DH40 (Dark Horse 40)

CrossAddict said:
The Dark Horse crew put on another unbelieveble event. Great weather, starting on time, sweet course, BBQ, Beer (good beer), and lots of fun company were just a few of the items that made for an epic day. I found it to be more of a festival than a hard core race, and I plan on doing it again next year for sure! Great Job/

-roger
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Damn. I'm sorry to hear that. 😛 Who did what, won, placed amongst yous, etc?
 
I'm fresh in from the DH40 and what a race it was! It was superbly put together and a great time was had by all. The barbecue was killer!!! I was wondering how well I would be recovered for the race but I had a good idea on the opening section of the course.

The race went off with the Pro/Expert 19-29/30-39/Singlespeeds in the first wave. As usual the gun went off and the pace was hot. I was reminding myself that I said I would take it relaxed on the first lap and push on lap two. Well that sounds good except for when you're chasing down a paceline. Through the first 5 miles it was pretty backed up and the positions were sorted out as some dropped back and I tried to keep pace with those I could hold on. I could feel the legs were a little lack luster and just found some guys and tried to keep pace with them. It seemed to work pretty well. After a while the pack thinned out and I latched onto a rider here or there to help with my pacing. Hydration was spot on but my nutrition was totally off. Since I carried everything on me I packed two flasks of Gu. I didn't realize that it is much more viscous than hammer as it didn't flow well and I had a really hard time eating. I did eventually get some but not as much as I would have liked. A few riders got through here or there the first lap but I was pretty satisfied with my performance so far. On to lap two.

Lap two was nice to relax and I was alone to set my own pace. This worked really well and I had a great time cruising the 2nd 20 mile lap as the singletrack was supreme. I knew that I needed to keep pushing and as long as I got to the 15 mile mark I'd be good. So I kept on pushing and trying to maintain my position and get to the finish. The legs were becoming more flat and I just kept pushing more and getting more power out of them somehow. Once again a few came through but I've been getting more experienced and knew that by the end the cramping game would be playing out. On one of the final climbs I looked up and saw the right side of the trail lined - lined with people cramping and hurting pretty bad. So I kept on, passed them and kept pushing with 4 miles left. With about 3 miles left I saw my teammate Keith up ahead and he seemed to be just wanting to get to the finish. I still had some legs so I told him to jump on and I'd see if I could get us to the finish. I pulled the remaining 2+ miles and got us through the one last piece of sweet singletrack that winds down towards the finishing chute. Little did I know there was a third guy that joined our train and was trying to come up from the rear to finish ahead of us. As true competitors we all sprinted and luckily we all held our order. I finished, then Keith and then the other guy. It was a great way to finish a fun 40 miles!!!

The stats were pretty good even though I know I was nowhere near recovered. I finished in a time of 3:31 and 4th place out of Expert 19-29. All in all it was a good day on fantastic trails. One I'll surely remember for a while.
 
I had a great race considering my wrist. I love longer races and the promoters of this event do an outstanding job. 1st place for women expert (my time unofficially 3:56) . Racing in mtbnj team apparel niiiice!
 
Sounds like a great time. Congrats to everyone who raced, finished and met their goals. I wish I was there, but I was far to drained (mentally & physically) to do it.
 
xc62701 said:
The stats were pretty good even though I know I was nowhere near recovered. I finished in a time of 3:31 and 4th place out of Expert 19-29. All in all it was a good day on fantastic trails. One I'll surely remember for a while.
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Congrats on the solid place finish!!
 
I am happy to hear how great is was and kept thinking during the day as I looked up in the sky that except for one ominous cloud that it was probably ideal racing conditions. Nice job Ryan on your race description, for those of us that really wanted to be there we get a little of the experience from reading a post like yours. Great job Ellen glad to hear that your wrist didn't hold you back and congrats on the finish. I still need more time for recovery/physical therapy but am trying to get it back together for RIngwood. Hope everyone else had a great day.
 
This was the first time I did this race and what a good time it was. I was slow but I finished 3rd in the beginner 19-29😀.. My legs are sore today. I am just glad I finished. Thanks to everyone that help set that up.

Thanks for the pics Glancing Aft.
 
Glancing Aft said:
Great race today everyone, and amazing job by Dark Horse Cycles! That course was so much fun. I did the race on a two person coed team so I had a ton of time to hang out towards the beginning and snap some photos. Check em out,
http://picasaweb.google.com/william.weismantel/8308Darkhorse40
Congrats to everyone!
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Nice pics Will. You got 2 of me (now work screensaver). You were everywhere on that course taking pics. It seemed at every major intersection there you were. 🙂
What a great course. I wish I did as a team race. One lap was enough for me. I was spent and had severe leg cramps around mile marker 14 or 15. Just happy to complete 1 lap without crashing or any mechanicals.
Got the big DNF 2hr/20ish minutes.
The good thing I was 1st in line to tap the keg with Chemgirl and GDM1. 😀

Thumbsup for Darkhorse Cycles and all the volunteers.
Great Vibe.

later,
Tony
 
thanks to all you guys and gals for coming out to the 40! it really was a great day! glad you guys had fun!

we couldn't do it without our volunteers so big props have to go out to them!!

results are up on the darkhorse website.

thanks again!
 
Thanks to Darkhorse for putting on an awesome race. It was my first time at this race - I had a blast and I'll definitely be back next year.

On my first lap I decided to take it nice and easy. Came through the start/ finish and got some energy from the crowd. First couple miles of my second lap I start to really feel it so I had some gel. Once it kicked in I felt awesome and started to pick up some speed. At around 33 miles it all hit the fan :hitsfan: I'm coming down a hill and somehow manage to clip a tree with my handlebars. I go down hard and break my shifter. I jam it in place to keep it in the middle ring and start thinking about the 1x9 thread. Two miles later I hear my back tire explode. Stop and realize I tore through the sidewall. I patch it up with my gel wrapper, go to inflate it and my co2 explodes :mad2: I get like 15 psi in my tire and I'm all out of air b/c I decided I didn't need my pump. I rode the last 5 miles thinking I'm gonna pinch flat, but it held. On every turn my back tire washed out on me.

I crossed the line in 5:57, just happy to finish :getsome:

Thanks for the pics Will, you really seemed to be everywhere.
 
Awesome job Eileen finishing the race. You are such a trooper! ...and will be stronger for it!
 
Eileen said:
Thanks to Darkhorse for putting on an awesome race. It was my first time at this race - I had a blast and I'll definitely be back next year.

On my first lap I decided to take it nice and easy. Came through the start/ finish and got some energy from the crowd. First couple miles of my second lap I start to really feel it so I had some gel. Once it kicked in I felt awesome and started to pick up some speed. At around 33 miles it all hit the fan :hitsfan: I'm coming down a hill and somehow manage to clip a tree with my handlebars. I go down hard and break my shifter. I jam it in place to keep it in the middle ring and start thinking about the 1x9 thread. Two miles later I hear my back tire explode. Stop and realize I tore through the sidewall. I patch it up with my gel wrapper, go to inflate it and my co2 explodes :mad2: I get like 15 psi in my tire and I'm all out of air b/c I decided I didn't need my pump. I rode the last 5 miles thinking I'm gonna pinch flat, but it held. On every turn my back tire washed out on me.

I crossed the line in 5:57, just happy to finish :getsome:


Thanks for the pics Will, you really seemed to be everywhere.
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Sweet! It takes a lot of heart to go through all of that and still finish!!! Way to go!
 
best race ever. i had to push myself thru the worst cramps. awesome feed stations. great course.the chicken was marinated perfectly. my nipples are chafed. next time i am gonna need a little more cow bell.
 
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