Counted a Coup, by Eugene Chu, April 18, 1999

The second annual Mountain Bike Pow Wow was held on April 17, 1999 over
the Santa Ana Mountain range.  This event was a joint effort of a number
of mountain bike clubs in the Orange County areas:  The Warrior's
Society, the Laguna RADS, the Billy Goat Racing club, the SHARE bike
club, and many other public and commercial organizations.  The Pow Wow
allows many of the local clubs and organizations to get together to
participate in the Counting Coup mountain bike race series.  The event
was originally put together by the Warrior's Society, a non-profit
organization whose primary purpose is to provide advocacy for and
promote the poper use and care of the land that forms the Santa Ana
mountain area.  Its organizer, Chris Vargas, a descendent of American
Indians, has a passionate love of the land equaled by few others.

There are three races in the Counting Coup series.  These are:

The short race, called Seek the Peak, is a 24 mile race with 4500 feet
of total climb.  The race starts with the Maple Springs truck trail from
the end of Silverado Canyon, and goes for about 12 miles up to Santiago
Peak.  Then the race continues on the back side of the Peak down the
Main Divide road to the Holy Jim trail, a single track with lots of
twists and turns, and some rocky sections.  The Holy Jim trail ends at
the start of Trabuco Canyon, where the racers will follow the canyon
road out to the finish line.

The intermediate race, also called Counting Coup, continues from the
bottom of the Holy Jim trail into the canyon for another climb and
descent that adds 12 miles and 3500 feet of elevation gain to the Seek
the Peak race.  About 2.5 miles into the canyon, the race splits off to
the West Horsethief trail, which is about 1.5 miles of climb up the side
of a mountain back to the Main Divide, gaining about 1200 feet in the
process.  There is about 2 more miles and about another thousand feet of
climb on the Main Divide to get to the top of Trabuco Canyon trail,
where the race continues on its final descent, back to the base of the
Holy Jim trail.

The long distance race, called Vision Quest, starts from the Blackstar
Canyon trail, climbs about 3500 feet, and descends the Silverado
"Motorway" to the beginning of the Maple Springs trail, where it
continues with the Counting Coup race.  This adds about 20 miles to the
Counting Coup race.

For more detailed descriptions of these races, as well as the Warrior's
Society, check out the following page:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5823/warriors.html

I signed up for the Counting Coup race, which started at 7AM with the
Seek the Peak race.  (The Quest started at 6AM.)  When I arrived at the
check-in area, there were two busloads of bikers about to be carried off
to the Maple Springs trail.  Behind them were two Ryder trucks being
loaded with their bikes.  The air was cold and the occasional breezes
made me shiver as I was waiting for my bus.  But the recent weather
reports called for a record high temperature that day, so I didn't bring
any additional clothing at all for the ride.

When we got to the starting line, Chris Vargas gave us some last minute
instructions on how to survive a long race and rules of proper trail
usage.  In general, bikers still yielded to hikers and horses, and
anyone going downhill must yield to anyone in front of them.  This means
that someone descending a single track must ask the slowpoke in front of
him for permission to pass.  We were told to drink continuously, as the
weather was expected to get hot, and try not to start like a jack rabbit,
or we could blow up early and would have to be air lifted out.

Then the race was started.  This part was pretty easy; the climb to the
Peak was on very wide and smooth fire roads.  The road surfaces were
pretty hard packed this year, so everyone got very good pedaling
efficiency.  The air was still kind of cool, even though the sun had
began to come out, so the ride was actually very easy going.  The clear
air made for very good visibility all around, especially at the higher
elevations.

About a mile from the top, some of the race marshals set up a little
entertainment for us; someone was pounding continuously on a genuine
Indian drum to inform the passing riders that the Peak was very near.
This provided encouragement to the tired riders, especially for the Seek
the Peak riders, as the race is all downhill from that point on.  They
no longer had to conserve energy like the longer racers had to.

At the Peak were other race marshals recording the ID numbers of the
riders coming by.  They had water and electrolytes for anyone needing
them.  They also warned us that the back side of the Peak was very steep
and full of jagged rocks.  Sure enough, on the way down, some riders
sustained impact punctures to their tires, despite the warnings.

The back side of the Peak was mostly in the shade, and some parts of it
still had snow on the ground.  Some of the snow showed the tracks of
riders who rounded the turns a little too fast and wide.

After a couple miles down the Main Divide, we were directed onto the
lower section of the Holy Jim trail.  This was a very technical foot
path that wound down the side of the mountain into Trabuco Canyon.  At
this time, the rules of right of way were observed.  It was late enough
in the morning that other trail users began to show up.  We encountered
several hikers and at least two troupes of Boy Scouts, all of whom
had hiked up from the base of the trail at Trabuco Canyon.

At the bottom of Holy Jim, the race marshals brought packs for the
racers who won't be finishing at this point (Vision Quest and Counting
Coup riders).  This was one of the things we handed to them when we
checked in earlier that morning.  They contained supplies that we would
need to replenish whatever we consumed up to this point.  The Seek the
Peak riders would ride out the Trabuco Canyon road to the finish line at
this point, so they didn't need anything.

As I was resting at this place and refueling, a rider came flying in
from Holy Jim, half dismounted, with both tires locked in a skid.
Everyone cheered him on.  This was the first racer from the Vision Quest.
It was about 10AM, and he had completed the first 20 miles and 3500 feet
of the Quest, and just finished Seek the Peak.  He took some water and
some fruit, and then took off up the canyon to do the rest of the race.
It was not a gentle start; the very beginning of that part was quite
steep, and he sprinted up as if he was just starting fresh.  I was told
that his name is Dirk Maes, a test pilot for Shimano and GT Bicycles.

A couple miles up the canyon, the road turned into a foot path, which
got more rocky and steep as it progressed.  Finally, the foot path split
off into two directions; straight ahead was West Horsethief, which is how
the race proceeded.  The other fork was the base of Trabuco Canyon trail,
which is how we were coming back down.  At this point, the second Vision
Quest racer passed me.

West Horsethief was steep and rough enough that most people could not
ride it.  It slowed a lot of people down to a crawl, including myself;
this was where my legs started to burn and cramp up.  The trail switches
back and forth about 11 times up the side of the mountain, and I passed
the time by counting them down.

By this time, the sun was beating down pretty fiercely, and the cool
breezes that had been blowing all morning had turned warm, then hot.  My
friend Shidan used a phrase to describe it:  "Sucking on a hair dryer."
It was quite a contrast from the snow we encountered earlier on the back
side of the Peak.  For additional attacks on morale, two more Quest
racers passed me on this trail.

Back onto the Main Divide, the first part was a downhill, so it gave us
the chance to rest our legs, and to cool off a little.  But it turned up
very soon, and we again had to exert and pedal.

Presently, I heard someone say:  "How are you doing, Eugene?"  I looked
behind me to see my friend Carl approaching.  He was the 5th racer from
Vision Quest, and soon passed me.  The other Quest racers who passed me
may have been stronger, but Carl is by far the strongest rider I've ever
ridden with.  I watched him get to the top of Trabuco, turn in, and
disappear.  He would hold on to his 5th position to the end of the race.

There were ride marshals at the top to register everyone passing by.
As I got near, I heard someone yell out my time to the time keeper:
"High Noon".  It was downhill all the way from here.

The beginning of the descent on Trabuco Canyon trail is quite beautiful;
it is covered with a canopy of trees and brushes, almost forming a
tunnel.  It's also an easy ride, as it was very smooth with gentle turns
and rolls.  However, this is the first time that I would ride it in
daylight.

(Flash back to a dark cold night about two months ago...)
I rode part of it a few weeks ago with my friend Kenny to practice for
this race.  He is much faster than me in descents, day or night, so I
lost him pretty early on.  Suddenly I heard him swearing up a storm
somewhere ahead of me.  As I rounded a turn, I saw his bike on the
ground and he was yelling at me to stop (STOP!!!!).  It seems that a
while ago, a tree had fallen across the trail, and someone chopped off
the part obstructing the trail with an axe.  This left the rest of the
tree with a chisel point aimed up hill.  Kenny came a little too close
to it, and caught his arm on it.  He got jousted off his bike while
going about 20 mph.  Luckily, no bones were broken, but it cut short our
ride that night.  The next week, a bunch of us came back up to that
trail and cut back that tree some more, and did some other general bush
trimming.  That made this part of the race a much more safe and
enjoyable ride.

(Flash forward to the race...)
I was approaching that tree; as I passed it, I noted the stump that we
left.  Not far after that, the trail turned rocky.  There were big loose
rocks all over the trail.  Kenny's advice was to go easy on the brakes,
and just let the bike float over them.  It seemed to work, but doing it
in the day time made me more aware of how close to the edge the trail
was.  Other words of advice came into my head as I bounced on:

"Let your bike go, and your body will follow."  I'm sure it will.

"Use the Force Luke, trust your feelings."  I'm not Luke.

The base of the Trabuco Canyon trail where it met West Horsethief was
like a dry river bed, full of boulders.  It forced the riders off their
bikes and walk, but it was a very short distance to the trail that they
came up before, and which will lead them out again.  They were indeed on
their way out at this point.  The trail lead past the base of Holy Jim,
and continued on to the road that lead out of the canyon and onto the
finish line.  It was about 4.5 miles of very rough dirt road on which
cars and trucks would occasionally appear (and leave a dust cloud).  But
it was a slight downhill, and the ride was actually quite fast.

As I got near the end of the road, I saw someone with a camcorder aimed
at me, and another race marshal yelling at me to stop.  He told me that
this was the end; I was all done.  How anti-climactic.  I stopped, and
he asked me my name and race.  I told him, and then someone from inside
a tent yelled back my time:  5 hours 44 minutes and 55 seconds.  It was
better than I had hoped.

As I caught my breath and rested, a few more riders came in.  One guy
caught our attention; he did the Quest riding a single speed, fully
rigid bike.  I'm not sure what point he was trying to prove.  The guy
that came in behind him said that he observed him on the really rocky
sections of Trabuco Canyon trail:  "He has some really good moves."

A number of us rode on to the gathering place; O'Neill Regional Park
(and campground).  There, the race coordinators have set up some food
and cold drinks.  I went to my car to put my bike and gear away.  I
noticed an interesting benefit of holding such an event at a camp
ground; showers.  I brought a change of clothing, and I had always kept
a towel in my car, and I was able to borrow soap from someone.  But the
shower was cold; all the muscles that were threatening to spasm began
to do so all at the same time as I washed off.  I had to finish quickly,
but I did feel much better afterward.

As I was resting and eating, I heard people around me talking about
their day.  Occasionally, I would catch something extraordinary:

The Vision Quest racer who used a cyclocross bike.  These bikes are
almost like street bikes and use very skinny tires.  He fell early on,
scarring up his arms and back.  He took over 10 hours to finish.

The two Coup racers who rode a tandem full suspension bike.  They took
4th place at 4 hours and 44 minutes.  We wondered if they paid only one
entry fee, since they only got one ID number.

There was the only woman to do the Vision Quest.  She flew in from San
Jose to do this race.

There was a Vision Quest racer who, upon reaching the drummers near the
Santiago Peak, was so elated that he popped a wheelie.  In his
enthusiasm, he flipped completely over, and since it was on a somewhat
steep climb, he fell backward hard.  He was heard to comment:
"Ow, moan, leg cramp, groan..."

There was another Quest racer who thought if two scoops of Cytomax was
good, four scoops must be better.  He sprayed his findings over the
canyons and again later in the showers.  He completed the race in 12
hours through pure determination.  This was indeed a Vision Quest for
him.

There was the 66 year old man who did the Coup.  He got the award for
being the rider who was closest to retirement age.

Of course, there were also discussions about the guy who did the Quest
on the fully rigid single speed bike.

And some people wanted to do DNA testing on Dirk Maes to see if he was
human, or genetically altered in any way.

I hung around for the support people to bring my pack back, and for the
presentation of the prizes.  All participants got a T shirt and a bag of
schwag.  All Coup finishers got a feather.  I was the 25th of the 63
Coup racers that finished.  I started dead last, but I didn't think that
I passed that many people.

All Quest finishers got beaded feathers.  The Quest winner, Dirk Maes,
got the Warrior's Staff, a branch of some sort decorated with various 
Indian artifacts and the beaded feathers of the previous winners.  He
holds onto it for a year, and it gets handed to the next winner.  He was
also the winner in the two previous years.  (This year, he finished the
Quest, riding up and down the mountains 3 times, taking 8 minutes less
than I took to do the Coup, riding up and down just twice.)

Before the prizes were handed out, Chris Vargas gathered the Tribal
Council of the Warrior's Society for a strange ritual to bless the
feathers.  This involved a peace pipe and more drumming.  Then Chris
gave a political message about the importance of revering the land, as
that was the primary purpose of the Warrior's Society, and the tradition
of the Coup.  As adapted to the mountain bike club, the goal was to help
preserve the land so that everyone can continue using it.

As I walked around some more, I overheard someone talk about supporting
a race in the Mojave Desert.  I turned around and asked him:  "You mean
the Death Race?"

"Why yes, how did you know?"  It was Ron Cooke, from the Orange County
Marshall's Athletic Association.  He was here supporting the Coup.  He
is also the organizer of the Mojave Death Race 250.  But that's another
story.