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21  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR 2016 changes and rules on: April 23, 2015, 05:19:38 PM
I agree with all the rule changes...good calls in my opinion.

As for gates, I came across quite a few that had been left open ahead of me by hikers apparently. Every gate I encountered out near Chiva Tank was opened with no obvious bike tracks. So there were definitely a few other trail users out there leaving gates opened.

I remember from when I did the 750 encountering some gates across dirt roads north of the Peaks that were so tight I could barely open them with my exhausted arms. And I failed miserably getting them closed. And I *hate* the gates with barbed wire loops. That's just not cool if you're not wearing thick leather work gloves.

Yeah some of those gates up north are super tight.  I resorted to trying to figure out a way to lift my bike over one of them, which I deemed impossible.  I had to give opening the gate another try and ended up breaking the 'stick' portion of the gate because the wire was so tight and had to try to repair it to get it to close.  I concluded that the posts are not set in concrete and that, over time, the tension of the fence they are holding up causes the post to pull towards the fence and away from the gate.
Does anyone know if the ATA takes responsibility for repair on any of these gates or if it's all on the ranchers, etc, to maintain them?  I honestly felt bad about the condition that some of those gates were in and wondered if there were any plans for maintenance.
22  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR 2016 changes and rules on: April 23, 2015, 03:19:23 PM
Didn't see any left open, but some of the fence gates were down and broken from rotten wood not from riders.
There were a couple times where I left a gate open right after passing another racer for the courtesy of not wanting to be the jerk who closed the gate on someone.  But now after reading how other people may have left them open because that's the way they found them, I can see how we could cause issues by trying to be 'nice'.
I did do some gate work on a few 'stick and wire' gates where the sticks had broken so they couldn't be tied to close anymore...  hopefully the fixes didn't come apart the next time the gates were opened!
I especially like those 'stick and wire' gates where the wire loop that goes over the post is made of barbed wire.  Those guys surprised me a couple times when I went to try to grab the wire loops!
23  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR 2016 changes and rules on: April 22, 2015, 02:46:08 PM
I just wanted to give you a shout out for suggesting that first rule change.  I think this is a great change.
There should be complete support for all racers to make the right decisions regarding their health and safety.
Therefore racers should never have to make a decision on whether to seek medical help based on fear of relegation.
We all say that we expect everyone to make the right decision for their own health/safety when they are out there, but sometimes that vision can be clouded by how hard they have worked to get that far and not wanting it to be for nothing.
This proposed rule change would help make the right decision a little easier should the situation arise.
24  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR - 300 and 750 Race Discussion Thread - 2015 on: April 18, 2015, 06:11:24 PM
Hey Josiah great account loved riding with you, Robert
Likewise, Robert.  I was stoked to see you left flagstaff so early after you were talking like you were going to waste half a day there shopping.
I'm really scratching my head trying to figure out how I didn't see you on the trail though because it looks like you left flag before I did.
25  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR - 300 and 750 Race Discussion Thread - 2015 on: April 18, 2015, 02:37:51 PM
All,
it took me a week to get this written up between naps, but here's my trail write up.
http://josiahmorgan.blogspot.com/2015/04/josiahs-arizona-trail-journey.html

Tanner,
It was great meeting you out there.
Don't let the injuries get you down.  Sometimes it's good to have something force us to reflect on what really matters in our lives.
Get well soon so we can cheer you on next year!
26  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZTR - 300 and 750 Race Discussion Thread - 2015 on: April 14, 2015, 10:34:52 AM
just a couple thoughts on the 750...
highline: not that bag
detour section between payson and pine: terrible.
I want to give a shout out to Jeremy at 87 cyclery in payson who got me set up with a new tire even though his store was closed.
Also, to the couple who lives at the 750 trail log on the detour between payson and pine...  I was freezing cold and tired and was desparately looking for a safe place to sleep in an area that seemed so uninviting (private property signs everywhere) when all the sudden I see a cooler with those magic words on them "trail magic".  This cooler was all it took to make me feel welcomed and at home enough to lay down in front of their driveway and go to sleep.  I was awoken the next morning by those trail angels offering me some coffee and letting me use their restroom (it's the little things in life that you are eternally grateful for out on the trail!).  While I was packing my stuff that morning, he was headed down to check the trail log and was disappointed to find that none of the racers ahead of me had signed in.... so I want to encourage everyone next year to sign in at this trail log (he had a trail log set up just for the 750)
that night/morning was probably my lowest point along the trail and just having complete strangers take interest and care about me gave me the motivation to lift my spirits and get me moving down the trail with a positive attitude.
27  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 25, 2015, 01:45:47 PM
I've never thought of the north up vs track up for battery usage.
I do know that on the ctr a couple years ago, my battery lasted me like 2-3 solid days for the first battery set... but after that, I could hardly get batteries to last a day because I started getting tired and weary of riding so I was zooming in and out constantly to try to see how much farther I had to go till my next destination.
28  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 25, 2015, 01:11:52 PM
along the lines of gps topo maps etc.  Does anyone know what the battery life difference might be on an etrex 30 between watching track with no map compared to track on topo map? is there a notable battery life difference?
29  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 22, 2015, 10:04:24 AM
Tracker good Scott.  I just wanted to drop a line to thank you for getting the page up so early so we could have one less thing to stress about.
By the way... noticed you added google street view to the 2015 tracker page.  that is a great addition for all the blue dot followers and even a great tool for planning.
30  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 17, 2015, 05:54:27 PM
Woah, hoss  Wink ... that's pre-arranged support, no?  Maybe I'm misunderstanding motives, but I thought the whole point was to not count on water caches, esp. Freeman Rd as has been mentioned in past posts.  As in, not a smart idea to plan that water at Freeman is given, from safety, survivability, and/or ethos viewpoints.
but if we know that we are all going to deplete the supplies that already exist, then it wouldn't be ethical not to add some so it will be there for hikers who rely on it, would it?
31  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 12, 2015, 08:42:38 AM
Does anyone happen to know if there is any cell reception at the state line camp ground? and if not, where the last point of reliable cell reception might be for planning a pick up?
32  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 10, 2015, 07:34:58 PM
I believe the track is saved to the memory card once the GPS is powered down. So just turn it off each night and it should save the track as a file to the SD card. Here is a quote from a post I made in the CTR forum (hope it helps):
Awesome.  thank you so much for this solution!
33  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 10, 2015, 09:56:45 AM
thanks Scott.
one week out would be great.
I wonder what garmin's definition of 'daily' is.... because bikepacking days tend to run past midnight sometimes.
sounds like the best option to make sure I actually get what I want may be to just auto archive, then stitch them together and split them manually with topofusion
34  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 10, 2015, 08:26:04 AM
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but could someone provide list of places with water and/or food on the AZT300 route. (mile markers would be a majot plus)  I see the GPX file but was wondering if someone might have a cheatsheet with places to refuel on the route. 

First time riding this section.  I don't have guide book or anything like that. 

Thanks so much.
Dream4est (Mark C) posted a file earlier in this thread that is probably the best source you will find. (thank you so much for that sheet, Mark)
I recommend studying all the points listed and figuring out what they are and not expecting to find them simply based on the this cue sheet during the race.
35  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 10, 2015, 05:50:03 AM
Scott,
How far in advance will the trackleaders page be up and running? It would be awesome if it were 'live' a few days before the race so we can test to make sure our spot devices are working with it. That way, we can address any issues before we head out of town to come down for the race.  Last year, the CTR page went live the morning of the race.  That caused an added stress of trying to see if our devices worked and trying to figure out how to contact someone to get it fixed the morning of the race (time that could be focused on preparing for race)..
Also,
can anyone who is familliar with etrex 30 tell me the best way on the course to reset my tracks every day so there will be a gpx file for each day? is it even possible? preferably without having to reload the aztr track.
thanks!
36  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 05, 2015, 05:58:12 AM
I believe Forest Baker left his back wheel on in (2013?).  His setup looked the most comfortable to me because it kept the weight closer to his body instead of stacking it behind him.... causing him to have to lean forward a lot less.
37  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: March 02, 2015, 04:28:55 PM
FYI, Scott.  On the signup page, you have a link that reads  http://trackleaders.com/aztr15, but it's actually linked to  http://trackleaders.com/aztr14
38  Forums / Routes / Re: Ouachita Trail 400+ loop on: February 19, 2015, 07:30:48 AM
I really want to try part of this loop sometime before the azt to shake down my bikepacking setup.
Are you familiar enough with the terrain to know about how many miles the average rider could do in a day? compared to azt or ctr miles?
39  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: AZT 750/300 2015 Planning on: December 29, 2014, 05:19:38 PM
I'm tentatively in for the aztr (barring working out some finger numbness issues).  Trying to get enough time off for the 750, but will try to at least do the 300 if I can't.
40  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: The Spirit of the Tour Divide on: November 17, 2014, 06:18:23 PM
are all riders supposed to write a letter of intent? perhaps it should be recommended that they include an intent to follow the rules of the race while on route and relegate themselves from the category of racer if they should have to deviate from the guidelines of the rules.  that way they at least have to remember they made that promise when they are out there making the questionable decisions.   Will it help?  I don't really know.  I know I would think back to that letter I wrote every time I was faced with making a questionable decision.
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