Story by Chris Vargas
The first 12 hour event held in Orange County at the Flying B Adventure Park was a great success! Although the rain threatened to delay the race--Mother Nature was somewhat forgiving and the heavy showers that were predicted did not happen. Although it did rain on and off in the days prior to the race it was not enough to delay it; but it did present some problems for the promoters.
The Warrior's Society designed course (8 miles, 1600 feet of climbing per lap that club members Ron and Monique Sawicki laid out), including the "Warrior's" single track the club built for the event, did suffer some damage. Event promoters Karen Lundgren and Paul Romero of West Coast Adventure Racing had a lot of work to do to get the course ready. Although they have promoted Adventure Races, this was the first mountain bike event that they have promoted and they wanted to make sure it was a success. While Orange Country slept they were up on the course at night making the final finishing touches.
The things we wanted to accomplish happened--we wanted a racer friendly, family friendly event and that's the way it happened. There were of course some things we learned and things we will do different next time, but that's all part of the game and part of the fun for us. If the majority of the people walked away happy we are happy, that's what it's all about."
The course was tough with many steep climbs up trails and roads named "Elevator Shaft" and "The Staircase." Cameron Brenneman, a member of the 1st place, 16 lap coed team Big Gears, No Tears, was looking to continue his winning streak after a record setting first place finish in the 56.5 mile Vision Quest endurance event 3 weeks prior. Cameron and his teammates delivered. Cameron told me "One of the most memorable moments was when my teammate Sean Donovan said, 'Is there any downhill on the course? It seems like you go uphill the entire 8 miles.'
"I agreed that the course was one of the most challenging courses I have raced in awhile. I think the hardest part of the race was having to get back onto the bike several times."
Warrior's Society Race Team member and solo rider Jason First summed up the effect the course had on the participants: "I actually enjoyed the first 6 hours, after that it became extremely difficult and slow. People everywhere were hiking rather than riding up the climbs. But everyone on the course was encouraging each other, we all struggled together. All in all, I'm happy I did it and learned a lot from it." Jason went on to complete 10 Laps for an 8th place finish.
The Warrior's Trail singletrack also gave some people trouble. The trail was designed to be as steep as possible. The trail tunneled through heavy brush and had many hairpin turns. The trail ended with a 60 foot drop/run-out called "Dan's Drop" after Dan Dulac, one of the owners of the Flying B Adventure Park.
The trail was designed by Warrior's Society member Tom Taylor, a noted Orange County technical trail designer and Warrior's Society founder Chris Vargas. Warrior's Society members spent over 400 hours building the trail by hand.
As previously mentioned the Warrior's Trail is steep. Those that had quick releases on their seatposts were advised to use them and to lower their seats when descending the trail; those that did not and little technical riding experience wished they had them.
The course was challenging enough for the teams, and even more so for the solo racers.
Warrior's Society Race Team member Mario Correa finished first in the solo male category with 13 laps - 104 miles, 20,800 feet of total elevation gain. Mario is an accomplished solo racer having competed solo in many 12 and 24 hour events and other distance events such as the La Ruta de Los Conquistadores multi-day stage race in Costa Rica, the Transrockies Challenge and the Cascade Cream Puff 100.
Warrior's Society member Monique Sawicki of Team Mata finished with 12 laps in 11:20 hours - 96 miles with 19,200 feet of total elevation gain. She was the first female by a long shot and was also 2nd place solo finisher overall right behind Mario Correa. Monique is currently defending her 2004 female NORBA National Marathon Series Championship title. In 2004 Monique set records riding solo in the 12 Hours of Snow Summit and in the Vision Quest.
Club member and Club Director Ned Reynolds completed 7 laps as a solo rider riding a single speed.
The first place Corporate Team was Ellsworth Bicycles with 12 laps and the first place Open Team was "Partners in Grime" with 13 laps.
The Warrior's Society coed team was the first place single speed team and finished 4th overall with 14 laps. Two of the team members, Calvin Mulder and Keith Eckstein, rode fully rigid bikes. Keith showed real grit and determination by riding with a broken hand.
In the end it turned out to be the festive event we had planned it to be. We wanted people to have fun and hang out and for people to feel like they got value for their money. The event was professional looking and surprised a lot of people. Even a lot of outside of the industry media personnel were on hand.
Many thanks to Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren of Team Epinephrine for promoting the event and to Dan Dulac and Allen Dean, the owners of the Flying B Adventure Park, for hosting it.
Thanks to all that participated. We hope to see you back at the Flying B!
-Chris
WHAT'S UP AT THE WARRIOR'S SOCIETY?
Trail work event series starts tomorrow, April 9. Braves parent/child schedule set. Click here for more
WHAT'S UP AT THE WARRIOR'S SOCIETY?
The next Warrior's Society Trail Work Event will be held on Saturday, April 9th. "We intend this to be the first of three trail work events in the Blue Jay Area; we have a lot of storm damage to repair," says Chris Vargas. The other two Trail Work Events in this area will be held on Saturday, May 14th and another date in June not yet announced.
The trail work event will include a ride and overnight camping trip and potluck. We will be camping/staging in the Blue Jay campgrounds out of the lower (41 through 50) loop campsites. Even if you can't camp Friday night please join us on Saturday and help brush the trails in the Blue Jay area and reinstall the trail signs that were removed.
If you plan on volunteering please RSVP for directions to the campsite/staging area and so we have enough food for everyone after the trail work is complete.
BRAVES RIDE SCHEDULE SET
The Braves ride schedule has been set:
Saturday, April 16th
Saturday, April 30th
Saturday, June 4th
Saturday, June 25th
The "Braves" rides are parent/child rides open to Warrior's Society Club members and club volunteers. To RSVP for the trail work event or for Braves start times and ride locations contact the Warrior's Society at countingcoup@warriorssociety.org
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