TeamTOG: Lionheart AR Recap 2014

Team TOG - 2014 Lionheart AR Recap

American Adventure Sports recently hosted their annual 24-hour Lionheart adventure race on Saturday August 16^th. We have each competed in this race in previous years and every year Doug Critzer (race director) and his crew comes up with new ways to challenge racers and run an exciting course.

The night before the race was team check-in. We received the maps as usual but when we went over to the master map to transpose the CPs we knew that the 9 listed on the map was not the whole race. It was a very straightforward and fast course beginning at the Sugar Loaf sledding hill and a run to the paddle put-in at Confluence, PA with 3 CPs on the way. After the paddle there were three more CPs before returning to the Sugar loaf sledding hill for a transition and the second half of the race. What we didn’t know was where/when the bike/orienteering section(s) were going to be.

Saturday 8:00am

All the racers took off as one bunch up a fairly wide trail to the first CP, which was only about 1km south of the start but required some bush whacking down a stream reentrant that quickly thinned out the crowd. Team AAS made it to CP1 first but we quickly followed with teams GOALS ARA and Odyssey. We jumped onto a dirt road along side team Odyssey that would lead us to a trail taking us to CP2 which was a beautiful 1200ft high lookout overlooking the Youghiogheny river. From here we were able to link up with a pipeline and fire tower access road down the mountain to the riverside for the 3^rd CP (about 10km). This left a fast 3km push up the river trail to the boat put-in. We arrived only about 5 min behind GOALS and AAS so we knew we needed a fast transition (about 2 minutes and we were on the water).

Paddle: 10:06am (16km / 10 miles)

This was a 16km paddle with one CP on an island about half way through. We decided to have Matt and Nick in the two-person boat and Amber in the single being towed behind. We could see teams AAS and GOALS ahead of us. We met up with both GOALS and AAS at the island CP but they were back on the water a few minutes ahead of us. The river was still a little low considering the controlled dam release, which caused all the teams to battle some rocks. During one of the faster water portions of the river we had to serpentine around some rocks to avoid getting stuck but Amber’s boat spun sideways and flipped her into the water. Luckily it wasn’t in dangerous part and she popped right back up.  It took a few minutes to gather up her paddle and get her back in to boat.

Out of the Water: 1:00pm

From the boat take-out we stacked two boats and carried the equipment to White Water Adventures, about 0.5 km away. From there we had specific trail directions on how to run to the next CP with a surprise waiting. Once we got there (about 30 min behind AAS and 10 minutes behind GOALS) we saw a slack-line stretched across a creek bed leading to a rappel over cucumber falls. This was a real highlight of this race! Although it was a lot of fun we had to keep moving to the next CP, which was about 3km up a nearby stream with another waterfall view where we ran into GOALS while having some trouble finding the CP. After a little searching we figured we needed to keep moving down the trail and found the CP.

We decided that the fastest way to the next CP (located a the start/finish) was to cross the stream on top of the waterfall and bushwhack 0.2km up hill to a trail that would lead us CP/bike transition.

 Second Half / Bike Orienteering: 3:56pm

Once we got back to the starting line we were instructed to plot an additional 8 points that were worth a total of 21 points and could be completed in any order (Rogaine). We hurried to plot the points, plan a route, and get our packs ready. We knew we had plenty of time to clear the course but there were a few different options how to attack the points. We decided to attack 3 points that were closer and required a bushwhack down a long draw to the base of some cliffs but would put us on a rails-to-trails path that would allow us to move fast to the next set of CPs. We had a miss-cue on the 3^rd point at the bottom of the draw that kept us looking around in the woods longer than expected.

Once we got down off the draw we jumped on the rails-to-trails path for a 20km ride to next group of CPs. We hit these points without a hitch attacking each from the rail-trail. We decided the fasted route back to the last set of three CPs was to back track past where came from but since it was dark we would be able to move much faster on the gravel and hard-top roads this route featured.

The last three points were on a fast loop that we figured would be the easiest to find at night. The loop allowed us to travel on gravel roads except for a small bushwhack section to cut over to another road. During the bushwhack we were welcomed by a trail that wasn’t on the map that minimized the bushwhacking but took a longer way around to the last CP. Once we punched the last CP we jump on the bikes and pushed up to the finish where we finished just 20 minutes behind GOALS. We ended up with a 4^th place finish behind AAS, Odyssey, and GOALS.

Finish: 5:06am (Total Time: 21hrs 6min)

Princeton Tec: Bike Light Review

The EOS Bike is Princeton Tec's EOS headlamp that one can not only attach to your bike helmet but your bike frame.  Thus if you are doing some bike touring or over night riding this is the light for you! For night mountain biking we often include both a higher lumen light on our bike itself and the EOS bike on our helmet that way you can physically see where you are looking along with where the bike is moving. Often I find myself keeping it rigged on the traditional headlamp strap in a front pannier while riding so it is ready for setting up camp.  I keep the velcro helmet strap permanently rigged on my helmet and can mount the light quickly if need be.  For one light that can work flawlessly for climbing, backpacking, etc. and also be secured to a helmet comfortably (instead of stretching a traditional headlamp's headband over your helmet) this is the ticket.

Now, most folks don't get too excited about taillights.  So long as it is red and perhaps even flashes nobody pays much attention.  I on the other hand have a fear of being crushed to death.  Why more people don't share my fear is beyond me.  Very often I find myself in dense traffic in areas of Pennsylvania where cycling is not recognized as a legitimate past time.  You're none too sure if folks are paying attention or even care to see you.  Another hazard I find myself in is open stretches of road with high speed limits and no road lighting.  Do you think that someone whipping along at 60 mph is going to see that single pukey LED?  I don't want to bet on it.  That's why I have used a Princeton Tec Swerve for a couple of years now.  It is bright and annoying as shit.  I mean that in a good way.  Whenever I ride directly behind my friend who uses a Swerve too, I fear the onset of seizures.  That's exactly what I want out of my taillight.  Also, the light uses a heavy duty rubber band to mount the light on any bar.  I have never had a problem with the light falling off.  It makes for quick transfers from bike to bike.  And if the need arises, the light also has a clip so you can mount it on your courier bag, jacket collar (hey, it has worked in a pinch), or bazooka sling.

      Clockwise from left: PT EOS Bike, PT Push, PT Swerve and Cygolite ExpiliOn 250

The Push is a handlebar mounted light from Princeton Tec that they advertise for anything from urban riding to mountain biking. The Push throws off a good beam for riding around town and some night road riding.  It isn't as expensive as many other lights are so if it gets swiped you won't need a government bailout.  It is light enough and compact that you can throw it in your pocket while you stop for a brew and you won't get the inevitable question "It that a banana in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"  The only thing that troubled me about the light is that there is little way to tell when the batteries are getting low.  Sometimes there was a barely discernible flickering minutes before the light died, but usually it was rather abrupt.  That can be a little alarming when you're ripping downhill at night...

I believe that the Princeton Tec lights are all splendid within their respective categories our team has been racing with their products for many years now and would recommend their many products for any outdoor activity....or night reading at your bed...or just a lamp to keep in your car. The best part is they are made in the U.S.A. You can't say that much any more so props to them!

They crew of guys are also one of the most entertaining companies we have come across in the past couple years do check out their videos to get a taste of the company!

http://vimeo.com/princetontec