hooray, almost there! I chugged a soda, had the SAG person refill some water to my pack, and tucked an open Soyjoy bar into my shorts. Okay 700 feet and 3 miles of forest road & pavement to get to Kitzuma. I took a small walking break because my lower abs and back were in pain and terrible uncomfortable with each turn of the crank. Arrghh why now. During this section I noticed 3-4 people turning back. Damn, there was no way I was quitting this one.

Ah back to Kitzuma at last. I rode up to the very first switchback and began hiking my bike. Shite my back was killing me. I wanted to drop my water pack and give it some relief although I am not sure that would have hlpoed much. I was with ½ dozen others making this last climb up and it seemed to take forever. I cooked it down the first false top and had to hike again. Oh my God, come on. Finally the last descent of the day. I passed a girl who’d gotten ahead of me 30 minutes earlier, cool! It started to rain and with my dark sunglasses and dark clouds I could hardly see a thing. I rolled it fast all the way down. Chris was waiting at the end of the run and tears of joy flooded my eyes. The last 3 miles were mostly down and on pavement. I got to the main street and flashbacks of arriving there last year hit me, I got nervous and turned the wrong way, shite! Someone pointed me in the right direction, phew! I went thru the finished line 10 hours and 40 minutes after starting where people cheered and my Sorella sisters greeted me with hugs. My head was spinning. We spent the next hour talking, laughing and cheering others coming in thru the finish line. It was a tough day in the saddle but completely worth it and I look forward to doing it again in 2010 only this time 40-0 minutes faster!