A Dragon's Tale...

The Dragon's Back, from the valley below.



No, this is not a children’s fairy tale, or even an episode of Game of Thrones... Dragon’s Tale is the real deal…an epic 40 mile endurance MTB race set in the picturesque mountains of the Shenandoah Valley in Southern Virginia. Back in 2006 when I lived in Maryland, my good friend Rob Campbell and I did an earlier and shorter incarnation of this event called Dragon’s Back.  In those days the XC race was only 20 miles but it still had some of the biggest climbs and most technical ridge-top singletrack I’d ever ridden. I also took a wicked spill that day which left a permanent scar on my right forearm, a reminder of the fact that Dragons can be extremely vicious when they’re pissed off ( I affectionately refer to that scar as my Dragon Bite). When I saw this event on the calendar this year…with double the distance, and Chris Scott (of SM100 and Wilderness 101 fame) as the promoter, I knew it was a must-do. I called up Rob and hounded him mercilessly until he agreed to make the trip with me again.



Saturday morning I packed up the car and made the 4.5 hour trip from North Jersey to Rob’s house in Rockville, MD. He had agreed to drive the second leg of the trip (another 4 hours) to the race in the tiny town of New Castle, VA.  Saturday afternoon we were joined by our good friend and longtime riding buddy Fernando, for a 2 hour “tune up” ride on the new Seneca Ridge Trail, in Germantown, MD. What was supposed to be a mellow warm up, quickly denigrated into a mini pre-race race…funny how that happens when friends with similar abilities ride together. It was a blast, but not exactly a smart game plan for the Dragon Tale. Oh well, I wasn’t too concerned…Rob and I had agreed that because the race had no classes or age groups (just open men and open women) that it would be utterly laughable to even consider finishing near the front, let alone making the podium. This notion was further compounded by the cast of heavy hitters that usually attend this race. We also wanted to explore some nearby trails the next day, so we agreed to just use this race for training; ride together, have fun, and not worry about how well we finished. I even decided to bring my camera along to capture some of the incredible views from the spine of the Dragon.



Startt/Finish Area



Neutral lead out



The race began at 10am Sunday morning with a 5 mile neutral start; a group of about 125 riders was led through the streets of New Castle by vehicle escort. It was a perfect day for racing…sunny and 58, going up to the 70’s. Among the bad motherfuckers in attendance were none other than former National Marathon and Short Track Champions, Jeremiah Bishop, and Sue Haywood. Rob and I were somewhere near the middle of the field when the pack turned left towards the mountain, the lead car pulled off, and the real racing began. The front of the field tore off at and incredible pace down the rocky dirt road. It didn’t take long for the carnage to start, as several riders were stopped with flats in the first 2 miles. The road crisscrossed a large very creek at least 5 times…huge groups of racers were riding or running their bikes through the frigid, knee deep currents. I was able to ride all of them except one, when another rider slipped right in front of me.  For the next 7 miles, the dense field of riders slowly spread themselves out as the fire road snaked its way along the base of the ridge, over plenty of rolling, punchy climbs and descents. Rob and I were riding together and chatting about how so many people went off guns blazing like it was an XC race.

Climbing and more climbing

 At mile 11 we made the left turn onto the Grouse trail, a 3 mile switch backed singletrack that climbs 1400’ to the top of the ridge.  I dropped into my granny gear and spun my way up. At various points I’d accelerate, get a gap, and use the opportunity to pull out my camera and snap some images of the action or the incredible surroundings….not something I’ve ever really had the luxury to do during a race. Rob would catch back on and we’d continue the climb, most of it could be ridden, but there were several switchbacks that were just too steep to stay on the bike. As I pushed my bike around one of the nastier turns, I wondered aloud to Rob if Bishop was riding all of them cleanly…nah…not humanly possible!

The final turn at the top of Grouse Trail

When we finally crested the ridge, we turned right and rode a mile of rocky, technical ridge top singletrack with spectacular views of the valleys on either side. Next was a right turn onto the Deer Trail which plunged us back down towards the base of the ridge. It was a tiny bench-cut singletrack with more tight switch backs, some that could be ridden by slowly inching yourself around them, and others that were far too hairy to even attempt. The bottom half of Deer could really be bombed, and at the base I caught my breath and sat up, as Rob and a few other riders caught back on. We hung another right back onto the fire road and rolled our way back to the 1^st aid station, where we filled our bottles and grabbed some snacks. From there it was back up the massive grouse climb a second time, where again I rode ahead and took more pictures.



Rob navigates a tight switchback on the Grouse climb.



When we summited the second time, Rob asked me for some Endurolytes. I wasn’t cramping, but with this much climbing a little preventative medicine couldn’t hurt. While I was handing them out, Sue Haywood rolled up and we gave her some as well. She must have been having an off day…she should have been well in front of us.  The next section of the course was a beautiful yet punishing 10 miles of narrow, undulating, ridge top singletrack, with jagged rocks protruding from the ground (Dragon scales?). I was constantly jumping from my granny gear, straight to my big chainring and back again…From this point on the notion of taking it easy went out the window, as the trail demanded very hard efforts to clean the climbs and rock features. Some sections were just too steep and had to be walked…and at mile 27 we hit a massive wall that may have been the longest, most grueling hike-a-bike I’ve ever done. Again, more speculation between Rob and me as to whether the top guys could ride it…as my calves cried for mercy.

View from the Dragon's Back

After what seemed like an eternity, the trail finally shot us steeply down another hair-raising decent to the 2^nd aid station. Again we took our time..filling our bottles, and eating some gels etc before getting underway. The folks at the aid station told us there were 7 miles to go to the finish, and that the remaining trails were the best in the race. But as we soon learned, “best” is not synonymous with “easy”. Right away we were climbing…another narrow side-cut ribbon of trail that snaked it's was up Broad Run Mountain for 700 vertical feet.  Although it was only half the length, the fact that we already had 4 hours of racing in our legs made this climb seem even steeper and harder that Grouse. For our efforts, we were rewarded with the sweetest downhill of the day. Buff, and fast…with only a few switchbacks, this was the one where you could really let it rip. I can’t be sure but I may have been yelling woo-hooo! on my way down. At the bottom, it got rocky again and dipped through a couple stream crossings. The trail leveled out and I pulled over to wait for Rob. A minute passed, then another, then a third. When another rider came passed and 2 more minutes went by I started to worry. Then just as I was about to start hiking back up the mountain to investigate, Rob slowly rolled around the corner, his front wheel bent to the point where the tire was rubbing the inside of the fork. He told me he had crashed hard at high speed, with his wheel kissing a tree at the same time his hip kissed the ground. He was bruised and scratched but clearly in one piece, and eager to keep rolling. He’s a trooper!

Rob’s bike was ride able so we were off again. I really wanted to see if I still had some hard efforts left in my legs after all this climbing, so I accelerated and did hard tempo for the last couple miles of paved road. The legs still felt pretty good! I came through the finish feeling strong physically and great mentally..  Rob wobbled in 5 minutes later, with big grin on his face, happy to have survived the Dragon’s wrath. Not being in any kind of rush, we chilled out, consumed copious amounts of post race chili, and shared stories with our fellow racers. I learned later that I had finished 48^th out of 125…which was perfectly fine, given our plan to use this event for training, and enjoy the ride.  This is exactly the kind of event that reminds me why this is my chosen sport… an amazing course in a beautiful setting, that challenges you and provides a real sense of adventure…along with the knowledge that you’ve really accomplished something. Total elevation gain for the day was a whopping 7300 feet in in 37 miles....that's hardcore! I’ll be back next year for sure!