Ultraquest

I've signed up to do the Ultraquest and only have two more weeks to prepare. Two weeks is not very long since the race a marathon of challenging trail riding. The course: up Chiquito, up to Pinos Peak down the first part of Bell Ridge and then down Yeager Mesa, Up the Trabuco Trail, back to Pinos Peak and then down the Los Pinos Trail, up the San Juan Trail and, finally, down Chiquito. Any one of the climbs seems like a good day's ride. The route is forty miles long, which may or may not sound far, but it is forty miles on the most rugged trail in OC...and a cumulative 10,000 feet of climbing. I obviously have my work cut out for me.


A topo image of the Chiquito Trail. A storied downhill with plenty of ledges and rock problems. The race begins and ends on Chiquito.
A snap of the Yeager Mesa. Still the only trail I have not ridden on the route. Better do it soon.


If all goes well, I'm hoping I can complete the course in about 10 hours. The goal is to eat, eat, eat, hydrate and pace. This weekend, barring rain, Josh and I will hit Chiquito and Los Pinos, skipping Trabuco and Yeager for now. Trabuco will be a bear after climbing Chiquito. Yeager is impossibly steep in sections. I'm hoping, that come race day, the adrenaline factor will overcome the limitations of my legs. Hopefully that adrenaline can carry me for ten hours.