Saturday, April 13, 2002 -- Oak Hill, WV
Anguish at Arbuckle Downhill (iPO Event Id#: 4783)
Story and photos by Dave McKain

[Details] [Coverage] [Overall Results] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2]

Braving the course with
minimal protection

Ace Adventure Center was spared major rain on Saturday for the Anguish at Arbuckle downhill race. About 25 racers took on the course which included rocks, mud and a variety of dropoffs and some pedalling sections to keep everyone honest.

The course started out fast, winding around trees and over roots and dirt with a 2 foot dropoff only 50 feet from the start. At the end of the first section, riders had to hike out a leg and make a sharp turn onto a short gravel road section before once again dropping into the trees. The next dropoff was much more severe at over 10 feet but wasn't steep enough to force the riders from their bikes. After about a quarter mile of singletrack with several mud holes (victims were claimed) riders had to decide whether they would take the easy way out and a small time pentalty or make a sharp turn onto a steep, 15 foot drop followed by a severe left hand turn (or else get ready to do some real tree dodging as you head over the hill - sans trail). Most riders chose the adventure of the drop and most were able to negotiate the turn successfully if not gracefully. From then on it was pedal to the metal for about a half-mile to the finish.

The course takes its toll

On the first run, Trevyn Newpher set the mark to beat at 3:43.97 with Aaron Johnson (3:50.41) and Benji Klimas (3:56:35) not far behind. JD Thomas (riding with only a helmet for protection) paid the price on the first run, losing control in one of the several mud pits and drawing some blood from his knee (note: he did troop on and finsh his second run).

In his second run, Trevyn bested his first run time by 5 seconds (3:38.89) while Aaron Johnson (3:46.09) improved by 4 seconds and Benji Klimas (3:47.47) cut almost 10 seconds from his first run time, leaving the standings of the top three riders unchanged. In a close battle for fourth, Colin Lindberg trimmed 4 seconds off his first run time of 4:03.28 for a combined time of 8:02.62, besting Travis Vandevander who could only manage to improve 1/10th of a second from his first run time (1st - 4:02.99, 2nd - 4:02.87, Combined - 8:05.86) to take fifth.