Idyllwild Spring Challenge Recap

I loves me a good weekend of mountain biking at one of the best locations in the proximity of SoCal.  Riding the trails at Idyllwild always brings much enjoyment and pleasure.  That's right, riding a bike in Idyllwild pleasures me in such a way that only a mountain biker would understand.  Due to the publicity of this blog, I won't go into details on such pleasures.  :-)  This year, the race organizers decided to put together a "Stage Race" consisting of XC, a Time Trial, and Super D.  I have never competed in a TT or Super D until this weekend.  I was really looking forward to the Super D as I have not heard one bad thing about the course.

I met up with James and JD the Friday night leading into the XC race the next morning.  James brought out his home away from home.  I don't think I can thank James enough for letting me crash in his trailer.  Tent camping would have sucked bad since the temps dropped to just above freezing at night.  This year would mark the first time that I would be racing the Long Course at ISC.  The course is quite a "challenge" hence the challenge during spring in Idyllwild.  The 30 mile long course consists of steep and technical terrain with tons of flowy singletrack thrown in.  There's also a nice and steep pavement climb that must be 15% grade or more as the penultimate before the reward of descending for about 8 miles to the finish line.  Race time was 9:30am and what started out as a very chilly morning, turned into perfect temps as the race started.

As for the start, I settled more towards the back of the pack which was a mistake on my part.  I really didn't treat this race as a race.  I was really more out there for the pure enjoyment of the ride with a little bit of competition thrown in.  With that being said, I was held up by some slower riders on the initial "Tunnel of Love" climb.  Riders dabbed here and there which led to dismounts with hiking.  Once things started to get spaced out, I was able to focus on my own race.  I still didn't feel completely warmed up or strong once to the Keen Camp climb.  I need to work on my warm-ups better, but then again, my mentality was not in the race.  Things were going well and I caught up to pro female Mafia rider Kathy Sherwin on the techy climb back out to what I believe is Hurkey Creek Rd.  She made some of the tech stuff look really easy and was pedaling strong.  We spoke a few words of encouragement to each other and then I put in some harder efforts.  I wasn't looking forward to the pavement wall but soon enough I found myself climbing it.  The last time I pedaled this monster of a climb was back in September.  Matt and I decided to ride the ISC Long course as a victory lap for our 24 hour race efforts.  Read about that here.  I remember struggling up that in my then Blur with a 24X27 granny gear.  I actually couldn't pedal the whole thing.  I was afraid I would be doing the same thing with my 32X34 granny on my Tallboy.  To my surprise, I cleaned the whole thing and it didn't seem as hard as the first time around.  It was on this climb that I could actually see Nick.  He seemed so close, but in reality was some distance away.  Everyone was just crawling up.  Tim Z helped me push through the pain with words of encouragement.  That guy truly is the Terminator...the terminator of pain that is.  Once I crested the top, it was time for the real fun to begin.  However, I was lacking that shake and bake confidence I normally have.  On the rear wheel, I just put on a Fast Track LK tire for the first time.  I didn't know what to expect of it, so I was overly cautious initially on the twists and turns.  I really didn't start to enjoy and feel the benefits of the tire until I got to Exfoliator.  The tire became more impressive as I pushed it harder.  I kept gaining more confidence in leaning the bike over more.  It didn't bite as well as the Captain, but pretty darn close.  When it did break loose, it was in such a controlled manner that I was having a blast with some 2 wheel slides and drifting around corners.  I caught up to Allison after the Tunnel of Love and just before the pavement back into the park grounds.  She was killing it of course and cruising to her Pro Women's XC victory.  There wasn't much more to go so put in one more last hard effort to the finish.  I finished with a time of 2:54:19.  This was good enough for 4th place.  Overall, the time is good, but I know I could have done better.  I still felt like I had quite a bit left in the tank.  My head has just not been in the racing mentality lately.  Maybe it's mid-season burnout?  Maybe I thought I needed to conserve my energy for the TT and Super D the following day?  Who knows, but I decided to consume a frosty cold Blue Moon with Nick post race.  :-)

Keen Camp Climb

Allison makes a splash with me close behind.

Almost home.

The next morning we had to be on the shuttle from the campgrounds to the TT course at 7am.  It was damn frigid at this time and I knew it would warm up once the sun started to come out.  The TT was postponed from 8am to 8:30am, so I was able to pre-ride the 3 mile course with everyone else.  The course was 95% singletrack with tight, twisty turns as well as some techy features thrown in here and then.  It really was a cool little TT course.  Some of the direction arrows were hard to see during the pre-ride and I was hoping that wouldn't be a problem come the start of the race.  Well, my tunnel vision on top of the hard to see arrows ruined my race.  Although, I still won my AG, I didn't have a very good time in my opinion.  I went off the course 3 times!  Each time I went off, I became more frustrated and less focused trying to make up time that was lost.  I do think I made up some time on the final stretch of road to the finish line thanks to the Justin Mann cheering section.  :-)  To make matters worse, my ego was hurt a bit when my buddy James beat me by about 20 seconds.  He really did put in a great effort in for the TT.  As much as I didn't like being beat by my pupil, I was proud of him.  Of course, I would be out to seek revenge on the Super D!

Once back to the campground, the ranger was being an ass.  We were pretty much forced to pack up our stuff and leave our campsite hoping to make the shuttle to the Super D course.  We didn't make the shuttle, but due to the overwhelming number of participants (122) for the Super D, there wasn't enough room for the one shuttle.  The shuttle would be coming back for a 2nd pickup.  I threw back another Blue Moon in true DH fashion while waiting for the shuttle to arrive.  For those that don't know what Super D is, please check out this link for more info.  Once we were dropped off, I pedaled to the starting gate to find out I made it just in time for my seeded slot.  Just as soon as I arrived, I took off from the starting gate in a flash.  I was railing every turn I could and taking more risks than I normally would.  The bike was feeling great and I felt even better.  This event is all about speed and keeping that speed up for as long as possible.  Brake as late as possible while maintaining as much speed as possible through the turns.  I made a couple of mistakes running wide which broke some of the flow, but I was able to focus and get back into the rhythm.  Exfoliator was blur to me.  I don't think I have ever shredded so quickly down that trail.  It was such an adrenaline rushing riding on the edge of my skills and beyond my comfort level.  I thought the bike was just going to slide right off the trail at times, but to my amazement it bit even harder the faster I went.  Speed was my friend for this event.  I knew I had a good time going as I caught up to my minute man with about a mile to go.  He was surprised to see me and put in a harder effort of pedaling.  He stayed just in front of me until the finish line where I finished a bike length behind.  My time came in as a 16:03 which put me 2nd out of 26 participants in my AG.  I was really bummed I didn't get first.  I lost by 10 seconds.  I think my time was off by about 8 seconds.  According to the time sheets, they had me finishing 52 seconds quicker than my minute man.  I don't know how that is possible when he finished just ahead of me with maybe a bike lengths between us.  Oh well, the Super D was by far my favorite event of the weekend and it happened to be my best performance.  I was happy that I redeemed myself from the TT.  And for those that care (I do...hehe), I pretty much owned James on the Super D by a minute and 22 seconds.  :-)

With the stage race over, I won the overall for my AG.  Nothing special really since I was only racing against one other person in my AG.  I hope next year they make some changes to the stage race.  It shouldn't be broken down by AG at least for the CAT1 racers.  Make the overall open with a bigger purse and cash prizes that go 3 deep for CAT1 while CAT2/3 receive awards.  Also, instead of doing a cumulative time of all 3 events, they should award points.  That way, the overall wouldn't be so heavily weighed on the XC race.  I already can't wait for this event next year.  Next race up is the Santa Barbara Bike Festival at Elings Park the first weekend of June.  The Big Bear shootout that was scheduled for next weekend has been cancelled due to snow of all things.

Congrats to all the competitors and thanks to Katie and team at Idyllwild Cycling for putting on such a great event!

TT win!

This joker beat me at Super D?  Flashbacks of the Sea Otter doughboy.

Lonely podium for the overall.

Sea Otter Classic Recap

Headed out to the SOC Thursday morning by my lonesome self.  I actually enjoy going solo on road trips.  I get to crank the stereo, sing out loud, and stop whenever I want to.  No catering to others needs.  The downside is it can get pretty boring as well when the stretch of road just seems endless and never ending.  One of these days I will make time to stop at one of the many wineries off the 46.  I knew the weekend was going to be a good one with my good friends (Ryan, Sarah, Frank, Brian, Bill, and James) making the trip to the SOC as well.  I arrived in the afternoon and suited up for a mellow pre-ride of the course.  I stopped by the Santa Cruz booth to check out their new rides, the Nickel and the Butcher.  They look pretty sweet and the APP concept sounds good, but the weights of the frames are a little on the heavy side.  I still wouldn't mind having a 6" all-mountain bike for some trail thrashing.  The weather was absolutely perfect for the whole weekend.  Temps in the 60's and 70's with fairly calm winds.  Sea Otter is famous having extreme weather at either end of the spectrum.  Last year temps were in the 80's and 90's, while some years it's just a deluge.  The course had a couple of small changes from last year, but overall...it seemed easier from the last time I rode it.  I remember it being more fun, but the fun appeared to be lacking this year.  To make things more challenging and miserable, the race would have me completing 2 laps of the 19 mile/2600ft course.

This post will be visually disappointing.  I really didn't end up taking many pictures at all.  I'm horrible when it comes to taking pictures.  I was able to meet up with the Shea's after my pre-ride and we caravan'd back to the hotel.  I got all checked in, showered up and we headed out for some really good Sushi at this place called "OH Sushi".  I love good sushi and a tall beer.  It just so happened to be Ryan's birthday as well.  I told the waitress that it was Ryan's birthday and they busted out the most awesome Japanese techno version of happy birthday.  It sounded like something out of an anime theme song.  It was quite hilarious and for some reason Ryan became a RE-tard as shown below.

RY-tarded

It was nice to relax without worrying about waking up at the butt-crack of dawn to go race.  The CAT1 race didn't start until 2pm on Friday which allowed me to get plenty of rest and relaxation before then.  I woke up at a decent hour to go for a light spin downtown Monterey with Ryan and Sarah.  This was the first time I actually got to see the city of Monterey during the day.  Last year, I stayed in the not so pretty town of Salinas.  Monterey is much nicer.  It was another beautiful day and the bay was awesome with the sea lions sun bathing.  After that, we headed to the event since Ryan had a practice/qualifying session for Dual Slalom.  I didn't get a chance to see Ryan on his qualifying run since I had to get to the start of my XC race.

I saw some familiar faces at the start line and it looked like a pretty decent sized field of about 25 or so.  The race started off at a nice warm up pace.  I stayed towards the back of the pace line while on the track.  The pace started to pick up as we approached the turnoff onto the dirt.  I didn't want to be in the back of the pack so I decided to jump up towards the leaders and I managed to squeeze into the top 5 and avoid the bottleneck while turning off the track.  I was having so much fun battling with James Walsh for what I believe was the 4th and 5th position at the time for the first lap.  It was cool pushing each other and trying to work together to catch up to the leaders.  I was feeling strong and felt the flow on the singletracks.  I tried to pull away from James towards the end of the first lap, but that's a tall order.  He's a strong rider.  Before I knew it, James was on my wheel and behind his wheel was Griffith.  They both went by and I grabbed Griffith's wheel just as we passed the 2nd lap interchange.  I didn't exactly know where my feeder was so I slowed up a bit looking for Steve in the crowd of others in the feed zone.  I found Steve and grabbed my 2nd bottle.  Little did I know at this point that my 2 bottle strategy for a 3 hour race would be the demise of me.  A small gap opened up between Griffith and I was able to keep him and James in my sights until after the beach descent.  After that, I lost contact with them and then I really started to feel the effects of fatigue.  My water bottle was almost gone as I approached the aid station.  I passed on any type of offerings and looking back at it now, that was a mistake.  Shortly after that I ran out of fluids.  Dehydration/Cramping decided to join me for the rest of my race.  Halfway through the 2nd lap I start to get passed left and right.  I was completely blown.  I pedaled the rest of the race in survival mode.  I was really looking for some more gears to gear down to, but some jackass built his bike as a 1X9...lol!  I still love the 1X9 setup and I won't change it.  I still would have been going slow even if I had a granny ring.  I was no longer in contention and all I could do was just finish.  As soon as I thought I was near the finish, the organizers decided to add an additional 2 miles of up and down bullshit in the grass.  I was so demoralized at that point, but I pressed on and fought through the cramps.  The 2nd to last turn, my right calf just locked up hard which almost left me wanting to cry.  Finally I reach the end with a crappy time of 3:02.  That placed me 14th out of 20 finishers.  :-(  I was pretty trashed and to my surprise, there was no aid at the finish.  No water, no recovery, no food, no nothing.  I thought that was quite lame since I know I wasn't the only one suffering to finish.  If I was able to maintain my pace of the first lap, I believe I could have made the podium or be close to it.  Another lesson learned.  I do plan to take this experience and redeem myself next year at the Sea Otter.  My poor planning of fluids did me in.  I don't know what I was thinking trying to get away with 2 bottles.  I really didn't want to carry that extra bottle in my jersey.  Typically, I consume 1 bottle per hour.  The upside to all of this was that I was done racing and could enjoy the rest of the weekend!  :-)

My crappy XC photos

I picked up James from the airport that night and we had some good eats at Peppers Mexicali Cafe.  I had swordfish fajitas which was quite tasty.  Definitely going back there again.  The next morning we took some time visiting the exhibist.  James got his rear hub rebuilt at Enduro and it was time to hit the course again.  James was racing the CAT3 race on Sunday.  This was his first time at Sea Otter, so I showed him the course while giving him pointers on certain sections.  After the pre-ride, we all went back to OH Sushi for some more tasty raw fish.

Next morning saw us getting up early.  James' race started at 8am.  As he was racing, I decided to drop my shock off at Rockshox to service the air seal.  I also grabbed an IS front brake adaptor for Ryan as he swapped out forks on his Blur 4X bike the night before.  He was racing in the afternoon.  I watched James finish his race and to my surprise, he wound up winning his age division.  He was stoked!  Not bad for guy who'd been riding for less than a year.  I met up with Ryan and we finished assembling his brake.  He was ready for practice.  We all watched Ryan compete in his first Dual Slalom event and first ever MTB race.  I volunteered to push his bike up the hill after each of his runs.  He was looking good until a crash in the semi's which bumped him out of the finals.  I'm sure he would have made the finals if it wasn't for that crash.  He was able take home 3rd in his finals.  By the time Ryan finished racing, the event was already being torn down.  The Sierra Nevada beer garden was still open.  I had a Brown Ale and it was by far the best tasting Sierra Nevada I've had.  I used to love the Pale Ale years ago, but I think I got burned out on.  I have yet to see this Brown Ale in the stores.  That pretty much ended our weekend at the Sea Otter as we left for the long drive home.

Ryan in the starting gate

James is the winner! (sandbagger! ;-))

Next year I plan to enter in more than just XC.  After watching Dual Slalom, I really want to give it a go next year.  It's time to elevate my skills in different disciplines.  I would also love to give the DH a go, but I would like to have a little bit bigger bike for that.  For now, I'm planning to build a Santa Cruz Jackal DJ bike to hit the pump track and maybe the jumps if I feel brave enough.  The next event is one of my favorites.  The Idyllwild Spring Challenge stage race.  The race consists of three events, XC, Super D, and a Time Trial.  I'm really looking forward to this weekend.

Santa Ynez Valley Classic Race Recap

I've been lagging with race updates, but better late than never, right?  The weekend started out by driving up Saturday with James, Heather, and JD in JD's Fun Mover RV.  Thanks for hooking that up JD!  When we arrived at the venue, the weather was great with some gusts of wind.  We all did a pre-lap and as soon as I finished with my lap, I ran into Nick D. who was getting ready to get his lap in.  I was only planning on doing one lap, but he said it would be a mellow ride.  I decided to join and off we went.  Little did I know that shortly after we pedaled off, the effort would start to increase.  I don't know what it is, but whenever Nick and I pedal together, we just can't take it easy...lol!  I did go much harder than I wanted to and I was hoping there would be no ill effects come race day.  The day ended with eating some horrible AYCE spaghetti and beers around the campfire with good people.

I didn't get a good nights sleep as I was too paranoid about the bikes locked up and hanging on the Team Velosport EZ-UP outside.  I could hear the wind picking up as morning approach and that led to more paranoia of the EZ-UP just blowing away.  The morning approached and of course my paranoia was in vain.  Everything was fine.  I suited up and began my warmup for my 8:30am start time.  It was brisk but not terribly cold outside.  The winds were fairly calm, but the clouds looming above looked very threatening.

The race start for once was not a blistering pace.  I was able to squeeze into the top 6 or so in the initial paceline.  Things didn't start to break up until the first legitimate climb.  Barbee and I traded spots back and forth for most of the race until shortly after the beginning of the third lap.  I think this was the first CAT1 race where I wasn't in no man's land.  It was really fun battling for position with Barbee.  He would edge me out on the climbs mostly, but I was able to reel him back in on the singletrack descents.  I tried to attack him a couple of times, but I couldn't shake him that far off from my wheel.  The wind was pretty awful on some of the ridges.  At times, I was fighting to stay upright on my bike as the cross wind was that strong.  Barbee got away from on the 3rd lap.  I felt I had the strength to fight on, but mentally I was done.  My brain didn't want to suffer anymore and because of that, I lost the fight.  Barbee wanted it more than I did.  I ended up taking the 6th spot with a time of 2:10:39.  Looks like I continue to be worst of the best.  The next closest competitor was over 11 minutes behind.  I'm always hovering right below the podium.  It's in my sights, just need to push through the pain for a little bit longer.  I'm hoping I can get there soon.  I think my best chance is going to be at Elings Park, Santa Barbara come June.  I really enjoy that course as it suits my style of riding much more with it's punchy climbs, tight switchbacks, and 95% singletrack.

The next SoCal State race is Big Bear mid May.  The BB races are my least favorite of the series.  The format is a big loop with no laps.  It's funny, I used to like the big loop format last year, but this year I'm more in favor of the lap format.  I think it's because there's less inexperienced traffic on the course at one time.  The big loops generally are more of problem since all amateurs are sent off in waves instead of seperating the different catergories into two individual races.  Congrats to James on his win as well as JD and Heather's podium appearance.  Stay tuned for my Sea Otter Classic writeup.

Barbee on my wheel.

Can't shake the Barbee.

Fontana National Race Report

My race weekend started off pretty busy.  I decided to drive up to Fontana Saturday morning to pre-ride the course.  I got a couple of laps in and then I had to jam back home to head over to the ADT Velodrome in Carson for my first track race experience.  Track racing is such a different exeperience and I'm looking forward to hitting the track more often.  There's plenty to learn about the track.  Overall, my first experience went well.  No mishaps and a decent overall result.

I was hoping not to burn out my legs too much at the track.  Lots of full effort sprints at the track takes a toll.  I still needed to be fresh for the Sunday Fontana XC race.  My legs felt a little fatigued the morning of, but they quickly felt better after a nice 20 minute warmup.  The weather was looking great, the wind completely died out for Sunday.  Saturday had gale force Santa Ana winds blowing dust and dirt everywhere which is never fun to race in.

On to the race start.  Thankfully, the pace didn't seem to be blistering fast this time.  The pack stayed together up until the big National Hill climb.  I kind of got stuck towards the back of the pack which didn't work so well for me on that climb.  My 1x9 gearing makes going up the steep hills a little quicker than some with shorter gearing.  I ended up running into the back wheel of the rider in front of me while in tough loose section.  I just couldn't go any slower while maintaining traction.  This resulted in me having to dismount and hike/run up the rest.  Of course, this created a chain reaction for the riders behind me.  There were some words of dissapointment by some, but in all reality, it's a race.  I hate dismounting my bike as much as the next guy.  We all get stuck behind slower riders holding us up out there sometime on the course.  After the climb was over, things started to spread out a bit.  I was sitting in around 7th place or so and trying to hang on to the lead pack.  They gapped me and I settled into my own pace.  My first lap was my fastest lap coming in at 24:21.  We had to do 4 laps.

Boy my gut is fat...lol

The 2nd and 3rd lap were pretty uneventful, but I do remember Justin Mann just leaving me in the dust halfway through my 2nd lap.  That guy was on his game that day and just kicking ass.  BTW - as of writing this, Justin had a bad bicycle accident just yesterday fracturing his neck and kneecap among other things.  I wish him and his wife the best and I'm hoping for a speedy recovery.  I hate it when bad things happen to good people.  I felt good and kept my pace consistent throughout.  I was able to keep the 2nd lap in the low 25 minute range while my 3rd was in the higher 25 minute range.  I remember getting held up by some slower women riders after National Hill, which probably attributes to the slower time.

The 4th lap was starting to get hard.  I remember seeing Barbee about 30 seconds ahead of me.  Maybe I could catch up to him?  Not if Big National Hill has anything to say about it.  The climb kicked me off my bike earlier than previous laps and was sucking the energy out of me.  I was glad to be over with it, but I know I lost time to Barbee.  I was just imagining him pedaling up the whole climb without a hitch.  He's a strong climber.  I still need to find more speed on the climbs.  I crossed the line in 7th place with a time of 1:40:53.  Less than a minute behind Barbee.  I'm happy with those results.  I hope to one day reach the podium this year and I think I can do it.  I'm really not that far off from the podium finishers minus the top 3 guys.  I wonder what would happen if I actually followed a training schedule or hired a coach?  I don't want to do that because that would take the fun out of it for me.  I just like to ride and have fun while riding hard.

Los Olivos in Santa Ynez is up next followed by the Sea Otter Classic the following weekend.  I love this time of year.  Can't wait for the SOC!  For now, I'll keep on riding and enjoying my bike.

PS:  Thank you Frank and Alissa for cheering me on!  Great to see you guys out there.

2010 Vision Quest Race...err..."Event" Report

I'll be honest.  I really had no intention of signing up for the 2010 VQ, but yet for some reason I did.  I just happened to be up at midnight on the day of registration and just did it.  I didn't expect this event to sell out in 15 minutes or so.  Each year it has gotten harder and harder to get into this event due to the popularity.  Just to recap; the Vision Quest is a mountain bike event put on by the Warrior's Society.  The event travels 56 miles and climbs over 11,000 feet across the Santa Ana mountain range in east Orange County.  This happens to be in my backyard.  Most accept this challenge just to finish it, which in itself is an awesome accomplishment.  2010 would mark my 3rd attempt.  After much thought, I set a couple of goals for myself.  A really hard and almost unreal time of sub 6 hours with a secondary goal of 6.5 hours.  Last year I finished the VQ on a single speed in 6:53.  This year, I decided to do it on a geared bike, well...partially geared.  That geared bike happened to be my new Santa Cruz Tallboy which is setup as a 9 speed.

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

Bonelli Park Race Report

The crew at US Cup really turned Bonelli Park into a gem of a race course.  This time last year, Bonelli was quite lame of a course.  Mainly fireroad with no real technical aspect at all.  This year was completely different and became one of my favorite courses.  The course had a great variety of everything a XC mountain biker could ask for.  Screamin fast descents, bridge crossings, world cup style switchbacks, techincal singletrack, and everything else just to keep you alert.  The consensus appeared to be the same throughout all the pro's and amateurs.

As for the race start at 8:30am on the day we "Spring" forward for DST, I could have done without that.  After the race, I was glad to start that early since it did get pretty warm for the CAT2/3 race.  Since upgrading to CAT1, one of the most annoying differences from CAT2 is the insanely blistering fast pace at the start of races.  On that note, CAT1 is definitely more orgainized and racers seem to work together more, but they definitely like to attack and put the hurt on others. 

The start of Bonelli took off like a flash.  We were the first age group to go off, most likely due to Ty Kady (US Cup Marketing Director) racing in my class.  I really tried to hang on to the lead pack, but it got away from me towards the top of the first climb.  I just don't like to keep my HR in the 180 range for too long.  That's what it took for me to hang on in the beginning.  Despite the 2nd bridge being iced over warnings, I still managed to slip right on the bridge.  I was going so slow, but hit the bridge at an off camber angle which caused me to slip.  The bridge was fine on the following laps after it warmed up.  I was happy to be able to catch on to Barbee's wheel for part of the 1st lap.  He always gets me on the climbs and eventually would open up a gap.  It wasn't until the 2nd lap where I started to settle into a rythym.  I would try to grab a wheel on faster riders when I could which really helped me not to focus on the pain.  Mental toughness is what XC racing is all about.  Sure there is power, skill, and talent, but all of that means nothing if you can't mentally block the pain of pushing your body beyond it's limits.  I didn't seem to make much progress on my competitors, but I also didn't seem to lose much either.  In the end, I took home 8th with a time of 1:51:19.  Another mid-pack finish, but I'm really happy with the results.  I wasn't that far off from a podium finish and if I really started training seriously, I think I have a really good chance of making the podium.  I've been putting in maybe 8 hours a week on the bike and I know alot of these guys put in more than double that amount of training.  Plus, I know I can work on my diet too.  I was also very happy with lap times being consistent.  This has always been a problem for me racing CAT2 last year.  My lap times always got slower as the race went on.  Since this was my first lap based CAT1 race, I am happy to report that my last lap was my 2nd fastest lap.  I'm happy I was able to leave some gas in the tank for the final stretch.

Matt (not pictured) was of great help with the bottle exchange.

In addition, I had zero issues with cramping and felt strong the entire race.  I switched my sports drink from Cytomax to First Endurance's EFS Drink.  I made sure to follow the usage instructions and I made sure I was strict with my hydration intake.  Hydration is much more important with these longer CAT1 races.  I could get away with not hydrating properly more last year.  So far, I'm completely satisfied with the product.  The true test will be Vision Quest.  Next US Cup race is Fontana, but I have VQ to tackle before that.  (Finished VQ yesterday at the time of writing this entry)

Love the Fruit Punch

PS: I've recently been introduced to track cycling and it's insanely addicting.  With that being said, I just purchased a Felt TK2 (Thank you Nick!) with the intention of racing next Saturday at the ADT Velodrome in Carson.  I have no idea what to expect and I'm not entirely sure on what the rules are.  I've only ridden a track bike twice in the last 3 weeks and I must say it's such a joy riding a bike at it's most simple form.

2010 Season....another new bike you say?

It's been a long time since I last updated this blog.  Alot has happened since Hurkey Creek.  The 2010 race season is already upon us with the 2nd US Cup race this weekend at Bonelli park.  My miles have been lacking lately due to a very wet February and March thus far, but the extended forecast is looking much better.  Vision Quest is just around the corner and to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to it.  However, I will man up and put forth my best effort to get as close to the 6 hour mark as I can.

I managed to break my Blur XCc before Xmas which turned out to be a beautiful thing.  Santa Cruz hooked me up on the warranty which allowed me to get their brand new full suspension 29'er called the Tallboy!  This bike has been an absolute thrill to own and ride.  I'm more than satisfied with this bike in every way, plus it's pretty darn sexy.  Take a look for yourself.

Santa Cruz Tallboy!

Busted Blur.  :-(

Build list:

Frame: Santa Cruz Tallboy, XL

Rear Shock: Monarch 3.3; 6.5" x 1.5" (165x38mm)
Fork: Fox F29 120mm RLC Q15 with FIT 2010 (non-tapered)
Saddle: Specialized Phenom SL plus Gumby
Seatpost: Easton EC90
Seatpost Clamp: Santa Cruz QR
Handlebar: Easton MonkeyLite XC
Stem: Easton EA90 90mm 10 degree rise
Grips: LizardSkins Charger
Headset: Chris King
Brakes: Avid Elixir CR, 160mm front/rear rotors
Shift Lever: Simano XTR SL-M970
Chain Guide: MRP 1.X
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR RD-M972 Shadow
Crankset: Shimano XTR M970 32t chainring 180mm length
Bottom Bracket: Chris King
Chain: Shimano XTR CN-7701
Pedals: Time Atac XS Carbon
Cassette: Shimano XT 11-34t
Wheels: DT Swiss 240s laced to DT X470 rims. Converted tubeless
Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.1 Front; Specialized Captain Control 2bliss 2.0 Rear. Stans Tire Sealant

Weight: 24.2lbs.

I'm very happy with how the build came out.  Even with the big wagon wheels, the bike is only 1/2 lb heavier than my old blur.  I did have to compromise a little with tire selection in the form of a non tubeless ready tire (Maxxis Aspen), but so far it's been holding up great.  How does it ride you ask?  The bike handles and performs just like a blur.  The biggest difference is stability.  This bike is extremely stable at speed and holds a line fantasticly.  This could be attributed to other components such as bars, stem and/or frame size when comparing to my old blur.  I went with an XL over the L.  Another noticeable difference is how much speed and momentum this bike carry's up and down.  Climbing is great once you get it up to speed.  Acceleration is a noticeably slower over the blur, but not by much at all to really make a difference.  This bike loves to eat up any rough terrain thrown at it and just inspires confidence with the added traction of the wagon wheels.  It really is a joy to ride.  I haven't ridden my other mountain bikes since I got it.

12 HOT action

I also managed to race the 1st 12 hours of Temecula back in January.  I decided to give this a go solo and the masochist in me voted for my single speed.  The race turned out to be fantastic and overall I did well.  I ended up 5th out of 15 with a total of 10 laps.  I had a chance for 2nd place, but I took too long of a break after my 8th lap which didn't allow me enough time for that 11th lap.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the organizers did a great job with the course work since it rained for a week straight leading up to the race.  I learned alot about nutrition and pacing myself for such a long time.  I think I ended up riding close to 100 miles and somewhere around 14,000 feet of ascent.  Just a normal day on the bike...lol!  I'm looking forward to the next one in June.

WEEEeeeeee!

The US Cup #1 at Sagebrush was a couple of weekends ago.  With poor weather for most of the week, it appeared that Sunday's race would be a mudfest, but the course turned out to be in much better shape than I anticipated.  One small setback was a course change that eliminated the upper loop to Mt. Pinos.  I was a little bummed about that since I really was looking forward to that descent from Mt. Pinos.  Since this was my first official CAT1 race, I didn't get to do it last year.  The course change had us doing the upper loop from 4 corners twice which meant we had to do the hike-a-bike section twice!  As for my race, overall it was going great until I had to fight off cramps for the last 10 miles which pretty much killed my chances for a better finish.  I placed 8th out of 15 which is just about where I thought I would be racing with these fast guys in the minor leagues of CAT1.  This race also marked the Tallboy's inception into XC racing.  The bike felt fantastic all day.  There was one small problem, my front rotor started to come loose on the final descent.  I guess I didn't tighten the DT Swiss centerlock adaptor enough.  Fortunately, it didn't cause me any problems, but was scary hearing that thing rattling around.  The race was extremely fun and it was great to catch up with all the familiar faces from last year.  I love the MTB community!  They make racing so much fun!

Yes, I jumped on the leg shaving/bib short bandwagon.  Definitely faster this way!

Need more lean!