How do you train for the Vision Quest?

Thanks! Good Info.

 

That'd be me. I got a laugh when I started it since I wasn't sure if anyone would use it or if I'd get laughed out of the club for being such a fred myself, but it now has 107 members, so I'm glad to see people are liking it. It's become a big source of motivation for me to see the kind of mileage, climbing, and speed everyone is laying down when training. You people are amazing!

I've also been making use of Strava's challenges and the function to create goals on a given segment. That's helped me to to get a better understanding of where I can gain time and how a given segment fits in to the overall time on a particular ride. I'm also a Strava whore, so I like seeing it post that I've achieved a goal or completed one of their challenges

 

Throw away all your Gu's and powerbars or whatever you bring with you and order this stuff. It serves as your calories AND your hydration.

http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/

I ordered some and have been testing it to dial in my nutrition for Counting Coup and I will say that this stuff is pretty damn great and is legit. I do not work for the company or have any affiliation, but just one happy customer. I hated stopping to eat all that stuff I was bringing with me on long rides (Gu, bars, etc.). Now, every time I take a drink of water I am adding the necessary calories and electrolytes. It mixes very easily with water. Perpetuem was okay, but I didn't like the thickness of it nor how it tasted after 4 hours.

 

Thanks for taking the time to set it up.....I am new to Strava and still trying to figure it all out, but it seems there is lots of great info there! TY

 

Thanks, but honestly it only takes a minute or two to create a club. I spent more time shooting and sizing the avatar pic!
I think the clubs on there are fun - make 'em with your friends!

 

For diet to augment riding:

Thrive by Brendan Brazier gives a pretty good background, with references to peer-reviewed science of how the body processes nutrition. It's Vegan based, and isn't for everyone (I still eat meat, just not as much as before) but gives some insight into how the body absorbs nutrition and how to maximize the benefits.

 

I will be out riding in the santa anas this weekend. No details set in stone yet, but its likely to be a 6am start at indian truck trail. Heading up ITT, down holy jim, up WHT, down trabuco, back up holyjim and down ITT.

Open to other options, but looking for a big ride (5-6 hours) at a good pace.

 

Why would you do that? The climbing for the CC is over at the top of Santiago Peak. Simply turn around and head back down to Maple Springs.

 

Because the Holy Jims are part of the VQ/CC? Oh and because they are fun?

 

The Holy Jim's are the only parts that are fun........edit also the Motorway:bang:

 

I cannot stand riding down Maple Springs...would so rather bag the peak and head down the Holy Jims.....because they are fun......plus when training for VQ, the extra mileage back through the canyon doesn't hurt.

 

Vision Quest/Tailwind

TW rocks. Learned of Tailwind at Outerbike, Oct 2012. Have used it since. 99.9% of what I ingest on rides is TW. Use 3 scoops/24oz ratio. For VQ used TW, with intermittent hits of caffeinated Hammer Gel timed to (hopefully) kick in before the long climbs. Now testing using caffeinated TW, figuring out how it works for me. Up to 5 hour mtn bike ride 36 miles 8,000' worked well, very well. While it is recommended to not use it for more than 6 hours, want to push the envelope, and test that out. oh, and carry couple flasks of pickle juice to kill onset of cramps, when they raise their ugly heads. Steve

 

Funny, I actually really enjoy descending Maple, at least when the gate's closed so there are no vehicles on the road. For a fire road, I think it has a great rhythm to the descent. Not that I wouldn't rather go down UHJ & LHJ, but on a good day I'll have a big stupid grin on my face coming down Maple too.

 

How do I train for CC?... seemingly by reading about others training for CC/VQ...way behind...damned life!
Could be a long day, but will still love it.
I was looking at times... couple years ago my expected time would put in in top 1/3 now it would put me in bottom 3rd.

 

Doping sucks!

 

Luckily I have been swimming on my off days....

 

Hmmm, is this a "rain or shine" event? Not sure I want to slog 44 miles in mud.

 

Just got an FYI from a friend who emailed them... they will reschedule the event if there is rain and they will make the decision mid-week.

 

Isn't that ironic? Practically no rain all winter and then showers the day of the event.

A reschedule would be hard. April is pretty full with sea otter and the whiskey off road. May and June host a lot of the US Cup events. July is home to a couple nearby Leadville qualifiers.

I guess I'm just saying that I hope they choose the date wisely if they do have to reschedule.

 

I do not envy the decision they have to make...should they have to make it.

There's only one model that calls for rain...the other ones range from mirroring today's weather to being a deep marine layer topping out at 5k feet. Yesterday's model runs didn't even show a chance for rain next Saturday. The only thing it looks like it won't be is hot...