ORAMM (off-road assault on mt. Mitchell) MTB race

ORAMM stands for the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell.   Mt. Michell is part of the Pisgah National Forest and is Northeast from Asheville, NC.   Four of the Joe's Bike Shop Racing team along with four of the Virginia Wicked Wash team drove 8+ hours down to the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains to race this epic endurance mtb race.

Chris Lane had successfully worked his mountain bike endurance racing peer pressure on to all of us.   This was my first time racing this race but everyone there owed racing ORAMM to Chris.

I have only a few things to say about  ORAMM and I'll leave you with pictures...

• Most beautiful mountain trails ever
• Hardest bike race I have done "yet"
• Amazingly hard climbs and wicked fast descents that hug the side of the mountain 
• Many Cat1 climbs and an HC climb, yes seriously.  It took me 1h45m to climb the HC.
• I met a few "dark places" @ ORAMM but overcame, often thinking of Tracy and my cats :-) to pull me back to the "light side"
• The last ten miles hurt so bad....
• I raced the open women category and took 4th.  woo
• I sat a blind goal to beat 7 hours and I did it, 6h50m
• I'll be back... (the Tillmanator)  
• 2014 ORAMM 5 minute video:  http://youtu.be/RxEPNN2gQxE
• Strava file: http://app.strava.com/activities/172250767 
 

 

The course is 60-63 miles depending on whether you trust you Garmin or the mountain survey data.  And those 60+ miles have you climb ~ 11K feet.  

Pic from before the Saturday Preride w ORAMM veteran rider and teammate, Chris Lane.  We climbed Kitsuma and descended a ridge trail back to road.  8-9 mi, 70 min of climbing, 2300 feet.  20 min descent.  Hands hurt!  Need to relax but the drop offs were getting to my nerves.

Pre Race Dinner @ the Wicked Weed Brewery in Asheville with te Joe's Bike Shop And Wicked Wash ORAMM racers:

Back to the  hotel to get good night rest before the big race tomorrow.  Alarm 5:30a, race meeting 7:45a.

   7x Infinit bottles packed

   Extra chamois cream

   Race day power J&T custom oatmeal ready fir breakfast

   Camel w lots of electrolytes

   Superfly race machine clean, lubed and numbered

   Rider, ready to rest!

   

Race Day Shots:

'Before' Team Shots --- Jeff, Kathleen, Me & Chris (Joe's) & John, Tom, Marco, Jeff (Wicked Wash)

John, me, Kathleen, and Tom - Race Day, over 500 Riders (Photo:  Wicked Wash cool guy Tom Howe)

Marco and me  (Photo:  Wicked Wash cool guy Tom Howe)

'After" shot!!

Hard Awesomeness