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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #80 on: April 27, 2010, 09:59:44 AM
the_mc5


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« Reply #80 on: April 27, 2010, 09:59:44 AM »

...the AZT 300 course is pretty buff and nontechnical.  Plenty of stretches where bikes can go fast.   

Good to hear. I was wondering what the trail is really like, without starting the discussion here -  there's likely a thread about it, not to mention a guidebook... But since it kind of started here anyway...

What shocked me about that 5mph avg by a talented off-the-fronter, and still slower pace by what might be more 'typical' racers in the mid-pack was what what might be causing it - a preponderance of unridably rough, rocky or steep terrain. I'm 95% ignorant of AZ riding, so the imagination conjures 'a giant pile of sharp pointy rocks'.

A few posts here has put it in perspective - sounds more like this - the ordinary expected off-the-bike time, and fatigue, with or without sleep, combined with some stretches of rough terrain, even if the dominant terrain is smooth rolling, brings your avg waaay down overall. Nothing shocking. So maybe a mortal like me could give a shot someday after all.   ;-)
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #81 on: April 27, 2010, 10:12:41 AM
ScottM
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« Reply #81 on: April 27, 2010, 10:12:41 AM »

What shocked me about that 5mph avg by a talented off-the-fronter, and still slower pace by what might be more 'typical' racers in the mid-pack was what what might be causing it - a preponderance of unridably rough, rocky or steep terrain. I'm 95% ignorant of AZ riding, so the imagination conjures 'a giant pile of sharp pointy rocks'.

A few posts here has put it in perspective - sounds more like this - the ordinary expected off-the-bike time, and fatigue, with or without sleep, combined with some stretches of rough terrain, even if the dominant terrain is smooth rolling, brings your avg waaay down overall. Nothing shocking. So maybe a mortal like me could give a shot someday after all.   ;-)

It's a matter of perspective, I think.  Some will tell you it's relatively buff, but to others it is 'a pile of sharp pointy rocks.'  

When I started this race five years ago, there were no multi-day bike races that had any appreciable amount of rough singletrack.  There weren't any that had more than a few miles of singletrack, really.  At the time it seemed really hard to be racing through such terrain.  The race got a reputation as being full of hike-a-bike and tough conditions.  Back then people were still using racks and not traveling as light as they are now.  I remember fighting with my sleeping bag to get it into one of Jeff Boatman's first seat bags for the first AZT300.  When I told him I was putting my sleeping bag in there he responded, "what?? that's not what it's designed for!"  Now everyone is doing it (no racks at the start this year!) , traveling lighter and with setups more suitable to singletrack travel.

The more I race this route the easier / smoother it seems.  It has its very slow and rough parts, but they are broken up by some very fast and easy miles.  It is still a challenging route, no doubt, and it takes several trails that are not frequently ridden by local mountain bikers (or not in the usual direction).  But it is not so bad.  There really isn't that much hike-a-bike.

So, yes, I think you should come give it a shot.  Smiley
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #82 on: April 27, 2010, 10:58:49 AM
Chad B
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« Reply #82 on: April 27, 2010, 10:58:49 AM »


Yes, someone needs to man up and give W100 a go.  Holy hike-a-bike at the start though.

I am free all this summer. What says ye, Dr. Morris?
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #83 on: April 27, 2010, 11:32:34 AM
krefs


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« Reply #83 on: April 27, 2010, 11:32:34 AM »

One of the things drawing me in to the running ultras is that many of them (at least the ones that catch my attention) include big sections of trail not open to bikes through phenomenal countryside.  Sure, you could run the AZT300, but why bother when you can do it faster and less painfully on a bike?  But courses like the Superior 100 in northern Minnesota on 100 miles of rugged singletrack that's entirely closed to bikes?  That's where you should forget about the bike and strike off on foot. 

I'm sure I'll feel even more strongly on this after schlepping my bike across the big ditch...
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #84 on: April 27, 2010, 11:37:47 AM
krefs


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« Reply #84 on: April 27, 2010, 11:37:47 AM »

Brad and Matt are looking good for a mid-afternoon shake at Mickey D's, Ian should be make it to Summerhaven in time for a meal, and Todd is hopefully still sleeping in Superior.  Invisible Mark is probably less lucky, pedaling across the hot lowlands this afternoon.  Strong work, guys! 
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #85 on: April 27, 2010, 12:26:22 PM
PirateGirl


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« Reply #85 on: April 27, 2010, 12:26:22 PM »

Congrats to Matt, Brad, and Todd! It will be interesting to watch Matt & Brad continue on. I hope they can do it!

Looks like we have Lee, Tim, Invisible Mark, and Ian still out there. Keep going guys! Lee is getting closer to that 300 finish line!
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #86 on: April 27, 2010, 01:22:53 PM
DaveH
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« Reply #86 on: April 27, 2010, 01:22:53 PM »

Tall congrats to Jefe for such a determined ride.  1.5 hours sleep in 300 miles?  Wow.  And, seeing how he was riding with Scott early on he was moving fast too.  How he pulls that off in April coming from the Colorado mountains is a mystery!

Pete B says I'm always trying to scare folks about snow.  In keeping with that here's what the guys heading north of Payson will find - at least as of today.



I'd hazard a guess there is some amount of snow on about 45-50 of those ~160 miles.  Maybe tRoy can offer some current conditions beta - it's been warm a few days, must be melting fast.

To top that off winter is making an encore performance midweek.  What a challenging beast this 750 is eh?
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #87 on: April 27, 2010, 01:25:53 PM
marycycle


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« Reply #87 on: April 27, 2010, 01:25:53 PM »

Here's my blog post of my Day 1 of AZTrail300:
http://clockoutclickin.typepad.com/blog/2010/04/day-1-of-az-trail-300-race.html
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #88 on: April 27, 2010, 01:35:39 PM
krefs


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« Reply #88 on: April 27, 2010, 01:35:39 PM »

The persistence of this snow is pretty astounding.  The short detours Scott suggested will alleviate most of the snow trudging, but a few miles through the snow on the rim north of Payson are unavoidable, and there'll probably still be a bit north of Flag.  Any adventurous sole sticking to the true AZTR course will be in for a postholing slog, though.  
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #89 on: April 27, 2010, 01:55:26 PM
Marshal


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« Reply #89 on: April 27, 2010, 01:55:26 PM »

Good to hear. I was wondering what the trail is really like, without starting the discussion here -  there's likely a thread about it, not to mention a guidebook... But since it kind of started here anyway...

What shocked me about that 5mph avg by a talented off-the-fronter, and still slower pace by what might be more 'typical' racers in the mid-pack was what what might be causing it - a preponderance of unridably rough, rocky or steep terrain. I'm 95% ignorant of AZ riding, so the imagination conjures 'a giant pile of sharp pointy rocks'.

A few posts here has put it in perspective - sounds more like this - the ordinary expected off-the-bike time, and fatigue, with or without sleep, combined with some stretches of rough terrain, even if the dominant terrain is smooth rolling, brings your avg waaay down overall. Nothing shocking. So maybe a mortal like me could give a shot someday after all.   ;-)

AZT route buff?, humm, I guess, except where it’s rocky and technical

Fast, well, I guess, if you have any energy left for speed after all the rocky & tech stuff

Actually the AZT 300 is a great ‘mix’ of conditions.  It has a bit of everything terrain wise, and recent history shows it also can have a wide range of weather/temp conditions.  

Imo, any reasonably proficient mountain bike rider can aspire to race the AZT.  However like any of the self-supported multi-day mtb races, regardless of their particular mix of overall terrain, it very well may take a time or two to learn how to maximize your personal abilities.  

Anyway, for a variety of reasons I think the AZT 300 provides a perfect introduction to self supported multi-day racing.  If it intrigues you-go for it.
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #90 on: April 27, 2010, 02:18:04 PM
ScottM
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« Reply #90 on: April 27, 2010, 02:18:04 PM »



Nice, Mary, keep it coming.

I finished my writeup, and it is here:

http://www.topofusion.com/diary/2010/04/27/azt-300-5/
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #91 on: April 27, 2010, 02:21:23 PM
ScottM
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« Reply #91 on: April 27, 2010, 02:21:23 PM »

Thanks for the fresh TopoFusion snow overlay, DH.

The persistence of this snow is pretty astounding.  The short detours Scott suggested will alleviate most of the snow trudging, but a few miles through the snow on the rim north of Payson are unavoidable, and there'll probably still be a bit north of Flag.  Any adventurous sole sticking to the true AZTR course will be in for a postholing slog, though.  

The weekend's fresh snow, while not adding anything significant, definitely ate some melting days.  As will the next storm.  Also, it's April and the angle of the sun is still not quite there yet.  Best hope is for wind to dry it out, perhaps?

Brad and Matt are somewhat curiously off route in far east Phoenix.  I am not sure what is there, if anything.  Perhaps a hardware store?  There are plenty of grocery and prepared food opportunities on route, so I can only think they are dealing with a gear issue.
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #92 on: April 27, 2010, 02:26:57 PM
krefs


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« Reply #92 on: April 27, 2010, 02:26:57 PM »

Brad and Matt are somewhat curiously off route in far east Phoenix.  I am not sure what is there, if anything.  Perhaps a hardware store?  There are plenty of grocery and prepared food opportunities on route, so I can only think they are dealing with a gear issue.

Waffle house and a grocery store!  Mmm...
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #93 on: April 27, 2010, 05:11:03 PM
tetontodd


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« Reply #93 on: April 27, 2010, 05:11:03 PM »

What's up everyone! What a great race! That course is tough, i had a great time. Congrats to Jefe, we were following your tire tracks baffled at how you went so fast! Now I know, no sleep at all, unbelievable. So, Brad, Matt and I finished early this morning after riding all night and fixing a bunch of flats, slow going to say the least. Matt ended up putting a cheeky little move at the end to pull in ahead of Brad and I. We finished together, by the way, you had Brad coming in ahead so for what it's worth...Big shout out to Adam Lederer for being there at the finish with pizza and cokes! What great guy, his first bikepacking adventure, he's hooked now like the rest of us! After finishing, we said goodbye to matt and Brad as the rode off. They had mentioned to me that they were only going to ride to flagstaff and fly out of there back to north kakalakki. They are probably off course fixing there bikes, brad had a slashed sidewall and matt had tweaked his brake lever on the final descent. I on the other hand had to go back to Tucson and pack my bike for an 11 o'clock flight back to SLC and am now driving back to Jackson. Big couple of days and well worth it!
It's good to get a early season race before going for the ctr again. Scott, I will send you my spot tomorrow, thanks for all your help! I'll post later but just had to give a quick update.

See you in Colorado in august!

Todd J.

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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #94 on: April 27, 2010, 07:19:16 PM
brink


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« Reply #94 on: April 27, 2010, 07:19:16 PM »

Nice work Todd! It was fun riding with you the first 24hrs. Hope to see you in August.
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #95 on: April 27, 2010, 07:53:16 PM
ScottM
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« Reply #95 on: April 27, 2010, 07:53:16 PM »

Strong work Todd, thanks for the details on finish order.

Lee Blackwell is digging into Orphan Boy right now.  He was quoted as saying it was "hot as hades" down by the Gila River, but that he had plenty of water and plenty of food.  He should finish in the next few hours, and his wife Joan is heading up to pick him up.  It looks like Marshal Bird's 50+ masters record of 4 days 10 hours is safe, but Lee was pretty close.

Tim McCabe finally showed up on the tracker!  He's heading down to the Gila River and will likely finish tomorrow midday some time.

Ian refueled in Summerhaven and is approaching Oracle Ridge now, probably looking for a spot to camp.

Brad and Matt are still holed up in Phoenix, making repairs, waiting for the mercury to drop, or?  Hard to say.  Hopefully we'll see them move again soon.
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #96 on: April 27, 2010, 08:13:41 PM
Marshal


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« Reply #96 on: April 27, 2010, 08:13:41 PM »

Lee is just about ready to start down down down to the finish.  Guess he may just barely need to have a bit of light at the end.

As I followed this yr's AZT I dug out my old 09 GPS tracks and compared them to Lee’s progress.  At the end of each day Lee consistently made camp farther down the trail then I had.  & sometimes by quite a bit in terms of time so I know he rode a slightly faster pace than I did.

Anyway, I was sure he would knock at least a few hours off the 09 time.  Was hoping he would so as to have a good excuse (I mean reason) to give my wife why I would just have to be in AZ come April 2011.

Nice ride Lee!!!!  thumbsup

Look forward to a write up

marshal
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #97 on: April 27, 2010, 10:50:53 PM
ScottM
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« Reply #97 on: April 27, 2010, 10:50:53 PM »

Congrats to Lee Blackwell for rounding out the top five.  So far we have:

1. Jefe Branham - 2:09:10
2. Matt Fusco - 3:19:59
3. Todd Johnson / Brad Kee - 3:20:12
5. Lee Blackwell - 4:13:10

(all times approximate)

Brad and Matt were at Super 8 most of the day, sleeping and taking refuge from the heat, no doubt.  I think that was a wise move.  They are now back on the route heading up the Apache Trail.
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #98 on: April 28, 2010, 06:25:39 AM
mgindle


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« Reply #98 on: April 28, 2010, 06:25:39 AM »

Here is my recap from Friday and Saturday. There are two posts, one is a ride recap, and the other is a WTF happened? This is definitely on the hit list for next year.
http://mgindle.wordpress.com/
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  Topic Name: 2010 AZTR discussion thread Reply #99 on: April 28, 2010, 07:38:44 AM
Chad B
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« Reply #99 on: April 28, 2010, 07:38:44 AM »

Here is my recap from Friday and Saturday. There are two posts, one is a ride recap, and the other is a WTF happened? This is definitely on the hit list for next year.
http://mgindle.wordpress.com/


Enjoyed the write-up, especially the snow pictures at the beginning.
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