Smoke Signals Summer 2002

Vision Quest: 52.5 miles - 11,000 feet total elevation gain – 2 miles of hike-a-bike

Before I begin my write-up, I'd like to again thank our volunteers who made it all possible; they are what make this event, and most events put on by the clubs in Orange County, possible. If we had to pay for all the help, especially considering the limits we place on the amount of participants, the cost to participate would be astronomical.

Rather than post all the finishing times and acknowledgements, I'd rather focus on the behind-the-scenes things that happened during the event. Click here for Vision Quest finishing times and here for Counting Coup finishing times.

The first place finisher of the Vision Quest was originally thought to be Josh the "Wonder Dog," but upon further review Josh was disqualified and Bryson Perry was determined to be the first place finisher. Bryson is no stranger to endurance events; he placed first in the Leadville 100 in 2001 (7:30:01) and placed second in 2000. Bryson started competing in 9^th grade, is starting his own race team and is attempting to make the Olympic team.

I had a conversation with Bryson after the event, and not only is he a great competitor but also a very mature person who really has his head on straight. Bryson is considering moving to California from Utah. We welcome this move and look forward to seeing him on our local trails.

Calvin "Keeps One Horse" Mulder, a member of the Warrior's Society, was the first single speeder in the Vision Quest and set a new course record of 5:42:11. Calvin, like past Vision Quest winner Jesse Beck, decided he wanted more, so after finishing the Vision Quest he changed into his running shorts and shoes and ran the last third of the course. Calvin, like Jesse, is not human.

Warrior's Society Elder and keeper of the club staff Bob Haislett, at 69 years old, set a new Counting Coup event single speed course record for his age group with a time of 6:43:40. Bob also holds the Vision Quest record for his age group on a regular mountain bike. Bob is one heck of a competitor.

Jeff Nelson and Spencer Hurtt attempted to be the first tandem finishers of the Vision Quest, and I believe they would have succeeded if not for perpetual mechanical failures. During their pre-runs they cracked the swing arm on two occasions, and when they finally

figured out what was causing the failure (the swing arm could not withstand the braking forces of the big disc brake they were using), the front wheel self-destructed during the event. Jeff and Spencer, next year will be your year.

Warrior's Society member and course marshal Greg Groom and course marshal Chris Nessor ran the Vision Quest course, and in the process Greg set a new course record finishing his run with a time of 9:55:00. Chris Nessor, a member of the Laguna RADS, was right behind him with a time of 10:28:00. They started an hour early than the riders.

Thanks again to all who participated and especially to Bob Gauthier who donated the Vision Quest finisher's coup feather stickers and Steve Foster who sent us a nice note after the event along with a PA system for future events. Thanks Bob and Steve from all of us.

If you run the whole way, the Great Silverado Footrace is the most physically punishing event you'll ever do. This event is coordinated by Warrior's Society member and Elder Dave Wonderly for the RADS mountain bike club. This "footrace" is not long, about 7–8 miles, but it covers terrain on private property that can best be described as primitive; if you have climbing and cliff-jumping skills, you'd do great.

The winner was Chris Nessor, one of the nicest guys around and great athlete. Warrior's Society member Calvin Mulder came in second. Calvin is a multi-sport athlete who competes in trail runs, marathons and mountain bike races. Warrior's Society member Bob Haislett now not only owns the record for the oldest person to do the Vision Quest and the oldest person to do the Counting Coup on a single speed, but also the oldest to do the Silverado footrace. I feel a little uncomfortable using the word "oldest" because that is not a good description of Bob—"experienced" may be a better term. I'm sure you share my respect for Bob and my joy in his accomplishments.

We expected Warrior's Society member Greg Groom to finish first or second (he and Seth Beck were second and first after the first loop), but he got lost following Seth and finish later in the pack. Next year will be your year, Greg. Keith Eckstein also did well, finishing in sixth place, as he usually does. Everyone is commenting on Keith's fitness.

An excellent feast awaited all the finishers. Thanks again Dave, Chay, Bob H. and everyone who helped out for another great event.

Warrior's Society's Executive Director of Public Outreach Advocacy and SHARE's vice president Keith Eckstein's recently rode with Team DAART Endurance to take FIRST PLACE in the five-person, 200+ combined age division of the 24 Hours of Tucson. Other team members were Byron Pettibone, Ron Burian, Gerrit Slingerland and Kym Kucera. Here's what Keith had to say about it:

My roommate Jim offered to help with support for the team and drive Kym, Gerrit and me out and back in his cushy Ford Explorer. We crammed all our crap and four bikes into the thing and off we went early Friday morning. Tucson is a good nine hours away, so we settled in for a nice long drive.

Good CDs and good traveling companions made the drive go fast, and we made it to the race venue by 4:00 p.m. local time. We found Ron, Byron and Byron's new girl Sherry (who joined Jim in support duties). Literally out in the middle of the Arizona desert, the race venue is officially on something called Willow Springs Ranch. A nice name, although I'm still looking to find the Willow Springs!

Stats
Number of racers	~1000
Course length	17 miles
Elevation	800 vertical feet
Wind factor	Minimal, compared to last year's hurricane-force winds
Temperature	Daytime high in the 70s, Nighttime in the mid 40s

The course was a big chain ring grind with the exception of the last 1/8-mile, which was re-routed to allow easier spectator viewing of the racers as they came back into the staging area.

The Arizona desert is truly a beautiful place, in a haunting, desolate sort of way. Every plant that can grow in this inhospitable environment has a hook, spike, barb, thorn or something else equally nasty to pierce your skin. Twisty single track amidst and through all these cacti proved to be very challenging, especially at 2:00 in the morning.

My two night laps were very cool, with the exception of the pinch flat. The moon was only the tiniest sliver to be barely seen in the clear sky. During my changing of the flatted tire, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard some big "things" moving through the countryside. To my relief they were only cattle making their nocturnal journey to only-God-knows-where. The 30 or so people I had passed prior to flatting now passed me back. Soon enough I was back, pedaling up the fire road under the power lines, and I re-passed most, if not all, on the last single track "climbing" up to the saddle of the hills standing between me and the finish line.

Another interesting phenomenon at night: the kangaroo rats were out in great numbers, darting across the trail directly in front of my bike's speeding front tire. As if a group of rats were out partying, daring each other to race across the trail to reach the other side without getting squished. And boy, did a lot of 'em get squished! My last lap was at dawn, and after the 12th flattened rat, I stopped counting.

The sunrise is another spectacular thing in the desert. I would have enjoyed it more thoroughly if it hadn't been directly in my eyes for the first half of the lap, however. By this time the Daart Endurance Team held a comfortable lead on our next closest competitors and we rode a bit more conservatively, taking no chances but not dawdling along the way either.

As we all had to work on Monday (with the exception of Kym), we hit the road directly after the awards ceremony and drove into some gnarly weather in San Diego County along the I-8. But eventually we all made it home safe and sound. The bed felt really good as I plopped down on the pillow. Slept as a dead thing, but woke up pretty refreshed.

Don't think I'll be going back out to the desert for that race; it was fun, but man, it's a long drive!