CC/VQ reports :) / Preliminary Results (merged threads)

Bummer, there is ss rigid that finished 19 seconds ahead of me, but totally not fair because he was riding a suspension fork. He passed me at the last minute. He should come clean and contact WS to fix this. Perhaps he changed his mind the night before, but riders should ride what they sign for.

 

We need to update the categories....SS is not the novelty as well as rigid....it used to be with so many people doing it. People said the same thing when we started riding 29ers....

I wish it was just Geared or Singlespeed, that is it. :-k

I will have to mention it at the next meeting.

Been corrected.:beer:


Who knows.......maybe he rode with the fork locked out the whole time? :-k :clap:

 

LOL! You know I think I didnt change gear the whole time, can I be down as single speed? (It was big ring and small cog too )

 

I was only saying that cause I was on a SS/FS (what an ego I have!)

I would like to see just geared or SS as well.

 

If I rode in the big ring up front and 34t on the rear, on my orange bike with 6" of suspension, but with the fork & shock both locked, would I win the Orange Rigid Cross-chaining Singlespeed (ORCS) division....or at least some sort of total moron award?

BTW: Last year there was an Inspiration award (won by our own friend Xhuskr). I see the Bob Haislett award listed this year, but I haven't seen an explanation: Is that the same thing? I'd love to know the story behind those special recognitions.

 

Can someone tell me that they stopped to take a pic of all the lights comming up blackstar. I was in the second to the lead group and when I turned to look down I almost stopped to watch that most awesome view of 100's of lights 2x2 slowly crawling up the mountain. Maybe you even had a tripod in your jersey pocket you set up to eliminate any unwanted motion blur? :lol:
This was my first CC and I had a wonderful time. I went to set a PR which I did, so I missed everything that took place behind me and at the aid stations. Never the less I've enjoyed reading of your stories and experiences throughout this mini epic. I was in my own little world most of the time so all I remember is my gps flying off the bike at the bottom of motorway, stopping to help #69 on maple pavement who had a flat, and watering the plants at the top of maple. Everything from the peak down happened so fast. Passed many riders and hikers on UHJ and lower probably wrecklessly. Went all out on Trabucco passing a few to the crowd cheering finish. Good times.
I am thankful to everyone who helped out and sacrificed of their time to make this great event happen. I am however very dissapointed with something, friends and family waited around until 4:30, even after 90% of everybody already went home for the podiums which we were told would happen later on, which never happened?? Their were no awards, trophies, plaques, medals, or even a ribbon of any kind to the top 5 or 10 finishers in each of the CC and VQ races. Not even an acknowledgement verbally. I have done many races and never have I not seen podiums after the race, especially for my friend Danny who set a course record in the CC.:clap: Am I missing something here? I will still be back next year to challenge the top riders and maybe even have a camera with me to capture that image I'll forever remember.

 

"It's not a race". You get your feather and that's it!!!! I thought everyone who entered already knew this!!

 

In 2007 these 10 guys were lined up for something and I don't think it was tacos.

 

your feather is your reward. that's all I wanted. the first feather handed out is equal to the last feather handed out at the Pow Wow...

 

Congrats to everyone who finished VQ or CC, such a great accomplishment. I also need to comment about the conditions of the trails after the event. We rode Blackstar Sunday morning and did not see one piece of trash- no wrappers, tubes, water bottles, nothing. In fact the only evidence that there was a race (sorry, ride) was the painted rocks at the washouts. Hats off to the volunteers and riders who obviously make this a huge priority.

 

+1 about the lack of trash. I think the riders themselves did a better job this year too, as I don't remember seeing nearly as much on the route as last year. But no doubt that the Warriors & volunteers did a great job "sanitizing" afterward

Oh yeah - those painted rocks at a few of the washout spots were appreciated, especially in the dark. I hope they stay.

 

Bob Haislett was one of the original / long time Warrior Member that passed away last month of cancer. He was a super nice guy that treated everyone well. To this date, he is still the oldest rider to finish the VQ @ 70 years old. We did a ride with him a few years back and he was still kickin' all our assess on his singlespeed.

We decided to honor him by handing out this award. Initially we had only planned to give out 1 award....but there were 3 participants that truely defied the odds and deserved it.

I am sure there will be more about them when the write-up is done on the event.

 

This is my 4th year doing VQ, 3rd consecutive finish. I was supposed to volunteer. My husband, Erik Brown (live2mtb) was diagnosed with a serious illness. He had hundreds of precancerous polyps in his colon, had total colon removal 4 months ago. They made an internal pouch to replace the colon from his small intestines.

Erik's goal was to do VQ after his surgery. I never shared my feelings, let him have his goal, but I thought there is NO WAY he is going to make VQ this year. I said if he did it, then I had no excuse; insert foot into mouth!

After his surgery, I nursed Erik and watched my sweetheart go through hell during his recovery. He is still recovering, but he miraculously finished VQ with a respectable time, included 2 flats (one sidewall blow out). Erik was one of the Bob Haislett award recipients. I am so proud of him, words can't describe.

One week prior to VQ, I was the first female to complete UQ, only with the help of Ned Reynolds, the machine. Ned, thank you for suffering with me. It was a painfully slow pace you are not accustomed, but I did warn you. We miscalculated (I bonked up San Juan) and came down Chiquito in the pitch black of night without lights, adding hours to our time. Ned did UQ on his SS, started VQ on his SS, but had mechanicals. He would have slayed VQ on a geared bike!

I had horrible blisters on my heels from all the HAB on UQ, beat the crap outta myself (as expected) and didn't really know if I could do VQ until I started the race.

I felt surprisingly good, but not like my usual self; less power and endurance. Then, here comes Super Gene to the rescue, da da da daaaaa! I watched him help a racer with his crank, fix another racer's flat, pick up trash all over the trails, give away his water and last tube, while he continued to encourage and run circles around me. He pushed me from just below the peaks, all the way to WHT. The moleskin on my heels did not stay on, blisters got worse, so I had no choice but to walk up WHT the entire way in my socks. I saw my good friend Chris Hanson on WHT. He crashed hard and ugly on Motorway, compromised the structural integrity of his frame, yet toughed it out and finished his 1st VQ. He's only been riding for 2 years and we are so proud of him!

The tandem racers reached WHT just after me. I was so bummed they weren't able to finish, but applaud their efforts. I can't imagine doing VQ or CC on a tandem.

I persevered and was on of the last to finish. That's all I wanted, just to finish. I always think of my beloved late friend, Christy Kirkwood, who inspired me to do VQ in the first place. Her motto was, "Git er done!"

Thank you to the Warriors and volunteers for helping and putting on such a professionally run, awesome event! A special thanks to Vickie Lukina & Kathy McNeill for working hard and managing to make everyone laugh amongst the madness. Also, BIG THANKS to Chip & Treve for sweeping and working hard to get me through the nightmare called WHT. Congrats to Elaine Gold for finishing CC after breast cancer and chemo, you rule! Congrats to all who did CC & VQ, it takes guts!

Mountain biking and the Warrior's Society have changed my life and I will be forever grateful. I love the people in this sport and cherish my dirt family! I will definitely keep giving back.

 

First off, this was not a race. If it were a race, you would have been put into separate categories and racing against your own age group or level. Anyone who finishes will get a finishing award which is a feather. This feather is hand made by members of the WS. The VQ feather has bead work that the CC feather does not. The feather is all you receive, but for many, including myself, it's much, much more.

The top riders were recognized and mentioned. If you were at O'Neill Park after the last riders came in, you would have known that Sherry did name off the top finishers and their record times. There was also 3 awards given out to the 3 individuals for finishing either CC or VQ under extraordinary circumstances. This award is named after a WS member who recently passed away from pancreatic cancer. His name was Bob Haislett.

* The Haislett Trophy

The first is this year’s Pow Wow will be dedicated to the memory of Bob Haislett, including the introduction of the annual “Haislett Trophy.” While we were saddened by the death of Bob, if there is any good in this bad news it is that Bob’s last years were happy ones with the love of his life and his death came relatively quickly.
The “Haislett Trophy” will be awarded to the person who does not finish strong, but finishes under extraordinary circumstances. This is the best honor we can give Bob, who anyone who met him will agree was an extraordinary individual.

BTW, Bob was 77 when he passed. In 2003, he was the oldest to finish the VQ on a Single Speed.

Yes, now the inspirational award has a name: The Haislett Trophy

 

Sorry for commenting. I had no idea of the meaning or history behind these WS events. Just had always thought of them being "races". There is much more meaning behind this I can see now. My apologies.

 

I think a lot of different people did their part in cleaning up. Riding SS rigid gives me some time to walk (and pick up stuff). All three of my jersey pockets were stuffed with trash by the time I reached the first aid station - I'm sure people were wondering if I was really pounding Coors Light during the ride :lol:. Leave No Trace...

 

Pretty cool to consider the possibility that the trails might be cleaner after a few hundred people rode them than before! Bravo!
:clap:

 

My first CC or long distance race for that matter and I'm happy to say that I finished! I had a blast but man was it tough! Props to all the riders that really train for an event like this.

The start was quite a sight with all the lights. I've never seen so many riders together going up Blackstar. I remember looking up thinking "how the heck did they get up there so fast." Blackstar for me was all good. Getting to the Motorway hurt and finally hitting the first checkpoint, I was doing ok. Once I started Maple I realized I was a bit more zapped than I thought. I just don't like Maple like a lot of people it sounds like. And yeah, DAMN BUGS! Didn't have much time after reaching the second checkpoint, limped up to the peak and finally reached UHJ. Had a good gel pack and by the time I hit LHJ, I felt good. Had a great run all the way to the finish line and the cheers were great! I didn't finish as fast as i'd hoped but I had no mechanical's. But most importantly....I finished. As hard as it was for me, I just might have to hit it again next year. Got to beat that time! :bang:

I couldn't believe all the people and support out there. The camaraderie from the Warrior Society to the riders to the people just cheering was awesome and made this event very enjoyable. Thank you so very much to the Warrior Society and and all the volunteers. Wow, without all of you this would not be what it is. :clap:

I believe this is my mantra for this ride! Unfortunately, I happened to leave my first and only feather at O'neil park while I was eating lunch. #-o

 

To the volunteer at the top of Silverado Canyon Rd. who loaned me some chain lube to fix my brake- don't ask

Do you have that pic of my bloody knee?

That would mean a lot to me.



Again,

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Thanks to all of you who volunteered.

And to that guy in the red mesh sleeveless with the bells and the bull horn, thank you, you nutty bastard.

 

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