Monday, April 17, 2017

Arizona Trail 300 - 2017 The Big One

Arizona Trail Race 300 – 2017

What can I say about the Arizona Trail Race 300?  For those that don’t know this  a 300 mile ride/race from Parker Canyon near the Mexico border to Picketpost Trailhead near superior that follows the Arizona trail. Not only is this a long way to go, but it is completely self supported. This means you either bring all you will need or find it along the way.  No aid stations, bag drops, or having family and friends support you. You can however buy any supplies you may need either on course or off course.  This also means sleeping on trail for a series of nights.  All this means that you really need to be prepared for ride like this.

I first learned of the 300 from MTBR.com forums a few years back.  I started reading reports of this event being amazed at what these riders were capable of doing. Back then a 25 mile ride was a “Big Ride”. Over the next few years I improved my endurance and speed by doing events like the Whiskey 25 in Prescott.  At the time those 29 miles and 4000 feet of climbing completed in about 3hrs 45 min was a major effort.   Friends being friends however pushed me to enter Whiskey 50 the following year.  I was concerned about being able to make it, but with trepidation I signed up.  That was 2014 and started working hard on endurance training.  That year’s 50 was one for ages.  We had rain, strong winds and snow.  That year I learned something about myself.  I don’t like to give up.  At the bottom of FR53 there were many riders huddled around fires and in cars trying to warm up.  I was cold and had crashed hard on the descent when my hands froze up and could not modulate the brakes. However as I paused to eat a Clif bar I realized that if I just kept going I would pass all these faster riders. Well might as well keep going. So I did and I finished it a respectable time in year when a lot of riders quit.
That ride lead me to longer rides and by the fall I started to prepare for Arizona Endurance Series rides.  These are in the mold of 300 in that they are all 100% self supported rides where you are on your own to follow the course and support yourself with food and water. These rides run from about 30 miles to 80 miles and most are 6-10 hrs of ride time. It was these events that were the gate way to long stuff.  At the time I had no intention of bike packing or doing the 300, but as I got to enjoy the longer rides and people that do them.
Enter pack of LOCO riders.  This was a time I got to know Jeff Z and Nancy Gray.  This is the couple that bikes together and stays together. They are a fixture on the long ride scene and were very helpful in slowly prodding me deeper in this strange world where 20 miles is the warm up.  Also I started doing rides with the Legend John Schilling.  He was one of the riders who’s blogs I read years ago with amazement.  John may not be fast, but he can keep going.  It was with this crew that I complete a number of firsts. First 60 mile ride, first 70 mile ride, First 10hr ride, first century ride.  Also with the help of John I did my first bikepack in June of 2016.  John loaned me a seatbag for the trip and was hooked 175miles in 2 days wow. It was on this ride talking with LOCO co-founder and fellow 300 veteran Shannon Marshall that the idea of doing the 300 myself started to develop. Later that summer I purchased my own set of bags for bikepacking and did a 2 day bike pack trip with Jeff, Nancy, John, Shannon and a few other. This time on the Az Trail from Utah south.  Despite some minor setbacks after that trip I felt like I could do the 300 in 2017 and began to look at getting time on the 300 course over the next few months in preparation.

December 2016 was big month.  John and Shannon took me on my first “LOCO” ride.  (Little Off Cycing Organization).  This is perfect name for those that don’t mind doing strange stuff on bikes.  For example lets ride up to the top of Mt Lemmon from Oracle and then bomb down Oracle Ridge.  For those not aware Oracle Ridge is notorious as the worst HAB on the 300 course. It is long narrow and covered in underbrush. It takes a special kind of crazy to do this trail any time outside the 300.  Oh and to top it off lets do in winter with the possibly of snow. Well that was a day I will never forget as the ridge was snow covered and all that I was said to be.  The best part was that I would know what to expect come 300 time.  Then to top it off the very next day I did my 3rd bikepack trip along the Gila covering the last 25 miles of the 300 course.  This time with bikepack gear on my bike.  Again my companions were John, Jeff and Nancy.

As the year moved to 2017 I set my sights on one more Arizona trail AES pre-ride and in a completely different direction.  4 man team on 24hrs of old pueblo and on a few MBAA races in Singlespeed. All of these required 1-2hrs of all out effort vs the hours of riding of the endurance stuff.  Still it like interval training right?
By the time that sign up page for the 300 page was up and ready I was apprehensive. Was I really ready for this?  My mind was not due to so many other things going and my body felt good, but was it really ready?  So pondered for a few weeks and then finally signed up.  Ready or not I was going to do it.

With only few weeks to go to event I started to really study the course. I looked distance between potential food and water spots and distances between good sleeping points.  I estimated average speeds and planned a 4 day target.  I wanted to finish on Monday or at the latest Tuesday. Based on the pace of other riders this seemed possible. When I did numbers I realized how hard even that would be. 67 miles per day and 4.5 mph average speed meant 7am to 11pm riding every day. Was I ready for this?   Now 4.5 mph avg sounds slow and it is, but that included many HAB sections and stops for water and resupply. In the end it turned out be about right.
I arrived at Parker Canyon late about an hour before dusk on Thursday and met up with John Schilling, Nancy Gray, Uber driver Ray Hemmele (AKA Angry Ray), Mike and Marcus.  My father was kind enough to drive me down and stayed with me that night. We camped the relative luxury of the back of my Volvo Wagon while the others were in full bikepack mode already. 

Day 1
All Smiles before the start.


Race start was 8am and got up at 6 am.  I hate being rushed on things like this and despite have 90% of bike and gear already packed I still had last minute adjustments to make and had to pack the car for my father’s drive home. I had never ridden the Canelos before, but had read the blogs and talked to 300 veterans.  I was mentally prepared for long slog through these first 30 miles to Patagonia. I also knew not to try to blast up every climb at this stage.  It is very easy to push too hard early and have nothing left. This not a 30 mile ride, but a 300 mile ride so respect it. 
Rideable Section of the Canelos

HAB is Fun!

Yeah fun... Ugg

Looking Happy at my first food break


Overall the Canelos were not as bad as they had been made to appear.  Sure they were hard and had multiple steep loose climbs that on loaded bike were best hiked up, but in the end they went by rather quick. In about 5 hrs they were done and I was on the paved road head down hill in to Patagonia. 

The "Western" Canelo hills are more rideable and views for days

Smooth ST and Views - AZT Goodness

First of the many  AZT "Rob Bauer" Gates
It was here caught up to Nancy who started early on the day.  We would end up playing leap frog for the next 2 days.   First stop was the market in Patagonia.  Do I need water?  Might was well check.  Well to my shock despite not that warm temps I had drained my 100oz camelback. I still had 2 full bottles of water, but chose wisely to buy water. I filled my camelback and headed out on the road to Sonoita. This is one of the places the 300 by passes the single track because bikes are not allowed in the wilderness. 
The first of many resupply spots
Marcus Blitzed the Canelos and looked like he was out for an easy spin!

Nancy so happy... 'Yeah the Canelos are done and I lived!"



 The road to Sonoita was uneventful except for when Nancy caught and passed me.  Nancy is very strong rider and normally runs SS. For the 300 she was on gears and was riding strong.  We stopped for snack in Sonoita as was in need of food break and decided to get a Gatorade as well.  This stop was a little long, but really a good rest for the legs as I still had many miles and hours to go.  From here it was a little more pavement before turning off to Santa Rita Road.  This starts as a smooth dirt road through ranch lands with gentle climb that increases as the road conditions deteriorate.  We were also greeted by wind that just make it that much harder.  Just after we crested the high spot on Santa Rita I started to pull away from Nancy on downhill sections of the road.  Eventually we go to the flume trail which is where we got back on the AZT and is a part of the course I had ridden before as part of the AES Kentucky Camp ride.   I knew from here to Helvetia road is about 3hrs. But that was on an unloaded bike in a 46 mile race. Today was much different.  Still being back on single track with downhill flow was fun.  I arrived at Kentucky Camp about 6pm and ate a bar and filled my water. This was key water stop since it was going to my last until near Colossal Cave in Tucson many miles away.  My goal for the night was Box Canyon road and my stretch goal was Helvetica road.  Given the time it seem like Helvetia road was possible.  Before I left Nancy rolled in and we chatted a bit. Then I took off on climb out of Kentucky camp.  The ride went well and I did HAB more than on my prior two AES rides, but that was to be expected. All was going well and I rolled over Helvetica at about 8pm.  Solid ride so far. Beat my first day goal and pulled off in spot I could make dinner and camp.  I was not set on camping just yet, but I did not want to over do it either on the first day. So I figured I would make dinner and see how I felt before I broke out my sleeping gear.

To my horror I saw my camping stove had blown up. It was all in pieces and spend the next 35 min trying to figure out how to put it back together.  Dinner for me was backpacking food. Chili Mac and I needed boiling water for it.  I had the water, just need the stove.   Well as I was doing this I had steady stream of other rides blew by me. Including Nancy and Jeff who had started from border being on 750 course.  Well seeing all this and getting some energy from the food I chose pack up and press on.  My goal was to get past all the crappy ups and downs on first part of the Los Colinas segment.  I had ridden this in November with Rob Coon as pre-ride and expect flowing fun ST, but was presented with steep rocky climbs and steep narrow descents and significant underbrush. My plan was to ride for another hour (to about 10) and hopefully clear most of the nasty stuff at night so I could wake up to the flowy stuff heading into Tucson. So onward and upward I went. It was long this section on slow grind climb that hear rustle in bushes, then a snort, and then bad smell.   Javalina right behind me.  Given those suckers can be a bit nasty I just rode on hoping he would not be too upset for my lights waking him up.   Of the entire ride that was my most spooky animal encounter.

In time I caught Jeff and Nancy at the top of one the rolling hills. We both knew it was not the last one, but we could not remember how many more were left.  They choose stop and I rode on.  I got past the “high point” waypoint on my GPS track and since it was 10:15 I decided to find nice spot and stop for the night.  As did a few more riders rolled through, but I was happy to be down for the night.
Day 1 totals – 79.37 Miles – 14hrs 21 min, 9031ft

Day 1 in the books!


Day 2.
 I woke early before dawn even before my 5am alarm. I rested a bit more and started the breakfast routine and started to pack up.  As I did Jeff and Nancy rolled by.  Despite my putting in more miles for the day I was now behind them due to my slow packing.  I would need to work on that. I had few more rolling hills before I got to the gate that is the unofficial dividing point of where the trail turns into the magic carpet ride in to Tucson.  Once here it would be smooth sailing over mostly terrain that was new to me.  A few min later I passed John Schilling. He was one of the riders who passed me about 1am in the night and had told me rode till 2am to get to that spot.  Unfortunately that was the last I saw of John as he scratched later that day with dehydration.
AZT "Magic Carpet Ride" down in to Tucson. This is singletrack GOLD! 
As I hit the I-10 crossing I ran into Nancy. She was adjusting some gear and Jeff had pushed ahead. I was starting to run low on water and my next stop was La Sevilla campground and a spigot.  I had read about it, but never been there. So it was all new to me.  I caught Jeff Z a bit later and we rode together for the next bit to the campground.  I was getting critical on water and seeing the ranch house in colossal cave park I assumed the campground just around the corner.  By this time I was 100% out of water needed more. The campground seemed like miles away and there appeared to be hill after hill to get there.  Parched Jeff and I rolled into the campground and met up with some German through hikers.  I down 2 bottles of water and refiled my stash for what I expected to be east ride into Tucson and the Safeway.  From Pistol Hill TH to pavement wilderness bypass I had ridden the trail so knew it was fun fast and swoopy. Perfect to get some easy miles

"Yo dude pictures?  We have miles to ride!" - Jeff Z and some German through hikers. 



It seemed like it took forever, but I got into Tucson and my off course left on Broadway Road.  It was supposed to be 2 miles off course, but there was little out there and I was left wondering if I was really on the right road.  Turns out I was and I saw 1 rider heading back to the course.  I got there grabbed a basket and spent way too long trying to decide what food and drink I needed. Jeff Z arrived after me and had a plan. Before I knew it he was out on patio eating lunch and was still wandering aimlessly.  That is experience and my lack of it.  I eventually got my supplies and met Jeff for Lunch. As he was finishing Nancy rolled up and so it was with leap frog again.  It was starting to get warm out and there was wind from the west.  Good to have wind at our backs for the Reddington climb, but the heat would not be good. Nancy convinced me to take and extra liter of water in my collapsible bladder and it was good I did. I left the Safeway with a 4L on my back and two full bottles. Plus food for the night.
Still Smiling on Day 2 - At Safeway in Tucson


The Reddington climb is not super long, but it is steep. I actually chose to HAB good portions due trying conserve energy and due to the wind which due to the switchback was often a cross wind. As I crested the Reddington I assumed the worst was over, but I was wrong.  Chiva falls is more of an extreme off road 4x4 ride than a bike trail. It can be ridden on a bike, but wide has crazy features and some steep HAB ups.  This was a lot more draining mentally that I expected and sucked in a lot more water.  At one point stopped to eat a cliff bar and watched another rider climbing a nasty HAB section. The goal for the night was prison camp based on Jeff and Nancy’s guidance and that would include the nasty Molino HAB.  The fear in my head however was that there is no water in Molino basin or Prison camp. Only water was Summerhaven at the top of Lemmon.  I was going through water fast too. I ate and drank and this stop gave me some well needed energy and motivation. I caught and passed Jeff Z and the other rider and despite the HAB sections got back to the AZT in good spirits. 

Only 13 Miles?  How bad could it be?
Mood - AZT and Bikes. It does not get much better.


Only 13 miles to Molino basin and it was still daylight.  This was not going to be that bad.   Well the singletrack from here to Molino ranges from fun to sketchy, but one think it not is fast. I got to the “Lake” along the AZT which is not really a lake at all. It really stagnant water pond.  I was really concern on water now I decided to break out my filter.  Better to filter here just in case than to run out.  Well despite being a little murky I could see to the bottom in places.  Here goes nothing.   So I filtered 2 bottles and 1 liter in my extra collapsible bladder. However the water in the bladder still looked dirty.  Ugg… well my camelback was still good so again better to have all this just in case.  From here I was counting the miles to the start of the dreaded Molino HAB.  When I got there it was dark and Jeff Z was ahead.  I saw his light in the distance knew it was going to steep. What I was not read for was amount of lifting my heavy loaded bike over 2 ft tall rocks.  Having plan out each step so as to not fall was a challenge made harder by hiking in biking shoes. I caught Jeff as he was putting on his hiking shoes he brought for the canyon hike.  I trudged on and on. If I was doing 1 mph at this point it was a miracle.  It did end, but then was follow up by the downhill HAB.  Some feature were rideable, but not with this bike on this day. Risk of injury was just too high.  By now Jeff had caught back up and passed me again and we rolled in Molino campground together.  Again I was past my original goal for the night, but still not to Prison camp. That was 2 ish miles away.  How bad could it be?  Well it was another tough slog. This time there were short bits of rideable parts followed by uphill HAB.  I got fatigued both mentally and physically here and crashed twice.  Not bad, but any crash on a ride like this can end it so I had to be more careful.  So more HAB anything I could possibly crash on.  My pedals were also getting sticky and hard to unclip.  After what seemed like hours I got into the campground at prison camp.  I looked for Jeff but he was nowhere.  So I snagged spot and made dinner.  I used my “lake” water and that night decided to boil it just in case.  It appeared the filter stated to clog as the first water I pulled look bad, but not as bad as the last bits I pulled out.  Boiled the water for dinner and water for two bottle again to use as emergency for the next day.   Then sometime around midnight Nancy rolled by looking for Jeff. She rode off and found him, but I did not realize that till the next morning.
Day 2 totals 85.53 miles, 17hrs 20min, 9146ft climbing
Day 2 done - That was hard!


Day 3
The day started early again at day break. Back to the routine of breakfast and packing, but also added were time needed to lube the chain and pedals.  It became nearly impossible to get out of them last night and I hate squeaky chains so a few drops and it was all good.  Saw Jeff and Nancy were again beating me out for the morning as they the bathrooms and started up Lemmon.   I motored out a bit as I got to the man road I notice that my handlebars were not straight. I guess in one of my crashes last night bar had turned.  So out came the tools and I had straighten stem.   From here I was mix of shadow and sun as proceeded on nice stroll up the mountain. This part of the trip was unusually enjoyable. Light car traffic nice temps, low wind and fresh legs.  As I was spinning up I took many photos one handed. I am not one of those guys that can ride with no hands normally and just one handed takes effort, but today it was all easy.

Nice easy early morning spin going up Mt Lemmon. 5mph not fast, but moving!

"Cuz I'm Easy. Easy like Sunday morning!"

Don't the "0 mph" fool you.  Still going 5, but that computer was having issues all ride

These 13 miles were alot easier than yesterday's 13 miles

  I got to windy point and took a break.  I had been carrying a bag full of peanuts the entire ride wondering why I brought that weight and space in the pack.  Now I broke them out for a little snack and they were good.  

Windy Point - Not so windy today. - Not the ideal bike to climb Mt Lemmon, but it works.

Yesterday I was down in Tucson.


 Still I had to get to Summerhaven to get more water and still hoped I did not need to use my swamp water.   The miles and elevation clicked by and I chatted with a couple roadies.  “Where did you start?” “Parker Canyon Lake,  Day 2 and 160+ miles in”  “Whoa… I think I saw you on Friday near Patagonia. I was on a gravel ride”.  “Cool” and away they went.  I was expecting streams of roadies, but only about 5 passed me.  I guess the early start helps.   Then I crested the high point and admired my accomplishment. I always have wanted to climb Lemmon on my road bike.  Today I did it on my Mtn bike with bunch of bikepack gear and on day 3 of 100+ mile ride.  

At the high Point on the 300 Course


 From here it is still 4 miles to Summerhaven some uphill and some downhill.  Time to fly.  John Schilling said his fastest speed on the 750 was achieved on this “climb” to Summerhaven.  Well down, down, down and aero tuck and my GPS showed 35 mph. Not too bad, but not the 38 John saw on the Voodoo.   Soon it was back to climbing and saw something worrying. A helicopter with water bag.  Oh no! We almost had to reroute around Lemmon due a fire earlier in the week at Molino Basin and I did see fire crews going up, but figured it was just clean up since I saw now smoke.  Now I could see smoke in the distance past Summerhaven and past the turn off to Oracle ridge.  From here I rolled into the Lemmon community center bath room.  Turns out there was party going on.  Jeff and Nancy were in there along with Alexis and Greg.  I was intent on getting more water and cleaning out my swap water from the day before.  Turns out that before 10am on Sunday Summerhaven is pretty much shut down. Stores are not even open. It was 9:45 am.  Once all my cleaning was done and water refilled the party had moved to the sawmill restaurant.  I considering going then as had all my water and clean bottles and did not need food, but I dropped in anyway.  Sat down at the table with Jeff, Nancy and Alexis and we all enjoy a sit down lunch.  I opted for the bowl of chili and bottomless coke.  Nancy picked the chili as well and Jeff and Alexis got burgers and fries.  I want to use the time to fully rehydrate and I did.  Turns out the chili was more like a hearty chicken soup as it was a little watery.  Now some might complain, but as I was learning on this trip fluids are the most important thing.  This also where I heard of the many scratches and that included Schilling.  Only then did I start to realize that despite not ever feeling strong so far that I was doing pretty good as I was still out there riding. 

Lunch did not stand a chance - With Nancy, Jeff and Alexis (not pictured, except her empty plate)

Jeff Z all ready to tackle Oracle Ridge!

Yeah it was a bit cold in Summerhaven.


So meal done the 4 of us started road climb to Oracle Ridge. I was actually looking forward to it as would give my gut time to digest by walking rather than riding.  Plus from here to the finish I had already ridden 85% of course at various times.  On to the ridge and HAB began.  It was more rideable than in December as John and Shannon and predicted because it was free of snow.  Still it was not easy and can be soul stripping if you are not prepared. I was prepared and just motored along. Not fast, but in good spirits as I knew it was not as bad as Molino last night even if it was longer.  

Look closely and you can see the Orange DOT- Alexis

More HAB on Oracle Ridge




In December I was here with Shannon and John and this mountain was covered in snow. Not today. 


Turns out the one “easy” part of oracle ridge almost became my undoing.  The Jeep road that in December was rough, snow covered and rutted was actually much repaired and graded.  The problem however was that this left slick surface that was very steep.  On the brakes all the way and I used them hard. I cooked the rear brakes bad and nearly cooked the fronts.  I did have one spare set of pads, but did not want to use them right way. So I started pumping the rears wanting them to comeback.  At times they did, but then they would just go to bars with little effect.  Not very confidence inspiring.  When I got to the gate that turns off the jeep road and back on the singletrack I saw the damage.  Rear rotors turned brown. I had in effect head treated these and while I had pad left it was not good.  Still if they worked enough I hoped to ride to my night stop and deal with them. The original plan for today was Bloodsucker wash, but in talking with Jeff he figured Freeman road was better.  So that became my stretch goal and I still had a lot of miles to go get there.
Soon came the steep uphill grunt before Cody trail’s 97 water bars.  I had nearly cleaned it in December on an unloaded bike. Today I was all HAB.   When I got to the Cody trail I was feeling good. Keith had caught up to me while I was snacking.  We had ridden together in the Canelos and lost touch. Then on Oracle ridge hooked up again for at bit. I explained the number water bars and that #13 was doosy. He looked me kind of strange, but let me lead out as we bombed down. I am not going to lie and say I cleared them all as water bars in the switch backs were more risk than I wanted to try, but it will still fun. Plus it was the first time I rode into American Flag TH before dark. Last two times it was just about light time when I did.  From here the run to Hwy 79 was fun and smooth. Easy miles with gentle downhill grade. 
I got to the hwy before I expected and found Alexis eating the rest of her burger from Summerhaven.  She was not going into Circle K and was going to press on.  I was going to do the 3 mile up road ride to circle K.  Not that I wanted to, but because it was the last food on course. There was probably water at Freeman road water cache, but I would rather not bank it.  So off to the Circle K I went.  It was here were I met up with Evan who was on an ITT and had started a day earlier. He was about read to leave when I got in.  We talked for a bit and he rolled. I went in for supplier and still took too long to decide, but got what I needed.   Turns out the stop and detour took me 90 min. Not great, but something felt I needed. 
From Tiger Mine to north to Freeman Rd was ride I had done before and figured I could easy hit Bloodsucker wash and should be able to make Freeman.  I really enjoyed this bit of the ride as well.  I am not setting any time records, but moving and enjoying the sunset. I caught Evan on the climb before the descent into Bloodsucker wash and was starting to get tired now.  My single helmet mounted light was starting to become a problem now.  Not with the total light it put out, but because it tended to flatten out the trail. I was having a horrible time with depth perception and really had to take the decent slow.  On normal night rides I run a light the handlebars too, but with my bad set up it would not work. Plus my bar light only last 2-3hrs. Not worth it to carry 4 batteries for it.   So by now I had to let Evan pass by as he was ripping the descent I was super cautious.  On the climb out of Bloodsucker I also caught up to Curtis who had been a little in front most of the ride. The three of us motored on.  I was able to catch these guys on the climbs, but got dropped on the descents. My rear brakes were useable right till the last 5 miles to Freeman.  Bang..  I stopped. Something failed in the rear brakes and I was not sure what it was.  A quick check and I saw nothing obvious and they still seemed to roll. I did hear metal scraping and figured I must have worn the pad down to the backing.  From here I knew it was mostly a climb and not real hard descending so I chose to ride on and fix them at camp.  I end up being the first of the group to crest the climb by Antelope peak and hit jeep road down to Freeman. By this time I was cold and needed another layer, but I remember Freeman rd being just around the corner. Well this went on for a lot longer than I anticipated, but eventually I crossed Freeman rd and continued on to look for a camp stop. Found one and made camp by moon light. It was after 11 and I was done.
Day 3 totals – 75.6 miles, 17hrs 21min, 11,300ft

Day 3 - Another long one, but still a good part of the way to being done!


Day 4
What I wanted to be my last camp!


This day was a late start.  As it became light I stayed tucked in my sleeping bag. I really did not want to get up and so I lingered. As I was packing up Evan rolled by. He had camped about a mile or behind me and was already going. I proceeding to finish packing and rolled the short distance to water cache to attend to my rear brakes.  There was a shade structure there and bench.  I was able to us knot in the shade structure to make bike stand to change the rear brakes.  Turns out part of the metal spring had caught in rotor and ripped off. I had a spare set of pads, but not a spring.  Oh crap.  Well I made the best of what I had and was able to straighten what was left of the spring enough to allow it work with then pads.  Then I was on my way, but it was nearly 8am.  The boulders section was the only bit from Oracle ridge to the finish I had not ridden before and it turned out to be fun.  Relatively easy miles all the way to the base of Ripsey. 

The infamous counterweighted gate
Ripsy climb off in the distance. Last 2 times I was here the sun lite up the switchbacks. Too early today.



 It was here where I caught Evan. Normally the Ripsey climb is tough but a fun part of the ride.  Today it was brutal.  Bike weight combined with overall fatigue and was hard.  Evan and I pretty much crested together and took break.  Tough for sure, but worth it.

Evan S - Top of the Ripsey Ridgeline


From here I pulled a head on ridgeline rollers and got the tight switch back descent.  Normally this is a fun challenge, but today I was just a challenge.  Evan smoked me again as I played it safe. 

Made it to Florence-Kelvin Hwy Crossing.  Almost home!


We got to Kelvin TH and crossed the road to ups and downs head toward the bridge over the Gila and Maintenance yard where there was the last water spigot. It was getting warm now and we got there we ran into a through hiker sitting under tree resting. We spent the next hour resting, drinking water and eating. Probably too much time, but I was also considering the heat of the Gila climb. I really want to hit that in the shade and that meant 5pm-ish.  If I stared the climb at 5pm and it took 5 hrs like last time that means 10pm.  So 11pm just to be safe.  All seemed doable.   I loaded on what expected to be too much water.  3L in my camelback, 2 bottles, 2.2 liters in my collapsible.  I did not trust my water filter any longer it was hot.  Better to be safe than sorry.  
The trail along the Gila can look flatish when compared to climb to Picketpost, but I deceiving it pretty much always going up or down and will wear you down. I hit this in good spirites being refreshed and ready. It was hot and I did not need to rush, but only had 36 miles to go to finish.  I could tough that out.

Rob Bauer's Singlespeed coaster brake fuel machine. Really he uses those red jugs to carry diesel!

The diesel is for this bad boy.  Rob Bauer himself in action! Thanks Rob!


 About ¾ of the way though I started to have some bowel issues.  Was the boiled swamp water I used for cooking 2 days before?  Not sure but it did not feel good.  Was it all just gas or something more. Well I stopped once find out and it was mostly gas, but also a but runny.. Ugg…  I had been carrying baby wipes the entire trip to keep the neather regions clean and had two left. Used one and packed my last and rode on.  By now my pace was slow and I got to the Gila at 5:30. I drank the water and ate something.  Had drained my 2.2 collapsible bladder.  That was good since I drank a good amount, but also had more to go.  By 6pm Evan rolled by and I started on my climb out.   The good part was the sun was going down so the canyon was shaded.  No more heat, just a lot climbing.
I started the climb tired, but otherwise ok.  As I rolled on however is started have more than just normal seat discomfort.  I hurt to transition from riding to HAB and then from HAB to riding. There was move and chaffing going on and it was not good.  I eventually had to abandon low gear grinding and just walk it.  Before that I did my second animal encounter.  This time a bobcat or small mtn lion got lit up my head lamp.  He stopped and stared right at me. He had cross the trail out in the open and was headed away as turned to look back. He stood motionless as I kept on moving slowly by. I figure I could have pulled out the camera, but that might have been pushing it. So I rolled on.

As I crested the climb out of the Gila and into Martinez canyon I had to do something. Evan had passed and it was just me out there.  So I when changed my shorts and cleaned up one again. Things got better as, but I still could not sit in the seat. From here was mostly downhill, but still 3 hrs of riding in good conditions.  What to do?  Well time to singlespeed it. I change gears to bigger gear that was suitable for standing climbing and the plan was to stand the entire ride back.  What I could not climb in this gear I would HAB.   I had no other choice really.  Martinez canyon is very pretty, but also tough.  It is up and down bench cut trail that is not easy in daylight, but at night a big risk.  At one point I fell off the side of the trail and was lucky to only go a few feet down. Still must take it easy and be cautious as this area is very remote as well.   So I soldiered on HAB by moonlight and riding what I could ride both up and down The minutes turned into hours as miles every so slowly ticked by.  I got to the Telegraph Canyon road crossing showing only 7.5 miles left.  Those were still a long 7.5 miles mostly trending down, but still with enough ups to make it work.  By the end my feet hurt from the constant standing and even in the last half mile I had to dismount for rock feature that could really hurt in fall.   Then at 12;44am I rolled in done.   I went to look for my father but did not find him.  I had called in from Kelvin and was actually later than planned, but he was not there.  My cell phone had not signal so I borrowed Evan’s and found he was stuck in road closure along Hwy 60.  So changed and rolled out my sleeping bad for another night under the stars.

No fanfare at the finish, but I did finish the toughest ride of my life.
Day 4 totals 67.8 miles, 17hrs 53 min, 8810 ft
Total - 3 day 16hrs 45 min - 308 miles and 38k of climbing.  One heck of a ride!

Done - No fanfare, no crowds, no fans. But I am done! 3 days 16hrs 45 min!