2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 11

I rocked down to the breakfast area, slightly determined to get my fill of breakfast as soon as it was opened. I battled the tourists eating donuts for breakfast and was soon out the hotel door, but not before asking the receptionist if they had any lost property.....say, like a backpack? No was the answer so I was going to run with my original plan, as per my training hikes. I was running a minimalist setup and I must admit to being slightly nervous about this.

Image from my friend Gary's FB page.

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 10

So, the alarm did go off stupidly early today. I thought about getting up for a minute or two....or three. Curse these warm motels!!

I got up, had a long, warm shower, ate breakfast and stuffed the last of my food into my bags. Time to get out there! I deliberately locked my key in the room so that I couldn't come back to the warmth. I had to get this thing done.

Trouble was, it was bloody cold! I was rugged up with everything except my puffer jacket on and pedalling hard to generate heat but it was still stupidly cold! I made my way around the Flagstaff urban trails system and then finally into the forest. Once in the forest it was quite hard going as there was a lot of large rock sections that I just couldn't ride. This meant a LOT of hopping off and on the bike, which was made more awkward by being trussed up in my warm gear.

During yesterday's rest day I had made a rare-for-me call to home. I generally don't call home when doing these races as I find it takes my head out of the game and destabilises my focus. The only times I wanted to quit the Tour Divide were the times I called home and spoke to the family.
Anyway, during the call home my daughter asked me if I was having fun. I thought for a second and said "no, not really". Her reply was "well, why are you doing it then?"

Bloody good question Lucy!!

I didn't have an immediate answer for her but this morning her question was rattling around in my head. It first popped up about 15 minutes after I started riding, about when the bite valve on my Camelbak froze. Then again about 30 minutes into the day when the spout on my bidon froze shut. "Why was I doing this???"

I had a big day in front of me, I was bloody tired despite my rest day and I was absolutely grovelling along in this slow, cold bowl-gully, high altitude climb in below freezing temperatures.

I reckon that this was the place, just north of Flagstaff on the lower slopes of Humphrey's Peak, that I was closest to throwing in the towel in the whole race. About 5 times I decided "Thats it! I'm turning around and going back to the motel".

Schultz Creek. I was as blurred in the brain as this photo looks. It was just daylight, still -2C and uphill in this cold bowl. I sooooo wanted to turn and just roll down the trail back to Flag and warmth...........and failure.....

But....I didn't. I kept pedalling and pushing forward. The trail slowly opened up, the rock outcrops disappeared, and there was a pleasant enough, if uphill singletrack in front of me.

Climbing into the first of the Aspens. Always an inspiring time for me, even in their leafless state.

My half frozen, fatigued brain kept saying "keep moving, just keep moving forward" so that is what I did. I didn't have the strength to argue with myself at this point and in hindsight I am glad I have a certain amount of blind determination for times like this.

I came around a bend and sitting in the sun on a downed Aspen tree was Rob Adams. He was eating something and trying to warm up. As I spoke to him Scott Fisk rode up. I hadn't seen him along the trail this morning but Scott but he said he camped out last night and was near frozen solid! He admitted it wasn't a good call for the extra few miles he made past Flagstaff. Sometimes you just have to know when to call a day.

All three of us rode along for a while. The trail got steeper and steeper and we leapfrogged a bit along this section. We were almost at 9000ft now and it was still really cold, despite the clear morning. Suddenly we broke out into open meadow and were finally warmed by the sun. It called for a photo session as there were snow patches on the ground and views to the west of the vast plains that lie south of the Grand Canyon.

Scott Fisk and I taking in the view.

Snow in the shade near Snowbowl.

Scott was hungry as he had camped out last night and was going to the restaurant at the Snowbowl on the southern slopes of Humphrey's Peak. I was tempted to go with him but it was about a mile or so off route and I knew that meant at least 90 minutes of time loss if I went that way. I had eaten porridge in my room and had plenty of food so declined the offer of joining him, pressing on instead.

Seeing the sun I had stripped off some layers in preparation of being hot but withing about 15 minutes I had to stop and slip my layers back on. It was still bloody cold despite the sunlight. WTF?

Layers back on, Humphrey's Peak (12 631ft) frowning down upon me at a mere 9000ft.

The trail went downhill now as it wove it's way through the pines. It was actually fast and fun with the only impedance to forward progress being the odd downed tree here and there. The problem with going quickly downhill is that it got colder and colder! I had to stop and put on my puffer jacket over the top of everything else. I was now wearing everything I had and despite pedalling a 25kg fat tyred mountainbike I was still cold. Super glad I didn't do this yesterday when the top was 5C (it was going to be 18C today) and 50mph winds. It would have been downright dangerous for this banana bender!!

Right, thats it! That is all the clothing I own and it is still freezing! Get me out of here!!

I pedalled and pedalled away from Humprey's but it didn't seem to get any smaller. I would be looking at it's slopes for most of the day despite my best attempts to get the hell away from it!

AZT gate. Humphrey's. Cold.

I was checking out the cache' box just 20 metres through the gate above when Rob came through. I yelled to him "did he need some water" but he rode past without even flinching. Hmmmm, mustn't need any?

A short time later I rode up behind Rob and was following him along a rocky section of single track when my bike spat a rock out with a "plink". He near jumped off his bike!! He had no idea I was behind him and hadn't seen me standing at the cache' box at that last gate. So it wasn't just me that was rooted out of my mind and operating on a fairly basic level today!?! ;) In a perverted sort of way it made me feel better. I though it was just me that was suffering.

We rode and rode. The rocky single track eventually gave way to rocky jeep road where we made good time. Passing through a "bespoke" gate Rob decided he needed to eat his travel buritto. I was still ok but had a little snack and chatted with him for a few minutes. Rob had done the Tour Divide in 2016, The Colorado Trail Race in 2017 and was completing his lifetime Triple Crown with the AZTR now. We discussed the TD, as I had done it in 2015 and he posed the question "if I HAD to do one of the races again, which one would it be?". From my experience so far I said I'd rather do that 2700 mile(4300km) Tour Divide, hands down. He completely agreed. The AZTR was BRUTAL!!

Rob tucking into his burrito. Humphrey's watching over us....still.

I left Rob to eat and pressed on. I soon caught up to two riders. Who were they? There were only Dean and Beth out here ahead of me? It turned out to be two young ladies touring the route. They had left Flagstaff yesterday and battled the cold and wind. They were in amazingly good spirits and made me reflect on how racing the route bends your mind and body. Perhaps the AZT could be fun...at the right pace?

The girls told me that they had met Dean and Beth yesterday and that they had pressed on. They were worried about Beth as they had found some of her layers/protective shell stuck in some bushes along the trail. Perhaps Beth had dropped them or perhaps they had simply blown away and she couldn't catch them in the wind. The girls had collected the clothing and were worried for Beth's welfare. They planned to mail it back to her once they reached the Canyon.

I came to a hard right turn onto Babbit Ranch. There was a large loader parked there, right by the cache' box that is hidden behind some bushes. I checked the cache' and it had plenty of water but then, so did I. I didn't need any so didn't take any. One good thing about the cold weather was my low water consumption rate.

Cedar Ranch trailhead(I think). Cache' box behind bushes to left of photo.

The trail followed farm roads across fairly flat, open prairie. I WOULD NOT have wanted to be out here with 50mph winds!! It would have been a case of walking and lots of it. Stopping to open and close a gate I took the opportunity to fix a squealing front brake disc. I had put up with it for a few hours now and upon lifting the front wheel to spin it so that I could confirm that it was the front disc I heard- no- felt a graunching of wrecked bearings through the bike frame and handlebar that I was holding. SHIT! The front wheel wobbled from side to side about 5mm as well. I knew these Shutter Precision dyno hubs with the 15mm through axle had a reputation for failing but this one had done so well, coping with the TD and all the training miles I had done in preparation for the AZTR. Here I was, about 80km from Tusyan (which doesn't have a bike shop anyway) with a colapsing front wheel bearing. SHIT!! There was nothing I could do except just keep riding and hope it didn't get any worse.

Trail I had just covered, upper left. Yes, the AZT wound it's way back on itself putting Humphrey's Peak in front of me AGAIN!

The next few hours were a blur of climbing small hills only to descend, then repeat again, then some single track through low scrubby country. I just pedalled and hoped that I would see the Grandview Lookout at the Canyon soon. It wasn't to be though as it seemed to take forever and I began to worry about my front hub even more.

Eventually the trail became nice doubletrack and headed in more a less straight line. Hopefully toward the Canyon!

Coconino Passage? I am getting close to The Canyon now!!

I passed a few hikers along here and they were all pretty chipper. It still amazed me how fast they were all travelling. One could be severely embarrassed by a hiker passing if one wasn't careful!

NOT Russell Tank. I still didn't need water though.

I started to catch glimpses of the Canyon through the pines and thought I must be getting close to Grandview Lookout tower, my original planned camp site for tonight. At this rate I would make the resort township of Tusyan easily tonight. 

Canyon glimpses

But as usual, the AZT bit back. The trail stopped being so direct and began to contour the hillsides of the above photo. It dropped steeply down into washes before climbing out again. This was getting decidedly OLD!

I was catching up to another hiker and I saw him go through a gate just ahead. I went through as well but stopped for a few minutes to fit my light to my helmet, add a layer and eat a bite. Fair dinkum, it took me at least 15 minutes to catch and pass the guy! He was powering....or I was grovelling.....

Eventually I came to the Grandview Lookout tower just on dark. I managed to get a photo of it despite the low light. I decided that it was cold, I was hungry and it was only about 12 miles into Tusyan, where lay hot food, warm showers and soft beds. I promised myself another hotel room to recuperate for the Canyon hike tomorrow if I pressed on tonight.

Grandview Lookout. 10 hours pedalling to here on one tank of water.

Of course, those 12 miles took a long time. The trail seemed to take a lot of turns back and forth as I inched closer to Tusyan. It was now completely dark and I was just operating off my helmet light with the dynamo hub toasted. Deer ran here and there across the trail and I did worry a little if I was in bear country. It had that look about it.....

I eventually came to the back of Tusyan. I just needed to find a way across a high fence to the town and civilisation. I found a gate and it took me through the back entrance of the Grand Canyon Camper Village. I cut straight through, turned left at the main street and rode straight up to the Holiday Inn. Walking into the reception, I was almost knocked down by the heat emenating from the foyer! Damn, it was cold outside. I had shut it out but I guess it was pretty damn close to 0C(32F) by now at 9pm.

To my delight, the receptionist said yes, they did have a room. That would be $199.......my credit card flashed across the counter to her. A deal was a deal. I had ridden the 160km(100mi) from Flag to Tusyan and now the nice room was the payoff. 

Wheeling my bike into the room I walked straight back out, across the road and into McDonalds. To say I was peckish would be an understatement!! 20 nuggets, a quarter Pounder, a strawberry and custard pie(effin' delicious too!) and a MASSIVE hot chocolate with caramel flavouring were swapped for a small fortune and I was on my way back to the hotel. Placing the nuggets on the cistern of the toilet I was able to have a hot shower AND shove food into my face at the same time.

BLISS! 

Absolute. Fucking. Bliss.

After some quick facebooking to home and checking Trackleaders I turned in for the night at about 10pm. I was chuffed that I had made the leap from Flagstaff and was rally excited and just a little scared at the prospect of tackling the Canyon crossing in the morning.

FB snippet, typed tired and addled.

I had also answered Lucy's innocent, if cutting question of "well, why are you doing it then?" during today's ride. To paraphrase JFK - I am doing it, not because it is easy, but because it is hard. I told myself I can quit this thing at any time, any day or night. Anyone can quit the Arizona Trail Race but it takes a special kind of crazy - an adventurous crazyness that I admire -  not to quit. 

So that is why I was still going Lucy........that plus the thought of crossing the Grand Freakin' Canyon tomorrow!!

Cheers.

Tusyan Maccas contemplation....shit it was cold!!

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 6

I woke at about midnight to the sound of bike tyres crunching on gravel. A dim light rolled past with a little blinky red tail light flashing, then it was gone.....

I had set my alarm for 0330 and when I woke I really didn't know if I had dreamt about someone riding past or actually seen it.

It was a clear, cold morning on top of this hill and I packed up as quickly as I could to get rolling. The now dirt road climbed for 15 minutes which was good as it allowed me to stay warm, then it proceeded to drop from 916m(3000ft) to 650m(2130ft) which was a hoot, even if it was cold! Somewhere near the bottom of that first descent I crossed a small bridge, then there was a light coming toward me. Someone else out on a bike? At this hour? Cool!

We stopped to say "hi" and it turned out to be Aaron Denburg, the sole North to South AZTR750 racer! We chatted briefly and I warned Aaron about the big climb coming up, then we got back to it. (I later learned that Aaron was a veteran of this race and knows the course like the back of his hand)

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 4

Beeep, beeep beeep,beeeeeeep.........

My watch was telling me it was 2am and to wake up but again I had beaten it to the punch. I was already looking up at the stars, sweating my arse off in my bivy. I was not sure if it was my sleeping bag rating, the warm night or the “night sweats” that one tends to get when doing these bikepacking races. I turned the bag and my bivy inside out and hung them from my handlebars for a quick dry while I got dressed and ate another burrito. I was always slow to get going but I always look after my gear which I think pays dividends in the long run.

It was very dark and quite cold and windy as I began pedalling toward Kelvin, a mere 89km away. The trail was quite tight and tricky this morning with lots of steep pinches that had me off, pushing. Add to this a 25-30 knot wind and any time I turned into wind I was crawling again. I was on the lookout for water as I went along but even though tanks were marked on the gps I couldn’t see anything in the dark of night.
Just when the trail seemed to get a bit of flow to it, a gate would loom out on the darkness and cause a dismount. At least most were of the modern, easily operated variety.

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 3

My alarm was set for 6am today. I was giving myself a sleep in but I woke at about 5:45 to the sound of tyres crunching gravel. A couple of riders were rolling out of the campground to attack Mt Lemmon. I laid back and stared up into the tree above me. There was no burning desire to leap up and give chase, instead I was enjoying the warmth of my bivy and the lack of rattle in my chest. While it was far from perfect at least my breathing wasn't as laboured as it was last night. Maybe 8 hours of solid sleep and a lower dust environment helped with that.

I slowly hauled myself out of bed and slid into my riding gear. I wasn't wet or sweaty which is one advantage of racing in a near zero humidity environment. Now that it was light I could survey my surroundings. It was quite a pretty little spot under this big 'ol tree.

Skunk free digs

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - Day 2

I awoke and it was still dark. Good, I didn't oversleep. I had set my alarm for 0430 and I tried to pry my eyes open to see what the time was now. 0420. Nice. Time to get up.

I jumped up and got into my kit as quickly and quietly as I could, mindful of the people camped just near me. I ate the second half of my Sonoita takeway buritto, washed down with a can of Starbucks esspresso, mmmmm, coffeeee, while I stuffed my gear into the bike bags. It was cold so I layered up a bit. I knew I would warm up quickly as there was a big HAB right from the get-go this morning. I had watched all the passers by last night push up to the top of the ridge.

So, I began Day 2 by walking that ridge too. Once at the top I was warm and for the next hour or two I grovelled along, riding a little, pushing a lot. The singletrack was very narrow along here and kept dropping into small drainages which climbed steeply on the other side. I felt good this morning but was getting a little frustrated at my apparent lack of progress.

2018 Arizona Trail Race 750 - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Here I was, panting hard, sweating harder, pushing my heavily laden bike up a steep, loose hillside in southern Arizona under a blistering sun, just a handful of miles from the Mexican border. 

I briefly thought "what the fuck am I doing here, no really..., wtf ?" as I rounded yet another tight, loose, rocky, climbing switchback. I stopped to take a pull on my water bottle, then my eyes swung out to take in the vista of the Miller Peak wilderness. 

Holy crap! From up here at 6000ft, the view was magic! 

I had been riding/walking with some guy from Idaho or North Dakota for about five minutes and he just kept his head down and pushed on. I felt like saying "look to your right!!"  

He was deep in the pain cave, just 45km into this 1230km race. The Arizona Trail does that to people. It gets inside their head. All of the stupid pushing up a fall line trail with no breeze. Have you ever noticed there is never any breeze when you are climbing in the hot sun? No breeze, just the quiet muttered curses? But then the yee-haws of the loose, steep, rocky drop down the fall line on the other side help to wipe that horrible memory of the climb.......until the next steep pinch.......

So, what was I doing, grovelling along the Canelo Hills section of the Arizona Trail on this fine Thursday morning I hear you ask? Lets rewind a little to explain how I found myself in this mess. You may wish to grab yourself a cold beverage before continuing......

Plus Size

No, I am not referring to garments for larger folk here. I mean + size mountain bike tyres. 

Fat bottom girl....... 3.0 inch

Plus (+) size tyres are in the 2.8 to 3.0 inch width range (“normal” is 2.0 to 2.4) and are a relatively new “standard” in the mtb industry. The idea is to allow tyres to be run at low pressure (10-15 psi) to give superglue-like grip and have more flex to help avoid punctures. I joined the + size crowd late last year to see what the fuss was about and have been enjoying the ridiculous grip that 3 inch tyres give. The down side is that there is a lot of rubber in a + size tyre. That mass is harder to spin up to speed and also makes it harder to change direction.

How this relates to me and my AZTR750 attempt is that I really don't need to make this race any harder than it needs to be (you could argue that using a + size 27.5 bike instead of a "normal" 29er is already enough of a handicap).

Typical 29er with 2.1 or 2.2 tyres

To this end, I have been hunting for tyre recommendations from Arizona locals on the various forums. I have learnt plenty about what people think will and will not work, tyre wise, but some of the recommended tyres aren't available Down Under.

As a result, I have used some gut instinct, some blind faith and a dash of test pilot to make the leap to purchase a couple of Maxxis 2.8 tyres. I have gone for a Rekon with EXO (sidewall protection) for the front and an Ikon, also with EXO for the rear.

My reasoning? Well, the "go to" tyre for 29 inch wheels in this race is the Maxxis Ardent, as it is tough enough to withstand the AZ desert. You can't get an Ardent in a + size, so the closest tyre I can see is the Recon. It has a waaaay more aggressive tread than I need with + size tyres but that tread will hopefully help with puncture protection. I will, unfortunately, also slow me down with a bit of extra rolling resistance.

For the rear I have, somewhat controversially, gone with an Ikon.
Controversial?
Yes, because Ikons are a bit lightweight in construction in their skinnier incarnation. I used an Ikon 2.2 on the rear of my Tour Divide bike because I didn't need that much grip, instead preferring less rolling resistance in that 4500km gravel grind. With the + size version though, that relative lack of grip isn't as pronounced because there is simply way more rubber on the trail. The real test will be to see how resilient to cuts and punctures it will be as the AZT is notoriously brutal on tyres, especially sidewalls and this is where the skinny Ikon is a bit weak. The sidewalls "feel" quite thick with Maxxis's added EXO sidewall protection even though the tyre is 120tpi (threads per inch) construction. I would have preferred both tyres to be the tougher 60tpi construction but this is where there is some compromise in + size tyres. Going too strong in the casing adds weight. Weight equals slower speed - as in forward motion and in steering feel.
Both are bad, m'kay?

You can see from the photos below how much weight I have shaved off the rotating mass just with the new 2.8 tyres, versus the 3.0s I have been running.

WTB Bridger 3.0 that I have been running on the front.

Maxxis Rekon 2.8 that will replace the Bridger - 297grams saved (10.5 oz)!

Maxxis Chronicle 3.0 (60tpi) that I have been running on the rear.

Maxxis Ikon 2.8 that will adorn the rear - 227g (8 oz) saving!!

Only time will tell if I have chosen wisely. + size tyres aren't cheap, so I will be sticking by my choice unless I can prove them to be unworthy over the next 4 weeks prior to the race. This means getting the Beast loaded up and hammering it across some rocky, unforgiving trails. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we don't have the cacti problem so I can't simulate that particular issue in trying to expose any weakness. While a 524g (1.15 lb) saving is significant, it is worthless if the tyres let me down on day one in the Canelos.

Not rocky, nor unforgiving - but it was on the way to find rocky and unforgiving!


Fingers crossed I have chosen wisely.....................or that I ride lucky...........!
I will be happy to take either.





Cheers

Grabbing Life With Both Hands

Things have been trundling along for me with everyday life stuff going on. You know, the usual rat race stuff of going to work, taking kids to school, mowing the lawn when it gets to be 22.8mm long...... plus some riding. Being blessed with great trails right out my back door probably likely sees me taking the riding a little for granted. 

Since the Thunderbolt Challenge back in April there haven’t been any riding challenges on my horizon which can make it a bit hard to find motivation. Well, there was The Great Cycle Challenge in October, but that was spread over the whole month, not a specific, self supported race challenge.

I have been toying with the idea of racing the Arizona Trail since late 2015. It is meant to one brute of a race. Tougher mile for mile than the Tour Divide Race even though it is “only” 750 miles in length. Anyway, my leave ballot was recently open and it looks like I will get time off next April to have a crack at it. This won’t be confirmed until January but with the race starting on the 5th of April,  I have less than 4 months to get my shit sorted!

Since the 2015 TD race we have had a frequent, infrequent catch up here in Brisbane between Dave Wicks, Mark Meyers and I to discuss all things bikepacking, reminisce on the 2015 TD and sample a few cold brews. Since mentally committing to the Arizona Trail Race in the last week or so I have been telling myself to get an email out to them both so we can gee each other up about it over a beer. 

I wish I had.

Today I learned that Mark passed away last weekend. Details are sketchy as to the reasons but whatever they turn out to be, he has been taken from us too soon. He was in training for the Hunt 1000, his next bikepacking expedition and we had discussed it during our last bench racing session. We will all miss his dry wit, raspy chuckle and cheesy grin. To Mark’s family I offer my condolences and thank them for the time that they allowed him to spend with us, on our bikes.......or drinking beers and laughing.

Mark showing me the first few kilometres of the TD route, pre race 2015(and helping to settle my butterflies!)

While very sad and waaay too soon, to me it is another lesson that we need to be out there, living life, going for it as you never know how much time you have left. I am going to get stuck in and knock this AZTR750 out of the park because if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well and time is precious.

RIP Mark.

Mark and I, Spray River Trail Banff 2015






I am going for a ride...........