Race Report 2012 Pow Wow Report

Keith B's first VQ!

This was my boyfriend Keith Bowen's 1st Vision Quest. He recently turned 40 and wanted a personal challenge - boy did he get it! :clap:

 

2012 Warrior's Society Pow Wow Finisher Portraits

Congratulations to all those who finished.

The portraits are live on my site now at finishlinepictures.com. They will be available on the Warrior's Society website as a free medium-res download in the near future.

 

Nice John.

 

That is simply an awesome story! I am overwhelmed by all of them here, but you have me crying. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Scott, but have done the Strava deal ;-) Please tell him that Cheryl says he is in my prayers every day! What a warrior and your kids?? awesome!! UHJ kicked my butt too - and I was or am the last CC finisher. I am honored to read your story and support of Scott.
I almost feel in a mental state of "what happened" but maybe in a few days, I will post my story - Like Scott, I have had my serious life issues with terminal cancer, etc - indeed a miracle!! Go Scott!
Go Warriors Society! This is like a big VQ/CC family, and I am a new baby here (who turned 54 yesterday) lol - Anyway, I have been reading all these posts and this stopped me in my tracks! This is what the love and world should have more of. Friends, family, being unselfish and caring - wow - you are great friends! Again, it's an honor and I sure hope I have the pleasure to meet Scott some day after hearing and reading so much about him and his amazing spirit! thanks for sharing this!!!

 

Never to late to learn....

Now that's it's over and yesterday's Vision Quest in now in the record books, what did I learn after having missed my cutoff time at the Holy Jim station? Jeeze guys I'm only 12 minutes late..#-o

I learned what leg cramps were like (first time in 70 years)... I learned how frustrating it was to have to walk while other went riding by... I leaned that pickle juice only seems to work for a little while... and tastes terrible (ugh!)

I learned that I should have been doing rides longer than 5 hours (that's when the cramps first started). Honey, I'm going to be gone all day on the bike... Don't give me that look!!!

So after 40 some odd miles and over 8,000 ft of climbing, they took my number plate... a bummer! Oh well, lessons learned... never too old.

On the positive side: I always knew was that Gene is a lot of fun to ride with ... and that he needs to stop taking so many pictures and just ride his bike!

And that Keith Parsons (WS) has a great sense of humer even while suffering...

How much the volunteers who are there before sunrise and late into the day are appreciated by everyone... and even though I didn't finish the whole route (thank God I didn't have to do West Horse Thief in that sun) I still had fun testing myself against the mountain.

I was surprised that I felt as well as I did this morning. On previous VQ's I would be thrashed the next day. This was the first VQ that I used energy beverages and supplements... they really work. After streching and rolling out the ITs, I spent the morning playing in the band at church... it was marvelous, grasshoppers!

Thanks to all that supported me along the course and afterwards. Much appreciated.... But, like Gene, my redemption is not complete yet,
"I'll be back"... Bob Haislett knows this... he's still waiting for me out there...

And BTW: you can never have too many feathers....

Next year....Honey, I'm going to be gone all day on the bike... Don't give me that look!!!

:lol:

 

Yes he will be..., at the top of West Horse Thief!

 

I have yet to do one Gregg. Maybe this is my calling.

 

3rd VQ for me this year. Well i guess 3rd attempt! Had big hope this year of doing good. Everything seemed like it was coming together really well for me all week. Diet was good, was able to taper my riding down, legs were feeling strong and rested, and was getting good sleep. Woke up from a dream @ 3:30 AM that i was out drinking with some friends and getting hammered. so it was a weird feeling i woke up like I was Hung over even though i hadn't had any booze in quite a while as part of my preparation. Decided to get up and take a warm shower and get things rolling. Stretched some and got rid of that weird hung over feeling! Got all my stuff packed up while my wife was packing everything she thought she would need for herself and our baby. (Some people might have recognized her and him as she was at the start and Motorway with our kids head sticking out of a body wrap that was around her, shes awesome at supporting in all my little escapades of life) Got to the start line after a long 15 minute drive. was already dressed and was think wow it beautiful this morning everything is coming together as perfect as can be. got checked in and headed to get a spot towards the front of the starting pack. Met some nice people, got some pictures with some teamate and before i knew it the ceremony was starting, I said my little prayer for everyone safety then the countdown 3,2,1 were off; people were goign pretty hard. My plan was to start out conserviative but go for it once i got to Maple Springs. On the first turn someone was trying to stand and i think shift at the same time and went down pretty hard directly on the side/front of me. I avoided getting taken out and just hooked on with group in front. Once we hit the actual start of the climbing there was a group of about 10 of us with one main guy pulling at a pretty strong pace. I decided to just sit in. One my teammates with a similar VQ goal pulls up on side of me and says Follow me Josh. So i did we caught a few more people and bang we were approaching black-star gate. He was riding close to the edge of the trail and i was thinking man hes pretty close to the gate when all of a sudden it looked like the commercial for Full Metal Jousting on the History Channel, he got blasted off his bike. I guess he was looking down at his GPS or something for the time to check his split. i stopped for a quick second to help him pick some stuff up. handed him his bar end and made sure he was okay then continued on my way. Everything was going pretty good for me. I was eating my food and drinking my water like i had planned. I reached the top of Motorway in 1:35+/- so i was stoked and actually ahead of where i wanted to be. Was riding pretty conservative down motorway while sticking to my plan. then disaster stuck. Pin holed my front tire. pulled over to the side and got the stans to seal it up. road a few hundred more feet and it opened again. Decided to just throw tube in there. Got it switched out and was back on my descending way. Then about 3 more minutes down quick flat same tire. Even worse results. about a 1.1/2" slash in my front side wall. Sat there for a minute and was pretty sad as i realized my goal wasn't going to be reached and that my day was over. I started hiking down the mountain thinking about the situation. Really actually cool experience to see all of these riders trying to meet all of there individual goals but almost if not all of them asking me if I was okay or if i needed anything. What a great community of people! Tried to get out of the way of as many people that i could and am sorry if i held any of you up. (But on a positive note you can use that as an excuse....) haha jk. Got to Maple and got to see my wife and kid. It was still a great day! Full of great experiences. I have never gotten to see this event from a spectators stand point. Awesome to see so many people persavier and overcome challenges. VQ 2012 training starts today. Okay well not really. Thanks to everyone that has a hand in putting on such an event and congratulations to everyone that rode it. See you guys on the trails!

 

I'm not sure how many VQ's I have done now but I think its either 8 or 9. I know what to expect from the terrain and I know what to expect out of my body (mostly cramping

What gets me every year is the kindness of the racers. I met several people this year. I wish I could remember names. We were on the Main Divide, heads down with a chill still in the air. We just passed Smash Face and I said "This is whats its all about!" The guy next to me looks all confused and I said to look to your left. The sun was just coming up over the lake. The sky was yellow, orange and full of warmth. It was amazing! A smile came to his face. Our conversation kept going until Moterway.
While "enjoying" the fun of WHF, a fellow rider asked the ever so much fun question, "How much further?" I simply laughed. Baahaahaaa Then I almost puked from my internal laughter.

One of the most mind boggling aspects of this event (and all Warrior events) is the amount of support! 1st I want to thank Heather (my wife) She got me up at 3:30 and we drove in to the event so she could help check everyone in. Then she waited at the finish line for the last finisher; taking everyone's name and # down. Thank you honey-I love you!! Nice 12 plus hour day baby!!!

The volunteers are always amazing. Arriving at the 1st aid station, I pull into about 100 people all cheering, laughing and clapping. It was heart warming (until I realized I had to go back up another hill.) I really think its the support of fellow friends and riders that keeps me coming back. thank you.

I arrived at four corners to find great friends Jon and Drew cheering me on! It was great! By the time I finally got to the peak my legs let me know they were done. The cramps started in. There is nothing funnier than cramping while descending. Having to slow down to a stop on a descent stinks, but it really sucks when you have to stop because your leg is locked up. Then you hop off the bike and both legs lock up! lol "You ok?" "Yeah just cramping." lol

I finally made it to the Holy Jim parking lot. Tons of people cheering us on and full of smiles. Thanks.
WHT was painful. The shot of mustard at the top was much appreciated. Soon I was on top of Trabuco. Calvin was there letting me know I was amazing. Who is he to call me amazing??!?! He is THE animal of all animals! "Andy, you look great! You are doing awesome! You are incredible" Calvin-thanks but lets be real here; if you were doing the event this year, you probably would be doing it on a pogo stick and would have finished 2 hours in front of me. Thank you

On the road ride out, my legs continued to cramp but I was able to "ride" through it. I sucked onto a Coupe's wheel and sprinted past him to the finish. Baaahaaahaaa!

thank you everyone for everything! Till next year!!!

 

This is truly an amazing thread filled with so many stories of inspiration, selflessness and hardships endured and overcome. I imagine I will never ride a CC or VQ because I am not wired that way, but after reading these stories I can see the different kind of courage it takes to do this event. Sending it over a road gap takes one kind of courage - mostly a self-indulgent kind - and putting your body through hell to overcome personal demons or to honor a fallen loved one is a completely different kind of courage. Again, amazing! Congratulations to all who persevered to even try.

:clap: :beer: :bang:

 

First CC for me. Loved it.

All the Warrior Society people were super cool and helpful. The hardest part was trying to pace myself at the beginning! I had my fastest time up blackstar ever lol.

 

I tried and failed the CC in 2006 and 2007 and gave up trying. On sign up night for this year I was drinking with my riding buds and entered their race to sign up, fully confident that I would fail at this attempt as well. Alas, despite dilly dallying as much as possible, I got in.

My joke through out my training: "Yeah. The sign up. The only race I ever won"

This year, I DDNF'd

(didn't DNF)

 

I cant wait to hear your story Cheryl!
As luck would have it, my family ended up waiting for our 2 rider kids at the finish line next to your family and friends. What a fantastic group of fans you have on your side. They told us about the journey you've traveled the past few years, and the hardships you've overcome to persevere in your training and preperation for this event. You are truly an inspiration to them, and ended up, also to us!
Being 54 my self, I am just astounded what you just accomplished after having gone through the treatments and rehab from them. One of our other sons had a brain tumor at age 15, so we've personally experienced the pain and difficult times you go through to "get back to somewhat normal". I am absolutely humbled by your (and his) tenacity and incredible attitude you both share. You are true CHAMPIONS!!!!

 

Wow, what a tough event! I rode VQ for the first time this year. Did Counting Coup last year and really enjoyed it despite a few minor bike issues. My ride performed flawlessly this year!


Here’s my play by play….I felt strong at the start and tried to stay as close to the front group as possible to draft off of them for the first few miles out blackstar. I had my best time up blackstar and over to motorway but when I swung my leg up and over the bar at the top of motorway I felt a slight cramp and thought this is way too early for this! Got to the bottom of motorway in 1:47, switched out my bottles, gave my wife my light, grabbed my sunglasses and headed up maple. I was trying to eat and drink as much as possible to make sure the cramps didn’t get worse, but my stomach was bothering me a bit heading up to 4 corners.


Got the chance to talk to a few people going up maple which is always nice to pass the time. Mike Staffieri came by going up the pavement section after he had already come back down to the aid station to get a new wheel! Someone came by me about midway up maple and said I was 15th (now 16th) overall. Talked to a guy named Mike from the Midwest for a bit and then saw Tim from Switchback at 4 corners and he gave me a nice push and I head towards Modjeska peak.


Just before Modjeska Sarah Jansen, Tim Z, and a guy wearing a Velo 605 kit passed me up. They were on a mission for sure. If I was doing the coup I maybe would have pushed it to try and stay with their pace, but I knew I just needed to keep riding my own pace to get me all the way though. Mario Correa came by passing me like I was standing still! I rode by him on main divide before motorway as he was walking his bike. As he passed me before Modjeska he said he had gotten another flat after the one before motorway. That guy is crazy fast!


Finally got to the peak in 3:27 and then headed down the fire road and to UHJ which seemed real rough and rutted out. Rode it only a few weeks before and it was in much better shape. Mike Caffrey passed me going down lower holy jim and then Jon Fuggitt and James Metcalfe came by on one of the switchbacks near the bottom. Fuzzy John (I think) passed me just as I was coming through the Holy Jim gate. I reached the Holy Jim aid station in 4:12. The awesome volunteers filled up my bottles for me as I ate a clif bar and then I took off. I felt like I was crawling going out Trabuco towards horsethief. A few others came by including Jake K.


Just before the horsethief turnoff Dana Weber and Tinker came flying by. Good seeing Craig Mordock as I followed him up the horsethief switchbacks. Got to the top of horsethief and I think I ate two whole oranges…they never tasted so good. Took half a burger with me and then started pedaling towards Trabuco with Jeff Lewis. I tried to stay on Jeff’s wheel going down Trabuco but I couldn’t keep up. Was really cool getting cheered on by the people standing by the Trabuco gate. Headed on down the fire road and finished just before noon with a total time of 6:29.

Such a great event! Thanks to all the volunteers who make it happen! Big thanks to the favorite people in my life for supporting me and allowing me the time to train for such a big event…my wife, Courtney – our 5 month old, Brittyn – and our wiener dog, Mo.

 

The new KOM & QOM

Here ye, here ye....

All Hail the new King and Queen of mountain biking in Southern CA!!

It is not the Mann's, nor the Hotchkiss'.

According to Strava, and Strava is always right, the top couple in PowWow-dom are none other than Stacy and I. :clap::clap:

Thats right, as of 1p yesterday before the rest of you had a chance to load your gpx files, I grabbed an official print screen from Strava and our place atop the mountain can no longer be questioned.



Ignore the discrepancy in mileage. Pay no attention to the fact that the map doesn't show the WHT/Trabuco loop. Focus instead on the crowns that have been so appropriately placed by our names.

Soon enough others will load their stats and the leaderboard will change. One day strava may even update its system to stop comparing segments that don't match. In the meantime, please bend a knee or tip your helmet the next you see us pedaling in the LA/OC/SD area.

Our coronation will not change us as mtb'ers; we find riding with the commoners enjoyable. As a show of respect however please concede the good line, yield to us whether climbing or descending, and DO NOT pass on climbs regardless of how slow we appear to be riding.

LONG LIVE THE KING AND THE QUEEN!!! :lol: :lol:

 

Cheryl - congratulations on your CC finish. I think i met you at the Spectrum Club in Santa Monica when you were just beginning your training. You didn't mention CC specifically but your face looked familar to me. Even if you are not the same Cheryl congratulations on your victory.
Lynn

 

Here is my daughter posing at my favorite sign.

 

7th feather in a row. (CC/Traverse) I barely beat my time from the first time I did the CC, albeit with 40% of the training and no perpetuem (left the mixed bottle sitting in my fridge as I ran out the door that morning!). So all I had was my water and some salt pills... which is fine, if that's what you train on. Not so much for me.

I was meh-to-miserable for most of the race, riding that hairline between exertion and cramps all the way up Maple to the peak. I seem to recall making semi-coherent offers of cash for pickle juice at the 4 corners aid station.


Per usual, I spend hours cursing my MTB buddies who got to sleep in and eat waffles, while I'm out suffering like a chump. Like magic, however... and this happens every year, my mood goes from grumpy to euphoric as I hit the free flowing section of lower Holy Jim and ride the wave of sunlight, speed, bright greens, and stream crossings all the way down.

 

Jorge, wow - this is all pretty over-whelming, isn't it? Brain tumor at 15! I thought I was young with breast cancer at 30. I have to laugh at myself because I have now lived without them longer than I had them ! lol - after reconstruction and mastectomies, well, I am not happy - I have decided to tell my doctors to take out the implants so I can ride faster! I cannot afford that extra weight climbing to the Peak! I am happy you met my family - yes, they flew from all over the country! My daughter was very sick with a fever and she came with my two grand babies! She is very proud of her mother. I gave it my best shot. Doug was awesome tagging along - they probably would have sent someone by horse had they not known by his number he was hanging back. My family was very worried - how the heck did it take me so long after four corners??
The weather and flu really hurt my training, but I did not want to drop out. I can barely walk today, but I think i will try a bike spin ! How old is your son now?
My brother Bruce who came from Atlanta was in the Marine Corp, big time officer guy - the Marines flew him from Bosnia to take care of me and my daughter when I was sick - he shaved my head several times and took his bald sister to the Marine Corp Ball in a limo - changed my chemo battery every 45 minutes, and could visit me in isolation for ten minutes when i had the bone marrow transplants.
That's a brother! The doctors told him to get my affairs in order, I was going to die! Guess what? He is still on all my bank accounts because we were prepared for him to take over my business, my daughter and whatever else I left behind - I guess God had another plan! My broken femur was the last straw! My fear now of crashing is that the rod might pop out! lol - doubt that can happen - So my hair grew back! Got the rod in my leg! My jones fracture is a non-union -
my doctors still tell me i have "terminal cancer" -- but I made that 8000 feet of climbing and I might have one bragging right - i did not walk a foot of the climb, not a foot! yeah! probably the cool bike I have, but I did push the pedals! - i walked all of UHJ and a lot of the lower because by that time i was whipped, frustrated and knew I was last and all that mattered by then was I finish safely. 444 went by me with the sweepers! Okay, sweepers ??? what are you names? I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Those sweepers kept telling me I was doing great and that at least I was going to finish! They were telling me a stream crossing was coming and when I had one mile left! three of them stayed with me, cheering me and nearly brought me to tears with their kind words - you simply don't come across people like this anywhere in the world. This is the world of mountain biking - this is the Warriors Society and their love and passion for keeping it going for people like me and your son who have an opportunity of a life time! Speaking for myself, it was the biggest day of my life!
Note to the WS and all the volunteers, please know that your hard work is needed! We need you! We love you - You let me have the ride of my life and you allowed me to dream and then you helped me achieve that dream - From the bottom of my heart and my tears flowing now, please know how much I thank you and my family thanks you - for without you donating so much of your time and hard work, many dreams would not have happened! Wish I had time to proof this note, but I don't -my office must think I left the country -
Thank you Chris Vargas!!!!!!!!!!!! --- thanks Kimmi, AJ, Sarah - you women gave me the courage to keep on going and you are all winners, the big winners! but you helped me win too because you all three were doing your own training and you all made time to encourage me! you are all probably three of the sweetest, but toughest women I know - SS winner - Kimmi !!! VQ Winner AJ - Sarah - wow - female record!!! but i know when I need a helping hand you are there for me. You all even offered to ride with me! right - I told AJ I could only ride with her if I could slip a date drug in her camel bak (just kidding folks) - maybe I could tie a rope to her bike so I can keep up for a bit. lol

 

Finish times are now posted:

http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/2012_cc_results.php


http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/2012_vq_results.php