Race: Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic Stage Race
Place: Seven Mountains Scout Camp, Spring Mills, PA
Ridden: May 2014
Seven straight days of racing done. Approximately 220 miles covered in about 24 hours of riding time for the week. Joël and I rode together the entire time competing as a co-ed duo. There were smiles, there were tears, and there was the occasional disagreement. But doing this together is something we both enjoy and something that we do together as a couple.
The blog post from last week gave an overview of what goes on during the Trans-Sylvania Epic (TSE); focusing on what life is like at "single track summer camp". This week is going to focus more on each stage to give an idea of what the 220 miles of riding is all about.
Stage 1- Bald Eagle- 15 miles. Course highlights included portions of a motorcycle enduro-cross course and the network of trails around camp. There was a little bit of everything, helping to give riders an idea of what they would encounter during the week.
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| Clothing drying for the next day |
Stage 2- Cooper's Gap- 41 miles. All racers agreed that this day was a killer. Almost 6000 feet of climbing, finishing with the climb up Stillhouse Hollow (the notorious ascent that is near the end of the Wilderness 101). This day was relentless; lots of climbing, lots of single track, lots of soul-crushing miles on the bike.
Stage 3- Gailbraith Enduro (at Tussey Mountain)- 22 miles total riding- only 5 timed downhill sections counted toward overall placing. The way an "Enduro" works- only the pre-determined and marked downhill and/or technical sections are timed, there is no timed racing in between, just easy pedaling up the mountain to the next downhill. This day was break after the tough stage 2, it was nice to relax, take it easy, and chit-chat with people while riding. Joël and I made it back to the parking area just in time; severe storms rolled through the area causing many riders to have to take cover and finish their rides later or some even choose to not complete the stage due to the harsh conditions.
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| Relaxed pedaling between timed segments |
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| Enduro segment |
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| Waiting at the start |
Stage 4- Coburn- 40 miles. Considered mainly a dirt road style stage, most of the course consisted of dirt roads and double track roads. One interesting feature is getting to ride through a dark, abandoned railroad tunnel. The hard rains from the night before helped to decrease the dust on the roads, thus a good thing about the rains the day prior.
Stage 5- R.B. Winter- 31 miles. Distance wise one of the shorter days, but since this stage was pretty much all trail it was still a long day on the bike. The course traveled lightly used areas consisting of old tram trails, logging roads, and single track. Most of the course was filled with baby-head rocks, making for a chattery ride all day. This day was chilly, overcast with a light rain and temps in the 50s. Not bad for riding but the chill took it's toll afterwards making recovery difficult.
Stage 6- Tussey- 42 miles. For Joël and I, definitely the most awesome stage of the week. Riding the ridge along Tussey Mountain, Longberger, and Three Bridges are some of our favorite trails. This day offers spectacular views and beautiful trails, which yes, we took the time to stop and enjoy, taking photos and video along the way. Luckily, the weather took a turn for the better, it was sunny with blue skies.
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| Wheelie on Three Bridges Trail |
Stage 7- Bald Eagle- 26 miles. The final stage. This stage was raced hard by some but was a rolling party for others. The course offers many super fun single track sections along with a heckle-pit where spectators dressed in costumes were gathered. This was a tough day for me; part of me wanted to take our time and enjoy the day while another part of me wanted to just get to the end and get this race over with. We ended up doing a little of both, pushing hard at times but also going slow at other times to enjoy the scenery.
And that's TSE. Many miles on the trails. Catching up with old friends and many new friends made. Both of us have our fair share of cuts and bruises and feel like we could sleep for the next few days straight. Our bikes held up well, the Lust Advanced and Anthem Advanced being the perfect bikes for all the different trails conditions we rode in; fast on the climbs, rolled over the rocks, and nimble through the technical terrain. ProGold kept our bikes clean and shiny with well working drive trains all week and with Stans No Tubes we had no flats.
All our hard efforts paid off, we won the co-ed duo division and were fourth overall out of all the duos.
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| Final overall podium |
- written by Jess
- video by Joël
- photo credits to A.E. Landis and Brice Shirbach