RR: Ultra Quest

[ThinkFast]

You know you’re in for a long and demanding day when the route starts off sending you up an embankment that is so steep that even with rope you are concerned about loosing your footing. However that’s the quickest way to get you to the bottom of Bell Ridge, which you will be going UP!


Looking down the embankment last week.

How many people go UP Bell Ridge!? Well, it seems that if the guys from the RADS decide that’s how they want the course to start then about 40 something people do. So that is how the Ultra Quest started.

The course was basically up Bell Ridge, down Yeager Mesa, up Trabuco Trail, down Los Pinos, up San Juan trail to Blue Jay, Up the Wall on the Pain Divide, down Bell Ridge and the hidden singletrack down to Trabuco Road.

Bell Ridge is one tough Hike-a-Bike. Two weeks ago, on a training ride up Bell Ridge, I strained/pulled a muscle and our group was cruising up. But here we were again doing a HaB that makes West Horsetheif look easy in comparison.


Early Hike-a-Bike.


More Hike-a-Bike.


A closer look at the steepness.

Following a couple hours of hiking and a bit of riding up Bell we were rewarded with the descent of Yeager Mesa. Yeager Mesa is an absolutely beautiful trail. The foliage is unique to any other trail I have ridden locally. Watching the skill level of those that rode past us on some very loose technical sections was a treat. It’s a challenging descent to say the least. I mean how many trails have sections so steep that you hear people yelling “HEADS UP! ROCK!” as 10 pounders are rolling down towards riders below? I took my first couple falls of the day on Yeager. Ouch!


A rider after clearing a steep switchback on Yeager Mesa.


Mark on Yeager Mesa.

After reaching the bottom of Yeager Mesa it was time to head up Trabuco. Trabuco is a good climb and for many clearing most of it isn’t too tough. But then again after the trip up Bell and down Yeager having already started taking their effect on your leg muscles, and knowing you still have a few more hours of riding and hiking ahead (in our case about another 7 hours) tough it was.


Mark about to cross over to Trabuco.


Heading up Trabuco and the view towards Santiago Peak.


It was great to have the support at the top of Trabuco (pictured) and also at the bottom of San Juan.

At the top of Trabuco we saw one guy throw in the towel. For the rest of us it was time for more riding and hiking, but at least it was more often than not downhill for the next couple hours. We were blessed to have some cloud cover and the weather seemed to cool as we got to this point in the ride. Los Pinos is an unforgiving descent, with loose shale and 4-8 pound rocks mixed in on some sections. GeoLadders warns riders that it considers it an expert only trail and says “If you are one of those that has very good control over loose and steep terrain then Los Pinos is awaiting you, seems like that trail will take blood and skin out of all of those that attempt to ride it." I took my best spill of the day on the swichbacks at the bottom. We saw one frame that was broken going down Pinos. It also looked like Pinos extracted blood from a few riders as well.



My riding partner for the day Matt (Hermit) on Los Pinos.


Matt charging down one of the many loose sections on Los Pinos.


Me just above the switchbacks at the bottom of Los Pinos.


Mark flying by on Los Pinos.

Once reaching the bottom of Los Pinos it was time for the least technical part of the ride, up San Juan and “The Wall”. Of course this isn’t exactly easy, even with fresh legs. Fortunately there weren’t too many people coming down. Those that were riding down all had good trail etiquette and let us pass. After hours of physical exertion my legs were feeling the effects and the Wall was especially tough.


Looking back at the lower switchbacks on San Juan.


Heading up the Pain Divide towards the Wall (taken last week).

We arrived again at the top of Trabuco and it was time for riding Bell in the right direction. After a long break at the top of Trabuco getting started again was especially rough. The decent down Bell is not nearly as technical as Los Pinos but it is still akin to Joplin on steroids and much longer. It was slower going than usual and any hiking sections seemed like a crawl as we were running on empty. The trail was noticeably looser than a couple weeks ago. I imagine part of that had to do with forty something guys hiking up it earlier in the day and some of those riding down it before us. About half way down I was spent and started to loose confidence on technical sections that otherwise would be rideable.

3 shot sequence of Matt on Bell Ridge.




Finally, we were almost finished. We made the turn onto the new/hidden singletrack that makes the drop down to Trabuco Road. This is a great trail and was mostly rideable until the lower section were the grade was a little too steep and the trail a bit too loose for me to control my speed. Then through the mini junk yard and down the steep embankment. The funnest and hardest day I have had on the bike was over.


Matt on the hidden singletrack above Trabuco Creek Road.

A Big, BIG thanks to all the guys who participated and helped out on this ride. All the guys on the ride were really cool. The support was great, especially considering this was initially going to be a self supported ride.

[genusmtbkr5]

Troy, you, Matt and the others who did this are STUDS! I know Steve T and Calvin M. were doing it. I almost got talked into it, but I knew I could not even come close to finishing, not even with 2 good knees. Big props to all who even attempted Bell to Yeager Mesa let alone the whole ride. One day, we'll have to sit and have a beer to discuss doing the Death March at some point.

[rushak]

Awesome RR Troy!!! Congrats on a tough day on the bike. I can only imagine the suffering....let's keep it like that.

[Rivet]

That was a fun day out on the bike, couldn't have asked for better weather too. Nice photos.

[Pain Freak]

That has got to be the hardest ride in the Santa Ana's I've ever heard of. I wouldn't of even considered it without 15 hours of daylight.

Gawd, my legs are twitching just reading about it.

I've wondered what it would be like climbing Bell, but the idea quickly fades. And believe it or not I want to do Los Pinos again. Funny how the bad memories seem to fade with time....

[dft]

wow, what a ride guys, sounds really painful!! is the bottom of yeagger mesa (in the creek) area ridable now? when i did it, it really wasn't. how is yeagger as a whole?

[CPATCRASH]

I just had fun looking at the expressions on the riders faces as they were coming to the aid station at the top of Trabuco. I almost felt guilty drinking beer in the lounge chair. But how many aid stations have Tequla?

[ThinkFast]

Originally Posted by genusmtbkr5

One day, we'll have to sit and have a beer to discuss doing the Death March at some point.

Sounds good to me.

Originally Posted by rushak

Awesome RR Troy!!! Congrats on a tough day on the bike. I can only imagine the suffering....let's keep it like that.

If they do it again next year you're doing it with us!

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

That has got to be the hardest ride in the Santa Ana's I've ever heard of. I wouldn't of even considered it without 15 hours of daylight.

We finished with a couple hours of daylight left but...we did have our llights at the top of Trabuco just in case.

Originally Posted by dft

wow, what a ride guys, sounds really painful!! is the bottom of yeagger mesa (in the creek) area ridable now? when i did it, it really wasn't. how is yeagger as a whole?

Below the Mesa we only rode the top section. It gets crazy steep after that. Once down into the creek area, where it flattens out, there is a nice singletrack that takes you to Trabuco.

Originally Posted by Rivet

That was a fun day out on the bike, couldn't have asked for better weather too. Nice photos.

The weather really was perfect. It would have been much harder if the weather was in the 70's.

Originally Posted by CPATCRASH

I just had fun looking at the expressions on the riders faces as they were coming to the aid station at the top of Trabuco. I almost felt guilty drinking beer in the lounge chair. But how many aid stations have Tequla?

Thanks for spending your day supporting everyone Pat. You guys really made the day possible for those of us doing something like this for the first time.

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by ThinkFast

Thanks for spending your day supporting everyone Pat. You guys really made the day possible for those of us doing something like this for the first time.

No problem! Bob Josh and I were happy to do it.

[Rivet]

Originally Posted by CPATCRASH

No problem! Bob Josh and I were happy to do it.

Pat, haven't really met you formally, thanks to you and the rest of the guys at the aid stations for helping out, it was greatly appreciated.

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by Rivet

Pat, haven't really met you formally, thanks to you and the rest of the guys at the aid stations for helping out, it was greatly appreciated.

No problem. From the looks of some of the faces I think Bob and I had more fun than some of the riders. I can't imagine doing that ride and my hat is off to all that did.

[ArrrKelly]

What a day! Thanks for the great RR!

[allison]

That's awesome. You guys are nuts!!

[sdyeti]

Sounds like fun..................not!