go . Up ahead I heard highly revving , wailing engines . Uh-oh . Sounds like an obstacle . Entering into the trees I soon came upon a literal wall of rock . Not rocks . Instead , A rock . It stood like a wall , directly ahead , and continued to the left and to the right , as far as I could see . Riders were approaching the rock at different points and attempting to climb it . There were some successes , but also many failures , and those failures were ugly . Bikes and bodies crunching backwards down the solid rock face . Ugh ! Several other riders had gathered alongside me , and we all decided this challenge might best be managed by way of a team effort . Indeed then , the group of us pushed and pulled and lifted each of our bikes up the rock face to its summit .
From the top , clear of the trees , it became apparent just how insidious Dave Coombs ’ plan was for us to “ enjoy ” this particular obstacle , as I could see now that this gigantic rock formation is wedge-shaped , and Coombs had us climb up the tall end , and the descent back down from our climb was quite gentle . And , I also realized then that these were the “ Moon Rocks ”, which had been referenced in descriptions of the course . Good job , Dave . At the base of the rocks was a checkpoint , where strips of hard plastic we had been instructed to tape to our bars was punched . Those punches , or the lack thereof , would disqualify course-cutters , and when turned in at the end of the event permitted Coombs and associates to account for all the riders .
And on we went . There was not a mile of the course which did not feature some kind of particular challenge , or obstacle , or just plain old nasty spot . Case in point , not long after the moon rocks I came upon a little stream . Quite narrow , as on a good day I possibly could have long-jumped across it . Here was another part of the course which did not feature one , specific trail , as it was evident that riders had spread out here , seeking various places to cross . Why ? I was soon to find out , as when I prepared to drop into the stream from its rock bank , I saw that the water directly before me was still , and quite opaque . Uh-oh . Before I knew it , another rider edged past me , dropped into the water , and his bike went straight down , all the way to the rear tire . Yikes ! Having avoided that particularly deep spot , I rode downstream a-ways , found some turbulent , but much shallower water , and crossed without issue . And that ’ s another example of why success at The Blackwater was so elusive . All these weird and unexpected pitfalls that Coombs threw at us . One minute you could be cruising along just fine , and then in an instant , it could be the end of
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 172