2009 VQ/CC (vision quest/counting coupe) - Ride Reports - pics

Discussion in 'Racing and Training' started by aukmal, Mar 7, 2009.

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  1. Padre

    Padre New Member

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    I wasn't questioning his ability, I was questioning that the only way to buy a digital image is to buy a tiny 640 size jpeg. What's the point of buying it?
     
  2. Zippo

    Zippo Pow Wow!

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    I ordered a digital file from Jason. He just sent it to me tonight. 640 x 960, document size 8.9 x 13.3, resolution 72. Not the highest resolution, but it will still print. I resampled mine to 5"x7" 300dpi and the print looks good.

    We should be stoked, he dragged his gear up there and decided to share his time and photographic eye with us. Thanks Jason!
     
  3. solo_rider

    solo_rider New Member

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    Does anyone know where the finishing photos are, or if they are online yet? Thanks
     
  4. genusmtbkr5

    genusmtbkr5 STR Moderator

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    They will be in the Warriors Society news letter next week when the write up on the event comes out. There will be a link for the portraits after the writeup. Like in the 2008: http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/writeup_powwow2008.html

    When it comes out, I'm sure someone will post a link on here as well.
     
  5. Kid A

    Kid A now with 40% more bacon

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    Congrats again to all who trained/raced as well as WS for putting on and vols who made it happen.

    was surprised to see so many DNS. I'm guessing at least 50+ between the 2 races, err events.

    I fully understand that peeps get injured/sick/life happens but seems like a fairly large count. Per preio post on the board it sounded as if a bunch of people were not able to particapte because limited spacing.

    How is this handled. Are the DNS truly no shows that until check in were expected to race or were their plates given to others to join in ahead.

    Honestly not poking holes, really just very curious.:-k
     
  6. Abui

    Abui Active Member

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    All plate numbers in the list are unique so the numbers of the DNS were not given to others.
     
  7. genusmtbkr5

    genusmtbkr5 STR Moderator

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    Yup, they are no shows. Once you go through to the start area, your number get "checked in", those who do not check in to the start area will receive a DNS(Did Not Start). This year was relatively high compared to last years number of DNS
    . The WS refunded and transferred as many entries last year, so many spots were filled up to the last day before the race. This year the "no refund" policy plus a cutoff date 2 weeks prior on transfers caused the number of DNS.

    It was a hassle to do the transfers last min as in 2008 and still this year even 2 weeks prior to Mar 7. No easy solution.
     
  8. MTBMaven

    MTBMaven This is Shangri La

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    Thanks to the WS for all the hard work transferring registrations! My buddy was able to ride the CC because of it and another buddy was able to transfer his registration after not being able to do the event.
     
  9. Abui

    Abui Active Member

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    Letting the PC do the work...

    STR results from numbers submitted to Post Your VQ or CC numbers. If anyone wants their DN? to show or to add their result PM me.

    The thumbnails keep shrinking so all updates will be on the web -> Here
     

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  10. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    One thing I noticed...I finished with virtually the same time as last year but finished 20 places lower...hmmmm ;)

    Damned faster riders ! :)
     
  11. Trizz

    Trizz The In Crowd

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    Jbh65 me and that guy were sprinting for the finish, but I had no gas left and the hard tail was kicking my ars on that road every bump just killed my speed.
     
  12. Abui

    Abui Active Member

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    It's still a local event

    I see that all finishers are from California except for one "blank" entry. :-k
     
  13. Rawhead

    Rawhead Member

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    This was my first time ever doing the Counting Coup. I gotta say, I had a blast!! I have never ridden the section between 4 Corners and the cut-off down Lower Holy Jim so I was a bit concerned about what to expect. I took my time and paced myself up to 4 Corners.

    Once I reached the top of Santiago and descended down the back side, I reached the first section of snow. Feeling confident, I carried speed and decided to try to ride the line in the snow... BAD IDEA. I have never crashed so hard. I landed on my left side with my thigh taking all the impact. Dazed, I tried to gather my gear that scattered across the trail. Limping and trying to catch my breath, Carl rode by and paused to check on me. I told him I was ok (at this point I didn't even realize I had lost my glasses and my vision was blurred). Thanks for checking on me Carl. After several minutes of gathering my stuff and myself I downed a few ibuprofen and rode on. My left thigh was in pretty poor shape, sore and cramped. I managed to nurse it the remainder of the way.. thankfully it was mostly down hill or flat. I'm happy to have finished!

    #301
    Finished 66th with a time of 6:32:25

    Thanks a ton to the Warrior Society for putting on such a great event!
     
  14. mauric6943

    mauric6943 Member

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    Hey Trizz, did you come in just under 9hrs? If so, it might have been stacy and I you were dueling with. There was a guy in a sho-Air kit right in front of you. We were on one side of the trabuco road and you were on the other.
     
  15. genusmtbkr5

    genusmtbkr5 STR Moderator

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    No, Troy came in around 6:36. He did the CC. Good seeing you and Stacy out there. Great job on your finishes.
     
  16. Trizz

    Trizz The In Crowd

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    No I was 6:36, but that road killed me
     
  17. tomcat7

    tomcat7 Member

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    more? why not.

    :clap:Thanks to STR and all its members.:clap:
     

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  18. dubjay

    dubjay Having upgraditis is OK

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    tomcat7 - thanks for the pics. Judging by the pictures you took, it looks like you were hanging out at the finish line for at least a couple of hours. Thanks for waiting for me after the 9 hour mark :)
     
  19. jasonmason

    jasonmason inebriate savant

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    153rd! Sweet...though I placed 7th out of rigid singlespeeders, and that sounds a whole lot better!

    Next year, sub 8:30. On the singlespeed, of course. Rigid...ah, no.
     
  20. OTB_again

    OTB_again Hophead

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    My CC pics & memories

    Well, it's taken me WAY too long to get around to posting. But if nothing else, I'll be able to refer to this thread later for a reminder of what was a GREAT day.

    This was my first CC, and while I was fairly confident with my training, I still hadn't ridden the entire 44 miles contiguously. My training partner, Jay aka jbh65, and I had ridden it in segments but I was still a bit anxious about stringing the whole thing together. I truly went into the event with no time goals, just a desire to ride strong, feel good, and try to get as much enjoyment out of the event as possible.

    Jay has an awesome wife who graciously got up early and dropped us near the start at 5am. Blackstar was already getting busy with cars parking on both sides of the road, and riders suiting up and getting ready for the challenge that awaited.

    Jay prepares for a long day in the saddle
    [​IMG]

    We had a few minutes to spare before the start. As many riders have already stated, it was very cold as we stood around. I knew that as soon as the climbing started, I would warm up quickly, so I opted to skip the jacket and went with a short sleeve jersey with arm and leg warmers. I was glad I did, as I saw many riders on the way up Blackstar pulling over to shed layers.

    The check-in trailer at the start
    [​IMG]

    Major props to the WS for having a few porta-potties at the start. You saved Jay's life. After saying hello to a few friends, we lined up as a drum was beating rhythmically in the background. It sounded cool and added to anticipation of what was to come. Chris Vargas took the megaphone and made some opening remarks.

    Dave aka Hannibal and Keith aka kparsons are ready
    [​IMG]

    Jay is ready in his blinged-out Salsa jersey, I went for the basic look
    [​IMG]

    Gene had his game face on
    [​IMG]

    Andy aka rut was hilarious, bellowing out "Start the race already, Chris!" It served to break my tension a bit as the gate was finally opened and the riders made our way thru - finally we were pedaling!

    Andy has the eye of the tiger, Debbie aka db250f is relaxed and ready [​IMG]

    My plan was to take lots of pictures on the course throughout the day, and post a blow-by-blow RR of the entire race/ride. However, I quickly decided against stopping to take pictures, once I warmed up and found my cadence. Other factors like finding and keeping a slot in which to ride, passing and being passed, and just plain concentrating on riding really distracted me from taking more shots. I was surprised how many riders I passed who were dealing with mechanicals, from a broken chain to several flats. I had converted to tubeless earlier in the week and was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with any flats.

    Jay made it to Beeks just ahead of me, somewhere around 1:04. We didn't push it at all. I was happy with that time, and we stopped for a couple of minutes to take in some calories. But I was eager to attack Main Divide, as riders were streaming past us and my competitive juices were kicking in just a bit.

    I felt pretty good on MD and found a comfortable pace. It was still pretty cold and my toes were numb, despite my toe warmers. Before I knew it, I looked up and the Motorway gate was right in front of me. That gave me quite a boost because I knew that we had just completed one of the toughest stretches of climbing (at least for me) on the course.

    As I hopped the Motorway gate, I looked back and saw Jay pulling up right behind me. Good. Our plan was to ride together, at least until UHJ, and be able to pick each other up if the other was suffering or had any issues. We were going right according to plan.

    The Motorway descent was a blast, and I was able to pass a few riders. It was fun railing past a couple of photographers, one of which I later realized was Eric Foltz. Thanks Eric!

    I was pretty stoked to reach Aid Station #1 feeling good.

    The scene at Aid Station #1.
    [​IMG]

    Jay completes Motorway in a personal best time
    [​IMG]

    The volunteers at the aid station were great - I got help refilling my Camelbak, split a Payday with Jay, downed a couple of Hammer gels, and even took a couple of swigs of pickle juice. I wanted to nip any cramping in the bud.

    It was somewhat of a scene here - a 4x4er almost ran someone's bike over in the road, and a loose dog ran in front of a rider who was pulling out, almost causing a crash. I saw kparsons and Larry here, said hello, and we were off again.

    Spectators cheer on riders leaving Aid Station #1
    [​IMG]

    My strategy from the get-go was to ride a moderate pace from the start at Blackstar to the end of the MS pavement, and then, depending on how I felt, up the ante a little bit. I knew all the climbs after the pavement, and felt that I could run a decent middle ring combo, 2x2 or 2x3, most of the way to the Peak.

    I was stoked to feel really good on the MS pavement and rode the entire 3 miles in 2x2. At one point, I looked back, saw Sanjay coming up behind, and chatted with him for a few minutes. I remembered his RR from a couple of weeks ago and figured he was headed up to do Joplin again. Nope, he said, he was riding the entire VQ course! (Great RR by the way, Sanjay!) He pulled ahead for quite awhile, but I would catch him and pass before the dirt. I was feeling strong and getting pretty stoked that the worst of the climbing was almost behind me.

    Once I hit the dirt, there weren't many other riders around. I passed some, got smoked by a couple of fast ladies from Troupe Racing, and soon I saw Gene up ahead. I knew this wasn't good, as Gene is a fast and fit rider, and had really put a lot into his training and preparation. He said his knees were hurting and he was cramping. I gave him some of my pickle juice and we took off. I was glad to find out later that the pickle juice worked, because I also had several mustard packets but forgot to give him some. Sorry Gene, but glad to hear you didn't need it. Maybe rub some mustard on the knees next time? :lol: My calves twinged a bit when I was off the bike, and I decided at that time that I wouldn't stop again. I was afraid of cramping and didn't want to go there. I had mentioned to Jay as we left Aid Station #1 that I was feeling pretty good and might try to step on it. I felt bad about deviating from our plan to stay together but when I felt the calf twinges, I knew I had to keep my pace and cadence and just keep moving. I hoped that he was feeling good and not suffering from cramps. Plus I figured he'd catch me anyway.

    When I reached 4 Corners, I kept going but knew I needed calories. I spent the entire climb to Modjeska trying to work margarita flavored Shot Blox out of the package, one by one. It actually distracted me from the monotony of the climb and kept me busy. Around this time, I also started paying attention to the time, and started thinking that if I stepped on the gas, the 6 hour mark might be within my reach.

    I kept a good pace all the way to the Peak and was still feeling good when I made the left and started to head down toward UHJ. I stopped briefly to try to call my wife - she and my daughter were coming to meet me at the finish, but I thought I was going to beat them there. I figured I'd tell her to leave the house now, but I couldn't get cell reception. What, all those lovely towers at the Peak, and no cell reception?

    At that point I decided to just make the best time I could and get down to the finish. Little did I know, the toughest part of the course (for me) awaited me. A couple of weeks prior, Jay and I had ridden down UHJ/LHJ and gotten some great technical pointers from our friend, Terry Best. I hoped to ride as much of it as possible, but I knew I'd walk a couple of the more consequential sections on UHJ. I started down and walked a couple of the rockier parts. Then I tried to ride some of the stuff I'd cleaned easily a couple of weeks before, and realized that due to fatigue, my reaction time was really off. I was feeling the previous 35 miles and this section kicked my butt. I walked more than I wanted to, and at some point Debbie came by, and was really riding strong. She looked great on the switchbacks and was gone. Then, Randy Butcher came by and we ended up finishing UHJ and started LHJ together. Randy soon pulled away and I was alone again. I looked at the time - it was 11:15am and I knew I couldn't get to the finish in 15 minutes, and that the 6 hour mark would have to wait until next year. I saw Randy again at Aid Station #2 and wished him good luck as I started to hammer out Trabuco Creek Road. OMR was busy assisting riders, and I looked for Chip from the WS but didn't see him.

    At this point, I was pretty stoked knowing I was almost to the finish, and that KeepsWhatHappens and Brenda Gilbert had some liquid refreshment waiting. I was also ready to get off the bike - I was on my hardtail and I felt every bump on crappy Trabuco Creek Road. I knew that I was past 6 hours but hammered in the big ring anyway, trying to finish as fast as I could.

    Once I crossed the finish in 6:14, the first person I saw was Terry Best. The night before, Terry had worked until almost 11pm, tuning my and Jay's bikes. It was great to be congratulated by him, and tell him that the bike had run like a top.

    I was stoked to see Jay cross the finish line right after that, and get a congratulatory hug from Terry.

    Jay, Terry, and I at the finish
    [​IMG]

    Manny was still hanging out and it was great to shake his hand, and congratulate him on the VQ win and for his all career success. I knew Manny when he worked at Supergo in the early 2000's but hadn't seen him in quite a while.

    We had been handed our feathers and then headed over to have our pictures taken by John and enjoy some "hydration" - thanks John and Brenda!

    KeepsWhatHappens, VQ/CC's intrepid photographer
    [​IMG]

    It feels great to be done
    [​IMG]

    Great job, Jay!
    [​IMG]

    My wife and daughter had arrived right after I crossed the finish line, and it was great to see them! Thanks for the encouragement and support - I love you guys!

    [​IMG]

    In closing, thanks to the Warriors for an incredible event, and thanks to everyone who volunteered and encouraged the participants. It was an unforgettable experience and the entire day was truly a blur. Can't wait for next year!

    And thanks for reading!
     
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