Warrior's Society Toad Festival
October 27, 2001
The Toad Festival is one (of two) annual events put on by the Warrior's Society and takes
place in the Cleveland National Forest, Trabuco District. I attended the event for the first
time this past weekend, and had an enormously fun time. The weather was perfect and
the scenery equally spectacular, with only the lack of waterflow detracting from the full
enjoyment of the trails (although some might argue otherwise).
Despite the fact that this event is not a race, there are games of competition along the somewhat
strenous route to accumulate points which ultimately determine your event placing. This
is one of the unique aspects of the Toad Festival... Regardless of how you score, everybody
who finishes walks away with a prize at the awards ceromony. Very cool.
I rode my Serotta singlespeed cyclocross bike and was determined to try
and capture a lot of pictures along the way. Photographing the ride made things a little
slow-going for me, but was well worth it as the pictures do a much better job depicting
the spirit of the event than I could do so with words. And on that note, here we go...
(Click on the images for a larger version)
This was on a fellow singlespeeder's (Clint) bike and I thought it was an awesome piece of Mojo.
I arrived at 7:20AM, and had to park in one of the auxiliary lots as the main one was already full.
Staging area shot.
Staging area shot.
Staging area shot. I believe Andy is jockeying for pole position here.
This is singlespeeder Clint... We'll see more of him later.
Norman whizzing by.
Within the staging area.
This is Pete sporting the latest in sleeveless fashion,
with Jay trying hard to pretend he doesn't know Pete.
Trail guru and rider extraordinaire Steve Timm.
Chris Vargas checks the time as everyone awaits the official start.
Andy, hanging with Karyn and Billy from San Diego. That's Pete being Pete in the background...
The Boy Scouts did a nice opening ceromony followed by leading everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
And we're off! The first part of the ride is a short section of road from O'Neil Park to
the entrance at the wash.
Billy, singlespeedin'.
Another singlespeeder, sporting a nifty Action-Tec fork.
Bikes, bikes... everywhere bikes!
Jeff, on his Bianchi singlespeed riding alongside Kenny.
Steve (#129) wimped out and left his singlespeed at home.
Bikes, bikes... everywhere bikes!
Paul, demonstrating how he can singlespeed and ride no-handed!!!
Cruising along Live Oak Canyon
First checkpoint. We're at the Holy Jim trailhead and are drawing cards for points.
Bob H. is looking back at all the young punks behind him. :-)
Nolan was riding his unusual GT, converted to singlespeed.
Karyn in the foreground, and in the background is the only runner of the event.
Tani, owner of the superb (to quote Chris V.) "little shop that could".
Tani and Nolan, heading into Holy Jim. The following shots are all taken as we headed
towards the trailhead to the switchbacks.
The first "technical" section.
The first "technical" section.
Excellent form by this female rider.
Another technical section.
Trail scenery.
Coming through Holy Jim proper.
Steep section.
A really steep section. I like this shot a lot.
Jeff, sporting his new Fox front shock (which works awesome, btw).
The following shots are of various riders rounding one of the switchbacks.
Unfortunately the weather warmed up quite a bit, and I felt sorry for this guy with all his
full-length clothing.
Riders rounding a switchback.
Spectacular show-boating by Tani... no-handed trackstand at the switchback.
Karyn, cruising through.
And here's Clint again, as promised. In a moment of terror for him (I'm guessing),
he and his bike tumbled off the cliffside when he failed to negotiage one of the
technical turns along Holy Jim. Fortunately, he was ok after being helped up with
the assistance of Ken and Larry from the Warrior's Society.
Warriors coming through...
Scenery along Holy Jim.
Riders taking a break and waiting for me.
Second checkpoint. Here, everyone rolls dice for points.
Tani, Steve, and Jeff inch along on a steep section of the Main Divide.
Main Divide scenery.
Third checkpoint. Here we throw horseshoes for points. I got my first flat just prior
to this checkpoint.
Bob was complaining of some rear-suspension noises and Tani's checking it out.
Approaching the checkpoint at the top of the Trabuco trail.
Fourth checkpoint. Here we throw darts for points. It's a pivotal moment in the ride
as this checkpoint signals the end of the climbing (hurray!) as well the best opportunity
to score points. If you're a good dart player, you can max out with 180 points here by
hitting all three darts in the triple-20 zone. The female rider who threw right behind
me scored over 60 points here, and ended up winning a Kona bike at the end of the day!
Jeff had flatted (no, not flatulated... although you never know with him) and Wes
is helping him out.
Some rider shots.
Here, Bob H. inspires everyone with his excellent riding skills and endurance.
Bob Fox, immediately after an endo and unharmed despite this being his fourth
crash for the day.
Trabuco scenery.
Darren, coming through. The full face helmet is there for a reason... He tries
to ride everything!
This is a snake that was resting along the bottom portion of the Trabuco trail.
It was extremely shy and kept its head hidden the whole time I was taking pictures.
Thanks to Robin Lemonds, the snake has been identified as being a rosey boa.
Gratuitous shots of my trusty bike.
Jeff experiences another flat, compounded with a mechanical. While changing his flat
he somehow managed to knock the pads out of his disc brakes and lost them on the trail.
After some time, Wes and I managed to get the bike back together; much to Jeff's relief.
The many shots following are of various people during the awards presentation.
All in all what a great event. Everyone had a thoroughly good time riding some
beautiful trails and nobody went home without a prize of some sort. This is definitely
a ride not to be missed if you're capable of completing the course. Mark it on your
calendar for next year and I'll see you there!
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