2009 ORAMM Report

After perusing the internet and reading various other blogs about ORAMM 2009, I’ve come to two conclusions. 1) The experiences encountered during such an epic event are limitless, and 2) EVERYONE suffers.

I was strongly considering not doing a report for this race. After most races I’m compelled to flood the pages with the entire illustration and detail of the event; from the food, to the smells, to the prelude, to the race, to the aftermath, to the debriefing. In the hours and days that have passed since the finish, I’ve realized that I can’t begin to justly describe the trip six SGC individuals took.

There was Friday night with Merritt and a complementary hotel room. (It’s good to know people.) We had breakfast at Addictive Cycles/Caffeine with Cleve and the TDF. We had a near-death experience outside of Ashville which caused a mandatory rest stop to “relieve” the pressure. There was a two-hour pre-ride on empty stomachs and limited water. (A pre-ride that had several of us reconsidering participating the next day.) There was dinner at Guido’s Pizzeria (actually it was called Eddie’s, but Josh was partial to Guido.) Pre-race jitters, mass start, and hour after hour of grueling climbs followed by butt-puckering descents. There was post-ride spaghetti and free beer followed by as much McDonalds as could be stuffed in. We relaxed in the lobby watching the TDF and rested our bodies in the pool and hot tub. We concluded the trip with a six and a half hour drive back to the flat, hot, and steamy familiarity of Albany.

I won’t try and describe what the actual race was like, because if you’ve haven’t done it or weren’t there you can’t understand. If you’d like to try, ride your bike around on the edge of your roof, traversing the crest and descending towards the edge turning just at the right moment to ride back up then back down towards the edge. Then find the steepest, longest staircase you can find and ride it over and over until your wrists and back ache. Then find the busiest street in your area and ride the curb during rush hour veering only to ride around signs, poles, and pedestrians. Repeat this process for six to twelve hours; the amount of time it took the six members of SGC to complete the 63 mile epic.

If that doesn’t paint a good enough picture, here are some other comparisons:
The Six Gap century from Dahlonega is 103 miles and 10,980ft of climbing.
A Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim trek of the Grand Canyon is 10,300ft of climbing.
Stage 15 to Verbier of this year’s TDF was five mountain passes and 10,348ft of climbing.

We rode 63 miles and climbed 11,122ft.

The question is “Will we do it again?”

Final Thought: This was the most well organized, well supported race/ride I’ve participated in. The info on the website was accurate and useful. The race started on time. The rest stops we loaded with H2O, HEED energy drink, pb&j, cashews, etc. I had people grabbing my bottles and hydration pack and filling them for me while I ate. I had a guy volunteer to lube my chain. When you’re suffering the little things mean a whole lot. Hats off to everyone who contributed to making the race memorable and a great success.

Pictures, finishing times, and places can be found at www.blueridgeadventures.com.