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Finished the work on both of our bikes tonight. My stomach is in knots. I keep going over and over my gear, double and triple checking what I am bringing.
Vision Quest is going to hurt on Saturday. If all goes well my next entry will be one of conquest.
The list:
Salsa Dos Niner with 2 large bottles (Cytomax, Perpetuem), Gel Flask with Hammer Gel, Camelbak with 2L of water with Elete, Enduralytes, Sportlegs, Tums, Vitamin I, solid food snacks (bars and fruit snacks), 2 tubes, pump, CO2, mini tool, tire lever...
I will be wearing my favorite PI bibshorts, a borrowed The Path XC jersey (for some reason I still don't have one), my Hoss vest, arm warmers for a little while, my thick wool socks, my favorite 661 gloves, my helmet, my Specialized glasses, Specialized shoes, and my Ironman Ipod Control watch.
I will be cold rolling off the start, and will get colder on the flats at speed, and might warm up some on the way up Blackstar... I will be sweating some on Main Divide, and I am not sure I will be feeling anything but pain from Maple Springs on...
Here is what the route looks like. Doesn't look quite so bad...
What am I thinking!? I like racing DH! This is nuts!
I'm losing it!
Bring it on!
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There was lots of rain last week! We weren't quite sure what we were going to be up against this weekend. Regardless I was looking forward to some fun racing and some interesting conditions!
Friday evening Allison and I drove up to Fontana after work to walk the DH course. The course looked very fun, with lots of high speed sections and pedaling. There were a few little rock sections, but nothing that posed any real challenge technically.
Saturday turned out perfect. There were very few puddles on the XC course and the dirt was probably the best it has ever been. The course was super fast. I was hoping that riding Allison’s Salsa Dos Niner was going to make a positive impact on my lap times. The bike is significantly lighter (2lbs or so) and has a smaller front ring (28T, still 1X9 with 11-34 cassettes). I hoped that the lower gearing would allow me to conserve energy for attacks and maintain a higher cadence on the climbs. While the lower gearing would be good for climbing, I hoped it wouldn’t hurt me on the flats too much. Unfortunately it turned out my primary competition also got a new bike, he dropped 4 lbs.!
At the start I went full bore and didn’t ever once let up. On the first big climb I was moving along nicely but was unable to hold him off. He passed me before the first single track section and I never got close to him again. Although I wasn’t in contention for first, I never let up. I wound up bettering my best time on the course by over a minute. At first this may not seem like much, but considering that I lost probably 30-45 seconds behind slow traffic on the single track descents I was quite pleased with my effort. My competition on the other hand bettered his fastest time by a huge margin and won the race by over 3 minutes. I have to say that with a combination of blistering fast descents and rocket like climbing, I will be relegated to fighting for second for the remainder of this season. With some luck I will continue to make improvements in my fitness and conditioning and keep edging closer to being one of the fast guys on the course.
After racing XC I switched bikes and hit the DH track for some practice. I was able to get four pretty decent practice runs in, but knew that riding the course in the dry on Saturday would only partially prepare me for mud racing on Sunday. We made a slight change this race by driving the extra distance home after racing, declining to stay with friends closer to the venue. My hopes were that I would sleep better at home. I think it worked out for the better, although more expensive due to fuel consumption.
Sunday morning it was raining pretty good. I geared up and checked in. I was on the second shuttle to the top. I had a tear-off on my goggles and attacked the course knowing that with continuing rainfall and traffic the mud would be worse later on. This was my first time racing in mud and I had some things to figure out. I got the tear-off situation figured out and adjusted my lines slightly from Saturday. After the first run I went over to “Vendor Row” and I picked up a THE fender for the front of my bike to help keep the mud off my goggles. I didn’t want to wear myself out so I waited for a while in the cold and wet before making one final practice run. The second run was much soupier as expected. I was not sure where my time would stack up against my competition. I knew that all my Vision Quest training would be wasted if I got hurt, so I ran a tad on the conservative side in my race run. I had one bobble where I lost a pedal on a short rocky uphill section, but for the most part I kept good speed, pedaling hard on the flat sections. Near the finish I had nearly caught the guy that starts in front of me. After crossing the line I was exhausted. I thought for sure that losing my pedal had cost me the race.
I quickly changed clothes and went back up the course to spectate and cheer for my friends and team mates. When I finally made it back down to see the results I was shocked to see I had won my class by 8 seconds! I don’t know where I made up time, or others lost time, but I am sure that the long flat pedal sections play to my favor due to fitness.
It was a great weekend! Thanks to all who came out to race and support the racers in the rain, and thanks to my sponsors!
Special thanks to those who took the photos: Allison, Sharky, Steph and Dan. My blog entries would suck without you!!!!!
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Sunday we determined that a nice easy social ride was in order. We headed over to south OC to ride with about 30 people from STR. The ride wound up being a nice rolling 16 mile route with some fun single track and not too much climbing, around 1600ft or so. My legs were a little lethargic in the beginning of the ride, but once we got rolling I was okay. The weather was great and it was really fun to hang out with people we have not seen in quite a while. After the ride we hit up a nice little sports bar. Good times, good fun!
Pictures...
Just riding along, the pace was nice and easy. My legs couldn't have taken another training ride!
One of the many regroups. It was nice to stop and take a look at all the greenery! Last time we rode in this area it was very brown.
Another regroup. I think I like riding the Dos. It is lighter and a bit flexy, but very comfortable. I need to move my cleats a bit as I am getting some toe rub when the suspension compresses.
Some of the single track is very fun. The dirt was perfect, no dust, lots of traction!
Quite a few people missed this bridge and wound up in the culvert, I almost went off the side but saved it.
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This weekend marks our last Vision Quest training ride. In two weeks time, we will be tested. We will test our endurance, our toughness, and we will most likely learn something about ourselves. You might ask me, what is with the “we”? The “we” is because I will be riding VQ with my wife. She is an amazing person, and I love her dearly. Hopefully, I have prepared her sufficiently to finish Vision Quest.
The route for the last training ride was:
Start at the bottom of San Juan Trail
Climb San Juan Trail to Blue Jay Campground
Climb Main Divide Truck Trail to Trabuco Trail
Descend Trabuco to the Holy Jim Trail
Climb Holy Jim Trail to Main Divide
Traverse Main Divide to West Horse Thief Trail
Descend West Horse Thief to Trabuco
Climb Trabuco to Main Divide Truck Trail
Down Main Divide Truck Trail to Blue Jay Campground
Down San Juan Trail and back to the truck.
If you have not ridden some of these trails, they are lots of fun. We finished with approximately 45 miles and nearly 10,000 feet of climbing. 80% of the ride was single track. The weather was perfect. Steph and Dan joined us for the ride and it was awesome to share 11 hrs. on the trails with them. I have to say that I will be glad when Vision Quest is over, but I can only hope that afterwards the four of us continue our friendship as they are fabulous people to be around. On to some photos (courtesy of Allison and Steph)
We prepare to depart on our journey, it was cold (34F)...
Climbing up San Juan... you gotta love those switches!
Nearing Cocktail Rock early in the morning, I was feeling really good!
What a view to the west!
The view to the east from Main Divide was great as well!
Along the way it is nice to stop and check out the scenery. It also lets the girls catch up :)
This is the stream crossing on Trabuco, after descending West Horse Thief. Things got really tough climbing Trabuco. I did some hiking...
After reaching the top of Trabuco, we started the descent back to the truck (with a little climbing thrown in to remind us of how many miles we had in our legs). It was getting late and my light was broken. Allison slashed a sidewall that required fixing, TWICE. I was then in a race to beat sunset...
I was able to finish the ride, just before it got really dark. What a great day with great friends.
Sunset photo... 
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The starting lineup...
XC – The race start was better this time. I got out cleanly and led for a while, I didn't really want to lead, but I also didn’t want to have someone help my competition form a gap on the single track.
On the asphalt climb a new racer I had never raced against passed me. He is a roadie that rides with Cal Pool & Spa, I have a few friends on that team, so I figured I should probably mark him as a possible threat. I latched onto his wheel. I should have known to get in front of him before the fast single track descent given that he was a roadie, it probably cost me 15-20 seconds descending behind him. At the first cement culvert he suddenly dropped his bike and dove off the trail, I later found out he lost his sunglasses and was running back to go get them. I never saw him again on the course and he finished a distant third. At this point I realize that my move to mark the new guy was a bad one. I decided to stick it out and keep a nice even pace until my real competition makes his move. I glanced back a few times during the first lap and he wasn’t far behind, maybe 15 or 20 seconds. Towards the end of the first lap I decided to try to conserve some energy and didn’t really push hard on the flats. I tried to get him to pass me so I could draft, but he is a better tactician than that. He chased me all the way through the start finish and pulled alongside me as we started lap two. We joked around a bit about the wind, it seemed to be a headwind everywhere! I let him go in front as we started the climbing, making sure to let him know I appreciated him towing me up the hills. When we got to the asphalt again, I thought he was going to attack. He stood up and shifted and I was certainly ready, but if he was really attacking, it was weak and was easily matched. I shifted and stood and pulled away pretty easily. It was mostly a test to see how he was doing, and to get a bit of a butt break. I sat back down and stayed in front onto the single track. I was pretty surprised when he bobbled at a tricky little spot that most course veterans are ready for. At this point I was thinking I might take the win. I led down the single track and onto the sandy section, and then up the next climb. He was right on my wheel again as we were climbing. Near the top of the hardest climb, he attacked. I matched his attack and could have stayed out front, but made a horrible tactical error. I let him take the lead onto the single track. I thought that maybe he was in trouble, and that I would hold his wheel until the next climb where I would attack hard. As we started the single track descent, he took a turn off course where last year’s course went. I stayed on the new course and called out to him that he was off course. He wound up a bit ahead of me when the trails merged. This whole thing sort of messed me up mentally. Were we still racing? Since he had cut the course does he get a time penalty? I lost focus. He pulled away on the descent, and then stayed away all the way up the next climb and down the next descent. Instead of focusing on reeling him in and beating him, I was thinking about what the penalty was for cutting the course. I never caught him on the flats. He crossed the line 50 seconds in front of me. After the race I decided that I wasn’t going to protest, if he wanted to go to the race director and let them know that he cut the course that was fine. It was discovered that the penalty would be a disqualification. I didn’t want to win that way. He beat me by 50 seconds and the course cut saved him maybe 20 seconds. My own lack of mental toughness, my lack of focus, is why he pulled an additional 30 seconds away from me. So I took home second. I could have had first, but it wasn’t worth it to me. I enjoy the competition and hope that maybe next time I will come out on top fair and square.
After the race we were all hanging out having fun. We consumed a few adult beverages and then...
Post race shenanigans. Who fed the animal beer?!?!?!
DH – I was really not pleased with my practice runs on Saturday. I did two full course runs that were very slow, and made a few runs at the rock garden. I was trying to help Allison work through some issues she was having, mostly just mental stuff as she is really an amazing rider when she gets her head squared away. I didn’t have any crashes, but I didn’t go fast at all. Sunday morning I got a good semi fast full length run in and decided I wanted a bit more air in my tires so I rode to the truck and added 5 or 10 psi. I headed back up to get one race pace type run, but it didn’t really work out. On the top section I washed out on the off camber right hander and went down. The only thing injured was my pride, but it did mess up that run. I got back on the bike to continue the run only to get stopped at the top of the rock garden. One of the other racers had crashed really hard and the course was closed. I decided that it would be best to hike back up to the top to get my final practice run in. Once at the top I decided to wait and see if Allison would show up soon, which she did. Turns out she was having a good morning, and I was glad I waited for her. I did my full length run and decided that I could be fast on the course, but that the course evened the playing field between the fit and unfit riders. I waited for a while and then hiked up along the course with my bike so that I could see some Pros ride, and cheer for friends. When I finally lined up to race, I had good focus. I sprinted out of the gate, banged through some gears and made quick work of the S-turn. I had good speed going. I came into the off camber right hander too fast, tried to stick the inside line but 2 wheel drifted out into the soft stuff. Fortunately I hadn’t banged through too many gears and was able to pedal out of it without losing too much time. I had spotted a few new lines while hiking up that I hadn’t practiced, and went for them on my race run. They worked out okay and I felt like I was carrying good speed. On the flat and bumpy section I lost a lot of speed. Instead of efficiently pumping the terrain, I was trying to pedal through it and I expended a bunch of energy with no real gain in speed. The next section that I lost time on was the entrance to the rock garden. I scrubbed speed coming in, but then didn’t execute the hard right turn correctly and entered the top of the rock garden at a crawl. On the bright side, I was able to nail my line and didn’t crash. I also didn’t do what it took to win and was 4 seconds back from 1st place in my class.
In summary I think this weekend was a great learning experience. I came home with a 2nd in XC and a 3rd in DH. I am really enjoying my racing this season. My fitness is outstanding and getting better all the time. Next weekend will be more training rides. Vision Quest is only three weeks away now. Am I ready for it? I guess so. I can tell you for sure I am ready for it to be over with! Till next time, keep the rubber side down...
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It is really tough to train in the rain.
Today I wanted to get in some miles and climbing since we didn't get enough yesterday, but the wife really struggles in the rain. Our planned route would have been 12 miles and 2500ft of climbing, but we didn't even get half that in. We were soaked immediately. I didn't think it was so bad as long as I was climbing, but the wife was really whining. In the end I think we got maybe 5 miles and 1200 ft in.
What is worse than arguing with the wife on the trail in the middle of a rainstorm? Now I have to do a ton of maintenance on the bikes before the race this weekend! Oh well. Make the best of it. On the bright side the bikes should be in tip top shape for Round 3.
I will hit the trainer one night this week and try to prepare for some major pain. I think I can win another one in XC if I keep it close and attack on the flats on the second lap. Should be interesting to say the least!
Good luck to everyone! 3 more weekends before VQ... 2 race weekends and 1 training weekend. Are we ready? I don't know for sure, but we will soon find out!
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Or, one month 'till VQ suffering.
Today I rode withAllison, Stephanie, and Dan for a 37 mile jaunt through the north end of the Santa Ana Mtns. I really wanted more mileage than that, I was hoping for somewhere around 50 miles knowing that the total elevation gain would be on the weak side (I think we wound up with around 6500 ft), but the combination of some first class Pain Divide suffering and biting cold really took it's toll on all of us.
After climbing up Blackstar, and traversing Main Divide we had a bit of a celebrity sighting. Leslie (Niner Bikes sponsored rider, Vision Quest SS Record holder) was out riding with her husband Eric and Carol Anne (Brian Blair from The Path's girlfriend).
Photo by Stephanie
Since they were going to go down Eagle Road, up Skyline Truck Trail, and back down Blackstar we decided to ride along with them. We all had a fun time descending Eagle Road and then did some pavement riding to get over to Skyline.
Photo by Stephanie
As soon as the road turned upwards, Leslie was off the front. I held on to Eric and Carol Anne until she and I slowed slightly and Eric shot off the front. Carol Anne is quite an incredible person and we had some great conversation, which was really nice except for two things. I was pegged trying to keep up with her on the climb, and in the process had completely dropped my original riding partners. About 2/3 of the way up Skyline I decided it would be prudent to regroup with my riding partners and bid farewell to Carol Anne. It was really cool riding with them for a while though and I was very impressed with all of their capacity for suffering on sustained climbs. I doubled back and rode down to find Dan resting, from our vantage point we could see Allison and Steph below climbing up. Continuing up Skyline we all were feeling fatigued. At the top we stopped briefly to eat something and bundle up for the descent, then headed down Blackstar.
I had a blast chasing Dan down the hill, he is quite the DH racer and I feel that I can learn some things from him even if we are riding XC bikes in lycra. We made fast work of the descent and headed to Chipotle for some burritos. After filling our gullets, we drove over to The Path and ran into lots of friends. We hung out for a good long time and spent a little money.
I had a great day and hope to get some more miles in tomorrow before having to go back to work on Monday. I need all the training I can get for the XC race next weekend. I am tied for first in points right now, and am up against some really stiff competition. I will be going all out to try and win the series!
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