Race Report 2012 Pow Wow Report

Thank you. So I may be just literally pulling out of the fog. My first endurance race, there was a lot I did wrong, but the one thing I did right was not quit! Jason was really great and I think the only downhill "fun" I had was him (them) giving me verbal support at the end. Blisters on my feet and I had banged the pedal really hard on my right kneee - it was easier to ride, putting any walking pressure on it was very painful, so it hurt to get off and walk, but I had no confidence left in me after UHJ to ride? ;-( I know from my the looks on the faces of my family, that the WS and all the volunteers changed some lives. My siblings and my daughter have never stopped worrying about having me die of cancer, they were all tested to be bone marrow donors and none were a match. Nobody, including the doctors, or them, thought I would live through the multiple myeloma, and the odds they gave me of getting out of the hospital during the second transplant, were not much. I was on medication and at the oncologist every month until 2009 when my femur broke and then I found out that medication (zometa) can cause "spontaneous femur fractures" found that out after it broke in half (ouch) - so then i said, no more doctors, no more medication for me. I am going to live my life out as it is, and I am. That dream of "I just want to finish CC" was BIG BIG and more BIG for me! - I worked as hard as I could and still run a business (we all have to work) As i got stronger in my training, my dream changed to try and finish in 8 hours. Then i got sick, very sick for months. My doctors felt really bad for me. They kept saying, "I am sorry, I know how much this ride means to you - you need to rest" -DARN! I don't have time to rest! My ride is 4-7 - my family purchased plane tickets!!! So this thread has meant a lot to me. Last night I slept with my head under the covers from 7:30 p.m. until this morning - I am hyper and not a sleeper!!!! once I saw the times posted, I totally fell into a deep sadness - Looks like I got lost or something! lol
I lost a good friend to cancer, and he was only 25, he was diagnosed with euwings sarcoma at 18 - we fought a cancer battle together for six years - he did not make it - he is only one of many - I miss you, Alan Tilley. He used to tell me, "some day we will be two shining stars in the sky" - well, Alan, I hope you were one of the stars at BS at 5:30 a.m., and I hope I was shining for you pedaling to the Peak. Of course, I am human and wish I had done better, but I have lost too many young friends, since I was told I had the first cancer at age 30, that's a lot of years to wonder why I survived and so many of them did not?
Why me, God, I have said at many funerals.
Thanks for sharing that this ride originally was not a race. I knew I would not be "racing" something like this. But my hat is off to the strong riders who can and did!!! You all ROCK. I wanted to push myself and I did. I am proud to be a CC finisher. I am still recovering physically and mostly mentally!
I will be taking my CC feather, the race number, photo of the finish line and having it framed and put over my fireplace! lol -
And I will print all these kind emails in my CC scrap book! :wave: There are a lot of beautiful memories for all the riders of the VQ and CC - Every rider and supporters of riders have their own stories. It's all relevant. In the end, it's what you come home with in your heart. The memory of the cow bells and riders yelling and the excitment at BS at 5 a.m. - every rider pushing themselves to their limits. The women, again, Kimmi, AJ, Sarah, Amy (Amy was not there) - but you all give and gave me the courage to complete this ride and I thank you all! You are all such an inspiration to me. We all won at this event, IMO - we all won something. Every rider has their own personal victory and it is all thanks to the WS and volunteers! I encourange anybody thinking of doing this, to do it too, as someone said earlier in this thread - my family thanks you all! My brother cried, I think they all cried those happy tears - Also, to my first and most important MTB hero Colette! !! I love you! You will never know the impact you have on me! I still don't know about VQ, but I have half an idea. Thank you, I am so happy I saw you at the end of the ride. And Oscar Dominquez! Without you, I would not have heard of CC! Thanks for giving me the memory of a life time and a shopping cart full of lessons of the heart and lessons of the physcial body! See you all next year! And Doug, of course, who gave up his feather to be a riding partner with a newbie!

 

Full page write-up in the OC Reg, particularly featuring the Trail Angels! Pretty rad!

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/down-348420-trail-monteleone.html

 

Listen Cheryl, getting depressed about your times means only one thing; you are a racer.

Knock it off girl. If not for yourself then at least for me. I was just ahead of you. I was feeling good about it too until you had to go and point out that we didn't podium. Quit telling everyone and they'll forget that part.

Next time someone asks about it this is what you say: oh that? Yeah. It was nothing. Can you believe I got a trophy for it?

 

Cheryl, don't you know that it's not nice to make a 70 year old Warrior cry... but I'm glad you now understand the true meaning of your ride. Your story has inspired others... you made a lot of new friends. We'll see you on the trail...

 

First of all...thank you to the WS for putting on this Epic event and too all of the selfless volunteers for all of your hard work before, during and after. I'd also like to thank my 8 months pregnant wife and 3 kids for supporting me during my training.

Well, finally....I've got a clear head and have almost come down from the high of this great event. Last year was my first CC and I bought a transfer 4 weeks prior to the event and trained as best I could around last spring's rainy weather --- finished the 2011 CC with a time of 7:00. I had a great time, learned a ton, but realized I didn't know squat about preparing for and participating in an endurance event. It was an amazing event--painful too (cramps!!). Fast forward 1 year later and I was more prepared (new bike, better shape, better training, nutrition figured out, and 1 CC under my belt).

But, what I wasn't prepared for (again) was the energy when I arrived at BS last Saturday at 5:00 am sharp. You could feel it....it made the hair on the back of your neck stand up...It was like we were all reporting for duty and had to go get our marching orders...the adrenaline was flowing and I was trembling with anticipation. Both years its been about 45-degrees when I get out of my car and I think, "I need arm warmers....nah I'll tough it out." I get geared up, roll towards the start, check in, head to the start line by 5:10...there's already people lining up. I take my place about 2 rows from the gate, and it's awesome to see the contenders filter in and line up in front of me. The camaraderie is great (met Oskins and Diego) and before I know it they are counting down and we're off in a big cloud of dust. This is what I've worked the last 3 months for....so DON'T CRASH! I hammered pretty hard out of the starting gate, but made sure not to ruin anybody else's hard work either. Last year, I came around the corner, looked up at the serpentine of lights going up the BS switchbacks and it was amazing....this year no lights! Man...my training made a huge difference and I kept pushing, but made sure I didn't set a PB up BS because this is a long race (errr....timed event). I saw also Ben (Flatulator), SS Rider and Manny going up BS. Got to Beeks at 54 min while snacking on a PBJ and giving FastTurtle crap for going too fast...very much appreciated the IE boys cheering everyone on at Beeks. Then for the first of many great moments...a sunrise on Main Divide! I definitely had a good pace going and was enjoying the ride...what a rush.

Anyhow....kept going on Main Divide and over to MW...crap...set a PB of under 2:00 hrs...on down motorway letting one guy go that had to pass...just knew he was going too fast and sure enough he had an unplanned encounter with a rut and bushes...asked if he was okay and he confirmed...down to AS No. 1 I proceeded. Nice!! 2:16....departed AS No. 1 at 2:21 after refilling my bottles and started the MS pavement grind. Last Thursday, I read all of last year's ride reports. I read one from OTB_Again and noted that he learned the pavement is a descent place to recover....sounds good to me. I rode the pavement...eating my second PBJ and passing several riders until I came up to a fellow named Eric...turns out I used his times to certain milestones from Strava as training benchmarks during my CC prep...too funny, but I was thrilled since I was on pace for my goal. After a quick 3 minute PBJ devouring, I wished Eric luck and pushed on and started passing quite a few riders on the way to the Peak....what a blast!

Got to the peak at 4:23 and let it fly. The middle of UHJ was a mess and I went to step off of my back on a switchback, cramped and fell over....I didn't know whether to laugh or groan. All of a sudden Eric caught me and fell on me and then AJ MTB's joined the party too...damn created a log jam. Sorry again guys. Started railing down UHJ again, down to LHJ and then the three of us an one more SS rider on the one uphill portion of LHJ all screamed simultaneously from those damn cramps...I jumped off of my bike and ran. AJ and Eric flew down LHJ....they're badasses on the downhill! I was also flying and thank God the hikers moved (I still don't know why they are on these trails with 350 racers flying down in the opposite direction...it baffles me??). Finished with a 5:25 and met my goal of sub 5:30. I'm super competitive as you can probably tell, but each year when I ride this event, I forget that I'm racing and I really enjoy the whole experience and meeting new people.

I've already set new goals for next year and can't wait to do it again. The real question for me is when to tackle VQ...someday...not next year though...I've got unfinished business in the CC to tend to.

 

Another great Pow Wow in the books! Reading everyone’s recollections of the day definitely inspires me to record my own thoughts from the event. I originally had no plans of riding the event this year, but after supporting some buddies at Ultra Quest a few weeks ago and being totally bummed that I was watching and not participating, I decided to ride Counting Coup after doing VQ the past 2 years. I love VQ but without specifically training for it, there was no way I was going to sign up for a 8-9 hour crampfest. Surely I could just roll out and crush CC, right? Well, the couple of training rides I did do didn’t go well at all. All I could do was hope for a better day on April 7. I also need to mention that during the week prior, my lower back had been an absolute mess. I visited my chiropractor for a last minute adjustment Friday morning, and immediately felt 100% better (enter shameless plug for Dr. Shane Doney of Lake Forest, he's an MTBer and amazing chiropractor).

I decided to roll at 4:30am for a couple of reasons. I’d been thinking that it would be really fun to see how far I could get on the course before the pros and fast guys started dropping me. I had also long thought it would be awesome to be at the finish line to see the VQ winner come in. Finally, I agreed to help mi amigo John Early with the finish line photos. By leaving early, I could do all of the above.

I got 5 really solid hours of sleep Friday night, which was a first, and was ready to roll at the appointed hour of 4:30am. Not to cold at the start, leave the arm & leg warmers in the car and get to it! I rolled with fellow WS member Miss Vickie to a few cowbells and got about 100 yards past the gate when I remembered my bottles were in the cooler that I just stored in the WS trailer…doh. At least I wasn’t halfway up Blackstar when I realized my gaffe. A quick retreat for the bottles and it was an uneventful, yet beautiful, climb up to Beeks. The large moon made for amazing lighting and it was so peaceful at that hour, being on the trail all by myself. For whatever reason, I was already 5 minutes off my projected split to Beeks, even though I felt pretty good. Passing the ball, I looked down the canyon from whence I’d come…could those be the leader’s lights I’m already seeing way down in the canyon?

Arrived at the top of Motorway, now a full 10 minutes off my projected split, which was annoying as again I was still feeling pretty decent. WS brother Jeff Parrish was stationed at the Motorway barrier getting ready to check off riders. I dropped a bit of pressure from both tires before dropping MW, and high-fived another WS bro, Erik Brown, as he was coming up the trail just below the left hairpin that leads to the chunky part. I descended at about 80% of my comfort level and rolled into Aid Station #1, to the bewilderment of a few folks who expected Tinker or some other fast guy to be first through. Deb Brown, Ned Reynolds, and Matt Vaughn helped fill my bottles and off I went up the pavement.

The Maple pavement had been crushing me on my training rides but it went pretty smoothly for me on this day. Looking back over my shoulder, where is the leader? Still no one. How far can I get? Eventually I hear the unmistakable sound of knobbies churning under great torque and take another look…here comes Tinker! It was pretty exciting to see him bearing down. And now for one of my favorite, most lasting memories of the day…he passes by, sitting in his big ring, holding a cadence that looked like he was in granny gear. ‘Hey Tinker, looking good, go get Bishop’s record!’ I blurted. He was certainly looking unbeatable at that point. ‘Thanks man, it’s looking like a great day’, and as I rounded the next curve, he was so gone. I looked at the time…7:15. Exactly an hour and forty-five minutes it took him to get to that point. Mind-boggling. Exactly five minutes later, here comes 18 year old phenom Joel Titus, riding his first CC. Same gearing, same comfortable cadence, same big smile. ‘Yeah Joel, go get Danny’s record’… ‘That’s my goal, thanks’…and he too was gone from sight.

After that, I got all the way to the dirt before a group of 3 passed me…I think it was Dana, Gerry Cody, and Nate Whitman. About halfway up Maple Springs, I was still feeling decent but it was clear the legs weren’t going to allow me to push my pace at all. A few more fast guys, including local legend Doug Andrews came by. It was good to see Doug and I told him to ride hard and good luck. At 4 Corners, I filled my bottles again and got off the bike to take a quick whizz. Back on the bike, I tried to enjoy the view of south OC to the west. A couple of riders I didn’t recognize passed me, and about halfway to Modjeska Peak, I was caught by perennial top 10 VQer Tim Zandbergen, superwoman Sarah aka Sauce, and a third rider I didn’t know. All three were pulling each other up the grade and looked super focused. After they passed, it occurred to me that studs Mario Correa and Jason Rusnak should have already been by. Within a minute or two, Mario absolutely blows by, playing catch up after having been the victim of 2 flats already. I would find out later that Jason’s knee blew up on him at the bottom of Motorway, and his day was done...bummed for Snaks.

It was great to hit the saddle and hammer along in the big ring for a bit. Then, WS super stud Mike Caffrey comes up and passes me, all smiles and looking like a million bucks. That guy is so strong it’s nuts. On the last approach to the Peak, I hear a ‘Hey, how’s it going man’ and Fuzzy John Milne of Niner Bikes fame comes by, grinning ear-to-ear. I love this guy…he just looks like he’s having so much fun out there. Stoked that he rode the event last year too.

Cresting the Peak, I was stoked thinking ahead to UHJ…I had ridden it the week before and I knew it was chunky, rutty, and super fun, just how I like it. I had one dab when a rider in front of me was off the bike, otherwise it was a clean and I arrived at the LHJ drop in with another rider. I said hi to Warriors Keith Eckstein and Mary Huth, and rode the drop in to Keith’s hoots. The uphill section before the downhill starts is getting longer and longer…or is it just me? I was off the bike and pushing as the legs were starting to feel toasted at this point. Two buddies, Jake Ketterer and Jeff Lewis came by, they were doing VQ for the first time and both looked great. These guys are tremendous all around riders and I was stoked for them. Next I caught a guy who was clearly riding faster than his comfort level, and he was skidding every corner and not looking comfortable at all. He had no plans to let me by, so after a few minutes on his wheel, I dropped back and let him go a bit. I came around a blind corner, and he was on the dirt in a cloud of dust, tangled up in his bike, and gasping for breath. He had wadded it up trying to avoid the 15 hikers that were coming up the trail. I got off the bike and helped him to his feet, hoping no other riders would take us out at that point. The hikers were standing there with the 'deer in the headlights' look. He wanted to take off in front of me again, and I said hold on dude, I’ve got to go! Lower down in the area of the creek crossings, I came up on a badly bleeding Charlie from Troupe, whose entire face was dripping blood. Fairly horrified, I stopped again and asked him if he needed help. He said he was good, just changing his tire and it occurred to me that he probably had no idea what his face looked like. I later found out he had crashed on UHJ. He would go on to finish VQ with a great time, what a stud. Good going Charlie!

The creek crossings were getting annoying as I watched my sub 5:30 aspirations evaporate. Charging past Aid Station 2, I got passed by 2 more riders and finally came in to the finish at 5:36. Thanks to Chris Vargas who let me take a shower in the trailer and get some hot water on my stiff back, and then it was very exciting to see Dana Weber cross the line for a hard fought win. Tinker was right behind, and I could hardly believe he had been caught, given the lead he had earlier in the day. It was a blast getting to talk to these guys, as well as Joel Titus and Mario Correa. All of these guys are class acts and represent themselves and their sponsors very well. After seeing me chatting with Tinker, Sherry from the WS hooked me up with a sweet signed Cannondale jersey compliments of Tinker…thanks Sherry!

The next couple of hours were spend watching many good buddies come in…Tom Robe, James Scribner, Andy Lightle, Ben Blank, Troy Liposec, and so many more. My other favorite part of the day was seeing all of the amazing family and friend support so many riders had at the finish line. I saw Cheryl get her photo taken with so many family and friends present, and I thought, “How cool is that!?”. Not until I started reading this thread did I realize how much she had truly overcome to get to that moment, so inspiring.

So, for another year, I’ll reflect on all these memories and more, and look forward to another season of trailwork, riding, training, and planning, so we can all do it again next year! Great job everyone!

See Dana's awesome ride report here, who knew the guy actually cramps like the rest of us:

http://www.socalcycling.com/articles/2012/racereport_visionquest.asp

 

I tried to keep it short. I failed! :?:

Preparation


As of a few weeks ago, I wasn't evengoing to do Counting Coup. I had a mysterious virus and/or bad allergies for nearly all of March, which hampered my training and –quite frankly – made me miserable. Also, the Friday night before the Counting Coup I would be flying back from Seattle, where I was to present a paper at a meeting of the American Philosophical Association. Not ideal.


I got back from the conference utterly exhausted, my virus symptoms raging. The last thing I wanted to do was a bike race. I was Mrs. Cranky, or so Keith tells me! I wanted to collapse on the couch and recover from the prior week of philosophy talks, networking, traveling, etc.


But I had hope and motivation, for 2 reasons:


First, before leaving for Seattle, I had ridden Blackstar at just below my lactate threshold and hadreached the gate in 44 minutes. Although it's probably unwise to do an intense workout 4 days prior to a race, the confidence boost was well worth it.


Second, I had just been invited for a second interview at a college in New York. And since we philosophers aren't exactly in high demand, I knew I would take the job if offered it. Realizing that this might be my last year doing the Counting Coup (or bike racing, for that matter), I had to make it count. I had to give it my all.


Unlike last year, this year my training was much more structured. I upped my volume by 2 or 3 hours a week. I did my intervals and form drills, mostly on an indoor trainer. I put in a long ride every weekend. I even did some yoga and strength training.


Also, for our 5[SUP]th[/SUP] year anniversary my amazing boyfriend (Keith B) bought me a 2011 Specialized S-works Stumpy 29-er frame module, to replace my S-works Epic 26-er frame. I shed 3 lbs right there and found that 29-erwheels really suited me. We got my bike down to 19.8 lbs, largely thanks to Keith's encyclopedic knowledge of bike parts. Thanks babe!


And lastly, I changed my diet this year. Last year I jumped on the paleo band wagon and, since I am a long-time vegetarian, opted for a pescatarian version of paleo (seafood only). This year I returned to my standard vegetarian diet, only I greatly reduced my dairy and egg intake. My diet was primarily vegan, save for whey protein. On this diet I had more energy, recovered quicker and packed on more leg muscle. So impressed am I that I am now transitioning to a full vegan diet, using Brendan Brazier's book (geared toward athletes) as a guide. For better or worse, hemp protein here I come!


Counting Coup Ride Report


Keith and I drove to Blackstar at 4:30on Saturday morning, in hopes of starting at the front. We ended up starting at the front with Andy Lightle, whose humor always puts me at ease. (Amazingly, a group of guys tried to cut in front of us!) It was fairly cold, and my legs were shaking. I was pretty sure I had over done it on the trainer the day prior, as my quads felt stiff. Plus, small as I am, I always worry about getting knocked over at the start and so I was very nervous. I wasn't sure whether the leg shaking was due to the cold or my nerves or a combination thereof. But I was happy to hear (from the motorcyclist) that the weather would be warm.


The countdown began. My heart fluttered. And then we were off! Sure enough, some big guy in white did almost knock me over, but I held my ground. I was able to stay in with the front group until the first dirt climb, but my legs remained cold and stiff, and so I lost them.


This year I took a different approach to last year. Last year I went way too hard on Blackstar and had considerably less energy for the rest of CC. This year I didn't try to “race” anybody up Blackstar, even though my friend Jeff goaded me, saying, “Sarah, I know you're not going to let me beat you up Blackstar!” I knew I had to race smart, so I pressed “shut down” on my competitive side, saving it for later.


I was a little disappointed to get up Blackstar in 46 minutes, as I had easily done 44 minutes 4 days prior. But I reminded myself that my “goal” had been 48 minutes, so I was right on track. Now I had 54 minutes to get to Motorway to meet my goal of 1:40.


I always struggle on Main Divine. It didn't help that I was incredibly slow on the downhills. I was not “feeling it.” The descents felt sketchy and the up's required too much acceleration. It seemed like loads of riders were passing me. My friend Jeff became a speck in the distance. I had to fight the urge to hammer. I was still trying to keep my HR down and conserve energy for the Maple-Peak climb. Also, I reminded myself that in training this section had always sapped my energy, with my energy returning on Maple. At one point I passed Mario, who was fixing a flat. Despitehis bad luck, he shouted words of encouragement to me.


It was uncanny – I got to Motorway at 1:40 on the dot. This definitely upped my spirits. Unfortunately, it took me 14 minutes to descend Motorway (my personal best is 12 minutes), in part because I was conscientiously getting out of theway for faster riders. I noticed someone fixing a flat, which reminded me that my conservative strategy on the DH – while it might cost me a few minutes – would better protect me against mechanicals. Racing smart.


As I exited Motorway I immediately noticed a huge “Team Margarita” sign, with a giant margarita glass on it. My friends and Team Margarita teammates Andy, KT and Lynn jumped into action, handing me a water bottle and retrieving my vest and light. Lynn gave me an espresso – rocket fuel for Maple! I was so happy to see them, though I probably didn't look it. For m ethe race was to begin right there – on Maple. I was going to drop the hammer. (FYI – Team Margarita is a group of riding buddies; the concept was conceived over margaritas at 12 Hours of Temecula in November!)

The infamous sign (KT may look innocuous, but she's getting a mountain bike and she means business! Watch out Cat 2 girls!):






After downing the espresso and spilling it all over my face, I leaped up onto the bike and hammered out of the saddle. I settled into a solid pace and sat back down. I began passing person after person on Maple, including Jeff, who – like others – suffered a flat on Motorway. He informed me that I was in 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] place.


I believe I got up the paved bit in 22 minutes. I was so stoked. I think 22 minutes is my personal best. I knew I hadn't pushed too hard on Blackstar and Main Divide. Racing smart. These thoughts just added fuel to the fire, and I kept my steady pace all the way to the Peak. I am pretty sure Mario was the only person to pass me – after yet another mechanical! He remarked that I was keeping a good pace, and I encouraged him to catch the two leaders. A rider was drafting me pretty much the whole way, which was good, because it motivated me to keep my pace.


I got from Motorway to the Peak in 1:29, a minute faster than my goal of 1.5 hours. I was 3:25 into the race when I got to the Peak. At that point I knew 4:20 was possible, so long as I didn't crash and get a mechanical. So I continued my general strategy of taking is conservatively on the downhills. I had trained too hard for this to lose it all on a mechanical. Nevertheless, I kept up a decent pace to Upper Holy Jim. In training, I had ridden every part of Upper Holy Jim (with Keith spotting me!), but I decided to run 2 of the switchbacks this time around. Pretty much everything else I was able to ride, and I cleared UHJ in a bitover 6 minutes, my personal best. I was happy that – for once – I was quite a bit faster than the guy descending behind me. Haha.


I rode Lower Holy Jim conservatively as well. I felt slow. Oddly, nobody was out there. I was all alone, other than the occasional hiker. So, I took to imagining that someonewas on my tail, so as to motivate me to go faster. It must have worked, because I earned another personal best on LHJ. I ran through all the stream crossings, thankful that I wouldn't have to worry about wet feet, since I wouldn't be going up WHT. I thought of Keith and hoped he was okay, this being his first ever VQ.


At the CC/VQ cut-off someone yelled my name. In fact, at every single aid station somebody shouted my name with words of encouragement. This meant so much to me. Somehow, these words manged to permeate through my intense concentration and lift my spirits.


I was determined to not get passed in the wash. No way. Last year I just missed 11[SUP]th[/SUP] place (witha time of 4:53), because a guy sprinted past me in the final five minutes. I am horrible on flats. My strength lies in my power-to-weight ratio and less in my power per se, and so I favor steep climbs. But I gave it everything, and I think I was a lot faster than last year, and I attribute this to the intervals. I kept my HR at about lactate threshold, which I was pleased to be able to do so far into the race.


Again, it was uncanny. I crossed the finish line in 4:20, the time I had envisioned. In fact, I had made every single one of my time goals within 1 minute, and I attribute this to chanting (in my head) the time I hoped to get on every segment. Mind over matter! Also, chanting times in my head helped me stay focused, because I found that my mind kept wanting to wander during the race. And every time my mind would wander, I would slow down. So, one of the most difficult aspects of the event was trying to stay focused. I hadn't anticipated that this would be the hardest part. It was very much a mental battle.


My fellow Team Margarita teammates (and support crew) and my mom (wearing a Team Margarita jersey) greeted me at the finish, screaming hysterically. She has gone to all 3 CC's and has watched me transform from a 6:17 time to a 4:20 time. Pictures:




To be quite honest, I felt a greater sense of accomplishment last year. Since I had trained like a "racer" this year, I guess I had sort of expected to race like one. Last year I was no “racer.” I hadn't been doing other races or been issued a USAC Pro license. This year I kept wishing that I had done a 4:19 time just to get into the teens! Thinking back to when Keith and I did CC (not long after we had met) in 2007, I realized how different CC is for me now. Back then I just wanted to finish. Now I am obsessed with times. I miss that feeling of doing an event so formidable that your goal is just to finish (what I see in so many of the ride reports).


Even so, it was a spectacular day for me. I definitely felt a deep sense of accomplishment at being 4[SUP]th[/SUP]overall (men and women) and at setting a new female course record.


Not surprisingly, it took me several days to recover. Today is the first day that my brain and body are returning to normal. So, I know I pushed myself to my limits and did my best. I can't have any doubts about that. I am very thankful to the Warrior's Society for this wonderful event and to my friends and family for all their support and inspiration. AJ's and Cheryl's incredible feats Saturday were icing on the cake. The countless emails we sent to each other over the past few months were priceless. We all had demons to vanquish (most notably self-doubt), and we succeeded! We won.

 

Lose something on Main Divide?

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/general-discussion/60747-lost-found-merged-threads-4.html

 

Pre-ride motivation:







This year was my first Vision Quest after doing CC 4 times in the last 6 years. After some on and off back injury and leg issues over the last 18months I knew this wasn’t going to be easy but having just turned 40 I figured it would be a really good challenge to set myself. I only did a few long rides in training and figured it might be a struggle but I would do my best. My last two Counting Coup rides had been personal races where I was at the more ‘pointy’ end of the field – I’d felt like I was kind of genuinely competing although I’m no expert racer or anything.

So I line up with Sarah at the front of the pack at the crack of dawn with Tinker nearby and Andy Lightle. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere near the front this time. To make me feel like even more of a fraud I’d bought myself a fancy S-Works as a 40 th birthday present and to some degree I felt like I didn’t belong on it. I was feeling like somehow I just didn’t have it anymore. I joked with Andy about pulling over after we get going. I did just that – Andy bailed on me and rocketed off – no fair!

Watching everyone stream by on the 1st ½ mile of paved road was pretty awesome – so many people on it from the word go. I made sure I set a modest pace that I could hopefully sustain. The first few climbs on Blackstar gave the usual awesome view of a stream of lights snaking up the mountain. It was a full moon with a strong cold breeze that really woke you up - the view and sensations were just superb.
I got to Beeks in just under an hour which felt right. Heading up to Pleasants Peak the strong winds continued but the view of the sun coming up below next to Lake Perris was simply incredible. With the dawn light came a change in my mood. I got over my feeling of not being ‘in a race’ which I think came in part from the fact that I was feeling a notch older having turned 40 and partly because Sarah and my friends had got so much faster than me with their proper training programs. I started to enjoy the smells of Spring around me, the warm morning sun and chat to the odd rider, a lot of whom passed to and fro for the entire route. Steve Ford – always so calm and mellow - was out there and enjoying himself and Heather Hawke whom I’d met on Christmas day (during the maiden voyage of my Epic) was out there smiling as ever. Main Divide past by without too much drama and I was soon heading down Motorway. Without the focus of ‘racing’ I was worried about holding people up on the downhill but I kept a good pace and let people by when I could and passed a few others.

Getting to the bottom the support team for Sarah, Ryan and I had made an enormous team sign. I think they were expecting me to blaze up and be in a major rush but it felt good to be able to take my time for once, sip my Espresso and find out how the others were doing. The feeling that I was no longer a racer briefly returned but I put it out of my mind, thanked Andy, Lynn and Kt and headed off. Just up the road was my friend Graham who was out to do some of the climb with Paul Georgie. I chatted to Graham for a while whilst some guy that I was passing made a comment about it being so much harder for him because my bike was better. My fraud feeling returned again and I had to face up to what was going on with me. I used to ride a lot and ride hard. I was decently quick and was once lucky to make the top ten of the Counting Coup. If I was honest my back injury and leg issues had really dented my enthusiasm to ride, as a result I wasn’t as strong and was less motivated. I just felt like I didn’t have it anymore to some degree. People remembered me as being pretty strong and hey now I have this super race bike and yet I just didn’t have it. I countered with the fact that despite the pain I’d been through and the physical therapy and getting a bit older I was out there taking on a new challenge that I’d deliberately made hard by not training for long rides like usual. I might not be as strong but I was taking on a bigger challenge and would be a better man. Right on cue when thinking about the challenge my Achilles heal – cramp - hit me hard and I wasn’t even half way up Maple. It was pretty severe and I had to stop. My doubts were back and I had to face whether I could actually push through the Vision Quest or whether I should just roll back down to the support guys who were probably still down there. The pain could be over right now, no more cramp, no more pain, no more doubts – all I had to do was turn around. I was pretty sure Sarah was going to win the women’s race for Counting Coup and set a time that was so far beyond my best that no matter how I did on the Vision Quest I felt she’d be disappointed against her idea of what constituted a decent performance. My desire to bail was still there but I had a drink (as it was now getting pretty hot) had some margarita flavor electrolyte chews and decided that I would do my best to carry on even if it meant I had to walk - Which I’d never done before. I walked until my legs felt looser, got back on and pushed on for Four Corners. The cramp of course came back forcing me to walk again. Last time I was out here for a Warriors Event I was at maximum attack pinning it and here I was walking along. I was having a hard time fighting off my doubts and from somewhere I remembered some crazy song by William Shatner (Capt Kirk!) called ‘Has Been’ where he croons ‘what are you afraid of? Failure? So am I’ The Shat’ is a legend!

I deliberately hadn’t looked when the cut offs were and was now concerned about whether I would make the cut off at the bottom of HJ. Steve Ford appeared again and in his super relaxed style he assured me I would make it with a lot of time to spare despite all my walking. A break at 4 Corners allowed me a brief rest but then the rocky push to Modjeska Peak started to crush me. My hamstring and glute issue was back and I could feel everything tightening up and getting extremely painful. Cramp and my muscle issues were sending me to a painful place. I sank some Ibuprofen and soldiered on. A rider passed me and offered encouragement – at least I was moving forward he said grinning at me. From nowhere I started thinking about my Father who had died some 24yrs earlier. He had been a keen rider himself and I wondered what he would think of me doing the Vision Quest or whether he used to get cramp and what the hardest ride he ever did was. I had the strangest feeling about all this that I can’t quite put into words but I was certainly feeling emotional all of a sudden. Somehow during this reflective period I’d ridden the rest of the way up to Modjeska and most of the way up to the peak before the cramp came back. Funny how focusing on some things can allow you to send the pain somewhere else temporarily.

Upper HJ flew by and I rode as much as ever – the larger 29er wheels giving me an easier time than in previous years with the small wheels. Lower HJ was super fun although I had a few close run things with hikers diving all over the place. Their flesh didn’t stand a chance against my carbon – just kidding, the hikers were pretty good even though there were a lot of them.

Andy was waiting to perform another pit stop at the bottom of Holy Jim – he used to be in F1 and Indy Car teams so he was perhaps a little too keen to tear the bottle from the frame and load me back up with water. If he’d have tried to change my wheels it probably wouldn’t have surprised me. I’d made the cut off and headed off towards the Trabuco trail – I’d normally be blasting downhill at full speed to the finish but I was now in uncharted territory. I’d never ridden this way before and hadn’t been near Trabuco in years. I made it to the singletrack when the cramp came back worse than ever. I couldn’t pedal at all and walking was really difficult on the rocky narrow trail especially with riders coming the other way at full steam. It was now seriously hot too. There were two support people along the trail who were whooping, hollering and battering their cow bells for everyone – much appreciated. It seemed like an eternity but I walked pretty much all the way to the bottom of WHT and made it with 45mins to spare. I was so relieved. Along the section to the bottom of WHT were two other guys, they also pushed when they had to and wore expressions similar to mine. We shared looks of recognition. Looks that said – ‘what are we doing out here?’, ‘I hurt all over’ but we also wore smiles that said something about the state we were in.

I ‘d hiked WHT once before back in 2004 and didn’t really recall its length or gradient. WHT was in direct sunlight now and the heat was searing. After years of hiking in the Welsh mountains with my Uncle I found that although I couldn’t pedal at all I could certainly hike. At least for a while – after maybe 20minutes I began to feel the hard leather of the cycling shoes digging ever deeper into my heels, pulling the skin off. I went on and on for what seemed like an age and was limping with pain – don’t people take shoes to hike in?! I passed a lot of the people I’d been seeing all day and figured I must be near the top. I was stopping every 50ft for a quick break such was the exertion in the heat. I came around a tight corner to see two sights – the first was a long maybe 200yd straight littered with people either draped over their stationary bikes or sat on the floor. One guy had head in his hands, another saying that he was going to vomit. Then looking up, way up, I could see tiny helmeted heads bobbing along. NO!! I figured I was near the top but I was nowhere near. The sight was soul crushing. WHT had become WTF. I’d found Steve again and his usual composure had given way to ‘this is insanity!!!’. Someone else joked ‘have you had the vision yet?!’

At this point I had no doubt that I would not continue despite the pain and tiredness. I carried on and on reaching the short down slope near the top of WHT where I could get back on my bike. I wore a simply enormous grin as the blister pain from my feet ended and my wonderful bike rolled me into a cooling breeze all on its own. Travelling without moving never felt so good. I hobbled up to the Aid Station and despite the burger at one point in the ride seeming like something to really look forward to I now couldn’t stomach the idea of one, nor anything even vaguely sweet. Then everything went weird. I stood there swaying to and fro and pondered the answer to the question of what I would like to eat. I don’t really like tomatoes so much but right now it looked so good for some reason so I asked if I could have just some tomato. I got an odd look but ate some – tasted awesome. Then I spotted someone having a burger – with mustard. I hate mustard. Haven’t had it in years and yet suddenly some subconscious urge in me wanted mustard. Right now - and loads of it. I got some potato chips and got mustard put all over them. Tasted phenomenal! I told the support crew that I must be pregnant or something such were the weird cravings of my body. I got back on the bike and enjoyed the breeze on Main Divide after the solid heat of WHT.
Having the Warrior’s people at the top of Trabuco call out my name felt really good. I was going to make it. I might not have gotten close to any kind of former glory but I was going to be able to push through. I just had to make it down Trabuco without any mishaps. My brakes were thrashed and howled on every application of the lever now but my main problem was hardly being able to keep the bike in a straight line – my arms had pretty much given up. Those I’d hiked past came blazing by but I was too exhausted to really notice who it was. I was mentally pooped but kept it all together and even managed a solid 20mph all the way to the finish on the fireroad. I was swearing to myself that I was never going to do this again and I wouldn’t have to because my GPS was recording every last mile and it would be preserved on Geoladders. Less than 2 miles to go and the GPS battery dies – NOOOOO! Maybe I’m destined to do it again after all. Sarah was waiting at the finish with our dog and I’d like to tell you the relief was amazing but I was simply too frazzled to really know what was going on. I wanted a challenge, to push my limits and that’s just what I got. A few days later writing this and reflecting on the whole thing it was pretty awesome. I resolved my feelings about not being as strong as I was in years gone by when I remembered something from a Rocky movie. It might seem cheesy but it really said ‘Vision Quest’ to me: “It’s not how hard you can hit but how hard you can get hit and keep on fighting”. I found that although I get a lot of self doubt there’s something in me somewhere that doesn’t listen and allows me to always keep on going. I never got to ask my Dad about his epic rides into the mountains with his friends but I’d like to dedicate this one to him.

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VQ was fun.

Except for the flat going up trabuco and dismounting for the pros that were already coming down trabuco it wasn't too bad, west horse thief is what it is...crappy lol!

This was like a really really really big group ride.

fun times.

that was a nice and short rr

 

Wow these have been some great RR's long and short! I had my GoPro on for the VQ, unfortunately I'm not very good with the thing so I didn't get all of my ride. I captured a lot of the beginning a little of the middle and some of the end, here's the start of the Pow Wow. I'll try and get the whole ride edited soon.

[video=youtube;z9xhCbd8fLg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9xhCbd8fLg&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

My 6th VQ and 1min off my time last year. I believe I am a stronger rider but 10-12lbs heavier than last year. My wife and friends kept telling me I was too skinny so I decided to gain some weight back (141 to 153)
It was fun and enjoy the bonding with other riders going up WHT....no issues with the bike and crashes. I feel Like I held back too much too at the beginning, but who really knows. It's nice to hear that the sub-5 winner also got cramps. Now my question is how can he ride through them with Tinker on his tail? I can ride through them but at a snails pace and sometimes have to get off the bike. Guy is a stud

 

Keith, you must have struggled because you missed your pre-ride large pepperoni pizza and milk! Ha ha. Seriously, I'm sure your Dad was smiling down on you, proud of your perseverance and accomplishment!

 

I just got back in town from a well needed Vacation from all the training/VQ race this winter. I just want to say thanks to The Warrior Sociecty for a great event and for all the volunteers also for all the friends I meet this winter joe, rodger , steve and many more thanks thanks thanks!!!!!
I started off strong all the way to west horse thief and hit a wall just couldn't not hike the bike at all thanks for the young man that gave me water on WHT and Joe and kimmi for the support it was all I needed to just keep moving thanks!
Now for some you heard me say I would rather pass a kindey stone then do west horse thief agian well after a well desrved vacation I am up do it again some day. I was passes stones the day before my wife wasn't so happy that I took off the next morning to do the VQ well all in all I had a great time Thanks again everyone.

hey did anyone catch the guy that was taking photo's on the bottom of Maple Springs??

VQ Finish line photo. time 9 hours 9 min


The Bike needed a vacation after this winter, Carlsbad State Beach

 

Great read in today's OC Register about Dana Weber's win over Tinker Juarez. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tinker-349506-race-weber.html

 

The Pow Wow write-up is also up on the WS site now: http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/writeup_powwow2012.html

 

Just a heads up......while walking my dogs in the afternoon after the VQ......I picked up 11 bar/gel wrappers between the bottom of Motorway and the first water crossing. That can't be more than a half mile. That's absolutely ridiculous.

The Warrior's Society does a great job putting on this event......this isn't a criticism of them. They did a great job cleaning up the aid station at the bottom of Motorway....you couldn't even tell it had been there. It's directed at those of you who can't seem to get their wrappers into their pockets.

 

Brian: Thanks for the head's up on this. Sometimes we hurt the ones we love, however unintentually.... This situation will be addressed by the Warriors Society as part of our individual responsibility to the land. I know we can do better...

 

Thanks B. While it wasn't the WS volunteer's that dumped the trash on the trail, it was (most likely) from our event. Sorry about that. Something we (the Warior's Society) need to work on. Thanks for informing us.

Now for you scumbags that threw your trash on the trail... Shame on you!!!

 

It's definitely not the Warrior's Society at fault. The aid station areas were impressively clean!

I'm not sure the answer to make people more responsible. I've seen the same behavior at races all over the country and it's always baffling to me. I think education is the key.....and disqualifying any and all racers seen leaving anything on the course.