Dark Horse Reports

Wow, shortest wait for results ever. Would be nice to see team names in the results page, but fast is fast -- thanks!

Really competitive day -- I guess 7th isn't bad but I felt fast so I thought I might get 4th or 5th. Oh well. 22 racers in sport 30-34.
Dan Suhr did 1:18 on a SS. Wow, that's fast.

I saw Alex again with his POV camera, so hopefully we'll get footage in the next couple days.
 
It was great to see so many women out there, esp. sports class. Woohoo! Gonna have to break up the age groups better very soon... it is getting too big...
 
thanks to all the racers for coming out yesterday! we appreciate you guys making the trip up to race at stewart. the weather was perfect. we never got any of that heavy rain that hit the surrounding areas and the course was dry and fast!
of course a big thanks to all our volunteers, and the EMT's. it's been said before but without them there wouldn't be a race.

it was good to meet and chat with a bunch of you guys yesterday!

thanks again for coming out.

obviously, if you have any issues please feel free to pm me here and i will get it taken care of!
 
Congrats to everyone yesterday! It was so nice to see so many mtbnj-ers and fun people there!!

That was a fun course and would have been even more fun had I been able to pre-ride it. By the 2nd lap I had an idea of what to look out for. I thought I was passed by a bunch of women in my age group, but it was actully the women that started after me. So at the end of the day I got 3rd place!! I hope I can keep this up for the remaining races 🙂
 
Congrats to everyone yesterday! It was so nice to see so many mtbnj-ers and fun people there!!

That was a fun course and would have been even more fun had I been able to pre-ride it. By the 2nd lap I had an idea of what to look out for. I thought I was passed by a bunch of women in my age group, but it was actully the women that started after me. So at the end of the day I got 3rd place!! I hope I can keep this up for the remaining races 🙂

Ditto! It was a great course and lots of fun. Darkhorse is top notch! Looking forward to the 40.

Check out www.getoutsidemore.com for lots of photos and funny comments.
click on "read the rest of this entry>> for more pics
 
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Darkhorse WINs

Great race! I think Darkhorse has won a lot fans through the efforts of a lot of people. They put on a great race, awesome veteran score keepers, course marshals, registars, EMTs, and the fans. I love this race,....even if it doesn't love me.

Went out too fast as Stewart is a sleeping gaint that stomps on you as the temps heat up. I endo twice since I didn't have a left hand glove,..note to self 2 pairs of gloves next time. My shoe broke just before the start so it was tight,...note to self, 2 pairs of shoes next time. Then I cramped something ferce on the end of my second lap,......Alex with visual proof to follow. Third lap was a slow recovery enjoying the new trails and all the TM the Darkhorse guys did to add even more style to this race. I will be back for the Darkhorse 40 with more water and potassium,...

Great to see so many women start in both beginner and sport!
Fred, I know you love Mexican,..but did you have to Taco!
 
excellent as usual

Nice work DarkHorse! Maybe you could put on a master-class for other promoters. Great course, great logistics, and super fast posting of results. I can't wait for the 40!
 
What a ride!!!

I "finished" my first race in the series (yes, DNF in first attempt). Just looked at the results and was surprised to see how competitive us "older" riders are. Based on my time (after appropriate adjustments), I would have placed top 10 in 19-29 - but would have been creamed in the 40-49 class. WOW.

Considering that I ride a $500 bike in Beginner class with no team affiliation 🙄, I was quite happy with my results... (no, I am not trying to start a discussion over what defines a "beginner" in this series).
 
I only wear a kit because I have to, but I was just commenting on how fast some of these guys are :scared:
 
Jess, thanks for coming out yesterday, and returning my neon toe strap...that thing is a collectible! You are welcome at the 40 only if your next cooler contains something a tad more enjoyable than apples and baked potatoes! BTW, Mike and I both think you are a great diplomat for the sport...George
 
Jess, thanks for coming out yesterday, and returning my neon toe strap...that thing is a collectible! You are welcome at the 40 only if your next cooler contains something a tad more enjoyable than apples and baked potatoes! BTW, Mike and I both think you are a great diplomat for the sport...George

Very well said George! ....and thank you Jess for being a great diplomat for mountain biking!

Even though I was unable to actually race, I had a great time yesterday as well. Fun Course, lots of great smiling people and totally awesome to see sooo many Beg and Sport women out there racing. 😀
 
As a non-MTBNJer, I want to share how happy I was to see your mascot. She was like a silent fan cheering me on at the start of each lap.
 
Course was extrememely fun, fast and flowy. I was hoping it would of been more technical since that's where I usually make up time in XC races but I can't complain because you can't win them all, right? Came home in an okay second, guess I didn't pedal fast enough. Only complaint to Darkhorse is please make sure you check parking is clear BEFORE you send cars down those fireroads. The road to the right had a tree down across blocking it, meanwhile three of us(cars) were trying to turn around to get back out and cars were still being sent down, total madness for a good fifteen minutes.
 
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Course was extrememely fun, fast and flowy. I was hoping it would of been more technical since that's where I usually make up time in XC races but I can't complain because you can't win them all, right? Came home in an okay second, guess I didn't pedal fast enough. Only complaint to Darkhorse is please make sure you check parking is clear BEFORE you send cars down those fireroads. The road to the right had a tree down across blocking it, meanwhile three of us(cars) were trying to turn around to get back out and cars were still being sent down, total madness for a good fifteen minutes.

You did get an awesome spot by the bathrooms though.
 
What a day!
Having never been to Stewart, I got lost, and stopped at the state police HQ for directions. They said my google directions made no sense and sent me searching for New street north of 84... fruitless. I found my way back to 84 and got stopped behind 2 trucks with MTB's in the back, a lucky break for sure! Following them, I got into the lot 2 minutes before my scheduled start, got my gear, changed my shoes, flew to registration and got my number about 7 minutes after start time. They sent me off to start/finish anyway.

Incredibly, everyone was so cool. I was a tad harried and over-stressed until I saw NJ JESS' smile and reassuring words at the starting line. Kudos to Dark Horse for breaking the groups up by 2 min. It made the difference between me racing and going home mad after wasting two and a half hours driving and @ $50 on gas. Additionally, it was a pleasure to race in a smaller field without having to climb needlessly over the kids and mobs of other riders.

Wanting to get a real feel for the land, I crashed spectacularly within the first two miles, saw stars when I landed hard on the top tube, messed up my shoulder and added color to last week's fading bruises. I got back on, rode the rest of the course sitting off the back of the seat(cause it hurt too bad, and still does😱), finished the race and to my surprise, took third behind a couple of awesome racers.

There's something about those medals... suddenly, my body slam didn't feel so bad... and how cool was that ribbon to bring home to the kids!!

Thanks for the fun!
 
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Stewart Jinx

Last year in my first race ever ... broken chain
This year ... broken collar bone

I need to say thank you to Ellen (Pixy) and Michael (not sure who he was) for helping me and staying with me on the +2 mile walk out. And sorry to the Pro's and Experts for holding up their race while I was walking out 🙂 George and the Darkhorse guys an awesome event as usual.
To say I'll be back soon is an understatement,

Christina ... 🙂
 
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