I am psyched to ride the new Temporal Gulch section.  Maybe this fall or winter.

John,

Great idea to reroute the Highline section of the AZT under the rim.  I rode the tough section of that this April and it still stinks.  Might be in worse shape after the monsoon rains. Way to improve it!!! 

Hope the weather gods are kind for the race.  I'll be watching.

Brad

The leaders sure can go many hours with little sleep.  I've always admired riders that can do that.  JP is definately a machine.  Brendan looks to be super strong too.  Colorado on deck!

I concur with the two posts on the 15th that miss the forum write ups describing events that unfold on the race.  I followed for many years after 2009.  I also don't use personal social media often for good business reasons.  Where is most discussion occurring these days for the TD??

Briansong,

Good observations by you and Scott.  Good luck on your August run.  I think people have very different motivations to ride such a long route and many different experiences.  My hat goes off to the riders who give it a try and despite the outcome give it their best.  Rides for days over hundreds or thousands of miles can sure give you some serious challenges to deal with.

 On my 2009 ride of the TD I had a solecrushing 3rd day after staying up all night in a wild area the next day I was lost, had tire issues that wouldn't relent, and climbed over a 25 foot wet avalanche path of logs that covered a road and you could not get over accept for climbing over the steep wet logs with my bike.  Sketchy and I was a climber for 24 years.  Somehow that night I crossed the border and slept in a tarp next to a bar.  The next morning I had some strong emotions followed by a feeling of confidence that I could finish because I did not think any of my days would be as tough as the previous day.  I finished and found out later I  was relegated for getting off route before Butte.  My relegation sucked at the time but over time it does not matter because it was a grand adventure and I definately gave it my best.  Peddeling 2700 miles is tough.

There is respect for the  bikepackers willing to get out of their comfort zones and go for it.  Many would not attempt such an arduous task or get out of their comfort zone.

Hats off to Stamstad for having the vision to put it together and go for it!!!

Good luck to all on the TD this year!

I'm stoked for the 2021 edition in two weeks.  We will all be a full day in on friday in two weeks.  Dana put together a nice route for this years edition scheduled to avoid razors and atvs. Will we have stellar weather then, will we bake in Verde Valley, or will freak cold wet storm show up like the first year?  The last 100 miles from top of the rim to Flag is full of good riding and sweet singletrack.  Pretty wilderness in Blue Ridge with lots of wild animals.  Looking forward to a big adventure.  Happy training.

In some isolated instances it could help avoid hypothermia if caught in super cold weather with strong winds, rain or snow.

For the 800 mile riders It was pretty hot over the weekend.  Still plenty of snow on the rim from Blueridge to Mormon Lake in shaddy spots.  I imagine they rode through some pretty muddy or soft trail sections at times.  Pretty dry around Flagstaff.  How many full AZT riders are out there??

Good to see all the action going on the AZT.  Congrats Jefe, and Timon.  And John your Oracle Ridge pictures are impressive.  Glad we are getting back on track with bikepacking adventures.  Glad to have recent snows in N. Az.  It will dry up and heat up soon enough.

Great progress yesterday.  I saw he made it to top of North Rim around 5pm.  Shocked to see that he made it to Jacob Lake about midnight last night.  Thats 40 miles from top of N. Rim to Jacob Lake over 8,000 to 9,000 feet elevation in the dark with a foot of snow on the ground.  He may have some luck with the highway being plowed or significant melting?  None the less thats a killer day in way isolated terrain.  Most years they lock off the highway in October from Jacob Lake to the Rim for car traffic.  Very impressive endurance and grit!!!  Not sure if the route ends at Jacob Lake this year with the fire damage from summer or continues to State Line?  I do see he has tracked over 1,000 miles.  So maybe we have a winner.  Someone buy that guy a beer or heck maybe a six pack.  Great job.

This run kind of reminds me of the first 750 run where there was one finisher I think, maybe Max Morris?

And he is off!  He may have a good day in the sunshine and when he drops down a couple thousand feet he will be out of the snow.  A full day of rest, eating, and being out of the elements has likely juiced his body strength up alot.  Its cool to see the blue dot on top getting ready to drop down into the depths of the abyss.

Inspiring ride!!

I guess we got 4 inches of snow in Flag but the news said Jacob Lake got 10 inches.

Will be interesting to see if he goes for it.

Agreed, I think he is a winner too.  He's been pushing hard for a long while. 930 miles or more is pretty awesome!  We got less snow in Flagstaff than predicted, only about 3 inches at the most.  Would be good even if he makes it to South Rim only.  I often thought this would be a good location to end the race and would motivate me to do it again.  The canyon is such a taunting obstacle for a ride.

Good point of a large group of Southbounders.  That would be a cluster on the canyon section.

Wow Ralph is really ramboing it out there, full on.  Thirty degrees, windy, and snow.  Bet there is not alot of traffic out there on the single track today.  I think he will love shelter, warmth, and food in Tusyan.   He is a champion if he makes it to the canyon.  If he makes it to the North Rim I don't know how he can finish the last many miles if there are inches of fresh snow tonight???  And talk about isolation on the  North Rim. 

Love the grit!!!

He is going to have some furocious weather tonight and tomorrow.  The wind going through Babbit ranch will hopefully be at his back.  He looks to be gunning for the south rim before the second storm and more significant snow comes.  He is displaying some serious grit out there.  Go Ralph!!!!

Wow,

Ralph is really sticking to it.  He is in some wilderness now East of Mormon Lake on the rim.  A friend and I did a long ride Saturday on the section he is in now and we saw alot of wildlife including elk, a bobcat, and a mountain Lion.  I've never seen a mtn lion in the daylight that close, usually they are out of sight and very stealth.  He will have a cold night.  Sunday night the forcaste is calling for 5 to 8 inches of snow and heavy wind.  He may have a tough weekend.  I bet he feels like he is in the twilight zone at times with the isolation and hours of riding alone.  Good news is he has shelter options in Flagstaff if he needs them.  He is now in many miles of good singletrack with the acception of some miles on Anderson Mesa.

I'm inspired by his sticktoitiveness!!

Brad

Hi Tim,

Thunder Mountain Trail is super fantastic.  Fast and flowy on a beautiful setting.  Best to ride it East to West and end at the highway small trailhead parking.  You have to drive a few miles down forest service road to get to start.

Love the comment about age and backpacking.  I often wonder what it would have been like in twenties or thirties.

Cheers,

Brad M

Hey all,

Just to report there are two new sections of single track around Flagstaff.  One is before Flagstaff above The Pit climbing area.  Build about less than a quarter mile of single track in trees to replace old trail.  Its good.  The second is longer and is a couple of miles or more of good new single track above Sandy Seep on the east side of Mtn Elden.  Much improvement over the old trail.  Hats off to whoever added this nice new trail!!!

I'll be watchin and cheering in October.

Brad

Good job guys on the Northbound rides.

Last week there were 6 scheduled fire burns close to Flagstaff.  They postponed several because of the strong winds last week.  Not sure why they are having so many controlled burns?  It may because our monsoon rains were almost non existent this July/August.  The forests on the rim are extremely dry right now.  Controlled burns seem pretty stupid in a super dry forest but I guess they know what they are doing. For hunting season, rifles for deer started around Flagstaff November 1.  My friend told me there are alot of hunters drawn.  I think the archery hunting before rifles with deer seems safer.

For the vegetation in the South I recommend covering your shins and ankles.  I think the amount of riders of the 800 next October will make navigation easier day 1 or 2.

Man that 4 peaks section sounds tough.

Looks like Dana is crushing it out there.  Man he has a strong engine.  Hopefully he can make some good progress through the night.  I wonder how warm it was out there today??  Will be interested to hear comments on the new course.

Great job putting this back together Dave!  Marcy and I were at Navajo Lake when the fire was blazing a couple years ago.  Man that was big and scary!!