Story by Chris Vargas
Photos by Bob McCarter
We had a great group of riders show up at the Shimano Sundown Sprint Series
Pre-view ride last Wednesday. It was a mixed group of riders; we had novice
riders all the way up to the 2004 Female NORBA National Marathon Series and
2005 Pro 24-Hour Solo NORBA National Champion Monique Sawicki.
The course, which is 4.18 miles long with 1,125 feet of elevation gain, was
designed by Larry "Lare-Dog" Branham, the leader of the Warrior's Society
Dog Soldiers. The Warrior's Society Dog Soldiers are Warrior's Society
members who have finished the Vision Quest, have completed a double crossing
of the Santa Ana's - and have traversed the most difficult backcountry
trails in the Santa Ana's.
To start the ride the pre-view riders where shown where the Lemans start
will begin - and then we headed up the first climb. The climbing begins
almost immediately; you have only about 500 feet of riding before you hit
the first climb; but it's one of the shortest climbs in the event and if you
look to the northwest you'll see "Butt Pinch," the hike-a-bike section of
the course.
At the top of the first climb you begin a fire road descent into Hall
Canyon. At the end of the first descent is where you make a hard right and
begin the second climb up "Butt pinch" so named because of the reaction of
Warrior's Race Team Captain Ron Sawicki when he was driven up it in a
4-wheel drive truck; Ron could have cracked a walnut. The first half of
"Butt Pinch" is climbable but then comes the sick steep part - and the
hike-a-bike begins.
The small amount of hike-a-biking on the course just gives you a small taste
of what the Dog-Soldier's encounter on the backcountry trails of the Santa
Ana's.
After the climb and hike-a-bike up "Butt Pinch" you head up the ridge to the
Warrior's Trail and then head down the Warrior's Trail to its ending at
"Dan's Drop" a 100 foot run-out at the base of the trail. Some novice riders
decided to walk down "Dan's drop." When Sheryl Condon walked down "Dan's
Drop" Andy Lightle, being the smart ass that he is, told Sheryl, "Come on
Sheryl, you've ridden men bigger than that."
Andy got some ribbing at the beginning of the ride when we discussed people
"sandbagging" by entering the Novice Class when they should be riding the
Open Class. Several of Andy's friends "coughed" Andy's name when
"Sandbagging" was mentioned; yes, it was a tough crowd.
From the end of the "Dan's Drop" you turn right again for a short climbing
loop up Baker Canyon then back past the base of "Dan's Drop" to the last
climb. The last climb is the longest and it takes you to the ridge
separating Hall and Baker Canyons.
Once at the top of the ridge you head north for a short ride to the last
down. The last down is a single track back to the staging area and the
finish line. The day of the event the course will be well marked with course
marshals at all the critical points so you won't get lost.
Warrior's Race Team member Jeroen Bosboom estimated after the ride that top
Open riders will finish in about 30-40 minutes with Novice riders finishing
in 45 minutes to an hour.
Novice riders may feel intimidated to do the event but they shouldn't be.
Some will find the most demanding section to be the Warrior's Trail single
track but the novice riders on the pre-view ride just walked sections they
didn't feel comfortable riding and this was due mostly to not knowing the
trail. We had some Novice riders who were slow on the climbs but bombed down
the Warrior's Trail.
As I previously mentioned, the course is meant to give you a taste of being
a Warrior's Society "Dog Soldier" and no matter where you finish this will
be an event you'll remember; the number one thing is to rise to the
challenge in the tradition of the "Dog Soldiers."
After the pre-view ride some of us stayed behind to enjoy adult beverages
and discuss the event.
We'll be having another pre-view ride at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15th,
the day before the first event of the series. We hope to see you there and
at the Shimano Sundown Sprint Series.
-Chris
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