I entered the CC and then had to pull out after my ATV accident and finding out my wife had to have surgery on Feb 20th. I was at a place mentally where I had no desire to enter next year. Everyone I talked to about it assumed I was super Gung-Ho for a second chance in '09. For whatever reason I wasn't. I had no interest what so ever. And d@mn it if all these RR's and pics aren't stoking the fire. After loosing 57 lbs awhile ago, I got lazy and put about 20 lbs on over the last year. I got pissed at myself and started going back to the gym and back to eating right. 10 days in and I've already lost 4 lbs. '08 will be my year of not slouching off on my fitness. So, we'll see what sort of shape I'm in at the end of Summer, and thanks to you all, I'm seriously considering the CC next year.:beer:
Are there any pictures of the ghost's at Beeks or is it true that they don't show up on camera? :clap:
I guess my day really started Friday night. We decided to stay locally in Lake Forest at a hotel so we wouldn't have to worry about the highway's being closed (74 every night, and 91 off/on). We tried to hit the hay around 9:30 or so, and I slept off an on until the alarm went off at 3:20 am. Got up, made a bowl of instant oatmeal and ate before getting ready. I think we left pretty early, just after 4 or something. It was misting/drizzling on the drive over to Blackstar. What? Rain? This was something I hadn't planned on. Wardrobe selection was hard for me, since I knew I wouldn't be able to stop to shed or add layers. I didn't feel like changing my plan at this point, so I just went off with my thinner wool Path socks, Sidi's, Specialized winter knickers (fleeced lined in the front, but not the back), Woolies s/s base layer, wool Pearl Izumi arm awrmers, and Path jersey. Nothing on my head. I felt pretty wet to start out, just riding around. The temps weren't cold, per se, but it wasn't as warm as last year, I don't think. It was really dark. My commuter light wasn't that great, so I thought I'd try to ride behind Steph since hers was a little brighter and I could just follow her lines. Once the gate was opened, and after the "false" start, we were rolling. Steph and Dan took off like bats out of hell. Justin and I tried to stick together, using our voices to follow. My light was hurting, so when someone with a bright light was nearby I fell in behind them and just followed their lines. I couldn't see anything at all. I almost went down over some mud ruts that I didn't see, but carried on and was fine. I was happy once we got past the gravel since I'd made it without being crashed into! To be honest, I didn't even notice any jostling or pushing at all. Got to the first dirt switchback and saw that we had caught up to Steph. Justin had been on my case about them "gapping" us. So, I was glad we weren't too far behind. As it happened I caught up to Steph and since I know she climbs pretty fast on fire roads, especially early on in rides, I figured I'd fall in behind her and try to hold her wheel. Unfortunately i was climbing in my middle ring on the 29er and she was shifting around looking for a good gear, so since I was going a little faster I went around her. Madre and Padre passed shortly after. I felt like I was making good time up Blackstar, but since it was dark I couldn't see my Edge. Shortly after I noticed the guy in front of me struggle around a rut so I tried to be cautious and wound up stuffing my front tire and endoing pretty good. My left knee hurt a little, but I jumped up and got ready to get back on the bike. Justin said to grab my Edge, which had fallen off. Er, no, the mount broke. #-o I was really angry. I was going to use it to judge my progress and keep track of different "laps" so I could see how I did. I shoved it in my jersey pocket (not the best place for it) and kept going. We got to Beek's in 1:03 (Justin had a watch on). I felt great about that, and we high-5'd since I was 7 minutes ahead of my schedule. I thought I did all right on the first part of Main Divide on the steeps, but as time went on I was getting passed, felt timid on the steep descents since I could barely see, and the steep climbs became more and more taxing on my back and legs. Justin kept telling me to climb faster, but I was going as hard as I could, and was in a ton of pain. I finally reached the top of Motorway, and got really frustrated with Justin for telling me I was going too slowly and to keep moving. I had to get two Sport Legs and two Ibuprofen before heading down. Steph had just caught us. I tried going around a few riders to keep up with Justin and because I thought I might descend a little faster. Two riders pulled over for us. Another few were stopped around turns, and we passed Rachel on one of the steep portions as she was stopped. Made it down to the first fence and had two volunteers light my bike over. I lifted it over the second. Saw Andy taking a few photos, smiled, and continued on. Justin grabbed two orange slices for me. He said it was 8:10, so we were now 15 minutes behind schedule. I knew I had to motor up Maple Springs. I climbed in the middle ring as much as I could. He handed me one of the best testing orange slices EVER. I was hurting. I didn't have any Perpetuem, so the entire morning I'd only had two sips from his bottle, and the small bar we were given in our packets, in 3 hours. I think I was starting to bonk. I felt lightheaded, dizzy.. anytime I was pushing hard I thought I was going to pass out. We pressed on. He started getting cramp twinges. Finally we hit dirt. I went between spinning and mashing where I could. My back had finally stopped hurting, but during a stretch I tweaked my neck. I was tried of sitting on the saddle. Basically I was really down. I figured we wouldn't the last cut off, and kind of resolved myself to just continuing to push as hard as I could, so at least I couldn't say I left anything on the trail and could've gone faster. It hurt. I fell while climbing. I guess a moment of relapse in concentration? There was nothing on the fire road. I just toppled over. More of Justin telling me I wasn't going fast enough. At one point he said it was 9:15 and that we were almost to 4 Corners and had made up time! Unfortunately we were much further from 4 corners than I thought (but I did speed up a little until I realized how far away we were), but we probably made it about 10 minutes after my time table, so I had gained a little time. I also decided to grab a bar and try to eat it while climbing. I managed to finish about 3/4 of it before 4 Corners, and I think I felt a lot better after eating it. Didn't even stop at 4 Corners. I rode a lot more up to the first set of antenna's than I did last year, and it was a lot earlier in the day. I took two of Justin's Endurolytes. Stopped for my first nature break there as well. The switchbacks up to the peak weren't nearly as bad as I remembered, but we did have a bit of a headwind up there. Once we turned the last corner I was breathing a sigh of relief. Some descending at last. I had no idea what time it was, but Justin said we were on the cusp and had to keep moving. Down UHJ we went... I almost crashed and went off the side at one point, and my brakes were seriously fading. It was tough. I struggled. Lots of pain, lots of fatigue. I put my seat down, and aside from the switchbacks, rode the rest of the trail. Put my seat back up at the top of Holy Jim, and off we went. I felt sick and dizzy again up the short little climb, but soon we were descending. I felt pretty good, but almost went off the side once so tried to dial it back. I made most of the switchbacks, and tried to walk where I didn't feel comfortable (didn't want to crash again). I tip toed through the first creek crossing, and another woman just ran through it. Justin said eff it as well and walked through it. So, I figured what the hell I'll just plow through them. Made them a lot faster. Down we went. I was getting soaked, but wasn't particularly cold. Justin almost endo'd after some rocks close to the end, and I saw a flash go off. Hence his look of fear in Hugh's pic I made sure to smile (or attempted to) when I went by. I knew he was going to stop at the aid station, but I figured it was about 11:45-12 so I didn't even stop. Tried to downshift, and then stood up over the small rise and kept trucking. I looked back a few times and didn't see Justin. I tried to figure out what time it was. They hadn't said anything at the aid station that the cutoff was getting close, but I figured it was. Pua passed me going the other way, so I tried to figure out when she had finished last year... I got to the singletrack and worried about where Justin was, but I thought if I was close to the cut off I should just continue. Then I worried that I would make it and he wouldn't. I stopped and yelled his name a few times...nothing. I know that the fast guys coming are racing for time, but not one of them yielded. One guy hit my bars with his and slammed into my shoulder. He did stop to ask if I was okay, but if the people descending could wait just a second or two for those of us climbing that do have the right of the way it would be nice Anytime I wasn't on the bike I had no problems yielding, but at that point I had no idea what time it was, and truly felt I was fighting for the cut off. At any rate... Then finally he popped out of the bushes. He said he had OJ, so I stopped and down some of the best OJ I'd *ever* had. It was a godsend. Sooo good. We kept going. He said it was 11:40 and we were halfway to the cut off up Trabuco. OMG! I was fairly ecstatic, since I knew if I kept moving I'd make it. I came around the corner to the trail intersection and saw the Warrior's Society member standing there. I literally broke down in tears of joy. I couldn't help it. It was amazing. Justin said I could finally stop and take a break, so we sat down on the log beside the trail. I had two Clif Bloks and half a bag of Sport Beans. I heard Steph coming around the corner, so took a photo of her as well. We hugged and were all very happy to have made it this far. Up we started on the hike. I actually felt like it was my best time up WHT. I plodded slowly along, with Justin right behind me the whole way. Steph and Ernie walked a bit behind us, and Wrecker wound up catching us as well. We stopped at the burger stand. I had some of whatever chocolate bar they had (next time bring REAL chocolate :lol), and a fig newton. Had to grab some water since I couldn't swallow. Had half a small tangerine thing... then had one of the volunteers helped me get some mustard on my finger since I knew there was still climbing to come. Off we went. I stopped for my second nature break about a mile or so before Trabuco, and that's where Steph caught us. She led the way down Trabuco, since Justin was waiting up for me to ensure I didn't crash and was still moving. Steph waited up at the bottom of Trabuco, and we just pedaled our hearts out. I yelled "GENE!" as we went by him just after Aid Station #2. He pedaled by us and I didn't see him again. It was kinda tough going down the fire road. Lots of water, mud, holes... we all went as fast as we could. Steph started whooping going through every creek crossing. It was somewhat funny. Once we got to the r/c airport it occurred to me that somewhere in the next few miles I had a Guinness waiting for me, so I hopped from one side of the road to the next pedaling as hard as I could. I think I went through the finish line right in front of Justin (he always let me beat him) and I saw Ann and gave her a huge hug and definitely shed a few tears of joy. I was utterly exhausted, spent, and in pain. We took our finish line photo (Justin and I together), got a big hug from Steph, and then started wandering over to my Guinness. We hung out for a few, but Justin reminded me that it was really cold and we were soaked, and he wanted to go get the truck. So, I attempted to ride back to O'Neill. My hip flexors were in so much pain I couldn't pedal. I coasted where I could. We couldn't find the Pow Wow at first, but wound up seeing Impy, Aosty, and Hollywood, and then Ann pointed us the way. Steph and Dan were already eating! Justin and Steph hopped in the first shuttle back to the start and I slowly got food. I remember seeing someone with a Coke and I exclaimed, "They have Coke here!" I was excited. Got a plate of chicken/beans/rice and sat down with a Coke. Thanks to Sam, I think?, for the chair. It felt great to sit down. Unfortunately I could barely get up. I hobbled over to the rest room, and then back. I was shivering. Burner offered me a windbreaker, which was awesome. Then Rut gave me his heavy jacket, and I put on dry socks (they were still wet from my shoes being wet, but felt better than the cold wet socks I'd had on). Justin came back with the truck, and I hopped in. It was like 85 in there and with the seat warmers, I warmed up pretty quick. He finally went and got food. It was great to hang out and see everyone that came out to support us even though they weren't racing. We stuck around for the raffle, where I won a set of Specialized 26" tires. Luckily I can exchange for 29er :bang: We headed home. The rest is kind of history. Got up this morning barely able to move. I've got pains in places I didn't know muscles existed. Even with an Ibuprofen 800 this morning it is painful. I got up and moved around a bunch. Wound up doing laundry, cleaning our bottles, sweeping the garage... It is beautiful out today. Now it's time to head over to grandma and grandpa's and gorge on unhealthy food all day! Thank you once again to the Warrior's Society, and ALL the volunteers. Congrats to everyone who was there to start yesterday, whether you finished or not you did awesome, and we all attempted something that most people never would think of trying in their lives. It's an amazing thing. I'm proudly going to display my # plate with mine CC plate from last year at work. Not sure what to do with my feather. My Coup feather is on my lap by the bed at home... The steeds JUST past the cutoff Wow, what a ride!
Sara, you rock! Thanks and thanks! Reading ride reports like these gets me amped to ride... but in the middle of CC I remember just looking forward to the end of the pain I was feeling. Maybe with some more training I'll be in better condition for VQ next year? Hey MP3, you finished VQ in the top 10 right? Does it still hurt when you're super-human?
Yes I was 4th. I squeezed by 5th near the line (see below). Did it hurt? Yes and no. Usually it does, but this year was strange. At the start I had no legs so I couldn't go hard, so no hurt. When I got my legs I was ramping up the pace gradually (I didn't want to blow up immediately), so no hurt. When I started to get agressive that's when I started have tire issues so I had to be careful. I didn't want a repeat of last year when I lost so much time b/c I gambled, took no tools so I had to turn around and head back to aid #2 after putting a hole in the sidewall. I rode most of WHT so that DID hurt. Once I got back to aid #2 that's when it started to really hurt because I was going all out. Thanks. Sure. Just ask and I'll answer the best I can based on my experience. Anyway, I was hammering after aid #2 when I came around a bend in the road and saw tiny dot of a rider in the distance and I could make out that it was a hammer jersey. I figured there was only one rider that fast that wears a Hammer jersey (Nate W). At that moment I was determined to catch up so I put my head down and started a time trial effort like I do for training. I knew it would be close and I was running out of road so I let out a "ARRRRGGGGG" and pushed harder, I let up for a few seconds when I was about 50 yards behind for a quick breather, then I jumped and held it to the end.
Welcome to the world of volunteering for these events. :beer::clap: We were up at 3:30.....got to Blackstar at 4:30 to unload and set up. Immediately following the start, we began to divide up the provisions for the Aid Station #1 & #2. For me it was a drive up Trabucco Creek Road to the end where I jumped on my bike for the trek up Trabucco to WHT. Was up on WHT until just after 2pm. Rode back down to finish. After all the riders were finished and accounted for.....broke down the finish line and headed back over to ONeil for food, raffle and awards. We then had to clean up and load eveything in the trailers. Got home around 6:30. We still have to do this 2 more times this year. :bang:
Oh crap! Uhm … I’m the idiot. ](*,)I’m really so sorry. I think the 2 guys behind you would have decked me if they weren’t so tired.
Gimme a "D" !! tough day on the bike. Lined up with Endo, Impy, Black Bart and the rest of our LA posse. Felt good most of the way up Blackstar, Beeks, etc. I was using Hammer gel and Perpetuem for fuel and foolishly assumed they would cover me on the electrolytes as well. Not so. Once the cramping started after Maple Springs it was relentless. First its a calf! Now its a thigh! Hey now its a hamstring! Try and guess which muscle will seize next! I spent way too much time doubled over my bars gripping the muscle of the moment in agony. Once I pointed downhill on UHJ I was ok. Made it to the creek, dashed through the water, hammered to Aid 2 only to be told I was DNF'd. ****. C'est la vie. I hung with Hugh for a while and he offered me a lift out to the finish in his truck which I gladly accepted, although looking back now I probably would have been more comfortable on my rigid bike :clap: to all who finished VQ incl. my peeps Endo, aosty, James, etc. Tough-ass ride. And Jeezus, props to Calvin who rode his 'cross bike to the event then RAN the VQ course. Finished, showered and rode home. Still trying to makes sense of that. Pros: beautiful day! did it on my rigid singlespeed great volunteers got spanked on the ass by Donkey Cons: those dreaded 3 letters // thanks for the photos Andy! love ya // Zippo: if you're reading this, nice meeting you at Universal. You gotta do this next year!
More pictures... White chocolate, Alpine Rob, Chipster and Genusmtbkr5 Sherry from Switchback addressing the after ride crowd. The crowd listens as the raffle numbers are called. Carrie wins some tires. Jose aka Shinken wins. Nice wheelset up for grabs. Pho'ed Up wins the Ronal wheelset. Carlton showing the goods. BTW my name is John not Tim Calvin replacing carbs after trail running the VQ. Mark W on the right aka Freewheeler on STR. Jumping for schwag. Jumping for schwag. Top VQ finishers. Top Counting Coup finishers. Top women finishers. Eron holdingup Debbie's special award. Debiie receiving award from Sherry and Eron. Db250f with her special award.
Just photos Justin (Klutter) coming in Jeff (Sailcalifornia) Da Manns Gene Carl (Pho'up) Vickie Got my feather! Rest of the photos: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1271&ppuser=354 BTW, I forgot to give Willie Props, Great job girl! When I saw her after the finish, she looked ready to go home.
CC - a touch under 8 hours (I think) It hurt. Fyi: I was wearing a green helmet and riding a green Dean hardtail. I met a grip of great people during the ride. Thank you for the good times and laughs. Blackstar: Dave (?), a friend of Gene's, was kind enough to pace me going up Blackstar. Nice guy, a pleasure riding with him for a few miles. I was feeling okay once we hit Motorway, so I pushed my pace and wished him well. Did he finish? I also stopped to chat with Jackie and a fellow TA for a brief minute. I later heard that Jackie hadn't been feeling to well leading up to the CC. Did she finish? Motorway, aka 6 bitches imo, was okay. No HAB...legs feeling okay. Naseau, sour stomach, and heartburn at the start of Motorway kept me from eating until about 30 minutes up MS. No big deal. MS - I was lucky to leapfrog with a good group of guys up the climb. Our pace seemed to mirror one another, and in hindsight, kept us honest in that we didn't go too fast or too slow. As a n00b of endurance rides, this was priceless. As for eating, my food up to Santiago Peak included 3 packs of shot bloks, an e-gel, and a salt tab. Mmm, needed calories... Holy Jims - Fun. Pure fun. Trabuco - Ran into TA Karen and her friend (Joy?) taking photos. Cool. Perhaps it was the calories finally hitting me, or the joy of knowing I've finished the CC, but I massively pushed the pace until the finish. Picking off truck after truck after fire engine on the road to the finish was the icing on the cake.
This years CC was pretty close to perfect for me. I’d had 2 good nights sleep prior to race day and woke up feeling great. Wide awake at 4am and ready to go. Sarah had been telling me I don’t eat enough on long rides so this time I had a larger breakfast which I think helped me get up to speed quickly. For the 1st time all my stuff was ready 2 days before the race so I was nice and relaxed – no forgetting of the helmet like last year!8-[ Sarah dropped me off andwished me luck and I found Jake and that deviant Jeff Campbell on the start line. Standing there in the dark was actually pretty cool. The large arc light the Warriors had up on the gate showed all the moisture dropping out of the sky - really atmospheric. Despite all the animated talk and expectation of the start the silent drizzle made it all seem quite serene. The previous two times I’d done Counting Coup I’d started at the back so being near the front was a new experience. Despite what everyone had been saying there was little or no jostling for position and I could see pretty well despite having no light – must be the carrots. Once the climb up the switchbacks started things got pretty spread out and looking down from the last switchback was an awesome sight – a seemingly endless stream of lights snaking down the hillside. I had to stop twice prior to Beeks place to adjust my seat height, I thought I had it dialed in and was annoyed about losing time so soon. Climbing through the mist was pretty surreal but I really liked it, not only did it remind me of home but being able to see only so far ahead made the climbs seem about half their usual gradient to me. I think I got up to Beeks in like 56 or 57 mins which I’m sure I’ve never done before. Seeing Sarah in the Scream outfit freaked me out more than a little – it was trippy enough in the mist as it was without thinking your other half has turned into a demon.:lol: I’m sure an mp3 player helps on long rides – I’d picked 10hrs worth of tunes (I couldn’t narrow my musical taste down any further) and they were all very upbeat – I’m sure that’s worth 15mins on its own. The music somehow helps take your mind off the ‘SOS’ and ‘abandon ship’ messages coming from the legs. (As a side note here I think in races you have an obligation to keep checking behind you if you’re on singletrack or make a swerve across the fireroad whilst mp3-ing it – I know a lot don’t but hey you check your mirror while you’re driving don’t you?) Had fun chatting with Troy (ThinkFast) for 15mins as we headed up to Peasants Peak, it was an awesome sight coming out of the low cloud into brilliant sunlight and then looking down on all the hills partially shrouded in mist. I’ll remember that for some time I’m sure. Main divide seemed to pass really quickly and I felt pretty good. Had one near miss on a fast downhill bit that I always mess up. Went too fast, got onto the pebbles at the edge and ended up going up the bank like a wall of death! Went through a bush and the saddle smacked me in the stomach as I was so far behind it – don’t know how I stayed on the thing but the Epic saved my ass. It was only the 3rd time I’d ridden the bike but already it felt like a familiar friend. Sections of the main divide where you rounded a corner on a descent and entered a wall of fog were intimidating – on the one hand scary and yet somehow fun. Motorway was a blast. I’m not the fastest person downhill normally but every time I’ve done the CC my usual concerns go out of the window. I passed 5 or 6 people and had a lot of fun. Getting over the metal bars at the end was a little sketchy – As I stepped over the first one I felt a twinge of cramp – my usual Achilles heal. Surely not yet?! I’d downed a ton of Endurolytes already. Hmmmmm. Good to hear Andy give me a shout out at Aid #1 – cruised through and slowly started the Maple climb. No idea on the timing of the rest of the route – in fact I think it’s a good idea not to take any form of timing. You’re fast in some sections and slow in others and your energy comes and goes so why beat yourself up about being up or down on a schedule? Do your best when your body says it can handle it. I wondered if there had been some unknown detour because for most of the Maple paved climb I could see no one in front of me and no one behind me. A giant squirrel appeared at one point and I wondered whether Sarah had spiked my Cytomax with something – I’m sure it was just my state of mind but this thing had been snacking on more than nuts. Lots of trash on the trails so clearly the fast people at the front don’t really care about discarding litter – crappy attitude and not excusable even if you are racing tooth and nail with someone else. Got onto the dirt section of Maple and popped more Endurolytes but dropped one on the floor. Considered stopping and getting it and in hindsight I wish I had. I could see some Team Geoladders riders up ahead and gradually reeled the first one in. I hadn’t seen Mike for some time so chatted for a while whilst the feeling came back to my butt. Passed the next Geo-rider – David. He never said a word but would later repass on UHJ. As I got nearer 4 corners the slight cramp had gone - Just incase I sank the last of my Endurolytes and supped back a ton more Cytomax (I never want to taste this stuff again – I’m sure it was responsible for my stomach pains). Heading up to Modjeska there were 4 or 5 guys all jostling to pass one another through the rocky section. I passed some of them and stayed ahead on the slight descent before the final climb starts. Just when I thought I was feeling strong (constant supping of Gu rather than my usual one per hour did wonders for me) the cramp came back with a vengeance, my right leg locked solid and even trying to turn the pedals slowly was excruciating – I had to drop to the granny ring and lowest gear. One of the other Geo-riders I’d just passed (Craig - ‘Koke’) came back past which kind of bummed me out as Mike had told me most of the Geo gang were riding CC this year. I slowly increased my cadence and gear and reeled Koke back in and caught him right at the peak. One of the other riders that had passed me after the cramp had stopped to drop his saddle so it felt good to get that place back. Craig pulled out a hundred yards or so on me on the fireroad descent to UHJ but I caught him really quickly on the singletrack. He knew I was behind him so I shouted to him that we should both be careful as we don’t want any more metal work in our bodies (Craig had a Ti plate and a lot of screws put in his shoulder at pretty much the same time I had the plates put in my arm last summer). At that very moment my shorts get caught on the front of the long-nosed Silverado Saddle so all my weight is on the front of the bike and I nearly go OTB over some rocks – 2 more seconds later and as we both reach the hairpin bend Craig falls to his left seeming to land on his metallic shoulder. OMG. He got up and I asked if he was OK, he should check his shoulder. He said it felt OK. He looked at his wrist and said it hurt. Looking a bit shaken he told me to go. I think I jinxed us both with my comment about the breaking bones. Sorry Craig! You’re a true trooper for riding out and finishing! My legs had now cried enough and were badly cramping in the calves, hamstrings, quads and that little bit on the outside of the knee. Somehow I fought through the cramp and rode the slope at the start of lower HJ but it wouldn’t go away. I got off the bike but couldn’t stand up properly. My legs were locked straight in agony, tip toes wouldn’t go flat onto the floor and I stood there screaming in pain. In frustration I began massaging my legs, which seemed to have no effect so I began punching them as hard as I could. One of the guys who’d lowered his saddle at the peak came by and gave me a very strange look as I stood there beating myself, erm yeah. I noticed Craig didn’t come by and I’d been stood there for a good few minutes – clearly he wasn’t OK. I got back on and ripped down HJ – all the hikers seemed to part as though as I was Moses and they were liquid. Went passed some guy in a black jersey who looked REALLY messed up. His right eye was almost closed like he was in a Rocky movie or something. I asked if he was OK and he just looked at me then stared off into the distance. Back to chasing down the guy with the lowered saddle. Caught him up before the Switchbacks and pulled out a fair distance. I ran through all the water crossings and that turned out to be great for my cramp - oh and it felt sooooo good, all that cold water - not that I'm dehydrated today and craving water or anything. From then on I pedaled like a lunatic (or lunar chic if you want to dis me) I kept glancing behind me on Trabuco Creek road expecting to see the guy in yellow and Koke but thankfully I had the road all to myself. I was amazed to see that not only had I beaten my previous best time from last year (when I think I was in better shape) but I’d finished 10th. I like the length of the CC and my main motivation was trying to beat my last years time (6hrs 15mins) but I have to say right there in the moment I loved the competition aspect just as much as the personal challenge. Having almost 12weeks off proper biking last summer really took it out of me and I wasn’t sure I’d get really fit again, the fear of ending up with more metal bits in me had held me back but after realizing I could throw all those fears aside yesterday I think I’m well and truly getting over it. As the icing on the cake I won a prize in the raffle, I found a bike someone was throwing away when I got home and everything seemed to go my way. I’ll 'probably' be back for more next year Last night: Closed my eyes to sleep but every time they closed all I could ‘see’ was trail moving by and singletrack. OMG – I’ve gone to bike insanity land. Today: Butt feels like it’s been beaten with a baseball bat, legs don’t want to straighten out. Feels like Kathy Bates has done a Misery and hobbled me when I try to walk and I’m having trouble thinking because I’m so tired. I still got up and went for an hours ride with Sarah this morning though #-o Thanks to: Troy, Mike, Koke - get well soon man, Jake and of course Sarah for her support, training rides and believing in me when I was going to ditch my entry. Christ – long rambling post!
No real pictures from yesterdays ride but here's the bike before and after the ride and Andy giving a nod to God after doing an awesome time with zero training :bang:
Somebody remind me to introduce myself/chat with more folks next year. I am a bit brain dead at the end of these things. I am nice guy and usually pretty talkative / inquisitive, and like hear peoples stories... I saw so many of the people in these picture ...I'm bringing a camera next year...so I can put names to faces, and remind myself to enjoy the moment more, I can be a bit too focused. Funny this thing / energy can be contagious. My friend who made through the CC (she may have been last) said it was really nice to have her son be at the finish line. He has probably MTBike maybe 4 times, is starting to love it, and he already been up to pleasant peak. (Although we had to teach him some pacing, the 2nd time he puked because he went so hard, we/he laughed he's a cross country runner...) Now he says he wants to do it next year. That would be cool, he could be a natural.
I rode CC this year. 52 minutes to Beeks, 1:51 to top of Motorway, 2:05 to bottom of Motorway. Felt fine with my pace from start of race to end of pavement on Maple Springs and then started to fade more and more to 4 corners. On the final climb to Santiago Peak Keith caught me and was like "What's up Koke". I thought to myself "Didn't Keith say on STR his goal was for a sub 6 hour CC? What's he doing up here on pace for a sub 5 hour CC?" Then it looked like he was having some shifting problems because he was slowing and looking down but as I was next to him he said "I'm cramping up". We had about another 1.5 miles of climbing to the peak and I turned up the juice but Keith was right there with me when crested the top. We both blew the sharp right hand fireroad turn and I got to Upper Holy Jim just ahead of him but he quickly was right on my wheel on the singletrack. I started to think about how I would have to really put the hammer down on Trabuco Creek Road to see if I could finish ahead of Keith cause he was riding so strong. As we hit the first left hand switchback with rocks I jumped off and said "I'm walking the left handers" and Keith said "We don't need anymore broken bits". Then one of my team mates flew by us like we were standing still and that got me pumped so I charged into the next left hand rocky swithback and crashed. Keith asked if I was OK and I felt my collarbone was fine but when I got back on my bike and put some weight on my wrist I knew it was broken. I walked down the rest of Upper Holy Jim and Lower Holy Jim with my bike in my right hand and elevating my left to keep the swelling down. It was a long walk! At the trailhead at the bottom of Holy Jim I rode one handed to the finish. 7 hour finish time. Went to the ER this morning and found out both bones in my forearm had fractures at the wrist. Nice job to Keith and everybody else!
Sorry to hear about the break......great that you still finished.....many did not. :clap: Check with Doug Andrews, he has a special award for you. :clap:
Yikes! Sorry to hear about your wrist...but you made it to the end...way to go!! Why did you wait until the morning to go to the ER?
what a day for all many of you. sitting here reading what I missed makes me a wee bit upset for backing out and transferring over to the Traverse. Lots of camaraderie, support, smiles, and fun, and pain...of course. You all deserve a day (or 5) of rest....enjoy and CONGRATS! :clap::clap::clap::clap: see ya at the Traverse!
