I read about "the Bitches" over on mtbr.com - can any of you guys or gals describe this section of trail?
Results of Old Pueblo
- Thread starter Mtbkngrl
- Start date
MMcG said:
hmm....straight fireroad, that goes up sorta steep, then down not as steep with at least one nice size bump/jump on the dh part, repeat like 5 times for a total of maybe 2.5 or so miles
Yeah doug pretty much got it. Good way to get your heart rate going. Towards the end there are a couple of water bars on the uphills that you need to be ready for, either you need to be comfortable with fast air, or you need to slow down...
Day 2 in Old Pueblo - Race day!!!
After an evening of beers, good food (thanks to the west coast's awesome hospitality) and race preparations, we were ready to ride.
Peter, Westy & T-dog lined up for the run and we all cheered them onto the course for their first lap. Up 2nd for Team Blood, Sweat & Beers was Corona Calvin, who in true drunken style pounded 5 beers prior to his lap and still managed to turn a respectable time. Oh yeah, Douglas & Weber also headed out for their laps, but without the beers to aide them in their travels.
Up 3rd was me and I managed to get 2/3 of the way through the course before being passed by the dueling brothers. Ghostrider almost got smacked down by a friendly cactus when he took the customary smack-TreeSaw's-ass line
Here's Ghostrider coming through the rockdrop section:
Here are a couple of shots of me hitting the home-stretch.
Mrs. T-dog was up 4th for the Beer team. The rain was coming down harder now, the course conditions declining along with daylight and Teri finished her lap without a light
Our 5th rider, James, went out in one of the many downpours for his first lap in darkness and returned a 24-hour race survivor! Peter headed out for his 2nd lap in darkness, torrential downpours and hail. When he returned Calvin met him and they called off the rides until the weather began to improve while the other 2 teams of lunatics continued on their quest to defeat one another.
Here's Sq-Earl heading out of the transition tent for his 2nd lap.
I was the lucky rider who got the sunrise lap and it was an utterly amazing experience! In addition to beginning my lap in darkness and having the pleasure of winding my way through the cactus single track while the sun was rising, I got to see a bunny, lots of trail carnage (thanks to Sq-Earl who won the award for creating the most roadkill during the race...2 mice and a rat) and a coyote before being passed (more gracefully this time) by Ghostrider and making it back to the finish line. Totally on a high from seeing the sunrise and experiencing the improving conditions, I was ready to head out for another lap after a short break for food, coffee, water and a shot of whiskey.
Here we are having a meeting of the minds to discuss the improving trail conditions after the sunrise lap:
Here's the King Monkey himself coming in for his last lap, which was also secured the fastest lap trophy:
After a tasty breakfast burrito compliments of Chef Calvin, off I went for the victory lap. Sq-Earl passed me about 50 yards from the top of the climb and as hard as I tried, I simply couldn't catch him on the DH before the finish. I was greeted by the other two teams cheering for me and spraying me down with the customary beers to end an amazing race!
Off we went to the awards ceremony to cheer on the other teams.
After the awards ceremony Ghostrider, Westy & I decided to take a little hike and get a birds-eye view of the desert.
Then it was back down the hill for some beers and delicious dinner.
After an evening of beers, good food (thanks to the west coast's awesome hospitality) and race preparations, we were ready to ride.
Peter, Westy & T-dog lined up for the run and we all cheered them onto the course for their first lap. Up 2nd for Team Blood, Sweat & Beers was Corona Calvin, who in true drunken style pounded 5 beers prior to his lap and still managed to turn a respectable time. Oh yeah, Douglas & Weber also headed out for their laps, but without the beers to aide them in their travels.
Up 3rd was me and I managed to get 2/3 of the way through the course before being passed by the dueling brothers. Ghostrider almost got smacked down by a friendly cactus when he took the customary smack-TreeSaw's-ass line
Here's Ghostrider coming through the rockdrop section:
Here are a couple of shots of me hitting the home-stretch.
Mrs. T-dog was up 4th for the Beer team. The rain was coming down harder now, the course conditions declining along with daylight and Teri finished her lap without a light
Our 5th rider, James, went out in one of the many downpours for his first lap in darkness and returned a 24-hour race survivor! Peter headed out for his 2nd lap in darkness, torrential downpours and hail. When he returned Calvin met him and they called off the rides until the weather began to improve while the other 2 teams of lunatics continued on their quest to defeat one another.Here's Sq-Earl heading out of the transition tent for his 2nd lap.
I was the lucky rider who got the sunrise lap and it was an utterly amazing experience! In addition to beginning my lap in darkness and having the pleasure of winding my way through the cactus single track while the sun was rising, I got to see a bunny, lots of trail carnage (thanks to Sq-Earl who won the award for creating the most roadkill during the race...2 mice and a rat) and a coyote before being passed (more gracefully this time) by Ghostrider and making it back to the finish line. Totally on a high from seeing the sunrise and experiencing the improving conditions, I was ready to head out for another lap after a short break for food, coffee, water and a shot of whiskey.
Here we are having a meeting of the minds to discuss the improving trail conditions after the sunrise lap:
Here's the King Monkey himself coming in for his last lap, which was also secured the fastest lap trophy:
After a tasty breakfast burrito compliments of Chef Calvin, off I went for the victory lap. Sq-Earl passed me about 50 yards from the top of the climb and as hard as I tried, I simply couldn't catch him on the DH before the finish. I was greeted by the other two teams cheering for me and spraying me down with the customary beers to end an amazing race!
Off we went to the awards ceremony to cheer on the other teams.
After the awards ceremony Ghostrider, Westy & I decided to take a little hike and get a birds-eye view of the desert.
Then it was back down the hill for some beers and delicious dinner.
Day Three Packing up
Echo & I headed to the airport to rent a couple of vans while the others began packing up the monkey compound. Unfortunately, there werent any vans available so we ended up renting what they had .a VERY base model neon and an Expedition and headed back to the desert to see if all of our bikes, gear and selves could possibly fit into suck limited space.
Much to our surprise .everything fit!
Then it was Mexican for lunch, visit a couple of bike shops and check into our hotel and shower!!!!
Echo & I headed to the airport to rent a couple of vans while the others began packing up the monkey compound. Unfortunately, there werent any vans available so we ended up renting what they had .a VERY base model neon and an Expedition and headed back to the desert to see if all of our bikes, gear and selves could possibly fit into suck limited space.
Much to our surprise .everything fit!
Then it was Mexican for lunch, visit a couple of bike shops and check into our hotel and shower!!!!
Great pic!!TreeSaw said:
Great Recap Treesaw - quick question - how did this course compare to Dalton in terms of technical sections/toughness (weather excluded in this comparison)?
Day Four Oranges for Breakfast
The courtyard of our hotel was stocked with orange trees so we decided to have some breakfast. GeeSpot & Doug were on it.
Heres Doug, utilizing those famous volleyball skills. Unfortunately, some oranges were harmed when he spiked them into the ground (must be that volleyball instinct), but they were still fresh & juicy:
Check out this funky tie-dyed fruit
After the hunt for brake pads, we were off to Fantasy Island for an amazing 20 mile ride through the desert. The Trailblazers riders were out in full force today!!!
Trail map:
Early on, Doug decided to tangle with a cactus. I am sure you can tell who won that battle.
Coming out of the bowl:
GeeSpot:
Doug:
Echo throwin down some skillz
Sq-Earl whippin
Awesome Singletrack:
TreeSaw:
Gee Spot:
Echo & Doug:
Photo Op
Over-Under (Echo over, TreeSaw under):
An awesome ride for sure:
The courtyard of our hotel was stocked with orange trees so we decided to have some breakfast. GeeSpot & Doug were on it.
Heres Doug, utilizing those famous volleyball skills. Unfortunately, some oranges were harmed when he spiked them into the ground (must be that volleyball instinct), but they were still fresh & juicy:
Check out this funky tie-dyed fruit
After the hunt for brake pads, we were off to Fantasy Island for an amazing 20 mile ride through the desert. The Trailblazers riders were out in full force today!!!
Trail map:
Early on, Doug decided to tangle with a cactus. I am sure you can tell who won that battle.
Coming out of the bowl:
GeeSpot:
Doug:
Echo throwin down some skillz
Sq-Earl whippin
Awesome Singletrack:
TreeSaw:
Gee Spot:
Echo & Doug:
Photo Op
Over-Under (Echo over, TreeSaw under):
An awesome ride for sure:
It wasn't technical compared to Dalton. It was very fast and flowly with tight corners. You really had to ride on the edge of what your tires could handle for traction in some of the singletrack corners while dodging cacti. The climb was singletrack and over before you really realized that you were climbing in most instances. The DH at the end had a couple of rocks, but as a whole the course was hardpacked.MMcG said:
Ultra cool pics, Treesaw. I wonder why our butts appear to be pointed at the camera when we are standing on top of that mountain?
:evil:ghostrider said:
Great Photos Treesaw!!! Who took some of them?
pics:
~Tdog, ECHO, GeeSpot & me on a ride in Ojai, CA
~Tdog's & Teri's place (thanks so much for your hospitality!)
~Some sights from our RV trip to Old Publo
~base camp / Friday night hanging at camp
~preride
~the race is on!
~I think the only pic I took during the race was Chelsie coming back to the pop up all muddy
~after race celebrations
~time to head to Tucsan
Linky
~Tdog, ECHO, GeeSpot & me on a ride in Ojai, CA
~Tdog's & Teri's place (thanks so much for your hospitality!)
~Some sights from our RV trip to Old Publo
~base camp / Friday night hanging at camp
~preride
~the race is on!
~I think the only pic I took during the race was Chelsie coming back to the pop up all muddy
~after race celebrations
~time to head to Tucsan
Linky
Echo about to knife someone for mouthing off, and a picture from above the campsite.
Man I look WASTED in that pictureWesty said:
Echo said:Man I look WASTED in that picture
Were you ?
Yes, physically and mentally from racing, compounded by beersplat said:
Better late than never, here's my recount of my vacation's highlights 
Highlight #1: The hospitality of the West Coast Monkeys. ghostrider, T-Dog (and Ms. T-Dog), Kalvin, "the ringer" Mike W, James, and chickenhawk made us feel welcome, gave us comfortable places to sleep, tasty food to eat, quality beer to drink, and awesome trails to ride while we were in CA. Then they stepped up and provided us with luxury camper trailers and vehicles to get to Tuscon. Unbelievable. I can only hope I get a chance to return the favor someday.
Highlight #2: Spending two laps dicing with my good friend and brother ghostrider. I've had a lot of fun on mountain bikes, but those couple of hours are at the top of the list, no doubt.
Highlight #3: The dedication of my teammates. Faced with the almost impossible task of preparing in winter for a 24 hour race against some seriously fast riders, we all stepped up big time and brought our "A" games. Take away a couple mechanical problems and logistics problems for the West Coast team, and we could have easily had Squirrel and chickenhawk throwing elbows for a photo finish. I have a feeling we will need to step it up a couple notches to beat these guys again next year.
Highlight #4. The improvement of TreeSaw! Damn girl, you spent some time on the trainer and it showed! And let's not forget that Chelsea kicked plenty of ass too.
Icing on the cake: Heading down to the award ceremony with Gee Spot mostly out of boredom, only to hear Todd announce that trophies were going 5 places deep! And standing on a podium with Olympian Sue Haywood, who went down the line and congratulated each one of us. Class.
Highlight #1: The hospitality of the West Coast Monkeys. ghostrider, T-Dog (and Ms. T-Dog), Kalvin, "the ringer" Mike W, James, and chickenhawk made us feel welcome, gave us comfortable places to sleep, tasty food to eat, quality beer to drink, and awesome trails to ride while we were in CA. Then they stepped up and provided us with luxury camper trailers and vehicles to get to Tuscon. Unbelievable. I can only hope I get a chance to return the favor someday.
Highlight #2: Spending two laps dicing with my good friend and brother ghostrider. I've had a lot of fun on mountain bikes, but those couple of hours are at the top of the list, no doubt.
Highlight #3: The dedication of my teammates. Faced with the almost impossible task of preparing in winter for a 24 hour race against some seriously fast riders, we all stepped up big time and brought our "A" games. Take away a couple mechanical problems and logistics problems for the West Coast team, and we could have easily had Squirrel and chickenhawk throwing elbows for a photo finish. I have a feeling we will need to step it up a couple notches to beat these guys again next year.
Highlight #4. The improvement of TreeSaw! Damn girl, you spent some time on the trainer and it showed! And let's not forget that Chelsea kicked plenty of ass too.
Icing on the cake: Heading down to the award ceremony with Gee Spot mostly out of boredom, only to hear Todd announce that trophies were going 5 places deep! And standing on a podium with Olympian Sue Haywood, who went down the line and congratulated each one of us. Class.
Echo said:Better late than never, here's my recount of my vacation's highlights
Highlight #1: The hospitality of the West Coast Monkeys.
^2I showed up with little more than a bike and some clothes and survived a 24 hour race with bad conditions quite comfortably, not to mention well fed and provided with a good supply of beer.
Westy said:
I showed up with little more than a bike and some clothes and survived a 24 hour race with bad conditions quite comfortably, not to mention well fed and provided with a good supply of beer.
DEFINATELY We really can't thank the west coast monkeys enough and are VERY eager to return the favor!
Where's the pics from Echo and Gee Spot? Did I miss them?
Echo said:
Some of the best memories I have biking are biking with my Brother. Cool stuff guys. Congrats too!....jdcamb
I took the ones that I am not in, Sq-earl took the ones I am in and we have a timer for the group photos.MMcG said:
She broke her camera when we were riding at Fantasy Island. I think she was able to get the pics off the memory card but she was waiting for Mtbkngrl to show her how to post them.ghostrider said:
I'd like to chime in and give a big thumbs up to everybody who came out and raced....conditions were less than perfect but everyone stepped up and performed! To the east coasters who came out early, you guys are welcome out here anytime- it was a blast riding and hanging out with you all. Earl and Treesaw...next year you gotta come out too! And to Doug, thanks for your patience on the trip out....we won't forget that RV anytime soon. My teammates were awesome, especially Chelsea who drove some insane distance then just flat out hauled ass on her laps- we're gonna hold you to that contract.....and I promise not to go wandering off when you are coming in to the exchange tent!
As for the race itself, it was a great competition, -if it weren't for the mechanicals and exchange tent snafu it would have come down to the wire. I do pretty much hate Westy for kicking my ass so badly but it's good inspiration to train. Just take good care of those trophies, we plan to take them back next year! And the party sunday night was one hell of a lot of fun......
We have a few more pics, I'll get them posted tonight.
Btw, the cannondale demo guy was super cool, and helped us alot...his name is Andy (he's the west coast guy) and will be at sea otter and some other places soon.
As for the race itself, it was a great competition, -if it weren't for the mechanicals and exchange tent snafu it would have come down to the wire. I do pretty much hate Westy for kicking my ass so badly but it's good inspiration to train. Just take good care of those trophies, we plan to take them back next year! And the party sunday night was one hell of a lot of fun......
We have a few more pics, I'll get them posted tonight.
Btw, the cannondale demo guy was super cool, and helped us alot...his name is Andy (he's the west coast guy) and will be at sea otter and some other places soon.
Congrats to all the monkies who raced!!!
Looks like all of you had fun!
Looks like all of you had fun!
I grabbed most of the pictures on the thread and threw them in the 24 hours at Old pueblo album on my site.
(I think I missed some of the pictures from Douglas)
(I think I missed some of the pictures from Douglas)
a few more pics from the Arizona Adventure:
Westy shows off his jersey zipping technique to a group of admirers, and the dogs partied so much Shadow had a little hair of the dog the next morning (that's my girl!)
Westy shows off his jersey zipping technique to a group of admirers, and the dogs partied so much Shadow had a little hair of the dog the next morning (that's my girl!)
Attachments
A shot of the sunday night party, and James getting ready to go out on his fateful lap (dig the raingear; he was heard to remark after he came in: "waterproof my ASS!")
Kevin coming in on good weather lap, Treesaw patiently waits for Kalvin to open her beer, which she then proceeded to hose him down with.
I guess bud light is good for something after all:
I'll see if Lisa has one, she doesn't check here much.web said:Hi, it's Mike (Weber) from the West. Someone took a pic of me after a muddy lap. I'd like to get a copy if possible. Can you help me out?
Thanks again for the ride to AZ, that was really a bummer about your drive home - glad you're okay.
Race pics are posted and some of you didn't get one 
Check them out at: Linky
for the event enter: 24hour
Password: your team number or helmet color
I found a few others too (looking for Sq-Earl's pic)
Note: you have to login to the site before you can click on these links)
Westy
Chelsea 1
Chelsea 2
Chelsea 3
Lisa 1
Lisa 2
Lisa 3
Lisa 4
Check them out at: Linky
for the event enter: 24hour
Password: your team number or helmet color
I found a few others too (looking for Sq-Earl's pic)
Note: you have to login to the site before you can click on these links)
Westy
Chelsea 1
Chelsea 2
Chelsea 3
Lisa 1
Lisa 2
Lisa 3
Lisa 4
Mike, I know I have one on my film camera, so when I get around to processing that, in 2008, I'll bring you the shot.web said:Hi, it's Mike (Weber) from the West. Someone took a pic of me after a muddy lap. I'd like to get a copy if possible. Can you help me out?
None of ghostrider or Echo, 39 of Gee Spot, curse those sexist photographers.
zoom zoom (me):
