Final thoughts on VQ...maybe.

Hey, since nothing else is going on right now, more thoughts on Vision Quest seem appropriate.

What worked:

• Having a plan several months in advance. I am waaay to old to just wander in without any training and make that kind of effort. Things like CL 2.0 kept me on track and gave me a good gauge of my fitness. I rode with a purpose. There were many times I rode alone to get the miles in at the right time. I skipped a lot of local fun rides that were not enough to build upon.
• I rode the SS a lot. Likely 2:1 over the geared bike. I kept taking it on progressively harder and longer rides which was not only good training, it was eye opening as what can be done on an single geared bike.
• I had figured out my diet by then. I found out that Snickers bars work just as good as Power Bars and are a lot cheaper (and tastier). I used Accelerade in a water bottle, water in the Camelbak, and that worked very well. Fluid recovery drink is awesome. It made the day after a much better place to be. I used S caps for cramping prevention. I only used Gus on VQ itself.
  
• I changed nothing, tried nothing new. All my clothing, bike set-up, tire choice, etc was all proven.
• I had a good grasp on my pace. I did not go out too fast, too early and I knew what I could sustain.

What did not work:

Well, not much, really. I would have liked more long rides in the training program. It would have added to the overall speed of the ride and my confidence level going into it. Besides that, it was all I could have asked for.

Postscript...there actually was one thing that did not work. Peanut butter. How does anyone eat that stuff? I was at one of the aid stops and there were a few PBJs on the table. Now I hate peanut butter and I have never had a PBJ before, but I figured it was worth the yucky taste to get some good calories. I grabbed one, took a bite and my mouth seized up. It was like eating a scoop of wood putty. I expected it to taste bad, but I was not prepared for the consistency. No wonder dogs lick that stuff off of the roof of their mouths for hours. I feel their pain and I would never do that to a dog after this. Cruel and inhuman, I tell ya. Peanut butter...it is NOT what is for dinner.

PPS: Here are a couple of pics I caught from this post on SCTR: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/32290-vq-wrong-way.html

The near fatal PBJ encounter happened at this aid station. That is me...#46, blue gray jersey. Ain't I good lookin' though?

Thoughts on a Vision Quest

"Three...two...one...GO!" I heard those words shouted over the PA system (well, just a bull horn really), from the 'throne' of one of those plastic potties behind the starting line of the Vision Quest. It was still dark, my flashlight I had strapped to my helmet had the lumens output of a pair of excited fireflies, I was missing the start of the race, and as I hurried to re-assemble my clothing post-nature call, my windbreaker unzipped from the bottom up. Nice. Great start (or non-start, as if were).

KT, Rich, and Ron, the guys I came up here with, were long gone.

So, I had about 135 riders ahead of me as I began my quest. Nowhere to go but up in the ranks! And up it was. The ride began easily along Blackstar Rd. The climbing started soon enough and as the morning sky broke into dawn, we topped out on the first ascent. The fast guys were off the front, so I was passing slower folks all along the way and I felt quite good. I was riding pretty conservatively since I did not want to burn the candle too brightly, too early, but my pace felt in control and smooth.

The previous night while setting up camp, I was regretting not running the Edge carbon wheelset with some of the Fastrak LK tires. It certainly would have been fast. I had passed on that for a couple of reasons: not being able to go tubeless and thinking I might have wanted a bigger tire for the rougher sections of trail. What made me feel better was counting 12 riders alongside the road repairing flat tires before the Main Divide Rd. Why so many flats? Dunno. Thorns on a fireroad that sees all kinds of vehicle traffic? Unlikely. Pinch flats on a fireroad climb? Never heard of that. Whatever it was, I never felt like the Hope/Flows/2.2 Captain Control combo was an issue. They rolled well and absolutely shined in the techy, rocky trails in the race. Next time I would possibly downsize to a slightly smaller tire, but I would not give up tubeless for the world.

I hit the top of the first climb, peeled out of the windbreaker, spun up the Ipod and pushed shuffle-all songs. On the virtual turntable: Third Day...'Cry Out To Jesus'. That may happen any time now.

A lot more climbing followed on the Main Divide Rd and it was still cold. Frost on the ground attested to that, but it was going to be a beautiful day. I was glad I had the long sleeve jersey on. Brrr. Each climb was followed by a quick drop and it was chilly up there.

Now I had picked a somewhat arbitrary goal of eight hours as a finishing time. Honestly, I expected to be a nine hour finisher, but better to aim high. I also decided to leave the camera in the camper and stop as little as possible at any aid station, etc. This really paid off as I will see later on.

More climbing...Ipod rockin' to the Soundtrack from Madagascar: 'I Like To Move It, Move It'.

It took me three hours to get to Maple Springs Aid Station #1. That was one hour before the cut off time. I thought that was a bit slow, but if I could hold a one hour cushion to each cutoff point, I would be OK. I fueled up at Maple Springs and rolled out on the paved road. About 100 yards out, I had a big old leg cramp, right leg, inner thigh, knee to crotch. WHAAaaa? Three hours!!!! I did not even feel all that bad otherwise. I got off of the bike and tried to stretch it out but the cramp just got worse. So, I got back on the bike to see if I could pedal. I could, so off I went, but I was very concerned and I was really trying to soft pedal for a while. I could see cramps at eight hours, but three? Not a good sign. Oddly enough, I never had another cramp all day. The paved road was deceptively steep. It kinda hurt. But as soon as the road turned to dirt, the pace picked up and I felt better. I had a feeling that we were headed to some serious elevation gains and every so often I could see a peak with antennas, etc. I figured this: If it was high, had a road on it, and was in the direction of travel, we were heading up it. I accepted that and smiled. Let's go.

Tune of the moment...'I Play Chicken With The Train', Cowboy Troy.

Modjeska Peak, Santiago Peak...first one then the other. Excellent views. It felt like we climbed forever, but it had an end at last. There were a few patches of ice and snow on the North side as we began the descent.

Pink was 'Gettin' The Party Started' on the Ipod and promising to "kick my ***". Motivating, indeed.

Upper Holy Jim trail began the singletrack section and it was chock full of something I truly suck at: switchbacks. Toss in a bunch of rock steps to drop off of and add fatigue and I was not happy. I am glad that Lenzsport bends that top tube as I tested the clearance once in a painful way. Every so often the 29er feels a little big and awkward and this was one of them, but really I was just riding like a beginner...all brakes, no balance, no flow. I let one rider pass and he just danced by. Crap! OK, self, time to get your act together. It got better from there...relax, look ahead, less brakes, more faith in your bike. Lower Holy Jim was very fun. By then I was riding like I had a clue again. The trail crossed the creek many times and it was just beautiful in there although I was not looking around much.

James Taylor was talkin' 'bout 'Mexico'.

One rider asked when the cutoff time was and I said 12:30. Oops. Sorry dude. I got that wrong as I was soon to discover.

I hit the go/no-go cutoff point at aid station #2. If you do not beat the cutoff time, you are denied continuing on the Vision Quest course and you are directed to the Counting Coup finish. When I rolled up, someone shouted, "You better hurry, you have seven minutes till the cut-off time!" WHAAAATTTT!!!!???? I stuffed my face with an orange slice, filled up my water needs and ran past the checkpoint like I was escaping East Berlin before the wall went up.

Seven minutes. Seven. Seven minutes nearly separated me from that feather. That was about ten pictures worth of time if I had brought the camera. One flat tire. Maybe two or three minutes here or there to look at the views or stretch my legs. If I had not set a goal of eight hours, I would have been way less focused on moving along. So even though eight hours was not realistic, it made nine hours possible and for that I was glad. I did not come that far to take the lesser path.

From here, I rode/pushed/rode up Trabuco to the beginning of Horse Thief trail. I had expected the hike-a-bike. It was pretty heinous from what I had heard and it was. Still, I knew that there was an end to it. A top to the mountain. And all I had to do to get there was to keep moving. I could do that. I would push for a few minutes and rest for a few seconds, but I was a happy man. I was going to make it. The Ipod spit out songs at random and they all flowed into some surreal mix: Casting Crowns, Soul Control, Shakira, & Phillips, Craig and Dean.

There were a lot of riders below me that had made the cutoff too. Surprising. Forty Five minutes later I topped out on the hike-a-bike and I knew I had it in the bag. That feather was mine. I took a bit more time here at the aid station. I had earned it. At this point I was fighting for 110th position or whatever, but as long as I did not crash or get lost, I was a finisher and that, after all, was my ultimate goal.

I really enjoyed the trail down Trabuco. That is some sweet stuff. Fast, wide, under the trees...wow.

Michael Buble stepped up to the mic as the scene blurred by...: "When marimba rhythms start to play..." Somehow it seemed like a good time to dance.

From there it was just a matter of head down and hammer to the end. Why hammer? I dunno, cuz I could, I guess. I felt pretty good so I just flew and crossed the line five minutes before 03:00. Someone was shouting "Rider number 100!". I am not sure if that is significant, but they seemed excited. More than likely they shouted that when rider number 1 and 10 and 32 and 65 and 72 and 125 came across the line. I took the finisher's badge of honor; the feather.

Fifty six point five miles, 11,000+' of climbing, 9.5 hours. Six Gu's, two Snickers bars, one Payday, ten electrolyte capsules, three bottles of Accelerade, lots of songs played. Where did the day go?

I filled up a couple of bottles of Fluid recovery drink and sat for a minute, still buzzing from the whole thing. It was time for a shower, food, and swapping stories among the group. I hung the feather on the edge of my gear bag and walked away a tired, happy man. Next goal? Well, I have some ideas.

A feather in my cap

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:30-31

One day to go

The rain soaked things pretty good on Wednesday, but the storms have rolled out and the weather looks clear for Vision Quest. It looks like I have the option of camping in a motor home instead of a tent so that is a cool deal. The group has a pasta dinner planned the night before. I will bring the tent anyway just in case I feel the need to slip away and find a quiet place.

The race begins in the dark, but within 30 minutes tops we will be in the light of dawn. I am not going to haul my lights around the whole day for that, so I am going to strap an LED flashlight to my helmet and creep along till the sun wakes up.

The bug that seemed to be trying to get me has lost the battle for now. Thank goodness for carrot juice and KM (an herbal drink). Just in case that was too healthy I made sure I was sampling chocolate chip cookies and brownies too. Ya can't be too careful.

Tonite I will spin around on the Lev to make sure it is happy and then I will pack up for the race. Getting up to race at 04:00AM really sounds fun. Yay.

I am really looking forward to the race. I am going to adjust my focus a little bit as well. Instead of treating it like a big, supported ride, I am looking to travel lighter and faster. I have no chance of hitting the podium...if there even is one...but my mindset is a bit more toward racing than just surviving. I am hoping that this will keep me ahead of the cut-off times and keep me from napping at the rest stops, etc. Maybe more head game than reality, but if it gets me to keep moving and hit my goal of 8 hours, then bully for me.

8 hours. Hah. I have no idea if that is even realistic. But as the saying goes, "If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it."

Weekend report

Well, it was the last couple of days that I could add any significant saddle time to the bank account pre-VQ. I was on the leash for work, so I could not go far from home. Luckily my home town has quite a bit of surrounding roads and trails, not world class, but they will do in a pinch. I strung together 3 loops and ended up with 5 hours of riding time, likely 35 miles and quite a bit of climbing. I would have pushed to 6 hours, but I ran out of water at 4 hours and that was enough for me.

So, how do I feel about VQ? Well, I would feel a lot better if I had gotten more 6 hour rides in, but I was not at all feeling like I wanted to stop climbing or riding at 5 hours, so if I can feed myself well and avoid pushing too hard early on and cramping, I feel pretty good about crossing the tape. But, anything can happen. I have finished rides that had begun to truly suck a couple of hours before they were supposed to, so unless I run out of time or feel like I am doing myself harm, I will keep moving forward.

The weather, however, may have other plans. Rain is in the forecast for most of the week, not heavy rain, but rain nonetheless. I would love to race under cloudy skies. Even light rain could be OK. I did hold off mounting the tires for the race. I am thinking of the Mtn Kings as a moist conditions tire, not as fast as the Crossmark in the smooth stuff, but waaaaay better in overall traction.

Significant blogging and pretty pics will be off track till I get past this hurdle, a 50+ mile, 11,000' foot hurdle.

One week to go.

Vision Quest is one week and a couple of days away. Pretty much in my lap. I figure I have two good rides left before I taper a bit. Tonite I will get a decent loop on the SS and Sat I will get a few hours around the local hills. That is all my situation allows due to work obligations on the weekend.

I will be riding the Lev of course. No SS. I have decided to not run the carbon fiber Edge wheels. Even though they are a bit lighter overall, I cannot help but choose the tubeless set-up of the Flows over the svelte Edge rims. I will run an Ignitor front and Crossmark rear. That is a pretty fast but good sized combo that I know works. I was going to buy a 20T small chainring but I never got around to it. I may regret that 10,000 feet into the 11,000' of gain in that race. We shall see.

I have my food and prep all worked out. I will grab some Gu, but of late I have had really good results with Snickers Bars, Oatmeal cookies, trail mix, Pop-Tarts, and Payday Bars for ride food. I have not used a Power Bar or Clif Bar in ages and I do not miss them at all.

Accelerade in a bottle, plus a couple of baggies of powder to resupply during the ride, S Caps for electrolytes (2 per hour max), and of course, the always awesome Fluid recovery drink for the after ride glow. HAH!

Depending on the weather, I am wearing as little clothing as I can get away with and the Octane XC will be on my back. I just can't wean myself off of a hydration pack. Camera? Not sure. Still debating that one.

Ipod for sure.

I have a goal of 8 hours as a finish time. Realistic? Not sure, but it will keep me on point better than just "I want to finish".

That said, I want to finish.

Triple Bypass: the road to VQ

Well, this weekend required that I stay close to home for work reasons, so in order to get some saddle time, I strung three local rides together, each one an hour+ and each one looping back through town so I could respond to any calls from the boss.

I rode the Lev. This route has climbs all over it with grades as much as 20%, averaging 12% or so. So, off I went loaded up with some left over Halloween candybars, one Gu from the Demo Days, and 70oz in the Camelbak plus one bottle of Accelerade. I must have been feeling optimistic.

Not enough food and water. Not even enough. First of all, it was quite hot. Not sure what the deal was, but it felt way warm. So, I ended up rationing water the last hour and wishing I had a bit more food with me. I did not eat much of the Pay Day bars, slammed the Gu at the 3 hour mark, and rode on.

I had a touch of an inner thigh cramp in the right leg as I went to push a big gear on the last climb in the top of the fourth hour. Huh. Same spot it always cramps first...right there. I took the last S Caps and sucked a bit more water down, feeling my pack get reeeal light. Not much splashing around in there. My low back muscles were very flared up too. This has been more and more of an issue as of late. Not sure how to deal with that. I have been stepping up the upper body and core stuff with side plank pushups, normal planks, and V sits. Maybe I can support my low back muscles better, maybe it is just my back getting less flexible and more cranky. Not sure. Getting older kinda sucks sometimes.

Back at home, I hit the shade of the front lawn and had 3 gulps left in the hydration pack. My right thigh was trying to cramp so I got up and walked into the kitchen to make up some Fluid recovery drink. Man, that tasted good. I really underestimated water needs today.

It felt like a hard day, sitting there on the lawn. Even my upper body was feeling worked. After loading the GPS into TopoFusion, I was surprised to find it to be 30 miles and 4800' of climbing over that 4 hours of riding. I figure that Vision Quest will be twice that in nearly every way: time, gain in elevation and miles. I have some work to do and I need to pay better attention to fueling the body. Leg cramps halfway through would be bad. Leg cramps have been and perhaps always will be my cross to bear. I think I am going to get onto the road bike a bit and see if I can get more miles with less brutality to the bod. Gotta try something.

Anyway, I was toast that night. I just wanted my hammock,but I had barely an hour before I was off to errands and church stuff. No rest for the weary.

The next day was chores day. Lawns, leaves, boxes, stuff, eBay ads...phew! Ya know what? I had plenty of energy all day. I still think the Fluid stuff is magic powder. I know I would normally be lagging in energy after a drag down like the previous day.

So, next week I am headed to elevation for a good singletrack ride, unless winter says otherwise. If it does get all snowy, perhaps I will spin the road bike up one canyon or another.

It all adds up to VQ. It is good to have a goal.

Weekend Ride

Now, is that a thrilling title for a blog post or what? I was on the pager for work this week, so no big rides. Instead, I put together a little three loop jaunt around town by stringing three normal one hour rides into a triple crown wonder ride. I must have done it right, cause I ran out of water (70 oz + one bottle) right as I came out of the singletrack return

Stats: 30 miles, 3 hours and 3700' of climbing. Not epic, but better than staying on the couch and it all adds up to Vision Quest.

VQ Training Ride 1

Well, with VQ coming up in a few months, I figured I would see where I stood, fitness wise. Well, I am still standing, but perhaps on one leg and I think VQ will take 2 legs. Still, I figure I am halfway there.

This ride was 34 miles and had 4682' of climbing. It was supposed to be 50% pavement and 50% dirt, but it ended up being a bit more pave' then anticipated due to technical difficulties. More on that as we go.

First, the steeds for the day: Lev and Dos.




The Dos belongs to Ed. Ed is pretty fit and is training for a 12 hour solo effort in Nov. Go, big Ed.

We hit the road into a cold morning and a slight breeze as we began an 8 mile climb. I had noticed a low rear tire when I unracked my bike, but the tire looked sound and the Stan's juice should fix any pokey thingy...not. Guess I let the Stan's goop dry out and it was soon that I was slapping in a tube on the side of the road. Delay #1.

We topped out with views of Red Mtn and Elderberry Forebay. Say hi to Ed.



We dropped about 1500' and headed into Cienega Cyn and the narrows. In the spring, the creek runs right down the middle of the road. Very nice. Alder, Sycamores, poison oak.



The climb out is a bit of pedaling. As we were in the midst of it, Ed was about 10' in front of me when all of a sudden, *POW*. Tube goiter. We fixed it, but it left a bit of a question as to the integrity of the bead seat on the Bonty rim and the tire. Very loose fit, and the rim tape was a bit in the way of the bead area of the narrow rim. I love my Stan's rims. No worries for me, but Ed was a bit concerned, especially when the first tube change leaked immediately and then we had one more flat at the top of the climb. Bad juju.




To help us get home without any more issues, we kept to the pavement and skipped that last section of dirt. Good thing too, as I was flirting with cramps on the top of the last hill.

A good day all around, but I figure I have work to do and plenty of time to do it. Today's total: 34 miles and 4682' of climbing.

The Trail to Vision Quest Begins.

VQ. Just the initials seem to strike fear and respect into So Cal mtn biker's hearts. Vision Quest. Perhaps the premier endurance race in California, VQ and the lesser Counting Coup is a cruel day in the saddle hosted by the Warrior's Society.



I plan on finding out if the stories are true. I am signed up for next year's event. I am one of the lucky ones (lucky???) as it closed registration the same day it opened.

"Popular, this suffering is" - Yoda during his time spent endurance racing in the Toth system.

I have done one 50 miler in Brianhead, one 35 mile race, and the 45 mile 40 Something ride I did last year plus the 1st loop of the Julian Death March. That is the extent of my endurance racing and long ride experience of this past year(s).

I have some work to do. Stay tuned as I blog every so often about the prep work and thoughts leading up to the race day. I may not finish, but I don't plan on quitting. At odds? Perhaps.

"A, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning, racing experience unknown.