On Saturday, September 20th, The team chose to do the Long Course of the Monster Adventure Race in Quincy, IL, which consisted of about 45-50 total miles of biking, running/trekking, orienteering, kayaking, an obstacle course, and worst of all, a 40 lb sandbag carry for 2 miles!
The team sent Jill Plassmeyer, Marc Fisher and Ken Chappell to this race. Bryan had a wedding to attend that weekend (hey Bryan, where's your priorities???) ha
For some reason, all three of us seemed to be more nervous for this race than some of the others. I think I had to use the restroom at least 4 times before the start of the race. Due to the last stop to the restroom, I forgot to put my Camelbak back on. I realized this just before the horn sounded. After letting out a classic, "Ohhhh F*$@" like Ralphie from a Christmas Story, and as I frantically sprinted to get it, my team ended up about 30 seconds behind the rest of the teams. Nice one Jill. Not exactly the best way to lobby for MVP of a race.
This race, like all races, was another adventure for sure. We spent much of the day on our bikes, riding through sand (or attempting to ride), torturous hills on the road, and mud, mud, and more mud. Did I mention mud? The 2 mile creek run was also interesting. With the extra rain they had received, the creek felt like quicksand much of the time. Marc did the kayaking portion of the race and had a blast! He couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was.
We also owe a big round of applause to Ken for learning to do the orienteering in a little over a week. He even checked out a book and a video from the Lebanon Public Library He guided us through the woods as if he had been orienteering for years. This was key as the more people knowing how to orienteer and navigate, the better. Woo-hoo, nothing like hands on learning in combat situations.
Near the end of the race was the dreaded sandbag carry. All three of us agreed that that was the worst part of the race. I know my back was sore for three days after the race.
Overall, we had a great day. The weather was almost perfect (about 5-10 degrees cooler and it would have been perfect). We ended up finishing 4th in our division (3 person co-ed long course) and 10th overall with a time of 8 hours 22 minutes. We were disappointed that only the top three teams qualified for nationals, but at least our goals are in sight. The organization from the race staff and volunteers was "spot on" and one of the best I have participated in. I would strongly recommend this race, as I know we will probably continue to do this race in the future.
Race summary by Jill Plassmeyer
The Cyclewerx Adventure Racing Team. Pushing the limits both physically and mentally.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
What's behind the name?
Cyclewerx is a bicycle shop here in Cape Girardeau, MO.
They have an excellent cycling team as well and all of the best cycling equipment you could want. John Dodd is the owner and a good friend of mine. He is an excellent local ambassador for cycling, and we're proud to sport the Cyclewerx name and jerseys.
Greenways pic
That is what you like to see out of your female racer....in the lead showing those boys how to run!
Go Jill !
Go Jill !Good Samaritan Boys Ranch Adventure Race
Darren Helton was unable to race this one with us, so we picked up Ken Chappell who has experience with adventure racing already. Ken is a friend of Marc's that joined us at the last minute. He worked out great. Looking forward to racing alot more with Ken.
This was an 8-10 hour race near Walnut Grove, MO. We sent Jill Plassmeyer, Marc Fisher, Bryan Greaser and Ken Chappell on this race.
It was a semi-cold and rainy morning and it rained for probably at least half to 3/4 of this race. One of the highlights (or low-lights) of the race was when we were on the Frico Highline Trail. There was a bridge that crossed the river, but the map and race instructions stated, "Bridge out. Swim river or use canoe to cross river if provided." Hmmmm. I looked at that again, and again, and again. The bridge wasn't 'out,' but I assumed that it meant that we couldn't use it. Even though there were no race officials there, I thought maybe they were hiding in the woods or something and keeping track of which teams crossed the bridge illegally. Well there we go, down to the water's edge and into the river, despite a perfectly functional bridge that crossed right over the river. After some river crossing hoopla, fighting the current and hidden deep spots, we came out across the other side having to climb up a muddy slope. This whole deal cost us probably 15 minutes extra. At the finish, we asked other teams about that spot, and they didn't know what we were talking about. When they came to that same point they just ran right across that bridge. Come to find out, the bridge was actually 'out' and non-functional last year at the race and they didn't change the race instructions. Dohhhh.
There was an obstacle course that was pretty cool, and we learned that Marc might have better balance than Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin. We finished in first in our division, and 2nd overall behind the very strong all male team of Downhill Bikes of Branson, MO. They are strong racers and overall very good guys too, so there was no shame in losing to them. Nice race guys.
Our time was 8 hours and 13 minutes. We made some errors which we looked back on and laugh at, but every race is good experience and you always learn something, especially when our team is in it's infancy. Getting races under our belt is key and we are determined to continue to get better and better. We're already learning everyone's strengths and weaknesses, so we all know where we need to improve to make the entire unit a well oiled machine. My mountain biking background is helping me alot, but I need more miles on my feet.
Next up: Quincy, IL Monster Adventure Race, September 20th.
This was an 8-10 hour race near Walnut Grove, MO. We sent Jill Plassmeyer, Marc Fisher, Bryan Greaser and Ken Chappell on this race.
It was a semi-cold and rainy morning and it rained for probably at least half to 3/4 of this race. One of the highlights (or low-lights) of the race was when we were on the Frico Highline Trail. There was a bridge that crossed the river, but the map and race instructions stated, "Bridge out. Swim river or use canoe to cross river if provided." Hmmmm. I looked at that again, and again, and again. The bridge wasn't 'out,' but I assumed that it meant that we couldn't use it. Even though there were no race officials there, I thought maybe they were hiding in the woods or something and keeping track of which teams crossed the bridge illegally. Well there we go, down to the water's edge and into the river, despite a perfectly functional bridge that crossed right over the river. After some river crossing hoopla, fighting the current and hidden deep spots, we came out across the other side having to climb up a muddy slope. This whole deal cost us probably 15 minutes extra. At the finish, we asked other teams about that spot, and they didn't know what we were talking about. When they came to that same point they just ran right across that bridge. Come to find out, the bridge was actually 'out' and non-functional last year at the race and they didn't change the race instructions. Dohhhh.
There was an obstacle course that was pretty cool, and we learned that Marc might have better balance than Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin. We finished in first in our division, and 2nd overall behind the very strong all male team of Downhill Bikes of Branson, MO. They are strong racers and overall very good guys too, so there was no shame in losing to them. Nice race guys.
Our time was 8 hours and 13 minutes. We made some errors which we looked back on and laugh at, but every race is good experience and you always learn something, especially when our team is in it's infancy. Getting races under our belt is key and we are determined to continue to get better and better. We're already learning everyone's strengths and weaknesses, so we all know where we need to improve to make the entire unit a well oiled machine. My mountain biking background is helping me alot, but I need more miles on my feet.
Next up: Quincy, IL Monster Adventure Race, September 20th.
Ozark Greenways Adventure Race
Well on May 31, 2008 it all came together. I have been racing fora couple of years now but have not been able to establish a consistent and permanent team to race with. Things changed on May 31, 2008.
The Ozark Greenways Adventure race near Richland, MO was a 8-14 hour race which is one of the most heavily participated races around, drawing 78 teams of 4 racers per team. In past years it was even as high as 90+ teams. Through mutual contacts, myself, Marc Fisher, Darren Helton and Jill Plassmeyer joined to race together for the first time ever. We had all raced in various races in the past but never all four of us together.
The race was a spectacular event for us in our initial race together. We had high expectations and we lived up to them despite some serious adversity. About the midpoint of this race, we jammed it up Cyclewerx style and got our groove on in the Orienteering course. We went into the woods in 10th place and came storming out in 4th place after completing the course. Next, we transitioned to the technical bike section, and that is where the poo hit the fan. With about 3 miles left in the technical mountain bike section, Jill's bike pedal broke off of the crank. We spent a couple of minutes trying to fix it, but when it was hopeless, Darren made the call to take Jill's bike and they swapped. What a bummer. We were smokin along, looking at a top 5 finish in our first ever race together, and now this. I was envisioning getting passed at that point by 20 teams. Well I'll tell you what, we only got passed by 4 teams. We hooked up a retractable dog leash that I threw into my pack at the last minute, carabinered that bad boy up to 'one pedal Darren' on his bars, and off we went like a blue streak. I sucked down an Enervit and felt like Lee Majors, pulling Darren for 8 miles while Marc pushed on his back when he could. Every little bit helped. We actually passed one team during that final leg. We ended up finishing 7th place out of the 78 teams, and we knew at that moment we had something special. A team was born. I love the team aspect of this sport. So many dynamics come into play that these races truly are an adventure.
The Ozark Greenways Adventure race near Richland, MO was a 8-14 hour race which is one of the most heavily participated races around, drawing 78 teams of 4 racers per team. In past years it was even as high as 90+ teams. Through mutual contacts, myself, Marc Fisher, Darren Helton and Jill Plassmeyer joined to race together for the first time ever. We had all raced in various races in the past but never all four of us together.
The race was a spectacular event for us in our initial race together. We had high expectations and we lived up to them despite some serious adversity. About the midpoint of this race, we jammed it up Cyclewerx style and got our groove on in the Orienteering course. We went into the woods in 10th place and came storming out in 4th place after completing the course. Next, we transitioned to the technical bike section, and that is where the poo hit the fan. With about 3 miles left in the technical mountain bike section, Jill's bike pedal broke off of the crank. We spent a couple of minutes trying to fix it, but when it was hopeless, Darren made the call to take Jill's bike and they swapped. What a bummer. We were smokin along, looking at a top 5 finish in our first ever race together, and now this. I was envisioning getting passed at that point by 20 teams. Well I'll tell you what, we only got passed by 4 teams. We hooked up a retractable dog leash that I threw into my pack at the last minute, carabinered that bad boy up to 'one pedal Darren' on his bars, and off we went like a blue streak. I sucked down an Enervit and felt like Lee Majors, pulling Darren for 8 miles while Marc pushed on his back when he could. Every little bit helped. We actually passed one team during that final leg. We ended up finishing 7th place out of the 78 teams, and we knew at that moment we had something special. A team was born. I love the team aspect of this sport. So many dynamics come into play that these races truly are an adventure.
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