Sorry once again no pix. You wil definatley get to see some in the next post (after the race)
VQ is less than 4 days away at this point. I pre-rode a final 1/3 of the course (Black Star Canyon) this past Saturday with Marius and Georgina (actually it was the first leg of the race). We started at 7AM and it was plenty cold for me. Trying to imagine starting in the dark at 5:30 AM was not pleasant given that my hands and toes were in pain from the cold. Georgina and I tried shaking our fingers to release the pain, but that didn't work. Once the climbing started, I warmed up and forgot about the cold. I am hoping the same thing will happen on Sat during the actual race.
The first leg of VQ course is definately harder than the middle leg. the first target was a super doppler radar tower, it looked closer than it actual was (figures!). Once we got to the doppler tower, it was followed by much more climbing: steep in sections and alot of up and down (hard to keep a tempo). However, once again we had great views of the surrouding mountains and even downtown LA! it was VERY clear.
After 2+ hours of climbing (around 4,000 ft), we had the descent down Motorway. It was very technical in spots, lots of babyheads and some steep drop offs. It was my first time down this particular trail, so I took it pretty relaxed. Also figured for a 7+ hour race, a few minutes slowing down on a sketchy descent isn't a big deal.
So my preride of the Vision Quest trails is now complete. Only days away from the event, I am trying to get organized, get my bike, gear and nutrition ready to go. Also getting ready for that 3:30 or so AM wake up call. Ick!
Next update will be POST-VQ!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Scoping the Vision Quest
Sunday was essentially like spending a whole work day on the bike. Georgina, Marius, Yvonne, Mandy and I trained on legs 2 & 3 of the Vision Quest trails. Started out at Maple Springs (did a 5 mile road climb to get to it from where some of us parked), up to Santiago Peak, to Holy Jim (upper and lower) up Horsetheif Trail, across the ridge, down Trabuco and out to Cook's Corner.
In the end we did 40 miles (35 on the trail), over 8,000 ft climbing. 40 miles doesn't seem like alot, but when you add all that climbing to it, it's plenty (Vision Quest will be almost 12,000 total). Taking it at a leisurely pace had a ride time around 6 hr 20 min, total time of 7 hours 30 min. Essentially a work day (rougly 9am to 5pm). This also included around an hour of hiking with the bike.
This was only 2 of the legs of the whole Vision Quest. This coming Saturday we will do Blackstar up to Motorway and down to Maple Springs. Should be a much shorter day than Sunday's adventure. I am still learning these trails, so hopefully i have the names right. After I train on this leg, I should have more of an idea about how dead tired I will be hiking up Horsetheif.
It was a fun day, beautiful weather, panoramic views throughout the day of Catalina Island and the coast, Mt Baldy, San Gorgonio Pk, San Bernadino Pk, San Jacinto Pk, the whole inland empire, San Diego county, etc. It was neat to spend the whole day out on the bike and cover so much territory.
I felt alot better than I thought I would after spending so much time on the mountain bike in one day. Hopefully a good sign for the big dance in a couple weeks (less than 2 weeks!).
Wish I had some pix! hopefully will have some pix after Sat's ride of Blackstar and Motorway.
In the end we did 40 miles (35 on the trail), over 8,000 ft climbing. 40 miles doesn't seem like alot, but when you add all that climbing to it, it's plenty (Vision Quest will be almost 12,000 total). Taking it at a leisurely pace had a ride time around 6 hr 20 min, total time of 7 hours 30 min. Essentially a work day (rougly 9am to 5pm). This also included around an hour of hiking with the bike.
This was only 2 of the legs of the whole Vision Quest. This coming Saturday we will do Blackstar up to Motorway and down to Maple Springs. Should be a much shorter day than Sunday's adventure. I am still learning these trails, so hopefully i have the names right. After I train on this leg, I should have more of an idea about how dead tired I will be hiking up Horsetheif.
It was a fun day, beautiful weather, panoramic views throughout the day of Catalina Island and the coast, Mt Baldy, San Gorgonio Pk, San Bernadino Pk, San Jacinto Pk, the whole inland empire, San Diego county, etc. It was neat to spend the whole day out on the bike and cover so much territory.
I felt alot better than I thought I would after spending so much time on the mountain bike in one day. Hopefully a good sign for the big dance in a couple weeks (less than 2 weeks!).
Wish I had some pix! hopefully will have some pix after Sat's ride of Blackstar and Motorway.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
2007 Season Is Underway
I haven't been blogging much, but I have certainly been busy on the bike. Focusing on training and kicked off the season with Boulevard Road Race on Feb 3rd. It was a tough race with some serious headwinds and crosswinds! I finished 13th out of around 50 women who started the race. Fellow MTB'ers Joy and Chrissy were there (Joy and I travelled together of course!) and both improved from last year for sure. Joy stayed with us in the lead group much longer, and Chrissy went on to finish 2nd place overall. Better results than last year for us MTB'ers and it was a harder race for sure. It was a combined Cat 3/4/35+ field again, and I was the 4th place Cat 4. This season for road races I am representing Team Redlands (Formerly seen in Jelly Belly kits, this year we have a new throwback desing for the kits (thanks Jeremy!))
Vision Quest is around the corner! Mandy, Georgina and friends and I have some big training days on the VQ trails coming up this Sunday, the following Saturday and THEN March 3rd is the big day. Starting at 5:30 AM is somethign I need to start preparing for. UUGH!
Team News: We have been picked up by Gary Fisher as a regional/grassroots team and have a new title sponsor and name: Pass Physical Therapy (they were our 2nd largest sponsor last year). K&N swaps postions with Pass and will be an associate sponsor. We will all be riding hardtail 29'ers and welcome Mandy Eakins to the team. We have Matt Freeman (pro) & Trevor Walton (semi-pro/singlespeed) returning, Mandy (pro) and myself (pro). Jeremy Templeman who once again has designed our team kits, will be representing the expert ranks.
I particpated in the Tour de Palm Springs once again this past weekend. 110 miles for the day with some fun and scary memories. Joy and I attended to a guy with a broken arm (saw him crash into an orange cone), a girl who crashed in front of us and got some road rash and a banged up knee, plus several near misses. I am putting together a letter to the event organizers because I saw WAY too many safety issues this year. In the 4 years I have been doing Tour de PS, this year was the worst! I did like the downtown start, but the first 20 miles are just treacherous, and the miles of orange cones didn't help! Anyways, miles 60-100 were pretty good except for the numerous stop lights. Joy and I met some triathon folks from Temecula and worked pace lines with them for around 50 miles. It was a good fit and we put in another good effort on an already heavy and painful training week. My friend Casey from Trek (the home office!) was out in the area for work and he played some fun rounds of "Flippy Cup" with my friends who did a fair share of "celebrating" at our rental house after the ride.
Vision Quest is around the corner! Mandy, Georgina and friends and I have some big training days on the VQ trails coming up this Sunday, the following Saturday and THEN March 3rd is the big day. Starting at 5:30 AM is somethign I need to start preparing for. UUGH!
Team News: We have been picked up by Gary Fisher as a regional/grassroots team and have a new title sponsor and name: Pass Physical Therapy (they were our 2nd largest sponsor last year). K&N swaps postions with Pass and will be an associate sponsor. We will all be riding hardtail 29'ers and welcome Mandy Eakins to the team. We have Matt Freeman (pro) & Trevor Walton (semi-pro/singlespeed) returning, Mandy (pro) and myself (pro). Jeremy Templeman who once again has designed our team kits, will be representing the expert ranks.
I particpated in the Tour de Palm Springs once again this past weekend. 110 miles for the day with some fun and scary memories. Joy and I attended to a guy with a broken arm (saw him crash into an orange cone), a girl who crashed in front of us and got some road rash and a banged up knee, plus several near misses. I am putting together a letter to the event organizers because I saw WAY too many safety issues this year. In the 4 years I have been doing Tour de PS, this year was the worst! I did like the downtown start, but the first 20 miles are just treacherous, and the miles of orange cones didn't help! Anyways, miles 60-100 were pretty good except for the numerous stop lights. Joy and I met some triathon folks from Temecula and worked pace lines with them for around 50 miles. It was a good fit and we put in another good effort on an already heavy and painful training week. My friend Casey from Trek (the home office!) was out in the area for work and he played some fun rounds of "Flippy Cup" with my friends who did a fair share of "celebrating" at our rental house after the ride.
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