The Official 2018 VQ/CC thread

Sh!t's getting real!

 

Best of luck to all you boys and girls taking on the CC and VQ challenge tomorrow. You have my respect. Stay safe, and don't forget it's supposed to be fun

 

My number plate doesn't get attached until I get there....24 miles of freeway speed probably won't be good for it.

Other than that, I think the bike is ready. Me, on the other hand....

 

Just another death march with J, just this time with a clock and 300 other people.

 

Good Hunting Team

 

Enjoy the suffering my fellow dirty non motorized two wheel riders! I'll pray for you.

 

If I don't make it, go ahead and start without me!



Best wishes all ya'll who are participating! I hope you find what you are looking for!

 

Just got home and showered up and am now relaxing on the couch. Here are my thoughts on the Counting Coup. Super well run event from packet pick-up all the way through the ride. Everyone was super nice all day. Other than it getting a little warm at the end, we really couldn’t have had nicer weather all day. I started the day with arm warmers and a light shell and really didn’t need either. I removed both pretty early in the ride. Between the two segments, I think I liked BS-Motorway better than MS-Holy Jim. But that could have been due to my bike choice. It’s pretty rough and rocky from 4 corners until you drop onto Holy Jim. I just don’t don’t ride the hardtail enough to feel fully comfortable on it. I’d probably ride the Ripley next year with some lighter tires. Ran into @Runs with Scissors heading up Blackstar and @mtnbikej at the first sag stop. Glad I didn’t see him again since he was riding sweep. Not sure what my official time is, but Strava shows 6:36 moving time and 7:20 overall. I obtained my feather.

 

Agreed that it was very well run. I got my feather too...but much slower.

Nice to meet you out there.

 

Wow... Up at O'Dark Thirty, quick breakfast, some coffee, and arguing with the wife that she should go back to bed, and not drive me to the start. I lost... Thank you for the ride, Honey.

As Paul says above, the Warrior Society puts on a well organized event, and the Warriors are a riot all day long. Encouraging, ball breaking when needed, and really into it from start to finish.



As mentioned earlier in the thread, my plan for the weekend went to hell. The lighter Highball decided to die a couple days ago. I killed it. So, the weapon of choice today was the Chameleon. Heavier frame, heavier wheels, bigger tires. I honestly don't know what she weighs now- maybe 26? 27? She's fun to ride, but she would not be my first choice for an 11,000 foot day. I went with pretty light 32x22 gearing and the oval ring. It helped...

The air was pretty cool when we rolled out, and I thought the wind breaker would be perfect for the climb up to Beeks, and maybe all the way to Motorway. That lasted about two miles, and we ran into a really warm wind just before the start of the climb. My first stop of the day was at the second switchback on Black Star to lose the jacket. I went the rest of the ride with short sleeves, never needing the arm warmers. This was also about the time that I heard Mr. @Runs with Scissors behind me. I passed him and never realized it. Thankfully, one of us was paying attention and said "Hello".

My plan was to not push too hard on the initial climb. That also went out the window, but I caught myself on the second half past Hidden Ranch and backed off a little. Made it to the gate in 58:xx, while my target was an hour to an hour:02. Trudged up to the ball, and headed out across Main Divide, walking the usual stuff on the single speed, but having a lot of fun on the downhills. Dry, dusty, chunky in spots...

Motorway was a riot... The plan was to take it easy. That went out the window and I let the dog run through the scree for a new PR. I knew it was a good run, but didn't expect a PR as I had to slow down to pass 6 different riders on the way. Motorway is narrow, so passing is tricky and takes time...
My wife, @mtnbikej and @horsebikerider were a well oiled pit crew! Fresh water from Horsebikerider, fresh bottles from Jason, and my wife ended up with all of the junk that I didn't need to carry anymore. The pit stop only lasted a couple minutes, and then it was off to the pavement. No PRs here. It sucked. I kept the pedals turning and thought about having some cold water at Four Corners. Passed a few guys on the pavement and on the dirt, but we were all suffering.

@tortoise was at the top of Harding, cheering us on as we went went by. I'm kinda curious about the animal he saw...

I took some ribbing from one of the Moto guys at Four Corners for my bright pink bottle... And then it was off to the chunk under Modjeska. I've cleaned it the last few times. Not today... But at least I stayed upright. @singlespeedrider . Rolled about 1/3 of it, and then engaged the shoelace drive. Walked a little of the rock garden under Santiago peak, but still felt pretty good for the descent to Holy Jim.

Main Divide below the peak is the chunkiest part of the ride. But it's not the kind of chunk that's a lot of fun. It's deep, jagged scree that is never the same. And there are a couple potholes that would easily swallow a Prius. And in-between the scree are several sections of sharp jagged embedded rock. My only goal was to keep moving and not slice a tire... I was way ahead of the cutoff times, so I didn't push...

Holy Jim is flowy... No issues with the hikers or riders headed up. Everyone was polite and the trail is a riot. It's also a great recovery run... Time to give the legs a rest before the climb to Horsethief. Again- didn't push.

Rolled to the bottom of Holy Jim and ran into Calvin, who filled my bottles, and even asked which position each one belongs in!

I did not set any PRs headed up lower Trabuco and I walked more than usual, but that's expected. I kept moving and made it to the West Horsethief cutoff. I rolled in right behind a young lady. We were told that we were #31 and #32 on the day. I moved up a few spots on the HAB, passing a few riders on the way. It was brutal. With fresh legs, I've done it in 41 minutes. All HAB. Too steep and loose for anyone to ride. Today, on tired legs, it took 53 minutes.

And one of the highlights of the day. As I emerged from the WHT trail onto Main Divide, a very polite lady with a German accent took my bike and held it upright while the guys filled my bottles. Yeah... I had to spend a few minutes talking German. At that point in the day, it was easier than English. The same thing happens after a few beers. Three beers? I'll go all night...

2.5 miles across Main Divide, with a couple chunky downhills, and a couple lousy climbs... OK, I admit it. I walked the last 100 yards up to Trabuco. The volunteers at the top tried to get me to stop. Probably because I looked like hell. But... I rolled right onto Trabuco. My motivation was the two other single speeds that I knew were behind me. I wanted to get a head start on the DH- just in case.

Trabuco was a riot. Extra extra chunky near the bottom. Passed one rider who split a tire, but other than that, I had it all to myself back to the parking lot, and out to Parkers Ranch. Made it through the finish line, collected my feather, and enjoyed some el Pollo Loco with @singlespeedrider and his non-riding friend.

56 miles & 11,000 feet. 8 hours and 15 minutes. Not DFL! Woo-Hoo. It's a win!


Edit: I'm still having visions and hallucinations. @Mikie - Any chance you could move this post into the Ride Report thread that Scissors started?

 

I had a blast 90% of the ride. Then rest not so much.

I’m waiting for the official results to confirm that I was the fastest SS (in CC) today.

My bike worked well most of the ride until it didn’t.
By the time I made it to the bottom of HJ my EBB was loose and my chain wouldn’t stay on for my then 3 minuets.

I didn’t count how many guys past me on the flat (or how many times I had to stop and put the chain back on). I was pissed off mostly on my self (for not packing full size Alen Wrenches).

I’m happy with my time, but I know that I have a faster time in me.

 

Just curious...how long does it usually take for the official results to post?

 

It used to take the better part of a few days to a week.....but with the timing system now, it should be up in a day.

 

So I crashed crossing over the rocks from the left to the right and layed there for 30 seconds like a stuck turtle trying to get my shoes to unclip. I was laughing at myself the whole time.

 

D'oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Congrats all. Still bummed I couldn't be out there.

 

@shawndoh - You did BWR, right? How'd that go? I have a friend at work that went for the Wafer, charged out of the gate and blew up halfway through.

 

Nutritional notes (mostly for myself....... just in case I want to revisit before next year's event).

Woke up at 4 am.
No solid food (good size dinner the night before).
One 500ml bottle with 1 scoop of TW on the ride to B*.
I decided to use a single bottle strategy (the bike was too heavy already).
First bottle with 2 scoops of TW form B* to MS (2:11)
Second bottle with 2 Scoops MS to 4C (1:10)
The third bottle 1 scoop 4C to finish.

Halfway up to Modjeska, I started to fill that my left groin is about to cramp.
Got off the bike and used one of the Gu Rocktain gels. Walked for 20 seconds no cramp.
On the climb to Santiago Peak my left groin finally cramped. a quick 20-second brake fixed it.
The downhill was though and my EBB loosed up.
My Aaron Gwin impersonation (no chain) down the wash was not impressive.

 

I did the Wafer as well. In what is seeming like normal for me, I had the speed to get the result I wanted, but something went astray. I made a wrong turn which knocked me out of the lead group.
I end up finishing 10th/450ish.
Nothing to sneeze at and I'm sure I'll appreciate it later.

 

April 13, 2019!

Who's in?

Too early?

 

I’ll probably be there again.

 

I'm figuring out how to shave 13 minutes.

 

Skip WHT.

 

I hate the late Easter years because it always causes conflicts.... They moved Sea Otter up a weekend in 2019, so I doubt I'll be doing either CC or VQ.

Bigger concern for me at this point is when will BWR fall?

 

I want to shave 40 and get closer to my PR.

 

If he shaves :40 then I have to go back out and do it again......and I really don't wanna do that.

 

I just want to figure out how to shave....... again.