Vq/cc

Discussion in 'Racing and Training' started by sailcalifornia, Mar 1, 2008.

  1. ThinkFast

    ThinkFast Member

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    My personal VQ

    **this is long...it was that kind of a day**

    What a day! To keep with my personal tradition of getting as little sleep as possible the night before, I managed a meager 2.5 hours the night before; nervous about what was waiting for me in the morning and excited as well.

    At the start I heard Debs aka Db250 voice behind me, and I wished her, Paula aka ocmtnbiker911RN and ? (it was dark) good luck. Soon after the gate was open and we were off. I decided to start up front to avoid being forced into any mud spots on Blackstar. My pace was faster than I wanted but I felt good. Jake aka c('.'c) passed me in the dark, as did Gene and some others. As I got close to Beeks Jason aka rushak passed me and mentioned he came down with something at the end of the week but was going to do VQ regardless.

    My time to Beeks was 55 minutes, way faster than I had planned. I saw Sarah there and a few others. I wish I had a pic of Sarah, it didn't look like she favors the early morning .

    Not long after Beeks I saw Keith. We rode together for a little while. The morning was beautiful at this time of the day on the Pain Divide.
    [​IMG]

    On the way to Silverado Trail I ran into Gene again. Always good to see you Gene.
    [​IMG]MG]

    A little ways further and I ran into Jason again. Jason took a bad fall on the MD and was leaning against a slope regaining his bearings. I stopped briefly to make sure he was OK. He was really banged up and bloody (turns out he did some damage to his collar bone).

    Fastforward...

    Aid station 1 and our host Andy aka Rut.
    [​IMG]

    On the way to four corners

    There is a rider in there somewhere.
    [​IMG]MG]

    [​IMG]


    Erik aka Padre on Maple Springs.
    [​IMG]

    Chip aka TalksWithFoxes at Four Corners.
    [​IMG]

    Erik at Four Corners.
    [​IMG]

    Jason at Four Corners, sick and injured yet he was pushing forward.
    [​IMG]

    The view looking towards Harding.
    [​IMG]

    A couple guys climbing towards Modjeska peak, the guy in Blue (back) was chasing me from here all the way to Horsethief.
    [​IMG]

    The view from above Upper Holy Jim was awesome.
    [​IMG]

    On the way down Lower Holy Jim I saw Craig aka Koke. Craig was walking his bike? I asked if he was OK and he calmly told me he had broke his arm (Craig had broken his wrist on Upper Holy Jim). I asked if he was alright and he said “I’m fine. GO!” Craig finished the CC after breaking his arm on Upper Holy Jim! Get well soon Craig, your tough as nails!

    I finally dropped the guy who was chasing me from before Modjeska Peak to Horsetheif when I managed to ride 4 sections before the top:bang:.

    mtnbikej(?) and Brian serving the best burgers you have ever tasted. Well, while at the top of West Horsetheif anyway, thanks guys!
    [​IMG]

    From Horsetheif to the finish I was just way too tired to take any more pics. I caught up to Dave F just beyond Horsetheif and we picked up our pace a bit. He flew down Trabuco as I tried to keep up.

    At the bottom of Trabuco, at the Horsetheif junction, I saw Deb aka DB250 at the final cut-off, She made the cut-off! I was really stoked for her. “I should have taken a pic. Darn it’s too late now!”…I thought a couple minutes too late.#-o

    Dave and I continued our rushed pace; it was looking like a sub 7:30 finish was in sight. We pushed all the way to the end…7:26: and something I heard as we passed.:beer:

    Matt aka Hermit finishing on Rita the SS.
    [​IMG]

    The topper for the whole day was seeing Deb’s special award at the end of the day…hopefully someone will cover that and again I didn’t take a pic #-o

    Just an amazing day on the bike with plenty of pain and suffering, with a much bigger helping of great times to make it all worthwhile. Congratulations to everyone!

    Thanks again to the warriors and all the volunteers who make this happen. With out your work a great day like this wouldn’t have happened…but I might have gotten a little more sleep.
     
  2. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Yup........that was me. :wave:


    Glad you enjoyed.
     
  3. TBlazen

    TBlazen Rider Doooood

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    Are those links working or am I a dumba$$...either way.

    My stomach was cramping for an hour.....wtf?
     
  4. bjammin

    bjammin Banned

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    Does this work really fast? If so I'll be investing in some real soon.
     
  5. Permagrin

    Permagrin Hard landing comin' up!

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    Most were smiling after coming down HJ. Isn't that pic at the top of WHT? If so, then I totally agree with you!
     
  6. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Yeah.......WHT seems to bring the best and worse outta people. #-o
     
  7. ThinkFast

    ThinkFast Member

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    Oops. Damn, how many times did I post that? I was trying to fix the links and I triple posted. Hopefully a Mod will delete the bad ones.
     
  8. sdyeti

    sdyeti New Member

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    It should be noted that Mr. B finished 10th overall in the CC :):clap:

     
  9. ThinkFast

    ThinkFast Member

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    He probably could have finished even higher. He was really cruising at this point. Plus, I probably slowed him down when we were talking.
     
  10. TBlazen

    TBlazen Rider Doooood

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    the CC times were FAST this year....
     
  11. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Last year's winner finished at about 3:50.......then it was another 45 minutes before 2nd place came in.


    Might be that a lot of peopel who were supposed to do the VQ dropped down and only did CC. :?:
     
  12. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    Most has been said already, Thanks WS and the morning was Spectacular, but a couple interesting thing for me.

    I only got about half the training of last year.

    Was supposed to take it a bit slower on Blackstar to save my legs a bit, ended up close to PRing it, oh well best laid plans.

    I climbed faster this year but had a couple "issues" on the U/LHJ and lost a couple minutes plus I didn't ride the fire rode as fast maybe because is yes wet /slimy and I had to dodge the craters. I avg 19.8 last year on that stretch only 16.8 this year, I felt I was working.

    All that added up to nearly the identical time 6:46 both this and last year, less than 30 sec difference.

    So I guess I will take it as a win. :)

    It was a great day for me and a friend of mine who took on this challenge it was her first long MTB race and she finished the CC. It took her a couple hours longer to finish but was she stoked when she finished, she said it was Epic and thanked me for getting her into it, and the experience.

    I think that made my day most.
     
  13. mp3

    mp3 mirroring the trail

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    Thanks

    Thanks to the Warrior Socitey, all the volunteers, Switchback, Rock N Road and everyone else that makes this event happen. :clap::clap::clap::clap:

    Great job to everyone who was out there today!:bang:
     
  14. Sprockethead

    Sprockethead S.T.U.P.I.D.A.S.S. Member

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    Back of the pack report

    I started out faster than planned but I was feeling pretty good. Not getting any regular rides or training in had me worried about the cut off times. Once on the MD, I was in awe of the sun breaking above the clouds. Ahead of me, I could see riders on the ridge with the fog rolling over them. Below was a blanket of puffy clouds, it was very surreal and the song playing on my iPod was Don't Stop Believing by Journey. I was feeling good. Some parts of the MD were so foggy that I couldn't even see in front of me. I was bombing down the fireroad when the next thing I knew, I was going uphill. Could have been disastrous if someone was in front of me. Finished Motorway with my fastest time ever, 3 hrs. I was so good to see Andy and Heather with fresh oranges and bananas. Also saw the STR posse there. I was feeling so good I told Carl, shoot, we're almost done with the CC :lol:

    Little did I know Maple Springs would put the big hurt on me. Thank god I decided to pack pickle juice. I was cramping so bad going up Maple the juice kicked in within minutes. I was also taking Enervit. By the time I came around the left before the peak, I didn't see anybody behind me. I kept seeing little Troy pass me, then I'd pass him. Interesting thing is, everytime I passed him, his father would be massaging his legs. I wanted to ask him "hey, can I get my legs rubbed?" Troy did great, he SS CC.

    I went into a switchback too hot on UHJ and stuffed my tire. Luckily, I was able to hop over the bars and run it out. Whew. That was the only close call excitement for the day. I'd just like to say if there was no downhills, I wouldn't have passed anyone. That where I reeled the riders in. Oh yeah, I also didn't finish on the right side of the finish like. There were some people standing in front of the WS trailer so I thought the finish was on the leftside, whoops. My time was 7:39 I think. I was so tired I didn't care. Big Thanks to the WS, they did a great job. Tim (from Switchback) thanks for the encouragement. Hugh cheered from Beeks, nice surprise and seeing Ann and Jordan at the finish line was relief to know it's over baby!

    Kudos to all the riders out there. Allison and Steph, you girls are my inspiration to keep pedaling along.

    I'll add photos to this post tomorrow.
     
  15. Pho'dUp

    Pho'dUp Spam Musubi MasherSS

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    RR: It hurt.

    CC for me. I've ridden the course in parts but never linked them up in one big push.

    It was really a trip riding along the Main Divide. As other have said, and shown in a few pictures the views of the floating Santa Ana Mountains in the sea of white clouds was beautiful.

    I had a good time riding and chatting with lots of folks today. I was spinning behind Lukeweins on Blackstar, he really meant it when he said he was gonna pick it up after the first hour. We hit the Main Divide and I never saw him again.

    Klutter, man, I'm still laughing that you said "I think this is the last climb to Motorway.." when we passed Eagle Road. Well it wasn't. Not by a long shot. BUt dood! Yout get the spirit award for rockin' that cross bike. Glad that spill on UHJ wasn't too nasty.

    Dubjay, you were really strong up Maple. Goodjob man, that 29er FS treated you pretty nice today huh?

    Sprockethead, haha, you were pretty funny at Aid#1. You passed a ton of folks on Silverado trail! Nice. And then telling me, dude, it's not too far to go, just to the peak now.

    I was cracking early on the pavement up Maple Springs. The Perpeteum wasn't doing it for me and it had been chewing up my stomach all morning. I ate a baked potato, and then started slamming GU's instead. I just felt like I had no energy and that the pavement would just never end. Even Mr. T didn't help at all. In my total wigged out state, I managed to drop my sunglasses here too. I cruised back aways to look for them. Nada. Oh well. Let me know if anyone found any Prescription Lens BlackFlys.

    JasonMason, VQ again next year man. You can do it. Good seeing you on Maple today. You definitely looked like you were having a good time enjoying the good weather.

    Keith B. Dude superfast. You should break your arm every year. I kid. Excellent job.

    Jose. I'm Ssinglespeeding the Coup next year for you man!

    What I learned today. This "event" is hard. And not just the course. The early start messes you up. You're not used to working that early. My stomach wasn't used to working that early. Mentally tough too. Though it seemed I was riding with lots of folks. I rode most of maple and all of the long trek from 4 corners to the peak by myself. The whole time on the edge of cramping with tight hamstrings just grinding out that freaking climb.

    All and all I had a good day. Finished 6:49 which is where I thought I would. I hope somebody got a shot of the truck that cut in front of me blocking the timing gate at the finish. Nice. Otherwise, No flats, no mechnicals, no crashes. Lost some sunglasses, but picked a pair of supersweet Specialized Roval Wheels at the raffle!

    Thanks the Warriors for putting on a great event. Heather and Andy for being super supportive at Aid Station #1. Nice to meeting Hugh. Thanks for cheering man. OMR for the kind words at Silverado Trail. Jordan, you rock for coming out and working and taking pics all day. Hope to see you out there next year, riding.

    Props to the VQ'ers. You guys are nuts. Amazing. But you're still crazy Animals.
     
  16. duke777

    duke777 Active Member

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    WOW you guys rock!

    Maybe just maybe I'll graduate from fully loop one day.
     
  17. tbowren

    tbowren New Member

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    I wanted to share my CC story with everyone as it's kinda funny. I must say though that after seeing everyone's times, I feel a bit embarrassed. I train pretty hard and take it pretty serious, but for the 2nd year in a row I could not make the VQ cutoff (I got smart this year and only signed up for CC). I am in awe of the caliber of athlete's on this forum.

    Being that I am still in weekly physical therapy for my broken shoulder, my goal this year was to be safe. I brought elbow pads and decided to wear them for every major downhill section.

    The day started wet. I hate the wet. My glasses kept fogging up and I couldn't see where I was going. I finally decided to take them off because slightly blurry trails are better than smuggy, foggy, blurry trails. This worked fine while climbing but going down motorway was not fun. Luckily I survived with only a few scares. Fear gripped me with every press of the brake lever, and every sharp turn.

    Last year I made it to the Peak by noon, and this year I was able to reach it by 11:30. I was dying by the time I got there, and only sheer force of will was keeping those cranks turning. Unfortunately I was not looking forward to what was coming next.

    Upper Holy Jim is my nemesis. When I ride that trail, all I see is about 20 different places that will send me back to the hospital. Usually I get better and better every time I ride a trail, so I did that trail about 3 times in training rides. I am sad to report that I suck as much A$$ on that trail today as I did the first time riding it last year. I don't know how you people can ride and enjoy that trail. Fear is sprinkled all over that trail.

    Lower Holy Jim is where things got funny. I come across a woman trying to fix her flat tire. She asks me for help and says she has never done this, and doesn't even know how to put her wheel back on her bike. Since I'm obviously not breaking any land speed records today I stop and help her. When I get to Trabuco, she comes flying past me like I'm standing still. I'm thinking to myself "No way am I going to get beat by someone who's tire I just fixed!" So the chase in ON. I am in almost my top gear going as fast as I can to keep up with this woman. She may not be able to change a tire but she can haul A$$ down Trabuco. Were catching air from the dips in the road, and blasting through the water crossings a top speed.. All fears of falling went out the window. I didn't think about the hospital, my shoulder, or how tired I was, I just pedaled as hard as I could. Fear was gone, the only things that existed in the universe was HER, ME, and the road. It was one of the most exhilarating times I've ever had on the bike. She stopped when an ambulance passed us, but I kept going. I dropped the hammer and never looked back.

    If I could ever learn to ride Motorway and Upper Holy Jim without such choking fear I'm sure I could enjoy them as well. At least I walked away unhurt, and with a wonderful memory free of fear.

    Oh yeah, 7:31 was the final time. Last years failed VQ attempt was 7:44 so thats progress.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 1, 2008
  18. sdyeti

    sdyeti New Member

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    I think that the woman you helped was Vickie....

     
  19. tbowren

    tbowren New Member

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    Vickie knows how to ride a bike fast!
     
  20. Jordansrealm

    Jordansrealm New Member

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    I had to post this one of Justin coming in to the finish... pure pleasure or pure pain... the choice is yours :) This image truly says "and I'm spent".

    [​IMG]
     

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