Unoffically Official 2017 VQ and CC Thread

StrandLeper said:
Sounds fun. I think I will just do the VQ route sometime on my own. I will never ride a lift (ski or bike) but I LOVE the downs now that I am learning how to descend. I just like to ride my bike. :)
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A riff on the VQ you might like is to start by climbing Coal, merge with route at Beak's, drop Motorway and Holy Jim's, then detour left from West Horsethief to climb the Trabuco, down Main Divide to Blue Jay and finish by descending the San Juan. Tough logistics for 100+ riders, but not hard to set up on your own or with a small group.
 
Figured I would post up my training progress, or lack of, here in this thread. If I should start my own thread please let me know, I'm not long winded.

Black Star to Hagador

While my riding has been all over the place this year being a new father I was pleasantly surprised with my fitness level today, which was my first mtb ride since signing up for CC. My time for the "gate to gate" section of Black Star was 1:25 which is slow, I was keeping it easy on the way up with the unknown main divide past the ball (new dirt for me today). The main divide was not as bad as I thought it would be but I did HAB up part of that last hill before Hagador. I was able to ride up that gravel road towards Hagador though, so I guess once I saw my turnaround point I knew I could push it a little. Finished without any issues and could have ridden a little more but decided not to push it, yet.

Things I learned:

-Get a smaller windbreaker, my pack was errr.. packed
-I should get a computer thing on my bars to pay attention to HR etc
-Skratch and pretzels/goldfish worked but I ordered some Tailwind because I started getting cramp quivers at the very end and don't like eating while riding.
-I need to train with others (or maybe get a satellite/GPS like Spot if doing longer Santa Ana's rides alone).
-Lighter helmet than the Bell 2R for longer rides maybe?
-My legs are weak, I need to do some strength training.
-I'm 20lbs too heavy


Ride:
I Rode My Bike Today...
 
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Cornholio said:
Figured I would post up my training progress, or lack of, here in this thread. If I should start my own thread please let me know, I'm not long winded.

Black Star to Hagador

While my riding has been all over the place this year being a new father I was pleasantly surprised with my fitness level today, which was my first mtb ride since signing up for CC. My time for the "gate to gate" section of Black Star was 1:25 which is slow, I was keeping it easy on the way up with the unknown main divide past the ball (new dirt for me today). The main divide was not as bad as I thought it would be but I did HAB up part of that last hill before Hagador. I was able to ride up that gravel road towards Hagador though, so I guess once I saw my turnaround point I knew I could push it a little. Finished without any issues and could have ridden a little more but decided not to push it, yet.

Things I learned:

-Get a smaller windbreaker, my pack was errr.. packed
-I should get a computer thing on my bars to pay attention to HR etc
-Skratch and pretzels/goldfish worked but I ordered some Tailwind because I started getting cramp quivers at the very end and don't like eating while riding.
-I need to train with others (or maybe get a satellite/GPS like Spot if doing longer Santa Ana's rides alone).
-Lighter helmet than the Bell 2R for longer rides maybe?
-My legs are weak, I need to do some strength training.
-I'm 20lbs too heavy


Ride:
I Rode My Bike Today...
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Nice job.....getting out there is the first step. Your times will get faster, as you get more aquainted with Main Divide. You will learn where you can push, and where to hold back. For the event, you will just bypass Hagador, so that steep climb up is unnecessary.

Cramps can be caused by a number of things. Could be lack of electrolytes, could be just pushing past what your body is used to. The sooner you get your nutrition sorted out, the better training will be.

I am sure there will be plenty of training rides going out in the next 5 months.....it's good to have someone push the pace just a little. You get stronger by riding with stronger/faster riders.

Just riding alot....tends to melt away that 20 lbs.
 
@StrandLeper

I was planning on doing the VQ route up to the Holy Jim downhill, but a family emergency has me in New York. It will go back on the calendar in the near future... After I get home and work off the chicken wings, pizza, subs, and other assorted artery cloggers.

Not exactly the VQ training regimen I had planned for this month... :whistling:
 
I was shocked to see VQ is still open for registration yesterday! Anyone know why there is the apparent lack of interest? I figured there would be a bunch of people excited its back in the spring. Maybe the sign ups were too close to this years event and the pain is still too new for to commit again? :laugh:
 
IMO the mystic of VQ was built from year to year. The brake in the continuity might forced some of the regulars to find other events. For me VQ was on my "bucket list" since 2008, and I'm not getting envy younger.

I think in the past some would "graduate" from CC to VQ. The unfortunate brake stopped that pipeline.

Maybe they should let ebikes into VQ (jk).

I know a few guys who where registrar for the 2015 event who didn't like to way refund was handled by WS. Talking to them, they express no interest in participating in any future event.

I believe the 2017 will be successful (even if it doesn't sell out), and future event will regain the momentum.
 
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I'm sure it will pick back up some steam....Like Sharone said....with the fire closure and cancellations have made for some bumpy times.

I know it didn't go as smoothly as normal....but then again, we didn't have our normal prep time either....we really were not guaranteed the closure would be lifted until a 5 weeks before the event.

Getting back to our normal schedule should help out.
 
I know a few guys who would have liked to receive a refund a few weeks before the event (or roll it to next year).
Looking at the high number of DNS I'm sure others where looking for the same thing.
I'm not sure if the WS had the funds to refund the entry, but rolling it over to 2017 wouldn't have cost them much.

Keeping your customer base happy is an elusive goal that every business owner struggle with daily. The WS might have believed that the golden goose will always delivered. In the past the organizer where unwilling to show any flexibility, and that attitude might be hurting them today.

I could be completely off base with my assessment of the situation. After all, WTF do I know.
 
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HBkites said:
I know a few guys who would have liked to receive a refund a few weeks before the event (or roll it to next year).

Everyone that was registered for the 2015 event got the same opportunity to take a refund at one point. Many did. Many chose to roll it over to the 2016 event. Those were the choices given.

Looking at the high number of DNS I'm sure others where looking for the same thing.

Everyone had ample time to train....most had nearly 18 months. If they were unprepared and chose not to do the event....why should that be on the WS?

I'm not sure if the WS had the funds to refund the entry, but rolling it over to 2017 wouldn't have cost them much.

Keeping your customer base happy is an elusive goal that every business owner struggle with daily. The WS might have believed that the golden goose will always delivered. In the past the organizer where unwilling to show any flexibility, and that attitude might be hurting them today.

We have kept a no refund/transfers/derfered policy for years. This fire closure and it's uncertainty was chaotic for everyone involved.

I could be completely off base with my assessment of the situation. After all, WTF do I know.

Yes

:p
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A slightly different take ... from someone who will probably never enter the event.:(

I've entered and attempted to finish a difficult ride twice. They didn't offer refunds, but they DID (and do) offer the opportunity to sell and transfer your entry up to about a week before the event. It's done through a separate entity via the event website, for a small (very small - I think less than $10) fee, not directly person to person, so there's very little opportunity for buying up entries and marking them up.

As with the VQ & CC, the number of entries is capped and it sells out every year, usually within a couple weeks. It's been selling out faster and faster every year and always has people waiting, hoping others will drop out and be willing to sell their entry. The entry period is 6 months prior to the event. The only difference is that this event is only coming up on its seventh year.

I was more than willing to plop down my $160 knowing that if something came up I could at least get my money back on the entry fee. Maybe this is something the WS could consider...knowing that you won't necessarily lose your entry fee may make it more likely that people will sign up.

I have no idea what it would take for the WS to make that happen, but I can't imagine it would cost any extra since the transfer has a fee to cover the cost of the site handling it. Just a thought.
 
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Runs with Scissors said:
A slightly different take ... from someone who will probably never enter the event.:(

I've entered and attempted to finish a difficult ride twice. They didn't offer refunds, but they DID (and do) offer the opportunity to sell and transfer your entry up to about a week before the event. It's done through a separate entity via the event website, for a small (very small - I think less than $10) fee, not directly person to person, so there's very little opportunity for buying up entries and marking them up.

As with the VQ & CC, the number of entries is capped and it sells out every year, usually within a couple weeks. It's been selling out faster and faster every year and always has people waiting, hoping others will drop out and be willing to sell their entry. The entry period is 6 months prior to the event. The only difference is that this event is only coming up on its sixth year.

I was more than willing to plop down my $160 knowing that if something came up I could at least get my money back on the entry fee. Maybe this is something the WS could consider...knowing that you won't necessarily lose your entry fee may make it more likely that people will sign up.

I have no idea what it would take for the WS to make that happen, but I can't imagine it would cost any extra since the transfer has a fee to cover the cost of the site handling it. Just a thought.
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We have tried transfers in the past. Since the event sells out so quick....people would buy a spot just to have a spot....JUST IN CASE THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO Do IT. This turned into a logisitical nightmare.

Spots were being sold, traded, then sold and traded again. Riders were selling spots but not notifying us...so riders were riding under other names.

Problems arise when someone gets hurt. Think about how your wife would feel if we called her and told her you were injured and on the way to the ER...only for her to find out it was someone else you sold your spot to, because someone got lazy and didn't send the transfer in. So now we have your Emergency Contact info....yet have no clue who the actual rider is.


Remember none of us get paid...we are all volunteers. Handling transfers is almost a full time job.....and yes, I have handled it in the past....so talking from experience.
 
mtnbikej said:
We have tried transfers in the past. Since the event sells out so quick....people would buy a spot just to have a spot....JUST IN CASE THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO Do IT. This turned into a logisitical nightmare.

Spots were being sold, traded, then sold and traded again. Riders were selling spots but not notifying us...so riders were riding under other names.

Problems arise when someone gets hurt. Think about how your wife would feel if we called her and told her you were injured and on the way to the ER...only for her to find out it was someone else you sold your spot to, because someone got lazy and didn't send the transfer in. So now we have your Emergency Contact info....yet have no clue who the actual rider is.


Remember none of us get paid...we are all volunteers. Handling transfers is almost a full time job.....and yes, I have handled it in the past....so talking from experience.
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herzalot said:
I have an elaborate theory as to why the lack of enthusiasm for the Vision Quest.
Ready?

Riders suddenly discovered that it's more fun to ride down the hills... ;)
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Ummm, yeah, there's this thing called Enduro that's taken over in popularity. Endurance races are no longer chic. I haven't ridden the CC in 10 yrs, but I'll be joining in again so I can ride the downs, haha.
 
Sprockethead said:
Ummm, yeah, there's this thing called Enduro that's taken over in popularity. Endurance races are no longer chic. I haven't ridden the CC in 10 yrs, but I'll be joining in again so I can ride the downs, haha.
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Enduro is the way God intended mt. biking to be. Take your time on the climbs yucking it up with your mates, then rage down the hills on techy singletrack. Repeat...
 
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Sprockethead said:
I heard Upper Holy Jim has been taken out of the course, is that true Jason? Say it ain't so, that's my favorite part of the ride.
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That is correct.

My understanding is that the Forest Service doesn't acknowledge UHJ as a legal trail. There has been a change in personnel at the FS and the new people aren't as easy to work with.

Doesn't make sense since they acknowledge our trailwork on the trail for the last 15 years. Plus it is the access point for Coldwater which is acknowledged by the FS. So Coldwater exists with no legal start point and no legal end point.

Plus the amount of maintenance UHJ requires is taxing our volunteers.

I know it sucks, but it may be out of our hands.
 
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