As the day of reckoning grew closer, I felt less and less motivated to do it. This winter brought us lots of rain and very limited training time on the dirt. I really didn't train or get the base miles in that I wanted to for the VQ. The last time I was on a bike for at least 4 plus hours was about 2 months before race day. I really didn't feel confident about the race going into it, but I would put down my best effort, regardless. It was great to have Alping Rob repeat as sag support along with newcomer Matt. Matt failed during the registration process and decided he would just support his fellow riders.
Of course the day started out early with a 3:30am wakeup call. The worst part about VQ is waking up. Damn 5:30am start times! I grabbed my gear and headed off to the event. Luckily, it only takes me 20 minutes to get there. The morning was cold, but not too cold. The forecast called for nice sunny weather in the upper 70's! Yet another great day for a bike race. As the start time approached, I headed down to the start line while making sure I gave my feed bag to Matt. In years past, I've always started towards the middle or back of the pack. This year I made sure to start out in the front. If I was to put in a good time, I had to make sure I would be out of harms way this year especially with the extra hour of racing in the dark up Blackstar due to DST. I brought my MagicShine bike light which was more than enough light. I was surprised that others opted not to bring a light at all especially a couple of the pro's. It was pitch black at the start.
After Chris Vargas's encouraging words, which I didn't listen to at all, the race was on! My start was a good one and I was able to latch on to the back of the lead pack of 15 riders or so. We stayed together pretty much until the first switchback when the really climbing began. The pro's took off for the races and I decided I would try to stick to Tim Z's wheel for as long as I could. Tim eventually started to pull away and it would have been a wasted effort to chase. I settled into a ryhtym that wasn't comfortable or excrutiating. I wanted to keep the pace high without killing myself. I came upon a rider about a 2/3's the way up to Beek's that didn't have a light. As I passed, he stuck to my wheel so he had a line to follow. Turns out this rider was James Walsh. Super cool guy. I've never met him before, but I knew we race in the same age group and category at the state races. We were chatting a little bit back and forth. I felt he was pushing me a bit while we were riding together. As we approached Beek's, I looked at my split (44ish) and I was off to a great pace! Eventually, I lost James after a climb (turns out he took a piss) and I was on my own for my journey towards Maple Springs. It was no longer dark at this time as there was enough daylight to see. I kept the pace high and the legs were feeling strong. I passed another rider while bombing down Motorway. That was the Tallboy's first time down that trail and it was quite impressive. I got to the base of Maple Springs in 1:47ish. Wow...this has to be a personal best. I found Matt in his bright orange jacket at the first aid station. I took off my lights while Matt and Rob exchanged my water bottles. Off I went for the 2nd leg.
Motorway
Motorway again
Climbing up the pavement on Maple is my least favorite part. I despise that pavement. For some reason it's just harder until you hit the dirt 4 miles later. I decided to scale it back a little bit to take in some much needed fluids in the form of Vitargo and EFS. Not too much longer after I started climbing the pavement, the rider I passed on Motorway catches up to me in no time. He complimented me for hauling ass down Motorway. Turns out this rider was Guy Sutton. I complimented him as he was hauling ass up the pavement. He's a really strong rider. It started to get lonely riding by myself. I remember looking down on the ground and seeing some writing on the ground in chalk. I look and see my friend's name Ryan Meyer. I thought to myself...that's cool! As I rode on I saw more familiar names written in chalk with words of encouragement. Then I came across my own name and seriously was laughing from what I read. It said, "Jason Rusnak, Where's the wig?" and I knew exactly who wrote it at that point. There's a whole inside story behind that. That really did put a smile on my face and helped me forget about pedaling that damn pavement for awhile. Finally, I reach the dirt and press on. I see some people hiking up the dirt and turns out it was Ryan's friends. I think they were surprised to see me this early in the day and actually I was quite surprised to seem them this early on as well. Their cheers were awesome and I heard they cheered everyone that went by! Those guys rule! Check out this video they made. The rest of the climb went well. It took me 58 minutes to get to 4 corners. Climbing up towards the peak was another lonely adventure. I couldn't wait to get up and over as most of the climbing would be over at that point. I bagged the peak and headed down to Upper Holy Jim. The trail was in great shape and this was the first time I have taken the Tallboy down it. I had some trouble making it around a couple of those tight switchbacks which ultimately led to a small down for me. I tried to dismount during a switchback and I had trouble getting unclipped. My front tire decided to wash out and well, that's all it took for me to crash. Just some dirt rash. I got up and was able to ride out the rest of the trail. Kind of bummed I crashed since it's not very often I crash. Proceeded down Holy Jim and was having a good time, but I was really starting to get sketched out by my front tire (Maxxis Aspen). It really was starting to push and washout. About halfway down, it pushed hard and the tire just folded over. Aaargh!! Damn VQ gremlins!! Front tire was flat. It was my fault. I forgot to check my tire pressure that morning so I'm sure I was down a couple of PSI or so. As I was fixing my flat, 1 rider passed me. That probably cost me about 5 minutes or so. Once the flat was repaired, I made my way to the 2nd aid station. Again, Matt and Rob were just great! They lubed my chain, check my tire pressure, and changed my bottles out. Top notch service. Matt told me I was in 10th place overall! I was quite surprised.
Now, the toughest part of the race was ahead of me. Riding up Trabuco at this point is really tough. The trail is technical and loose at times which require more strength and concentration to pedal through. I had a couple of dabs, but overall I was happy with my performance. Legs still felt pretty good at this point. Once I reached the dreaded hike-a-bike in West Horse Thief, I had aspirations of pedaling it. That was not to be with my 1x9 gearing. I pedaled a couple of sections on the HAB parts, but mainly was hiking. The weather was still nice and cool. It felt great to have a little bit of a breeze up there. Again, I was by myself without hearing or seeing another soul. WHT went by surprisingly fast. It took me less than 40 minutes to get to Main Divide. Once to MD, I was informed I was in 9th place overall! Wow! It was due to Manny Prado dropping out of the race because of mechnicals. As I reached the top of Trabuco Trail, I realized that I actually may have a chance of breaking 6 hours. I let if fly down Trabuco. I was pushing trying to make up as much time as I could. I still felt fairly fresh, but fatigue was starting to set in. As I came flying by the 2nd aid station for the 2nd time, I had about 10 minutes to get to the finish to break 6 hours. That would be pretty tough, but I tried really hard. I got to the finish about 2 minutes after 6 hours. At first, I was bummed, but later I was stoked to have put in such a awesome effort and to finish in the top 10. If only I didn't get that flat!!
Pedaling to the finish on Trabuco
To recap, the event was awesome and the weather was absolutely perfect. I was amazed on how much easier this event was from years past. I didn't feel completely wasted at the end. I kept my nutrition and hydration spot on thanks to First Endurance's EFS Sports drink as well as Vitargo. I didn't eat any solid foods or use any gels. I got all my calories through my drink and it really does work. My Santa Cruz Tallboy was an absolute joy to ride and with it's sophisticated VPP suspension, I was able to stay fresh and strong for the entire ride. Thanks to Rock N' Road for being an awesome bike shop and always taking care of all of my biking needs. Top notch customer service! Thanks to Matt and Rob for the awesome sag support at the aid stations. You guys truly did make a difference. As for next year, I'm on the fence about doing another VQ. I really would like another crack at breaking 6 hours, but I wouldn't mind taking a year off and give another rider a chance to complete the Vision Quest. Congratulations to all the finishers this year! It's awesome to see everyone meet their personal goals.2010 Vision Quest Results
Man and machine
1 comment:
Great write-up, Jason. Nice pics. Congrats!
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