Have we Lost Our Minds?

Well... She did 142 miles of Kokopelli in 13 and a half hours. She needs something more challenging! :-)


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I'm going to start with some long all day rides in the saddle before I ever sign up for a bike packing "race" I would love to try and complete the Julian death march if it is going to happen again this year, i will sign up for sure and do as much as I can. If I can do that.. who knows, maybe someday I will sign up for the stagecoach.
 
CarlS said:
I'm going to start with some long all day rides in the saddle before I ever sign up for a bike packing "race" I would love to try and complete the Julian death march if it is going to happen again this year, i will sign up for sure and do as much as I can. If I can do that.. who knows, maybe someday I will sign up for the stagecoach.
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I too am hoping this happens. I have pretty much decided that I would rather do this instead of Vision Quest.
 
About a week ago, I posted to their Facebook page asking if there were any updates... They posted this yesterday (7/27/15). :D I posted a screen shot, as I know some of you guys don't have Facebook accounts:
 

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mtnbikej said:
CarlS said:
I'm going to start with some long all day rides in the saddle before I ever sign up for a bike packing "race" I would love to try and complete the Julian death march if it is going to happen again this year, i will sign up for sure and do as much as I can. If I can do that.. who knows, maybe someday I will sign up for the stagecoach.
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I too am hoping this happens. I have pretty much decided that I would rather do this instead of Vision Quest.
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Awwww. But VQ! (Which I know is old hat to you, but it'll be my first, so I'm not tired of it yet)
 
mtnbikej said:
Excellent.....this always sounded like a pretty good ride.
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I agree! I hope that the new organizer keeps the "death march" theme, as the long route was 86 miles and 12,000 legitimate feet of climbing. :shock: I posted on their page and asked about distance and mileage. We'll see when they answer...
 
FYI - I don't fakebook, but I can see their (Death March) page without logging in. I just can't comment or dig around in it. Which is fine by me. (I do the same with the Crusher page) 8-)
 
Cougar said:
Awwww. But VQ! (Which I know is old hat to you, but it'll be my first, so I'm not tired of it yet)
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I usually work the VQ, and honestly I enjoy being around the participants.

I have already done Counting Coup as a training ride in the past, so I could go out and do VQ whenever I want. Julian Death March, not so much.
 
mtnbikej said:
Cougar said:
Awwww. But VQ! (Which I know is old hat to you, but it'll be my first, so I'm not tired of it yet)
Click to expand...

I usually work the VQ, and honestly I enjoy being around the participants.

I have already done Counting Coup as a training ride in the past, so I could go out and do VQ whenever I want. Julian Death March, not so much.
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Yup, I totally knew your response was going to be something along these lines.

WAY TO TAKE THE MAGIC OUT OF VQ J. :laugh:


omg.. I hurt just thinking about what I've signed up for...
 
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Cougar said:
mtnbikej said:
Cougar said:
Awwww. But VQ! (Which I know is old hat to you, but it'll be my first, so I'm not tired of it yet)
Click to expand...

I usually work the VQ, and honestly I enjoy being around the participants.

I have already done Counting Coup as a training ride in the past, so I could go out and do VQ whenever I want. Julian Death March, not so much.
Click to expand...

Yup, I totally knew your response was going to be something along these lines.

WAY TO TAKE THE MAGIC OUT OF VQ J. :lol:


omg.. I hurt just thinking about what I've signed up for...
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You'll find the magic while slogging up West Horsethief. :shock:
 
Faust29 said:
mtnbikej said:
You'll find the magic while slogging up West Horsethief. :shock:
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Awww... Cougar, these guys are making West Horsethief sound bad. It's really a great hike! ;)
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Especially in your mtn bike shoes pushing/dragging your bike.

But, hey.....at least you won't be alone out there. :lol:
 
I dread WHT. Hell, I dread VQ, but I really dread WHT.

I'm going to pre-ride WHT at some point, but it's going to be nothing compared to the pain of doing it after a counting coup.
 
Cougar said:
I dread WHT. Hell, I dread VQ, but I really dread WHT.

I'm going to pre-ride WHT at some point, but it's going to be nothing compared to the pain of doing it after a counting coup.
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Climb up / descend Holy Jim, then head over and pre-hike WHT. Will give you a better idea than just going out and doing it fresh.
 
mtnbikej said:
Cougar said:
I dread WHT. Hell, I dread VQ, but I really dread WHT.

I'm going to pre-ride WHT at some point, but it's going to be nothing compared to the pain of doing it after a counting coup.
Click to expand...

Climb up / descend Holy Jim, then head over and pre-hike WHT. Will give you a better idea than just going out and doing it fresh.
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That's a really good idea. Thanks!
 
I'd join you if this takes place when the finger is better... :-(

I actually like WHT... But I view it as a hike that I happen to have a bike along for.


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Faust29 said:
I'd join you if this takes place when the finger is better... :-(

I actually like WHT... But I view it as a hike that I happen to have a bike along for.


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I'll take you up on that. According to my (rough) training plan, I wasn't going to tackle WHT until early Oct. I can be talked into moving that up earlier - either way, your finger should have plenty of time to heal.
 
Cougar said:
Faust29 said:
I'd join you if this takes place when the finger is better... :-(

I actually like WHT... But I view it as a hike that I happen to have a bike along for.


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I'll take you up on that. According to my (rough) training plan, I wasn't going to tackle WHT until early Oct. I can be talked into moving that up earlier - either way, your finger should have plenty of time to heal.
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I "rode" WHT exactly 0 times before I did VQ. What does it matter how long it takes you, the last cutoff is at the WHT/Trabuco split. I have somewhat more sneaker-type riding shoe (fabric vs. whatever those stiff ones are), and had absolutely no problems hiking it with my bike. The horror stories of blistered broken feet weren't an issue for me.....at all. I guess if you're trying to place or something you may want to pre-ride it to figure out how to best push your bike. I was just trying to finish (I think I was the last lady to finish that year) and so once I got to WHT I felt home free and tried to enjoy it. Just my $0.02.
I will also say this: at every stop eat a banana. Bananas are the #1 BEST thing you can eat during an endurance race. I passed on the banana at the HJ/Trabuco pit-stop and that was a mistake. I am 100% convinced I would have felt a lot better had I grabbed a banana. There's still a lot of climbing from HJ to WHT and depending on how slow you are those riders coming down Trabuco are not gonna yield for you, so be prepared to get out of the way.

Kawasaki knows what the hell he's talking about:
<a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y</a>
 
Aviatrix said:
Cougar said:
Faust29 said:
I'd join you if this takes place when the finger is better... :-(

I actually like WHT... But I view it as a hike that I happen to have a bike along for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'll take you up on that. According to my (rough) training plan, I wasn't going to tackle WHT until early Oct. I can be talked into moving that up earlier - either way, your finger should have plenty of time to heal.
Click to expand...


I "rode" WHT exactly 0 times before I did VQ. What does it matter how long it takes you, the last cutoff is at the WHT/Trabuco split. I have somewhat more sneaker-type riding shoe (fabric vs. whatever those stiff ones are), and had absolutely no problems hiking it with my bike. The horror stories of blistered broken feet weren't an issue for me.....at all. I guess if you're trying to place or something you may want to pre-ride it to figure out how to best push your bike. I was just trying to finish (I think I was the last lady to finish that year) and so once I got to WHT I felt home free and tried to enjoy it. Just my $0.02.
I will also say this: at every stop eat a banana. Bananas are the #1 BEST thing you can eat during an endurance race. I passed on the banana at the HJ/Trabuco pit-stop and that was a mistake. I am 100% convinced I would have felt a lot better had I grabbed a banana. There's still a lot of climbing from HJ to WHT and depending on how slow you are those riders coming down Trabuco are not gonna yield for you, so be prepared to get out of the way.

Kawasaki knows what the hell he's talking about:
<a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y</a>
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I've never done VQ, but I've done quite a few long rides up there... Aviatrix is spot on about the mental state and expectations. Have the right mentality going into each stage, and you'll be fine, Cougar.

Another good point she touches on... My cheap Shimano shoes are also very easy to walk in. Maybe something to consider before the ride- shoe choice?
 
Aviatrix said:
Cougar said:
I "rode" WHT exactly 0 times before I did VQ. What does it matter how long it takes you, the last cutoff is at the WHT/Trabuco split. I have somewhat more sneaker-type riding shoe (fabric vs. whatever those stiff ones are), and had absolutely no problems hiking it with my bike. The horror stories of blistered broken feet weren't an issue for me.....at all. I guess if you're trying to place or something you may want to pre-ride it to figure out how to best push your bike. I was just trying to finish (I think I was the last lady to finish that year) and so once I got to WHT I felt home free and tried to enjoy it. Just my $0.02.
I will also say this: at every stop eat a banana. Bananas are the #1 BEST thing you can eat during an endurance race. I passed on the banana at the HJ/Trabuco pit-stop and that was a mistake. I am 100% convinced I would have felt a lot better had I grabbed a banana. There's still a lot of climbing from HJ to WHT and depending on how slow you are those riders coming down Trabuco are not gonna yield for you, so be prepared to get out of the way.

Kawasaki knows what the hell he's talking about:
<a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGai72Tt8Y</a>
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

While I agree with some of it, I'll say that it is easier on event day if you have at least some idea of where you are going.

Can you do WHT blind....sure.

However if you pre ride it, it seems to go by a little quicker on event day. Doing it blind always makes it seem like the trail is 2x as long as it actually is. We are lucky it is a local event and we all live local. So there really is no reason to not check it out. We can all describe the trail, but until you experience it yourself, there is no comparison(experienced this myself this last weekend in Radford Grade).
 
The last time I didn't pre-ride a course I broke my hand :) Besides, coming back down Trabuco is actually fun. So it isn't a total waste.

But really, putting a pre-ride into my training plan just helps me go out and train and push myself. I'm totally down for the endurance slog (I did the 50 Rwanda, and the sloggier Pioneertown Gravel Grinder this year), but I am worried about making the time cut offs for VQ. It is nice to hear that the last one is there.

Ultimately I'm intending to pre-ride the entire VQ before VQ day... just in two rides. I want to do a counting coup on my own, and then another day do the WHT side of things (adding the Lower HJ climb/descend that J suggested). But I can't do the first half until it reopens in Oct (which gives me more time to train before I suffer).

As to my shoes, they actually aren't bad for HAB. I've hiked up enough of Main Divide in my time, as well as done a few shoulder carry hikes up Carwreck (to practice) that my shoes will hold up okay.
 
This is a public service announcement: A fatal threadjacking has occurred in the "General Discussion" byway of the IMTBTrails forum. Please be aware of detours as marked. You may now return to your regularly scheduled derailment. :P ;)
 
Sorry, still going to take this one in the Julian Death march direction....

Does anyone know if there is a date set yet?

October 31?
 
Their most recent post from a few days ago says that they are trying to get the permits for the 31st.


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