Race Report 2011 Vision Quest/Counting Coup reports

Hey JSD. Congradulations on your first C.C. -Lloyd :wave:

 

First CC for me.. Looking at the crowd I think I was the fattest guy in the lineup at about 280lbs.. Felt good and carried a better than normal pace for me. Never cramped.. Lost a water bottle on Motorway. Probably would have gone slower if it weren't for the flippin flies.. At one point I stopped to take a leak up near the peak and didn't know whether to hold my pecker or swat flies. Opted to swat flies and risk pissing on myself. Many times I thought I would succumb to their incessant drive to get in my face, fall to the ground and be eaten alive.. If you weren't there you will never understand how gnarly they were.. Ran out of fluids near the peak. Like many, I took a digger on UHJ and got off lucky with a couple scratches from the manzanita I landed in.. My ride time was 6:44 and I believe my total time is just over 7 hours (forgot to stop my garmin until I was getting lunch).


Thanks for the pic Eric.

 

Nice video Aaron. Send it to Chris Vargas. He may want to post it on his post Pow Wow writeup. It was good seeing you Saturday and congrats on your VQ!

 

BTW...I forgot....I talked to Franz ... the guy that got helicoptered out of Harding last week he was at the Pow Wow finishing line waiting for his friend to finish. Most of us have actually ridden with him, they are the two European guys (German or Swiss) that are always out training / riding the Santa Ana's, pretty experienced riders, we actually made fun of them a month or so back because the took off their shoes and sock to ford the MS creeks...of course at the peak who's feet were warm and dry?

My gosh he took a hard fall, he shattered the left side of his face / jaw, he has a plate, his jaw is wired shut, gash above and below his eye...he doesn't even know what happened he was just on his way down from the peak on Harding, it was to be his last ride before Pow Wow. But he is up and moving, disappointed at missing the race, looking pretty banged up but looking forward to riding again and was there to cheer on his friends.....Mountain Bikers

Send him a few vibes....

 

Yup......saw him at the finish as well. He does most of our events, but noticed he was a DNS and never picked up his packet.....

Didn't realize the was him on Harding.....only saw the fire truck and helicopter heading up.

 

From what I understand, the plan was to cross Trabuco Canyon Rd(Live Oak Canyon Rd) then ride along the creek, then cross the creek and enter the park, but the park rangers said the creek bank was too unstable after the last rains. 2 Warrior members, 1 being mtnbikej, worked to establish what you all rode that morning. So it never got properly worn in.

pic by KWH

The Bob Haislett award isn't given to the last rider, but the most inspiring rider.

Yes, Chris told me the same thing. Seems there are those who like to scalp the entries with no true desire but to make extra money by selling their spot for much more than what they paid for. Thank them for that.

 

8:00 even for VQ. It was an amazing day in the hills and the course was in great shape for the most part. There's nothing like getting to the top of Trabuco knowing what you've done and the fun that lies ahead. Thanks to all the volunteers and folks who made the day run smoothly and everyone who came out to support. Your cheers went a long, long way. (photo by Jordan May)

My full ride report is here: http://www.stephmccormack.com/vision-quest-2011

 

I did CC and got a 4:53 time. My *hope* (not goal) was to beat the previous women's record (4:57:57), and I achieved that, so I was elated. (Congrats Heidi Volpe for smashing your old record by over 12 minutes). The best part about the day was having my boyfriend, my best friend and my family there. They have all been so supportive over the past six months. This event meant a lot to me, because I have not been able to race or train over the past few years due to the demands of another endurance event - getting my P.h.D. (5+ years now). I was able to strike a balance this year by commuting via bike from the valley to UCLA (sometimes via the Santa Monica mountains). I grew to love commuting - not only did I actually *save* time (the bike is faster than the car in LA), I traded the stress of traffic for the sunlight, the birds and the trees. Thanks Warrior's Society for giving us this opportunity to change our daily habits and reach our potentials!

And as for the CC itself, it was amazing. I obliterated my personal best up Black Star (reaching the gate in 50 minutes) and reached the bottom of Motorway in 2:04 (after which I slowed down somewhat). It felt great to be out there. The weather was perfect. I did not feel as nervous as I had anticipated but rather settled into a rhythm. My boyfriend Keith had warned me about various sections of BS, so I was able to maneuver them. There were some inspiring people out there - one man rode a single-speed without a rear brake!

I was not able to achieve the same intensity up to the Peak (or after Black Star, for that matter), but I did not bonk. I did not feel that fatigued or exerted, but I felt as though I was giving it my all (weird, I know). Thanks to those who shouted words of encouragement to me; I can't tell you how much that lifted my spirits! If I spectate next year, I plan to make my throat raw with cheering.

I reached the Peak in 3:53 and figured my hope of beating the previous year's women's record was dashed. Previously, it had taken me an hour and five minutes to descend. Of course, I had trained for this event on a 27 pound steel hard tail, which - in the course of training - I broke! My boyfriend helped me acquire a used 22 lb S-Works Epic not long before CC. I had not accounted for the fact that the full sus would make me much faster downhill. I reached the old finish line in 57 minutes (8 minutes faster!) at 4:50. I rode across the creek without stopping (a man had just sprinted past me; I was on his tail) and crossed the new finish like at 4:53. The descent had been a bit nerve-racking (as I was trying to keep the DH speed up without crashing), but I held my own and did not get passed and even passed a few people. I had a good strategy for the stream crossings. Unfortunately, I am not a good sprinter and wasn't able to pass the guy who passed me at the end. I just missed eleventh place, but I honestly didn't care much. I was just so happy to have this opportunity to exceed my own expectations and to be able to share this fought-for moment with family and friends.

After crossing the finish line I wanted to stick around and hang out and cheer people on (Keith had brought beers and chairs), but my family and friends were hungry and had been standing around for an hour, so we headed out to brunch. Congrats to everyone who finished! I hope to read more of your RR's.

Sarah

 

Some pics:



Keith (by biggest supporter) and I at the finish:


The whole gang:


My little sister brought balloons:


Keith got good shots at the start:

 

I talked to Frans as well. He didn't remember anything from his fall. I told him I was one of the riders that came up on him last Saturday on Harding and tried to help. He was stumbling in the middle of the trail with a nasty gash above his right eye. His bike was nowhere to be found. I told him I got down to the bottom of Harding as quick as I could to call for help, but someone must have beaten me to it as when I was almost at the bottom the medics were making there way up. Seems like a good guy - hope he gets to feeling better soon.

 

I've gotten a lot of requests for the video - anyone can download it from Vimeo, just click on the "Download this video" link on the right side of the screen. Hope that works!

[vimeo]21894699[/vimeo]

 

Eric - I saw you cross the line and I'll admit, I did mumble to myself 'that's a big dude' , but you're a big dude that finished in front of about 100 other less-big guys.

Congrats on the first CC!

 

Yup.......myself and Joey Sunday were the ones that built that one last in your face creek crossing at the end of Trabucco.

We knew the creek would be ridable by most, and one last HAB, because hey, half of you didn't have to hike up WHT. :lol:

 

VQ / CC this year for me was from the volunteer point of view. Being a newbie Warrior, I got the honor of manning the Upper Holy Jim trail head. Seeing as the fast boys make it to Upper Holy Jim around 8:15-8:30, only 3 hours after the start :?:, meant that I had to get up early as well and load my butt up Holy Jim and the Pain Divide to Upper Holy Jim.

Starting up Holy Jim at 5:30 in the morning, it was dark and silent. All you heard was the roaring of the water. Luckily, it wasn't freezing and the water crossings were lower than they have been. After making my way up Holy Jim, I was greeted by this view and had to stop to snap off a picture.



I made it up to Upper Holy Jim with plenty of time to spare. I arranged some larger rocks, in hopes of corralling all the riders the right direction down Upper Holy Jim and not straight down the Main Divide. After, I walked around and took in the views and more pictures.







I soon got word that Manny was just passing the peak and on his way down to me. Not soon after I saw a rider coming down, it was Tinker. He blaster right down Upper Holy Jim and to my amazement, no Manny in sight. Right after Tinker was Dana Weber and then Doug Andrews with Manny clearly nursing a flat tire. He rolled in and was in need of a tube. So myself and a fellow Warrior helped Manny, NASCAR style, and had him on his way in minutes.

Not soon after, Eric Bostrom came rolling in with the same problem and luckily for him I had the same solution for him as I did for Manny. Had Eric back up and running and down Upper Holy Jim he went.

The best part about the day was seeing all the VQ and CC participants in their phases of pain and joy. Some loved bombing down Upper HJ and some just wanted to descend the fire road. I had the opportunity to see all of my friends come through and cheer them on as they were doing a race that they have worked so hard to get to. One of which was Stephanie McCormack. She came barreling in to Upper Holy Jim and I had just enough time to say hi and snap off a couple shots of her coming in and leaving.





After being stationed up there for close to 6 hours, the last 2 CC riders came through and I had my chance to enjoy the descents up Upper HJ and Lower HJ. Sweeping the last 2 riders of course, but fun none the less.

It was a great day on the mountain and a real eye opener to see the race from a different point of view. Congrats to all that set new records, met goals and achieved what many only dream of! See you kids next year...

 

Such amazing stories!!!! I had aspirations a year ago, but my body had other ideas (knees, hips, arthritis, etc.). At this point my body tolerates about 12 miles, so I guess living vicariously through all of you will have to do!!! Congratulations to everyone who entered and gave it their best whether you finished or not. And thanks to WS and all of the volunteers!

 

So it looks like Vimeo requires you to sign up to be able to download the video. Signing up is free (and they don't bug you about anything). If you don't want to sign up, let me know and I'll send you the video directly. It's difficult to do that because it's so large (~300MB) but I can set up a file transfer. Hope that helps!

 

Had a blast doing the CC maple springs was alot of pain cramps cramps cramps cramps but we pushed and pushed for that feather I would do it again maybe I like abuse? Thanks everyone with the warrior society for this event maybe next time change a couple things and maybe the VQ??????

 

Awesome photos! So many times I wish I could have stopped and snapped a few of my own.

 

It was nice meeting you too Frankie. Congrats on your finish and your weight loss. Sounds like you accomplished a lot! I still think it was weird pulling into the tree farm @ 4:15ish and we were the only 2 cars there. Were we that early?

More props to the "green shirt guy" going up Maple Springs. His attitude and energy was second to none. Thanks dude!

 

congrats on your first VQ Jojon!