Saturday was the 2nd annual Kaibab Monstercross. The race takes place on the Kaibab Plateau on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The area is stunning and has a very remote feeling to it. Very few people visit the area and it shows. Those willing to make the drive out there are treated to huge views and seemingly endless aspen groves. It's awesome.
Anyways......the race itself is 130 miles and 13,000 of vertical gain. The race is unsupported......which basically means that there are no aid stations, no course markings and no on course support. You're given a cue sheet(which you can see on my bars below) with mileage/directions on it. Bring what you need or do without. If you run out of food/water.....bummer. Your only chance for resupply comes at mile 80....you can ride off the course and purchase food/water at a small country store.
Long story short.....we started at 5am saturday morning. The group quickly spread out in the cold morning air(it was quite cold) Dave Harris, Calvin Mulder and myself wound up setting a nice tempo pace and worked together for quite some time. Dave was on a SS, Calvin and I on gears. The basic scenario was Dave pulling away on the climbs.....Calvin and I reeling him in on the downhills. He ultimately pulled away from us for good and we never saw him again.
Calvin and I split up at around mile 40 while he shed some layers. I pressed on and would cruise solo until mile 95 or soo.
I felt pretty good through the Rainbow Rim Trail up until about mile 60 or soo. There was 20 or soo miles of climbing to the country store and I felt every one of them. This was definitely the low point for me.
I made a pretty quick pitstop at the store for water and got back on the trail. I had consumed about 210oz at that point and left with the same.
Got on the AZ trail at mile 86 or soo and started feeling pretty good. The trail is awesome and spends alot of time winding along the edges of meadows. Great stuff.
Around mile 92 or soo I started encountering massive amounts of deadfall on the trail. I hiked/rode through it for 1/2 hour until I finally got out a map/compass and started rethinking things. Figured out that I had made a wrong turn and retraced my steps. I got back to where I should have turned and found Calvin there studying a map. We continued on together and got back on the right track.
The rest of the race went by rather uneventful. I got a flat tire....that sucked. Calvin and I split up at about mile 110 or soo......we were encountering some steep climbs that I hiked while he rode. I finished up the horrible mile 120 climb and hopped on the last 9 miles of AZ trail. This section sucks in terms of flow but was really awesome in terms of knowing that you're almost done. I pulled myself together and rallied this last section as best I could.
Reconnected with Calvin a mile or soo from the finish and we rode in together. Through a series of campfire arguments/negotiations I begrudgingly accepted the 2nd place trophy even though Calvin earned it more soo than me. Dave Harris finished first in 11:20 or soo. Calvin and I cruised through at 13:15 if I remember correctly. Dave Chenault(event director extroardinaire/closet badass) finished fourth and last in 13:35 or soo. There were 8 starters total......the other 4 dropped out at various places for various reasons. Everyone rode a solid, hard ride.....that's for sure. Once you commit to the rainbow rim trail you've committed yourself to at least a hundred mile day. Of those that didn't finish there was only 1 person that rode less than that.....and he hitch-hiked back to camp with 2 flat tires
The day was finished off with a massive campfire and loads of ice cream, chocolate milk and tamales. The main draw of these events for me is often the post-ride commaraderie and socializing.....this years event was no exception. The folks that show up to these events are some of the most interesting/fun people and I'm better for knowing them. It's a pleasure/priviledge.
I hope to see some of you there next year
Photos:
1. Rainbow Rim Trail
2.Dashboard
3.Me, mile 85 or soo. Happy to be on one of the earth's finest singletracks
4. Start of the Rainbow Rim Trail.
5. Elevation/Mileage graph
Anyways......the race itself is 130 miles and 13,000 of vertical gain. The race is unsupported......which basically means that there are no aid stations, no course markings and no on course support. You're given a cue sheet(which you can see on my bars below) with mileage/directions on it. Bring what you need or do without. If you run out of food/water.....bummer. Your only chance for resupply comes at mile 80....you can ride off the course and purchase food/water at a small country store.
Long story short.....we started at 5am saturday morning. The group quickly spread out in the cold morning air(it was quite cold) Dave Harris, Calvin Mulder and myself wound up setting a nice tempo pace and worked together for quite some time. Dave was on a SS, Calvin and I on gears. The basic scenario was Dave pulling away on the climbs.....Calvin and I reeling him in on the downhills. He ultimately pulled away from us for good and we never saw him again.
Calvin and I split up at around mile 40 while he shed some layers. I pressed on and would cruise solo until mile 95 or soo.
I felt pretty good through the Rainbow Rim Trail up until about mile 60 or soo. There was 20 or soo miles of climbing to the country store and I felt every one of them. This was definitely the low point for me.
I made a pretty quick pitstop at the store for water and got back on the trail. I had consumed about 210oz at that point and left with the same.
Got on the AZ trail at mile 86 or soo and started feeling pretty good. The trail is awesome and spends alot of time winding along the edges of meadows. Great stuff.
Around mile 92 or soo I started encountering massive amounts of deadfall on the trail. I hiked/rode through it for 1/2 hour until I finally got out a map/compass and started rethinking things. Figured out that I had made a wrong turn and retraced my steps. I got back to where I should have turned and found Calvin there studying a map. We continued on together and got back on the right track.
The rest of the race went by rather uneventful. I got a flat tire....that sucked. Calvin and I split up at about mile 110 or soo......we were encountering some steep climbs that I hiked while he rode. I finished up the horrible mile 120 climb and hopped on the last 9 miles of AZ trail. This section sucks in terms of flow but was really awesome in terms of knowing that you're almost done. I pulled myself together and rallied this last section as best I could.
Reconnected with Calvin a mile or soo from the finish and we rode in together. Through a series of campfire arguments/negotiations I begrudgingly accepted the 2nd place trophy even though Calvin earned it more soo than me. Dave Harris finished first in 11:20 or soo. Calvin and I cruised through at 13:15 if I remember correctly. Dave Chenault(event director extroardinaire/closet badass) finished fourth and last in 13:35 or soo. There were 8 starters total......the other 4 dropped out at various places for various reasons. Everyone rode a solid, hard ride.....that's for sure. Once you commit to the rainbow rim trail you've committed yourself to at least a hundred mile day. Of those that didn't finish there was only 1 person that rode less than that.....and he hitch-hiked back to camp with 2 flat tires
The day was finished off with a massive campfire and loads of ice cream, chocolate milk and tamales. The main draw of these events for me is often the post-ride commaraderie and socializing.....this years event was no exception. The folks that show up to these events are some of the most interesting/fun people and I'm better for knowing them. It's a pleasure/priviledge.
I hope to see some of you there next year
Photos:
1. Rainbow Rim Trail
2.Dashboard
3.Me, mile 85 or soo. Happy to be on one of the earth's finest singletracks
4. Start of the Rainbow Rim Trail.
5. Elevation/Mileage graph
