What a FUN (read pain) filled weekend!
Saturday was our second attempt on Oppo Rally by Arch Duke Maxyenko. If you don’t know about Oppo Rally, it is a huge scale scavenger hunt. it was titled “Oppo Rally Cincinnati 2026, Battle of Ohio”. but of course, it starts in Kentucky. lol.
At Devou Park, over looking the skyline of the Cincinnati in slightly hazed air we received this year’s checkpoint list. The list is long and it is physically impossible to visit all the locations. Each locations have points (generally farther away, higher the points), and the checkpoints locations are separated in to categories, and completing all locations in the category will earn extra points. We went over the list, had a general idea of which categories we want to complete, and hit the road. My sponsor, SWMBO is the navigator/route planner/ puzzle solver, while I just enjoy driving the beautiful country road of Ohio.
The checkpoint list has location’s clues, some are obvious, some are not, and the city where it’s located. We sat in the parking lot, figure out a few near by (ended up almost 30 min south of the starting location) checkpoints and hit the road. on the road, SWMBO started figuring out the over all route, and decided that we will head east of Cincinnati to Ray Ohio, and then head north to Newark Ohio and start heading back west toward Dayton and then back in Cincinnati for the finish. We stopped at 28 locations, over 450 miles in 12 hours of event time.
We were so worn out, we debated if we even stop to do the last location or just skip and head to the finish, but somehow we won this year’s 1st place trophy! ALL credit goes to the route planner. Figuring out the the best categories to complete for the points, finding the actual locations from the clues, and adding/removing extra stops to gain more points while making back in time, is not an easy task! Also THANK YOU to Arch Duke Maxyenko for his year long dedication for planning this event! Will be back again next year!!
Well… the weekend just didn’t end there…..
On Sunday, I was entered in 6Hours Enduro MTB at Hueston Woods. I have tried last year, completed 3 laps in 5 hours 20 min, and was hoping to do 4 laps this year… I think this year’s weather was hotter than the last year, and also with a very very high humidity, and wet surface. Combining together with the all day roadtrip on Saturday, I was not totally in the best condition neither… but I’m stupid enough to sign up for this 6 hours of pain and suffering event, that’s exactly what I get…. (In reality, you have 6 hours to complete any many laps, so when I don’t have enough time for the last lap, I stop early).
The race is about 10 miles a lap, and the trail we are very much familiar with. Great mix of gradual longer climb and steep technical climb, and there is no section/element that I cannot ride. If I’m doing one single lap… Even before the race started, I was already feeling bit drained… After the first lap, I actually felt pretty good (for after finishing one lap). I felt more energy in me, and went on for the lap 2. by the time I finish the lap 2, it was obvious, I wont’ be able to make 4 laps. just didn’t have enough time. but I still can do better than the last year. After a little longer break, I set off for the lap 3. My leg started their own protest as soon as hitting the first climb. The quad started cramping. Shortly after my inner thigh and butt muscle started screaming at me. The last lap took me extra 20 min to complete, but over all, I was almost 30 min faster than the last year to complete same 3 laps. My challenge to complete 4th lap is carried over to next year… well.. we’ll see.
