Two Mile Run Mountain Bike Race

Two Mile Run Mountain Bike Race

I drove five hours to Franklin in Northwest Pa to compete in this 20 mile MTB race. I arrived a day early with hopes of pre-riding the course, but the officials were not done marking the trails. I arrived early in race day, got my race package and installed our new anniversary gift to each other. Our GoPro Bike Camera to document the entire race. As we stood there for the pre-race meeting, we were told that this was not actually set up as a MTB race but as an adventure race. The officials then instructed us that we would ride out the entire course anyway, but to stay away from the deep water crossings. There would be alot of hike-a-bikes, where trail running was to actually take place, but we could manage. We got started with a LeMans Style start and jumped on our bikes. I took an extra second to turn the camera on, which I put on the seat post between my legs. It was noon, so the sun was already over our heads and the humidity was high.



As we started out, I was in the front half of the pack, out pulling alot of the other riders on the first two really big hills. As our pack started to pull away, we noticed that the course was not marked all that clearly. One of the other riders said that as he was talking it over with the officials, he found that most of the course is what he calls bush-whacking. (This is where there is a ribbon or paint on the limb of a tree, but no trail. You just ride through the woods making your own trail) So we started doing this and immediately ended up in a camp site where a family was sitting down eating lunch, surrounded by approximately 25 racers. We quickly departed and found the right "trail" and started with our third crueling hillclimb. Several racers were able to get ahead of me at the camp site, so I had to play catch up and make my way to the front of the pack. This was hard at first because several riders were riding off in different directions thinking that they were on the race course. I made it up to second place with most of the front pack coming down on my heels. I noticed that first place was slowing down to a stop and saying that he could no longer see the race course. I started to slow down also, when (it must have been at the same time) third place and I noticed an orange ribbon hanging from a tree limb about two hundred yards down. We both started sprinting towards it, but he overtook me. As we flew to the bottom of the hill, we both made a left where we seen a race volunteer. The volunteer started yelling "NO THAT WAY, I WAS ON BREAK" while pointing back up the way we came. First place started to slow down to turn, so I accelerated, passed him and took first place. As I started to climb back up the hill, the volunteer yelled "NOW GO LEFT" so I did.
I stayed in this position for approximately another 16 miles, when I started to outpull second place. I was really hurting because even though it was not a fast race, all the technical stuff was starting to wear on me. At the next down hill, I opened it up even though it was extremely rocky. Seeing an orange barrel on a service road, I quickly rode to it. Seeing an orange mark on the road up the hill from the barrel, I started up the long uphill towards it. Just as I got next to it, I noticed that the orange mark read "County Water Service Mark Here" I stopped and studied the writing on the ground, like it was some forgotten ancient language when I heard a four wheeler coming up from behind me. It was several race volunteers muling water to several checkpoints. I ask how much further to the end of the course and was greeted with "Buddy, you are about three miles away from the trail" "S#*T", I got better directions from the volunteers, said some choice words to the paint on the ground and quickly rode back the way I came.



Flipping off the orange barrel, I noticed a rider ducking into the woods and rode in behind him. I was able to overtake him on a narrow trail, he was starting to cramp badly. At mile 19 a cramp snuck up on me, but being so close to the end I decided to ride through it. At the end of the ride, I crossed the finish line in 7th place overall. The race officials were there to greet us as we crossed the line asking us if we had any trouble. I told them that it was a great race and that I would not change a thing. This race was something different, bush whacking, but it was extremely fun.





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