2014 Pow Wow Race Reports

Discussion in 'Racing and Training' started by db.mx, Apr 5, 2014.

  1. db.mx

    db.mx Member

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    Let's hear them guys.

    I'll post more later, but had a blast today. Well, not a blast at the time, but looking back it was a lot of fun, I got to meet Gene on Maple, MTBJay, and Singlespeedrider (I think) on WHT.

    Sorry if this is a duplicate, but I didn't see it on any of the other boards.
     
  2. MnMDan

    MnMDan Member

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    Awesome conditions, spectacular sunrise, looking down on the trail of lights coming up B* while cresting Beeks (and glad I wasn't down there), cramps, sliced tire, crash, hike-a-bike up WHT, and the great finishing vibe (if there's anything that needs to be done to keep this finish spot a part of the pow-wow, let the racers know...its the best yet for both the racers and the supporters), the "wall of noise (after the relative silence of Motorway)" at the 1st aid station is a huge motivator, the camaraderie of all the racers, even on the 2-way sections (call me out publicly if I wasn't polite), and the support of everyone who puts up with all our %^&! during the training and while this event goes on.

    My 1st VQ, 3rd Pow Wow, 6:45(ish)...and I don't even know what place I came in...I do know that I accomplished my goals and PR'd segments both up and down without (hopefully) pissing anyone off and trying to ride the right way.

    Congrats to all who finished, all who tried, special thanks to the Warrior Society and all those who worked hard on the trails, and super-special thanks to everyone who supported the event and its riders.

    I'm going to bed now.
     
  3. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    I normally work these events.....this year was a treat and I got to ride.

    Last time I rode VQ was 2006, and it took me 10:12.

    Goals for this year:

    1. Ride the singlespeed
    2. Beat my other time....which turned out to be beat a buddy's time of 8:00....which turned into another buddy's time of 7:56.
    3. Enjoy the ride
    4. Slow down and don't go out to fast
    5. Beat the WHT Cutoff on the way down.


    So...kept checking the weather reports yesterday to see how it was gonna be out there today. Saw a high of around 65-68 in Silverado later in the day. However knowing that it was always cooler up over the Peak, I ended up dressing appropriately.

    Joined the crowd the front 3rd the gate for the start....said hello to some friends.....and before I knew it....GO!

    I had a plan of 1:05 to Beek's.....felt this would be a good pace and not blow myself up. Got through the gate cleanly and began the Spin, Spin, Coast....Spin, Spin, Coast up the road. Kept telling myself to stick to the plan. By the time we had passed the gate to Edwards Ranch, we were riding at a pretty good pace. Didn't feel like were going all that fast....but was closer to the front of the train, than the back. Really cool sight to look back down the canyon and see the stream of headlights. Chose not to run a light personally, and it wasn't a problem. By Hidden Ranch, the sun had begun to rise and it was getting lighter. Rolled into Beek's and looked at the clock...52 minutes...ooops, guess I got caught up in the mad dash start.

    Continued across MD towards MW.....really uneventful....walked a few of the climbs....but that was in the plan. Reached the top of MW with a goal/plan of 2:15/20 and a goal/plan of 2:30/40 to bottom of MW...again ahead of schedule....1:57. Started down MW and felt great...felt like was making good time. Slower riders were yielding faster riders(when safe to do so). At the turn where all the rock piles are, encountered a long train of riders....and the pace was slow. Looked way up and slow rider was out front. Bells ringing, but no yielding...MW really is hard to ride when you go slow. The slow rider finally moved aside, but we were near the bottom. Reached Aid Station #1 where my wife was waiting for me with my bottle change....time....2:11.....waaayyy ahead of schedule.

    Headed on up MS and was a bit worried that the fast pace was gonna cost me on the way up.....NOPE. PR to end of pavement....felt great on the climb all the way to 4 Corners.....rolled through and continued on towards the Peak....started to get cold after we passed Joplin. Reached the Peak....PR from Motorway to Peak.

    Dropped down towards UHJ.....really surprised at how good condition of the road was. Was kind of in a open spot....no one in front and no one behind.

    Reached UHJ and it looked like I was going to have open trail in front of me.....nope, after the first turn started running into rides....however most were nice and yielded. Did have 1 guy that wouldn't let me by....but I eventually got by when he screwed up a switchback, and I took the inside line. Really Really love UHJ...such a fun trail and the conditions were excellent. Hit the bottom and rode over to LHJ. Scampered down the drop in and got around a couple of guys that all got there at the same time. got out in front of the pack and flew down LHJ...again, slower riders would let me by. Conditions on LHJ were prime.....save for the poison oak. Pushed hard and made it down to Aid Station #2.

    Met up with my wife again....time.....4:46....I knew it takes about 2 hrs to do the back loop. So I suddenly started thinking that a sub 7 hr time was possible. Headed up TCR towards Trabuco Trail. Feeling tired, but still moving forward. Shortly after crossing over the gate.....the wheels came off....suddenly the legs were dead. Fortunately, it was still early enough the leaders were just starting to descend Trabuco Trail....would only see 5-6 of them. Found myself walking alot....ride, walk, ride, walk...walk somemore. Finally reached the split at WHT....time 11:00(cutoff was 12:45). Last time I did VQ I made the WHT cutoff by minutes.

    Started the long torturous slog up WHT...through the gauntlet of PO. Figured on :45 to hike up. Legs were still dead, and the ankle I broke a few years ago, was not happy doing the HAB. Struggled to keep moving forward....eventually I was joined by db.mx and SinglespeedRider. Kept pushing on, counting down the switchbacks. Eventually got to the decomposed granite where you can get back on and ride...nope...legs were still not ready for that. Walked a bit more, then hopped on and rode up to the burger stand at the top. Ate a little and hung out longer than I should have. At this point I knew the sub 7 hr time wasn't going to happen. However I knew what time I had to cross the finish line to beat my buddys' times.

    Slowed rolled up/down/up Main Divide towards Trabuco Trail. Legs were finally no longer dead, but kept getting the twitch for a cramp...that never came. Walked somemore...finished strong up to the top of Trabuco Trail. At this point I had about 1:15 minutes to do a :40 minute ride...dropped into Trabuco Trail and found my flow....wide open trail while under the canopy. Came across a couple of riders in the exposed area, both again yielded. Returned to the WHT split and was 8-9 minutes ahead of the cutoff. More wide open trail all the way down to the gate. Trabuco is so fast when you don't have to worry about waiting for riding buddies.

    Flew through Aid Station #2....at this point was feeling a little nauseous. Really hate TCR.....rough road....head wind. Turned into the Parker's Ranch and manualed across the finish line......

    Time 7:36:37.......turns out I beat another buddy's time....one I didn't think was possible. Total ride time was even better @ 7:10. Good enough for 66th place.

    So out of my goals above, I met some and threw some to the wind.

    Overall I am extremely pleased with my ride......now I don't have to do it again.

    Thanks to my Warrior Family who were out there working the event....and thanks to all the riders who came out and participated.
     
  4. andy aka rut

    andy aka rut Active Member

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    Awesome job out there Jason. You trained hard and it shows! Congrats!!!
     
  5. Fullerton Mike

    Fullerton Mike I LOVE BIKES!

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    Great event again today Seeing Andy at 5.15 was a treat. We had a pretty cold day but nothing that was to hard to deal with. The dirt was nice after the snow melted mid week it made for nice and tacky dirt. Holy Jim was awesome top and bottom. I had a great ride and nailed my goal even after cramping a few time. I look forward to next year and it was awesome to see manny good people at the event. Thanks Warriors.
     
  6. scsc

    scsc Member

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    First VQ for me. Goal was to beat the cut off times and finish. Couldn't sleep, woke up at 2:20, got ready and drove in. Got to Blackstar at 4:30, cool to see all the cars start pulling in while it was pitch black out still. It was chilly at the start, glad I dressed appropriately. Tried to set my normal pace up Blackstar, but beat my PR by a few minutes...agree with mtnbikej, didn't really need a light although I had a small one.

    Got to beeks in good shape and felt really strong on MD. I think the rain last week really helped get rid of the sand from the grading. Got to MW early and had a good run down, just trying not to crash or flat but also moving ...had to slow up for a few riders, most moved over though. I moved over for quite a few as well. Cool vibe for this ride, it felt like everyone was competing against themselves and their limits more than against each other. Got to MS and the first aid station a few minutes earlier than planned, and saw my two young boys and wife which was very cool. My 5 and 3 year old were very fired up for Dad.

    The ride up MS was fine, and did pretty well up to the peak. Upper Holy Jim was in far better shape thanks to the Warriors Society, but I'm still pretty shaky down that trail so I just got out of the way. LHJ to the parking lot was a blast. Got to the 12:00 cutoff ahead of schedule, continued up trabuco and got to the WHT cutoff also about 15 minutes faster than I planned. All was good.

    Then.....WHT. To say I hit a wall would be an understatement. Literally ran out of gas, wheels came off, engine blew up, everything went straight to hell. I had trained on this segment but it turns out it was a bit different after 40 miles and 9000 feet of climbing. 5 steps, rest. 3 steps, rest. I got a lot of encouragement from the hordes of riders who passsed me, things like "come on man, you got this" and "keep pushing"...really helped, and again shows what a cool event this is. I dug down as deep as I could dig, and finished the hike a bike. 45 minutes slower than my slowest time training!

    The rest was gravy and i cruised down to trabuco and to the finish knowing the hard part was over. Finsihed a bit over 9 hours, about an hour slower than I expected but doesn't matter. I made it! It was a great set up at the end and really cool to again see my kids and wife, with my boys in custome!

    All in all a wonderful experience. I really appreciate the work that the Warrior's Society and all the volunteers put into this event. Congrats to all who rode today. See you next year!
     
  7. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    Well my day was bit odd / tough but turned out well...

    My goals ride the SS in the Coup and set a PR..at my new interesting age.

    My left leg started to get really tight the days leading up... stretch .. foam roller... nothing was helping.

    I was hoping to have springy legs this AM but nope... felt heavy, hard and painful pretty much the whole way/day and was pretty sure no PR. (Last time I did it I felt light on my pedals not today)

    BUT... I guess some of the training helped cause I pretty much PR'd all the important sections was very happy with my time to bottom of motorway.

    I did my good deed for the day by spotting a Drivers license on the way up Blackstar grabbed it a gave it to a volunteer at Beeks.

    Rode motorway well picked my way around slower riders, people were generally good about that.

    MS to Peak was a grind... and that is what I did...grind.. and grind... and grind...

    At the peak I started to realize PR was at hand but not *in* hand.

    I will say I rode UHJ today about as well as I every have, cleaned most of it and LHJ was a blast. I ended up riding with a guy that had never ridden LHJ in front of me (we passed lots of folks) and he was good and we were moving. Had another guy behind me that I passed and then started to track us, he said out loud "I feel like I am getting a free lesson" , that was nice to hear. I rode LHJ pretty aggressive got loose a bit once but what they hey!

    Then TCR on the single... ugh.. Jason's wife pulled aside and encouraged me... At that point I really want 6:30 I was spinning my little legs off.. and I think I would have had it then that Parker Ranch single track (which was cool) cost me a minute or so so I think I was 6:31 , still a PR by 13 min or so for me, so I am very happy.

    Of course NOW my leg feels better ... classic

    Thanks to Warrior's (Saw all my favorite Warrior's Today) and the Weather and Trail Gods for a prefect day.
     
  8. genusmtbkr5

    genusmtbkr5 STR Moderator

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  9. scsc

    scsc Member

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    Thanks so much! The license was mine, didn't realize i dropped it. Very cool of you and you saved me a bunch of hassle. Great job on the ride!
     
  10. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    Your Welcome ... Anytime man!
     
  11. crispy

    crispy Wannabe

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    25% of the people registered for the event were DNS.

    I always get nervous before a race, but I don't think I have ever been as nervous for any race as I was for this race. I was so nervous because my wife and I had our first child 10 months ago. So, in order to train for this race I've had to sacrifice a little bit of time with them and wake up at 4am during the week to get in training rides on the trainer. The nervousness came because I wanted to have a great result to have something to show for all of the work I put in.

    I was up at 3am. Most of my stuff was packed, I just had to load my bike and take off. I always forget something when I go to a race, I just cross my fingers that it is something not that important. Well, while driving out there I realized I forgot some little baggies to put my drink mix in to use at the aid stations. Crap. So, I stopped at a gas station. Turns out they didn't have little sandwich bags. Well, right when I arrived some homeless guy pulled up on his bike and told me he had some sandwich bags. He assured my they were clean and then went over to the dumpster to look around. He came back and told me he was staying by the tire shop and that he'd be back with the bags. I didn't trust him about the cleanliness part, so I took off and finally found some bags at the 3rd gas station I stopped at.

    I finally make it to the start and get checked in. I start suiting up at my car. Shoes. Check. Helmet. Check. Glasses. Check. Sweet! I guess I only forgot the ziploc bags. Let me just put on my gloves and get in a quick warm-up. Hey, why doesn't my glove fit? Crap! Two right hand gloves. I ask around and finally find one from the guys with the Surf City Cyclery (if you guys are reading this, I hope you got the glove back. I left it on your van door handle. If you didn't get it back, PM me and I will buy you a new pair).So with one XL glove and one size M glove, I was finally ready to go.

    The race went off without a hitch. I finally had the confidence to line up in the front and it really paid off with my time in the end. That draft for the first 3 miles made a big difference. I didn't have goal times to each point, just that I wanted to ride the fastest pace I thought I could hold for the entire event. I didn't pass that many people. I think I pass a couple on the main divide. One at the bottom of motorway. Maybe 5 people one the way to the peak. 1 guy coming down LHJ.I passed one guy on WHT, but he passed me back right at the top and hit the turbo button. While I was riding I either had a day dream, or remembered a night dream, about finishing 8th. I was told as I left aid #2 that there were 8 guys in front of me. The guy I passed on WHT put me into 8th, I just didn't have the legs left to make it stick.

    I'll be back next year. This event is like crack to me.
     
  12. BikeThePlanet

    BikeThePlanet Active Member

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    looks like iken a whole lot of people signed up and didn't ride? Is that usual? No Tinker?

    Also, Kimmi was the only chica to finish? And on a rigid SS? Not bad.

    those who have a feather and didn't do the complete route. I know how they can get a feather, tar and feather them. :)
     
  13. jimmymats

    jimmymats Member

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    Raijin right? I love mine. CC last year and VQ this year. Congrats on your PR. I think you got good karma from picking up the license.
     
  14. cleanbeater

    cleanbeater New Member

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    Great day today. I hadn't trained as much this year as I had for last year's VQ... and decided to make things a little more difficult for myself and throw a rigid fork on the SS a couple months before the event. My goal was to beat my 8:04 from last year.

    Heading out on Blackstar, and starting the climb after the flats I knew my legs would be cooperating well today. In an effort to NOT set any PRs to aid station #1 I watched my HR closely (<180), and only let it spike on the climb from Beeks to the ball. Although I rode this section of MD about twice a month, a few of the ruts caught my by surprise in the fog, but I managed to keep the rubber side down. I stuck to my strategy (pre-selected sections to walk rather than ride) over to MW... set a PR down MW and was about 5 minutes slower than my VQ last year (which was the plan).

    Other than WHT, the asphalt up Maple Springs is the most mind numbing part of this ride. Earbuds went in, I zoned out, got to work and reached the dirt before I knew it. At the turn, I was passed by another rider keeping a relatively good pace so I locked my sights on his back wheel all the way to 4C. Last year I really struggled on this part... especially the 1/2 mile or so after the first left hand switchback... but kept on moving still feeling strong. Reached 4C feeling great... then Modjeska. Modjeska for me is always a challenge as it is a balance of getting power to the ground while continuously shifting body weight to avoid slipping on the SS. For me this was especially a challenge with 7k ft climbing under my belt. My wheel slipped out on one of the loose kickers, and major hammy cramp hit me. I took a minute to stretch it out and collect myself and moved on. Other than being cold, up to the peak was relatively uneventful.

    Down MD from Santiago - between the cold at the peak and the condition of the road downhill, this section really took a toll on my hands on the rigid (even moreso than MW) which I never really shook off during the balance of the ride. But I had a lot of fun down UHJ and LHJ, and I reached aid station #2 5 minutes behind last years VQ.

    I started up Trabuco and as others have said, the wheels fell off. I must have hit Trabuco at just the wrong time as I felt like a bowling pin with quite a few riders coming down. I'd have to say 50% of the riders coming the other way were courteous, with several passing on words of encouragement. I worked to keep the wheels turning knowing the worst was ahead of me. Although WHT is always a good time, this year was much better than last year (~75deg vs ~90deg last year). I hooked on with a caravan riders HAB'ing up and kept locked on the trail 2 feet in front of me. We pre-rode WHT last weekend, and for me its a huge mental battle when I start looking at the trail WAAAAY up there.

    Pre-ride I told myself "no burger" as I struggled after grabbing one last year. However, once atop WHT I could not resist.. cruising the downhill section of MD with one hand on the rear brake, the other hand on a burger, put a smile on my face... life is good. Trudged up to the Trabuco trailhead, and after all the great single track without incident I go OTB... at the top of the last climb... in front of the folks at the checkpoint. It was a mixup between myself and a trailrunner gearing up to head down. With a water bottle in one hand, I grab a handful of front brake to avoid colliding. My fault, I can say I was not all there at that point.

    At this point I had 30 minutes to get down the hill to meet my sub-8 hour mark. I had a great run down Trabuco (hands are a bit numb at this point) and once I hit TCR it was a few minutes of spin-spin-coast.

    I was a bit caught off guard at the finish, but I really enjoyed the new setup. Rolling off of TCR and working my way through to Parker Ranch, hearing the music in the distance, and seeing the crowd put a big smile on my face. I fought to through to the end and rolled in @ 7:55 and change.

    All in all a great day. Big thanks to all the volunteers and smiling faces that make this event what it is.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 6, 2014
  15. Enriquez

    Enriquez Member

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    Congrats to all. I can't wait to see the pictures and videos of this great event.
     
  16. db.mx

    db.mx Member

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    Tinker is racing the endurance race for US Cup this weekend in Santa Ynez.
     
  17. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    *The* David Turner???

    Coup...
    [TABLE]
    [TR]
    [TD]14[/TD]
    [TD]04:25:31[/TD]
    [TD]David Turner[/TD]
    [TD]404[/TD]
    [TD]Murrieta[/TD]
    [TD]CA[/TD]
    [TD]Male[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]

    An possible spouse
    [TABLE]
    [TR]
    [TD]28[/TD]
    [TD]04:58:34[/TD]
    [TD]Christina Probert-Turner[/TD]
    [TD]554[/TD]
    [TD]Murrieta[/TD]
    [TD]CA[/TD]
    [TD]Female[/TD]
    [TD]46
    [/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
     
  18. bikerider

    bikerider New Member

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    This years Counting Coup event was really fun for me. Usually I line up at the start line and say hello to a few people I know and then just ride my own race. This year however, I lined up with Tommy V, Bobby, John and Joe, with Jimmy lending moral support. It was great to have the familiar faces to talk to before the start. The start was nice with only a few people touching bars, but no major pile ups. I quickly passed groups of riders that wanted to start at a really mellow pace and settled into a comfortably fast pace for me. I felt good up to Beek's :54 minutes, about the pace I was hoping for. The MD across to Motorway was fun, there were a couple of fast riders that just flew by, but for the most part I rode with the same 10-15 riders all the way across. I got to Motorway and rode fairly conservatively but still passed a lot of riders. Every one was very courteous this year, made the whole event so enjoyable. Set a new PR to the bottom of Motorway at 2:11. I had support at the bottom and it was so cool riding through with all the spectators cheering the riders on.

    At this point I was still feeling good, so set a good pace going up the pavement. I hit the dirt and the sun hit me and instantly my pace dropped. Rolled down the arm warmers and kept going. I was still feeling ok but had lots of riders passing me and I only passed a few. Just a side note, there are some fast ladies out there!

    I kept going, only stopping to fill my bottle. I realized I was ahead of my best time and just to get to the Peak. I looked for a cross or something dedicated to A Marin, but did not find anything. Crested the Peak at 4:22, exhausted and happy to be going downhill. I rode fairly conservatively on UHJ, not wanting to risk a flat, so much fun. This is where I felt the first leg cramp. Oh well, I thought, it's all downhill from here. I hit the entrance to lower HJ and both my quads locked up, then my hamstrings, followed by my calfs. It took me a few minutes to make it down this section and I had to walk the uphill portion of HJ. I've cramped here before but never like that. I finally managed to get on my bike and began the bobsled run down. I only passed a few riders, but caught several others in the water crossing and passed them. The hikers were amazing this year, very understanding that an event was going on and got out of the way quickly. Hats off to WS for letting everyone know what was going on.

    Finally on TCR and on to the finish. My only goal here was not to be passed, which I accomplished. I made it in 5:19, beating my previous time by 15 minutes. Happy with how I did and am looking forward to next year. Thanks for a wonderful event and to all the riders who made the experience great. And a special thanks to my support crew.
     
  19. 9er

    9er New Member

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    So this was my 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] CC.
    Aside from falling off the training wagon, I was ready as I’d ever be. Bike was dialed, food and support all set up.

    Staged with a friend near the front. Dropped the Hammer and we’re off. Lots of excited riders put me into "rubbins' racin' mode" as we worked to find our place in the pack.
    I held steady at "my" race pace, feeling good. Just barely PR’d everything from Blackstar to Motorway. Dropped into Maple just a touch ahead of schedule. Quick pitstop and off onto the pavement to begin second climb.

    Hit the first lookout and out of nowhere, tragedy struck. I got such a violet quad cramp it contorted my leg into a position where I couldn’t clip out and down I went.

    After that I rotated cramps from left to right, quads to calves. Just in survival mode. Watching 5, 10, 15, 30 racers slowly pass me.
    I’ve never wanted to give up and quit this ride, but today I did.

    Made it to the top, whew, rode slow and smart on the way down keeping the leg twitches in check.

    While walking a rough section on UHJ, I found a Garmin 500 and picked it up.
    As I dropped in to LHJ, came across a guy walking back looking for his Garmin. Returned to owner, hopefully made his day, and banked some good Karma. (Karma which was quickly cashed in when my wife lost her wedding ring at the finish line and after an hour of searching was found!)

    Pedaled down and out the wash, through the finish chicane, grabbed my feather, some recovery, grub and pulled up a chair at the finish line to cheer on the other friends and finishers.

    All in all, had a great time, great friends, excellent promotion by the WS, nice weather and still beat last year’s time by a little.
     
  20. JoJon

    JoJon Member

    Joined:
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    4th VQ and one of my best days on the bike! A huge THANKS goes out the the Warrior's Society for putting on such a great event, thank you to all the volunteers for their support and cheers. The people involved is one of the reasons I look forward to doing VQ every year!!

    I was able to get in a lot more training in this year so I was thinking I could shave off about 30 minutes or so from last years time. Started somewhere at the back of the pack but that was okay it's a ride not a race. Felt good climbing Blackstar saw my buddy Dave and then Kimmy, made it to the bottom of Motorway in 2:28 a new PR. Filled my bottles grabbed a bite of banana and on my way, loved seeing all the families supporting and cheering the riders on, even got a hi-five from AJ. The climb to Four Corners wasn't as bad as I feared that little bit of rain we had made a big difference. Made it to the Peak in about 4 hours 30 minutes 30 minutes better then last year. The conditions on Holy Jim were spectacular, best I've ever seen! (thanks Warrior's) Made it to the CC cut off in about 5 hours, topped off my bottles and started up to WHT. Made the last cut off with a hour to spare, now starts the HAB up to the burger that's been calling my name, I look forward to this burger with extra mustard every year. Made it to the top of WHT in 7 hours and that burger did not disappoint! I was on track to do my first sub 8 hour VQ made it down Trabuco to the rode then hit some traffic and I think every darn pot hole it had. My finish time ended up being 8:08 didn't quite make my goal but still very happy.

    Congrats to all that participated we were all treated to what I think because of the weather, trail conditions and people one the best days to ride a bike!
     

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