The June 12-Hours of Temecula had a lot to live up to. January's course was a fun, fast, roller coaster course; the weather was good; and Team Sherpa Dog had a great day. Personally, I had one of those special days where things just click - I did 8 laps, including 2 sets of double laps, and felt mentally and physically strong all day. I had done a lot of training since then, and so hoped for big things.
The parade lap seemed longer than usual, but the field was larger too. Riding in a pack with a bunch of mountain bikers is terrifying, but getting stuck behind slower riders is a lousy way to start. By the time we turned onto the course, I had a decent position in the top 20-30 riders. At that point I tried to settle in and ride my own pace, rather than race the really fast guys or the lead off riders on 4 man teams. I redlined it more than was smart, but did a decent first lap without hurting myself for later in the day.
While Mike was out, I caught my breath in our sweet double wide (actually, double deep) canopy pit stop. Fellow Rodder Racers Scott and Matt were riding solo (12 and 6 hr versions, respectively), while Milin was also racing on a 2 man team (Team Pegasus). Diana was running the pit, sporting her new Super D tee shirt. Milin left on his second lap, and I followed a few minutes later, wondering if I could catch up with him. It turned out that this would not be a problem...
Race director Jason Ranoa had laid out a short, fun course with two extended climbs and lot of twisty singletrack. About 10 minutes of riding brought me to the first climb, Bridges, which features a few winding switchbacks followed by a few steep ridgeline ups. The total climb is about 250 ft. Next, I descended Tarantula, a bunch of blown out switchbacks filled with deep sand. I was ugly on this all day. Eventually, I abandoned my pride and ran the worst sections, which was probably faster and definitely safer than if I'd ridden it. Tarantula feeds into the top of Tunnel of Love, a swoopy, rolly downhill section that can make you smile even after 6 laps.
Still no sign of Milin, but I thought I might pull him back on the next section, another 250 ft climb, this time on steady fireroad. This climb was about the halfway point of the lap, and took me about 6-7 minutes all day. I reached the top and made the hairpin turn onto Marlin Ridge. If you've never ridden at Vail Lake, the best way to picture the ridgeline descents is to imagine a roller coaster laid out on the top of a narrow ridge. The ground falls away steeply to either side of you, while the trail drops steeply, turns, back up, down, turn, up, turn, down, and so on. My gps recorded speeds of 20-25mph, but I suspect it was faster for brief periods. Some of the downhill sections are steep and rocky. It was on just such a section that I came on someone tending to a rider who had crashed. As I went past, I saw that the downed rider was wearing a Rodder kit. Milin! It took a second to process all this and I was 30 yards down the trail before I could stop. Milin was lying parallel to the trail, feet uphill. It was obviously serious or he would have been up already. I had done wilderness first aid training about 18 months ago, but he seemed stable so it wasn't clear what to do besides keep him comfortable, make sure nobody ran him over, and wait for help. Other riders had already carried the word down to the aid station. I told the two riders who had initially helped to keep riding. Milin was clearly in a lot of pain. As he described it, his brakes failed, he hit a choppy section at high speed, went over the bars, and landed on rocks hard on his right side. Based on the pain he was describing, I was worried he might have a fractured hip or pelvis.
I told Milin some stupid stories to distract him while we waited for help. For instance, did he know that, for reasons that were now self evident, the fireroad climb just before this descent was called "Ambulance"? The first help was a couple of guys from the aid station. I asked if they had any training... like first aid training? Nope. Then get on the radio and get someone up here with a board. I was pretty sure we were going to be locking Milin down and carting him out. By this time, Matt had come on us and stopped to warn riders to slow down. Scott came through a little later, but there wasn't anything for him to do, and we told him to ride on and pass the word to Mike and Diana in the pit, who were probably worried and confused. An EMT showed up a little later with a proper back board. About that time, a rider stopped, said he was an EMT as well, and offered to help. This guy was from team Cytomax/KHS, I think he was a Navy guy, he was awesome, and I/we really appreciate his help. Anyway, the EMTs did an assessment, we taped Milin down to the board, and drove him out on the back of a quad. An ambulance met us down in the campground. Cale, Milin's teammate, went with Milin to the hospital.
After conferring with Jason, I rode back up and resumed the course at the bottom of Marlin - just about where I had left off. A single track climb, twisty descent, a few side canyons and bmx tracks, and I was back to the pit area. I was out for about 1:50. After conferring with Jason, he decided to leave the time as it was, but give us credit for an additional lap. That seemed much better than the alternative of giving us a time equal to my first lap time, but only one lap, which would basically have meant we missed an hour of racing - which we almost certainly could have used to do another lap. All in all, I was happy with the way Jason handled it. Most importantly, I was glad he had plans and people in place to deal with a serious injury. I was also glad I was be there with Milin while we waited for help. I've had a few bad crashes, and it means a lot to have folks look out for you.
The rest of the day went by fast. After my extended 2nd lap, Mike and I swapped laps and my 3rd and 4th went well. I did scrub a little extra speed at the site of Milin's crash, but overall I was riding with confidence and good energy. A few adjustments to my fork and riding position in the week before had really helped with the bike handling.
I did a double on my 5th and 6th laps, riding the first just a little more conservatively and just slowing a few minutes on the second one. I had a Red Bull rally in the pit and was ready for the last lap of day. Team Sherpa Dog was currently running in 4th position. Waiting in the exchange area, I saw Kyle, a CSUSM student on a two man team that was in 5th. Kyle is super fast, and had passed me on our previous laps. His partner was a good bit slower, but I knew he could make up 5 minutes on me. Mike came in, told me the third place team was just a few minutes ahead. Third! I was worried about holding fourth!
As with the entire 12 Hr event, the only thing to do is ride as fast as you can and not worry about everyone else. I had no idea how long Kyle was going to be waiting for his teammate - he could be starting 1 min behind me or 10. It also wouldn't do any good to catch the 3rd place rider on Bridges only to blow up on Ambulance. But I did ride knowing it was my last lap. Kyle never caught me, and though it was dusk fading into night, I put up a time within a min or two of my earlier laps.
It turned out that Team Sherpa Dog finished 5th in the two man category (Kyle's team did not beat us, but someone else vaulted up in the standings, or perhaps there was a correction to the earlier results). Scott did 11 laps for 4th in Expert Men Solo. Milin got discharged from the hospital with no broken bones or internal injuries. A mostly good day...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Idyllwild Spring Challenge, part 2: Time trial
At the end of the XC race on Saturday, I told myself that all I needed to do was finish the race and I could bail on Sunday's Time Trial and Super D races. At first, it was a lie, easily seen through by the part of my brain that answered to my legs. But then it became a promise (to be broken), which gradually was believed. This helped with the last third of the XC race (first mental rule of endurance racing: only think about the next portion, not the entire insurmountable thing). After the race and a bit of recovery, I was ready to break the promise and think about the time trial. On Sunday morning, Scott and I headed up to Alvin Meadows to check out the course. Our pre-ride cum warm-up took about 20-30 min. The course could be described in one word: twisty. It didn't go straight for more than 20 feet in any direction, left-right or up-down. Add in a few rocks and trees, and you had a great all around test of mountain biking skills. This was no fireroad aerobic test, but also an assessment of handling, acceleration, and power.
As you'd expect in a time trial, we went off on 1 minute intervals. I was nervous for the start. Unanswered questions nagged at me... I wasn't too worried about riding hard, but could I carry speed through the turns? Could I run cleanly over the rocks? As I waited for the countdown to my start, I calmed and emptied my mind. And.... GO! The course was rolling up and down, but first part of the course was more down than up. Downhill, pick up speed, brake for the turn, lean the bike, hit the gas, out of the saddle for a short climb, lean again for the next turn, hammer out the turn into the straight, on and on for the longest 3 miles. I had a clean run, about as fast as I could have gone. The course was a blast, and the preride was essential. A couple more times around would have helped, as there were a few sections where I could have carried more speed if I'd remembered how the next section went.
In the second half of the course, there was more climbing than descending. My quads were burning at this point, which I took as a sign that I was doing something right. A tight rock squeeze, up a steep pitch, and I knew the end was close. Finally, off the singletrack onto a last bit of fireroad to the finish. I was done in 20:46, good for 4th among the 9 Open men, slower than nearly all the Pros and Cat 1 men (but faster than all the Cat 2 men :) All in all, a good, fast, clean run with no mistakes and a high intensity effort. A cool down, an hour's rest, and time to start thinking about the next race: the Super D, subject of the next post.
As you'd expect in a time trial, we went off on 1 minute intervals. I was nervous for the start. Unanswered questions nagged at me... I wasn't too worried about riding hard, but could I carry speed through the turns? Could I run cleanly over the rocks? As I waited for the countdown to my start, I calmed and emptied my mind. And.... GO! The course was rolling up and down, but first part of the course was more down than up. Downhill, pick up speed, brake for the turn, lean the bike, hit the gas, out of the saddle for a short climb, lean again for the next turn, hammer out the turn into the straight, on and on for the longest 3 miles. I had a clean run, about as fast as I could have gone. The course was a blast, and the preride was essential. A couple more times around would have helped, as there were a few sections where I could have carried more speed if I'd remembered how the next section went.
In the second half of the course, there was more climbing than descending. My quads were burning at this point, which I took as a sign that I was doing something right. A tight rock squeeze, up a steep pitch, and I knew the end was close. Finally, off the singletrack onto a last bit of fireroad to the finish. I was done in 20:46, good for 4th among the 9 Open men, slower than nearly all the Pros and Cat 1 men (but faster than all the Cat 2 men :) All in all, a good, fast, clean run with no mistakes and a high intensity effort. A cool down, an hour's rest, and time to start thinking about the next race: the Super D, subject of the next post.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Idyllwild Spring Challenge, part 1: XC
This weekend (4/30 -5/1) was the Idyllwild Spring Challenge - three races over two days on excellent trails. First up was the cross country race on Saturday, then a time trail and super D on Sunday. Each race was scored individually, but you could compete in all three as a stage race.
First, the cross country race. I raced in the Open category, which was basically for people who wanted to race Cat 1 but didn't have a license.
The course was billed as 27 miles, 4300 feet of climbing. Those of you who know the area will appreciate the route (and that the pros did it in <2:30): start with the Keen Camp climb out of Hurkey Creek, cross Johnston Meadow, climb May Valley fireroad, then Mirkwood (singletrack) to the Lower Southridge (hike a bike) climb. Back on May Valley fireroad, take Sunset trail, back on May Valley, then cut through town to the Southridge fireroad climb (last of the major climbs). Head back down hitting pretty much every piece of single track on the east side of May Valley Fireroad: Middle Southridge, Snakeskin, Tres Hombres (uno, dos, tres), Grindstone, Coffepot, Exfoilator, Rage Thru the Sage, and Tunnel of Love. Makes me tired just typing it. Then a bit of Apple Canyon Road and over Demoralizer to the finish.
Those of you who don't know the area really ought to go up there. Just the best twisty, flowing, singletrack through a beautiful forest setting and only 2hrs from SD.
Ok, so that's the course. On paper it is uphill to about 10 miles, then gradually downhill. So I went pretty hard on the climbs. I had dialed back the training volume and recovered from doing Vision Quest and Julian Death March on back to back weekends (which had left me wrecked, as Eric, my coach, had predicted). Despite going hard, I felt good and cleaned a lot of Lower Southridge. I had last ridden that trail a couple years ago and remember it being a slog. This time it took about 20 min. I continued to feel good climbing through town to the top of Southridge fireroad, reaching the high point of the course in about 1:40.
From here it went downhill, literally and - somewhat - figuratively. The start of the descent was steep with some loose sections, and I was tired and somewhat sloppy. Mentally, it is tough for me to switch gears from hard climbing to technical descending. After a couple dabs, I put my seat down some, which helped. But I gave up a few places to guys I'd outpaced on the climbs, and that got in my head a bit.
I was able to regroup and was probably riding pretty well, but every time I hit the brakes or dabbed in a rock garden, it was felt like a setback. Plus, the early hard pace was getting to me - I was tired. At one point, after it seemed like I'd been riding forever, the trail straightened out long enough for me to check my gps and I saw I still had 8 miles left. Ugh. Racing must be crazy, because what could be better than endless singletrack? I started telling myself that if I just kept pushing today I could bail on the TT and SD . Still, I kept taking in calories and didn't bonk, so though I was tired my pace was good through the lower, more open sections of the course.
I finished in 3:08:45, good for 7th in my age group in the open class. I would have liked to run faster on the descents and tech sections, but put in a good effort with no major mistakes and no mechanicals.
Rodder Racing was well represented at Idyllwild. Scott had a great race and was about 5 minutes ahead, placing well in Cat 1. Milin also raced the long course and Mike from NBB did the Cat 2 course.
Next post: time trial!
First, the cross country race. I raced in the Open category, which was basically for people who wanted to race Cat 1 but didn't have a license.
The course was billed as 27 miles, 4300 feet of climbing. Those of you who know the area will appreciate the route (and that the pros did it in <2:30): start with the Keen Camp climb out of Hurkey Creek, cross Johnston Meadow, climb May Valley fireroad, then Mirkwood (singletrack) to the Lower Southridge (hike a bike) climb. Back on May Valley fireroad, take Sunset trail, back on May Valley, then cut through town to the Southridge fireroad climb (last of the major climbs). Head back down hitting pretty much every piece of single track on the east side of May Valley Fireroad: Middle Southridge, Snakeskin, Tres Hombres (uno, dos, tres), Grindstone, Coffepot, Exfoilator, Rage Thru the Sage, and Tunnel of Love. Makes me tired just typing it. Then a bit of Apple Canyon Road and over Demoralizer to the finish.
Those of you who don't know the area really ought to go up there. Just the best twisty, flowing, singletrack through a beautiful forest setting and only 2hrs from SD.
Ok, so that's the course. On paper it is uphill to about 10 miles, then gradually downhill. So I went pretty hard on the climbs. I had dialed back the training volume and recovered from doing Vision Quest and Julian Death March on back to back weekends (which had left me wrecked, as Eric, my coach, had predicted). Despite going hard, I felt good and cleaned a lot of Lower Southridge. I had last ridden that trail a couple years ago and remember it being a slog. This time it took about 20 min. I continued to feel good climbing through town to the top of Southridge fireroad, reaching the high point of the course in about 1:40.
From here it went downhill, literally and - somewhat - figuratively. The start of the descent was steep with some loose sections, and I was tired and somewhat sloppy. Mentally, it is tough for me to switch gears from hard climbing to technical descending. After a couple dabs, I put my seat down some, which helped. But I gave up a few places to guys I'd outpaced on the climbs, and that got in my head a bit.
I was able to regroup and was probably riding pretty well, but every time I hit the brakes or dabbed in a rock garden, it was felt like a setback. Plus, the early hard pace was getting to me - I was tired. At one point, after it seemed like I'd been riding forever, the trail straightened out long enough for me to check my gps and I saw I still had 8 miles left. Ugh. Racing must be crazy, because what could be better than endless singletrack? I started telling myself that if I just kept pushing today I could bail on the TT and SD . Still, I kept taking in calories and didn't bonk, so though I was tired my pace was good through the lower, more open sections of the course.
I finished in 3:08:45, good for 7th in my age group in the open class. I would have liked to run faster on the descents and tech sections, but put in a good effort with no major mistakes and no mechanicals.
Rodder Racing was well represented at Idyllwild. Scott had a great race and was about 5 minutes ahead, placing well in Cat 1. Milin also raced the long course and Mike from NBB did the Cat 2 course.
Next post: time trial!
Friday, April 8, 2011
next up... JDM!
No rest for the wicked... the Julian Death March is this weekend. JDM is closer and lower key than Vision Quest, but plenty grueling in it's own right. The course swings between the mountains and desert, with course options of 50, 64, or 86 miles and 7k, 9k, or 12k feet of climbing.
Two fun things about JDM: 1) I'll be joined by Rodder teammates Scott and Milin. Rodder in the house! 2) Apple pie. Yum.
Two fun things about JDM: 1) I'll be joined by Rodder teammates Scott and Milin. Rodder in the house! 2) Apple pie. Yum.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Vision Quest, part two
Here's my ride report for my second Vision Quest. Last year I had a good ride and finished just under 7:30 for about 50th place. This year I had been doing more training and felt in better shape. I hoped to improve my time, but I hadn't raced since January so I wasn't sure how much improvement to expect.
It's dark at the 5:30am start. Not twilight, not dim, but middle of the night dark. To get there, I'd gotten up at 3am to drive up from SD. Ridiculously early, but the kind of thing you can do because it's a big day you've been anticipating for a long time. As we climb Blackstar Canyon, the lights of riders above and below float through the darkness. There are low clouds (marine layer?) and as I climb through them it gets humid and my glasses fog. I reach the gate and turn onto the Main Divide in about 52 minutes. This first climb, about 2000 feet, is just a warm up for the rest of the ride. As I reach the Doppler ball (radar installation), the sun is coming up and the clouds are a deep red.
Near the top of Blackstar, I begin to settle in, and am feeling strong on the Main Divide. It's 8 miles of fireroad - up and down, but mostly up. My right hip flexor and back is feeling tight, which hurts and could signal a long day, but I ignore it. I see a spectacular crash as a guy in front of me (later I find out his name is Eric), crashes on his single speed carbon Air Nine and loses the rear wheel. As in, when he gets up, the rear wheel is not in the drop outs. Yikes. This section takes me about 55 minutes, meaning I reach Silverado Motorway in 1:46. Then it's down, down, down.
One of the interesting and challenging things about Vision Quest is the transition between long fireroad climbs and technical, singletrack descents. Silverado Motorway is a 3 mile, 1800 foot descent on loose, rocky singletrack. After nearly 2 hours of (mostly uphill) fireroad, I find it hard to descend aggressively. My plan is to ride in control and not risk a crash, even if it means giving up some time. But I am feeling comfortable and riding pretty well. I do get smoked by a couple of guys, though. One is Fuzzy, a well known pro who rides for Niner. He and I will trade spots back and forth throughout the day, with me making it back on the climbs and Fuzzy taking the descents. I find out later that the other guy rides there all the time and knows the trail well. I'm sure that helps, but he's still hauling ass. Anyway, I make it down Motorway in about 15 minutes and hit the aid station at Maple Springs.
A seemingly endless climb leads from Maple Springs back up to the Main Divide and on to Santiago Peak. Last year, this was the toughest part of VQ for me (ok, it was a tie with the hike a bike). Seven miles of relentless climbing. 2500 feet. Then, a bit of false flat and another 4.5 miles and 1200 feet. This year it seems to go by faster. The first part of the climb is on pavement and slightly steeper. It's made harder because you're transitioning back to climbing after the long descent of Motorway and the stop at the aid station. After a while, though, I settle in, my Red Bull shot takes effect, and I start to feel pretty good. My right side loosens up and I pass a number of people. My energy continues to hold for the final section of the climb, leading to Santiago Peak. This is the highest point on the course, at about 5600 feet above sea level.
The descent from the peak to the start of the Upper Holy Jim trail is uneventful. From there things get more interesting. Upper Holy Jim is the trickiest descent in the course - steep, rocky, loose. I haven't been doing a lot of technical riding (rainy winter = lots of road riding), so I am prepared to play it safe and walk dicey sections. Even so, it feels like my front tire is all over the place. The first crash isn't too bad, but the second one is a little rougher. Both are "loose control and steer into the side of the trail" crashes. There is lots of manzanita to "cushion" my fall. After the third crash, my legs cramp pretty hard and it takes a while to get up and pull my bike off the trail. My head starts filling with a bunch of thoughts that are leading towards a freak out: this is going badly, your ride is falling apart, all the preparation down the drain, you could really get hurt, etc, etc. I turn those thoughts off, lower my seat about four inches, and act like I know how to ride this shit. This turns out to work well enough to make it down the rest of the UHJ without trouble. After a short stretch of Main Divide fireroad, I turn onto Lower Holy Jim, which is less technical. LHJ is reminiscent of San Juan Trail, probably one of the better known OC trails (at least in San Diego). I don't feel totally comfortable, though; I'm still a little shaken from UHJ. About 1/3 of the way down, I realize my front tire pressure is really low. Not sure when that happened - maybe I burped it when I crashed? maybe that's why I crashed? But in that case I think I would have noticed it sooner. The good news is that it seems to be holding air ok, it's just low. Instead of taking a minute or two to stop and put some air in, I decide to try to make it to the aid station at the bottom of LHJ. I am careful of the front tire, but eventually it's clear that I have to deal with it. When I do add air, it's such an improvement, and so quick, that I wish I'd done it earlier. Finally, I reach aid station 2. Descents are supposed to be fun, but that one had been nerve-wracking.
From aid station 2, I head up Trabuco creek trail. This is the first single track climb of the day. Trabuco is rideable, but soon I reach the turnoff to West Horse Thief, which is super steep hike a bike. For about a mile. With an average grade around 20%. Last year this section took forever, but now it goes by faster. I am also able to ride more of it, which I attribute to all the strength-building workouts I've been doing. Thanks Eric!
I reach the top of West Horsethief feeling pretty good, and realize that I have a shot at finishing in under 7 hours (last year's time was 7:28). I'm all alone as I ride the last section of Main Divide to the top of Trabuco trail. I see one other rider on Trabuco. I enjoy the descent and feel great as I hit the lower section where slower riders are still coming up. The last section of the course is 4 miles of slightly downhill dirt road. I make good use of my big ring and sub 7 hours looks certain. Then I feel that wobbly feeling in the back - flat tire! I put some air in to see if it will seal, but there's a pretty big hole in the tire. Indecision is the enemy, so rather than trying to limp out on it or wasting more time (and CO2) trying to get it to seal, I quickly throw in a tube. There's one last creek crossing, then the finish in O'Neil park.
My time is 6:48:53, good for 31st. This is about 40 minutes better than last year. I attribute the improvement to training more consistently, and with a plan; working with Coach Eric Palmer (plug plug) has really paid off. Thanks also to Doug and Mike at North of the Border for all their support (plug plug).
VQ has a dedicated following, and if you talk to or read posts from these folks, it becomes clear that it's a special event. The idea of being tested is common. I was rattled by the difficulty I had on UHJ, but pulling it together and returning to a good performance was a mental victory.
It's dark at the 5:30am start. Not twilight, not dim, but middle of the night dark. To get there, I'd gotten up at 3am to drive up from SD. Ridiculously early, but the kind of thing you can do because it's a big day you've been anticipating for a long time. As we climb Blackstar Canyon, the lights of riders above and below float through the darkness. There are low clouds (marine layer?) and as I climb through them it gets humid and my glasses fog. I reach the gate and turn onto the Main Divide in about 52 minutes. This first climb, about 2000 feet, is just a warm up for the rest of the ride. As I reach the Doppler ball (radar installation), the sun is coming up and the clouds are a deep red.
Near the top of Blackstar, I begin to settle in, and am feeling strong on the Main Divide. It's 8 miles of fireroad - up and down, but mostly up. My right hip flexor and back is feeling tight, which hurts and could signal a long day, but I ignore it. I see a spectacular crash as a guy in front of me (later I find out his name is Eric), crashes on his single speed carbon Air Nine and loses the rear wheel. As in, when he gets up, the rear wheel is not in the drop outs. Yikes. This section takes me about 55 minutes, meaning I reach Silverado Motorway in 1:46. Then it's down, down, down.
One of the interesting and challenging things about Vision Quest is the transition between long fireroad climbs and technical, singletrack descents. Silverado Motorway is a 3 mile, 1800 foot descent on loose, rocky singletrack. After nearly 2 hours of (mostly uphill) fireroad, I find it hard to descend aggressively. My plan is to ride in control and not risk a crash, even if it means giving up some time. But I am feeling comfortable and riding pretty well. I do get smoked by a couple of guys, though. One is Fuzzy, a well known pro who rides for Niner. He and I will trade spots back and forth throughout the day, with me making it back on the climbs and Fuzzy taking the descents. I find out later that the other guy rides there all the time and knows the trail well. I'm sure that helps, but he's still hauling ass. Anyway, I make it down Motorway in about 15 minutes and hit the aid station at Maple Springs.
A seemingly endless climb leads from Maple Springs back up to the Main Divide and on to Santiago Peak. Last year, this was the toughest part of VQ for me (ok, it was a tie with the hike a bike). Seven miles of relentless climbing. 2500 feet. Then, a bit of false flat and another 4.5 miles and 1200 feet. This year it seems to go by faster. The first part of the climb is on pavement and slightly steeper. It's made harder because you're transitioning back to climbing after the long descent of Motorway and the stop at the aid station. After a while, though, I settle in, my Red Bull shot takes effect, and I start to feel pretty good. My right side loosens up and I pass a number of people. My energy continues to hold for the final section of the climb, leading to Santiago Peak. This is the highest point on the course, at about 5600 feet above sea level.
The descent from the peak to the start of the Upper Holy Jim trail is uneventful. From there things get more interesting. Upper Holy Jim is the trickiest descent in the course - steep, rocky, loose. I haven't been doing a lot of technical riding (rainy winter = lots of road riding), so I am prepared to play it safe and walk dicey sections. Even so, it feels like my front tire is all over the place. The first crash isn't too bad, but the second one is a little rougher. Both are "loose control and steer into the side of the trail" crashes. There is lots of manzanita to "cushion" my fall. After the third crash, my legs cramp pretty hard and it takes a while to get up and pull my bike off the trail. My head starts filling with a bunch of thoughts that are leading towards a freak out: this is going badly, your ride is falling apart, all the preparation down the drain, you could really get hurt, etc, etc. I turn those thoughts off, lower my seat about four inches, and act like I know how to ride this shit. This turns out to work well enough to make it down the rest of the UHJ without trouble. After a short stretch of Main Divide fireroad, I turn onto Lower Holy Jim, which is less technical. LHJ is reminiscent of San Juan Trail, probably one of the better known OC trails (at least in San Diego). I don't feel totally comfortable, though; I'm still a little shaken from UHJ. About 1/3 of the way down, I realize my front tire pressure is really low. Not sure when that happened - maybe I burped it when I crashed? maybe that's why I crashed? But in that case I think I would have noticed it sooner. The good news is that it seems to be holding air ok, it's just low. Instead of taking a minute or two to stop and put some air in, I decide to try to make it to the aid station at the bottom of LHJ. I am careful of the front tire, but eventually it's clear that I have to deal with it. When I do add air, it's such an improvement, and so quick, that I wish I'd done it earlier. Finally, I reach aid station 2. Descents are supposed to be fun, but that one had been nerve-wracking.
From aid station 2, I head up Trabuco creek trail. This is the first single track climb of the day. Trabuco is rideable, but soon I reach the turnoff to West Horse Thief, which is super steep hike a bike. For about a mile. With an average grade around 20%. Last year this section took forever, but now it goes by faster. I am also able to ride more of it, which I attribute to all the strength-building workouts I've been doing. Thanks Eric!
I reach the top of West Horsethief feeling pretty good, and realize that I have a shot at finishing in under 7 hours (last year's time was 7:28). I'm all alone as I ride the last section of Main Divide to the top of Trabuco trail. I see one other rider on Trabuco. I enjoy the descent and feel great as I hit the lower section where slower riders are still coming up. The last section of the course is 4 miles of slightly downhill dirt road. I make good use of my big ring and sub 7 hours looks certain. Then I feel that wobbly feeling in the back - flat tire! I put some air in to see if it will seal, but there's a pretty big hole in the tire. Indecision is the enemy, so rather than trying to limp out on it or wasting more time (and CO2) trying to get it to seal, I quickly throw in a tube. There's one last creek crossing, then the finish in O'Neil park.
My time is 6:48:53, good for 31st. This is about 40 minutes better than last year. I attribute the improvement to training more consistently, and with a plan; working with Coach Eric Palmer (plug plug) has really paid off. Thanks also to Doug and Mike at North of the Border for all their support (plug plug).
VQ has a dedicated following, and if you talk to or read posts from these folks, it becomes clear that it's a special event. The idea of being tested is common. I was rattled by the difficulty I had on UHJ, but pulling it together and returning to a good performance was a mental victory.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Vision Quest initial report
Great ride today in VQ - finished in about 6:50, much better than last year (~7:30). Conditions and weather were good, had some flats but no major mechanicals. Here's a photo of the post ride smile:
 |
| Muddy, bloody, and happy |
Friday, April 1, 2011
ready, set, go
The new Rodder Racing kits arrived yesterday, just in time for my first event of the spring season! Vision Quest is tomorrow: 56 miles, 11k feet of climbing. Ouch. Stay tuned for a race report.
Monday, January 24, 2011
We're number 2!
Second place is supposed to be first loser, but Team Sherpa Dog was pretty happy to take 2nd in the 2 person open category at the January 12 hours of Temecula. The course suited us, we had good weather, no mechanicals, and great support from Diana. This was our highest placing yet and puts us in good position for the 2011 series.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunny again
A few warm sunny days have mostly dried out the trails. Great view from mission trails.
Debris in the trees shows the high water mark at the Jackson Crossing. Now the water is only ankle deep. The marker in the center of the river shows 3 feet.
Debris in the trees shows the high water mark at the Jackson Crossing. Now the water is only ankle deep. The marker in the center of the river shows 3 feet.
Friday, January 7, 2011
riding with pros
Today Scott and I took some visiting pros out for a road ride. Yes, they are really pro bike riders... well, pro motorbike riders. Bradley and Cal are from the UK and visiting SD to do some conditioning before their season starts in March. We got hooked up with them because Scott knows someone who works for Monster, which is one of their sponsors. Evidently you have to be in pretty good shape to ride motorbikes (no surprise if you've ever seen a race), because Cal and Bradley had no problems keeping up as we rode from Mission Bay up to Del Mar, down along the coast and up Torrey Pines, down Shores and up Soledad, then back to MB. The photo is from the top of Soledad. They've got excellent handling skills as I can attest from our screaming descent down La Jolla Shores. We were doing about 40mph, I lightly touched the brakes in the straight to set up for the next turn, and they shot past me. It was fun to meet them - both were great guys and good to ride with. Here's hoping the get some good training in and have a great season.
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