Black Hills Expedition 2015

[jasonthorman]

Eric

One more campground to check out would be the KOA, it is one block from start of race and they probably would accept packages like Chris's camp.  Both Two Wheeler Dealer and Rushmore Mountain Sports, the two bike shops in town, would help you out two if you ask them.  If your out as early as Sunday the is a really fun Mountain Bike Race in Sundance Wyoming. http://www.scgmba.org/#!bearlodge-mtn-classic/c1vj5  Getting a ride to the race would be no problem.

[jasonthorman]

sbear55

The only food stop after Hill City is http://www.mtmeadow.com/  I passed though in the early morning last year so Hill City is were I stocked up.  You can filter water on the Deerfield trail and Deerfield Lake(spigots will be off).  Timon campground has water but it looked rusty so i just filtered from the creek there.  Iron Creek Lake should have there Spigots on in campground.  There store was closed when I rolled though at 2 in the afternoon on Sunday. Off season. 

I found two Oatmeal Cookies in my pack several days after the race.  Bummer, they sure would have tasted good that last day!

[jasonthorman]

The updated gpx track and map are up and running on webpage.  Hope to have trackleaders sign in soon.

Enjoy
bhexpedition.com

[Rorr]

Hey Jason, keep up the good work on your route! Hope to see you next year my legs are a little blown this year from the triple crown. Looking for something different.

[Esyrydr]

What's everyone using for water filtration? I'm learning that on my long training rides I don't like having the water on my back.

[jasonthorman]

Ready set go!      http://trackleaders.com/blackhills-signup 
If your renting a spot then be sure to sign up by Sept. 15th!

[pb29er]

Will riders be meeting for dinner any certain time\place on Tuesday (9\22)?

[jasonthorman]

Food sounds good.  Killian's  Tavern at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.  If your still hungry then breakfast at the Millstone at 430 a.m. on Wednesday.

[Esyrydr]

Is the Crow Peak Brewery letting us park/leave vehicles in their lot for this race?

[jasonthorman]

The KOA and Days Inn will let you leave cars if you stay there and work it out with them.  If your staying elsewhere they might do the same.  If not, I will help you find a place.  The Brewery Lot does fill up some nights.

[Esyrydr]

Thanks for putting this together Jason and thanks for answering the Rookies (Me) questions. My wife's Aunt and Uncle live about 5 miles away from the start. I'll probably just ride over.

[Esyrydr]

Gentlemen,
My hat is off to you all. I'm throwing in the towel here in Deadwood. Jason thank you again for putting this together. It's an awesome track. I might have enjoyed it more if my climbing stamina and single tracks skills were better. I also learned that a rigid bike is not the best choice. Well, thanks again. I will figure out how to train for this and do it again next year. It really opened my eyes to the fact that flat gravel riding in eastern South Dakota doesn't help much. Good luck to all of you!

[sbear55]

Amazing to see the race leader cover nearly 160 miles in the first 24 hours and only about 50 in the next 12 hours!!  Today must have been brutal!

Can't wait to read race reports from this one!

[J_wowzer]

Is Jason the only finisher? Not sure if there are spot issues or this is just one mean route?

[sbear55]

Looks like Josh Bruhn  finished this morning.  2/10 finishing is tough!

Planning to ride this route one year from now.  Let's just I'm glad it's a year away!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sherpaxc]

So are there any race write ups posted anywhere? 

[Woodland]

Was wondering the same thing. I also want to hear about it. 20% finishing rate is one of the lowest I've heard of! Do tell!

[sherpaxc]

Bueller? 

[jasonthorman]

Midway though the second day, I suddenly remembered how hard this race was.  Is it as hard as the CTR or Arizona 300?  I don’t think so, but there are several sections that can compare.  One month prior to the race, my friend and I rode a 21-mile section of the course from Pactola Lake to Hwy 16.  This section took us 4 hours.  I figured I could do this in 5 hours with packs on, but it took me 6.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byt6r7T8LHkgZWwybHpEUmRpRms/view?usp=sharing
This hike-a-bike section is on day one after passing through the historic mining camp of Galena. (Josh Bruhn)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byt6r7T8LHkgMlB2YTdzQXI4VnM/view?usp=sharing
Beam with tree is the way? While most of the beams were easy to cross,  36 creek crossings  tend to wear you out a little.(Dave Kent)

With over 215 miles of single track, this course is for a full-suspension mountain bike or if you want to save a few pounds and are tough as nails, a hard tail might work.  With 50,000 feet of climbing, plan on walking a bit.  My best estimate is I pushed between 20 and 30 miles (several miles were downhill).   Do I think that this race could be done in under 4 days?  Sure thing.  Under 3?  Never.  I hope that whoever does this course, will give themselves the time to finish this beast whether it be 4 days, 6 days or however long it takes.  Best of luck and enjoy the ride.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byt6r7T8LHkgRjdzbnY5Q013cFk/view?usp=sharing
Hiking downhill sucks. But had to do it for about 20 minutes on this trail.

[jasonthorman]

Race Day BHX

Just like last year, the weatherman was calling for warm and dry conditions for the race.  In 2014, it was very warm with temps at 95 degrees.  This years' temps of mid 80's was perfect.  The ten of us rolled out of town and hit the 20-mile section of single track. Then we climbed up to Terry Peak and down to Deadwood (mile 50).  Last year, I took an hour for lunch to cool down and had an awesome bacon cheese burger.  This year, I did what Paul Anderson did last year and whipped into Taco Johns ate a combo meal and ordered two bean burritos to go.  

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cbmmgk7pqaskfvz/311.jpg?dl=0
Zach Stone and Aaron Denburg early morning on day one.

I rode with Josh Bruhn on and off for the rest of the first day. He caught me eating a burrito just 30 minutes after lunch, and we rode together for the next few hours. I stopped at the Store in Sturgis for major resupply and had a pizza and beer at the Knuckle Brewery.  One hour before dark, Josh and I met up again and got on the Centennial Trail single track at Bear Butte.  I rode and pushed until 9 p.m.-- looking for a flat spot without poison ivy to finally stop for the night.

I set my alarm for 3 a.m. but woke when I heard a rider pass by closer to 4.   The next 60 miles took me 14.5 hours to complete--all on the Centennial Trail. I had to filter water at Dalton Lake and resupplied with hot pockets and candy bars at the Nemo Guest Ranch.  The temps were up to 84 degrees causing me to filter again at Brush Creek and Sheridan Lake.  Made it to Rockerville at around 7 p.m. for a pasta dinner and a chicken strip dinner to go. Continued to the Storm Mountain single track section after supper and set up camp at around 10 p.m.  Day 2 was the most demanding leaving me at mile 180.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0k4idpqiaaw9psy/317.jpg?dl=0
Getting ready to filter water from Dalton Lake.

Rolling at 4:15, I entered the Foster Gulch area navigating slowly and trying to stay on track in the dark. I ran into Aaron Denberg, who called the race that evening before with a shoe that had split in half just above the cleat and a few other reasons.  I hope Aaron comes back next year for another attempt. After this section of trail, I rode into Keystone and spent 20 bucks at a little market and filled my bags with goodies.  Rolling blacktop and faster moving single-track sections though the Custer State Park area were next on the list until we merged onto the last 13 miles of the Centennial Trail. The worst part of this section is the hike up and down French Creek to Horse Camp.  I tried to ride the trail towards the end of the hike-a-bike down and split my sidewall on my front tire.  Had to put a boot and a tube in it and finished the southern-most section of the course just before dark.  A few miles though Wind Cave National Park and then gravel and logging roads back up to Stockade Lake then over to Legion Lake were I set up camp just North of the Legion Lake campground after grabbing water there.  Shut eye at 10 p.m.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/coo2kaajxzdvfge/319.jpg?dl=0
Foster Gulch section before Keystone SD


Looking forward to some real food, I was motivated to get up at 4 a.m. and started the day with 5 miles of single track then onto the Needles Hwy past Sylvan Lake and logging roads by Crazy Horse Mountain taking me straight to the Hill City Café--where they had a buffet breakfast still going on at 9:30.  I ran into Lindsay Gauld in Hill City who was now on tour modw after losing his Etrex on Day 1.  Lindsay had the will and the time but without an Etrex, it was hopeless.  I sat with Brian Hall and Peter Grimes in the Café, and we had three or four plates breakfast buffet.  They called off the race the night before stating that the fully rigid bike and all the hills and hike-a-bike were more than they expected.  

With a full belly and another 20 bucks spent at the grocery store, I was off to Silver City to start riding the Deerfield Trail to Deerfield Lake.  I arrived at Mt Meadows Resort two hours before closing and ordered a burger and fries. I rode though the night with the full moon. I went to grab some water from the spigot at Timon Campground, but it was shut off so I had to filter water from Little Spearfish Creek.  Up the trail and into Wyoming to Cement Ridge Lookout, I was seeing lots off weird things in the woods with the full moon and being super tired, I pulled over at 2:30 a.m. for a 45-min nap. I got up and made it to Old Baldy trail but could not handle it any more and set up camp at 4:15 a.m. for some proper sleep.  Got up at 6:45 feeling refreshed and enjoyed the next four hours riding prime single track in the daylight all the way to the finish.  Nice to see my family at the finish line.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3g4wskmry71g6aa/323.jpg?dl=0
This buffalo and I scared the crap out of each other on a blind corner. I got of my bike and slowly walked and talked to pass him. Nice Buffalo