mmmmmmmmmm.....two buck chuck. It is $3 here in Tucson. I am drinking gin and tonic right now. Third one down the hatch since I am trying to numb the pain that Scott caused me from this weeks long bikepacking trip.

I agree with not having a point system. I think most of us just ride to impress ourselves/significant other (which this does not always work, as in my case) and the other 10 people that do what we do

an acquired taste.

Hmmmmmmm, that is interesting you say that b/c that is how I define myself... I am an acquired taste.

Do you remember when the MTB scene was even more laid back than you guys are?

Yeah, when safety meetings where the norm! Hell yeah! Let's bring back those days.

I expect that this is why Mikesee is such a retro grouch about change, and the upscaling
of Divide racing.  Personally, I really dig seeing the TD updates.

While I am not sure Mikesee is a grouch (rumor has it that he fishes and eats ice cream more than he rides b/c of his bad flashbacks to endurance racing..can anybody confirm this?), I am sure he is at home enjoying some pesto dish or perhaps some cheap Trader Joe's wine and brie cheese.

And all it takes is one pissed off government official in the wrong place at the wrong time,
and that's it, right?  Assuming secrets can be kept is a high-stress, high-risk ploy.  And to
what end?

Word. Just look at Iraq.

SM: your enthusiasm, and your deeds, are beyond question.  But making a formal series
with awards, no matter how ethereal, and rankings, no matter how unofficial, cannot help
but change things.  Why do that?  It is possible for the sport to grow, but it must only be
allowed to grow, Not force fed until plump and juicy.  Not mainstreamed.  Not reduced to
something more marketable.  Managed growth is a beautiful thing, but immediate change
invokes the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  Entropy takes over, and disorder increases.  
Other posters see that too, right?

Damn, I wanna say yes to that question, but I don't even understand this paragraph.

I think this is a great idea... I just calculated my points and it seems like I am right behind Dave Harris. Let's give this idea a go!

On really cold days, I put the camera down my pants and the batteries in my armpit (the armpit is also a good way to get the freeze dried food nice and warm). This seemed to work on the coldest of days during the AZT 300.

Brian, do you want to borrow my Carousel saddlebag? I will not be using it for the month of July. I will also be in northern San Diego next Thursday.

Weather is looking great here in Flagstaff. I am headed up in a few hours to make base camp.

See you out on the trail!

I will be rolling in on Thrs night/Friday morning for some early fun also.

200, bivvy

He went straight to Burger King.

Did he beat my record of 5 whoppers?

Well done Matt! 

sure is. sign on the door says M - S, 9 to 5, could of even been 6 and sunday too.

Correct times for the Bedrock Store: M-Sat 8-6, Sunday 9-530ish

Singleeeeeeeeeesppppeeeeeeed was the motto of our ride, Scott kept yelling it every time I tried to clean something. While riding it was not a clear advantage, I did find it a bit easier to lift it up some of those climbs. Some dumb moments that might not come out in our blogs: We made our own song called "This is what happens when SPOTs collide" among other dumb jokes and comments. Everything is funny when you are tired, right? It was incredible to go the opposite way just because we had the opportunity to see everyone out there on the trail. Some of this came out in our conversations we had with others.

Classic lines of the ride:
Scott: "It looks like a carrot!" (two cows among the 200 that were moving up the Tab trail in front of us were about to get it on).
Dave H: "I was riding my bike on the meadow to avoid the mud and when I looked up, I said hey, there are two more mountain bikers riding on the meadow just like me!"
Paco the sheep herder: "Have you seen my shoe? That damn dog stole one of my shoes and took it outside. Bad, bad dog!"
Chad to Dave H, dirty, wet mid-hug and laughing: "Good to see another person out here suffering."
Scott: "I forgot this part of the trail." (said numerous times as we were hiking the bikes)
Scott: "Is that a cyclist over there?! How the hell is he riding?!" (Looking at Marshall during our pushing the bike part-ay)
Chad: "Does my face look like Scott's?" (as Marshall was pulling out his camera, hence the HollywoodChad nickname)
Marshall: "I just got done cleaning my bike for about 30 minutes." (said in shorts as Scott and I were freezing. He then started to strip down to put on gloves!)
Chad: "What the hell is that? A flying dog? (as Jim came flying down the trail in the heat; we were a little delusional at this point.)
ATVer: "Hello fellow recreationalists!"
Scott said to ATVer that sped by at 2pm in Castle Valley as he was brushing his teeth underneath a shaded perch: "At least you can ^&&^*% slow down while I brush my teeth you fat #$ *^*"....(BTW, I am still not quite sure why he was brushing his teeth).
Jefe: "I was putting on a new geared drive train and had problems, so I said $^$^ it, I am going to ride singlespeed."
Jim: "Last time I was doing this ride, my friend mentioned that he wished he had a mountain dew. Neither of us had a mountain dew then. Well, this time I brought my own mountain dew."
Fritz: "Do you guys want a beer or something?"
Random Zone 5 racer about 1/2 mile from Koko TH: "10 riders back, moving fast!" to which Scott replied "I don't careeeeeeeee." Chad yelled: "Go, go go! Get it to Zone 5, Zone 5!"

Scott and I had a great ride, I think between the two of us, we have 200 pictures of the route. I hope to put them up on the blog later today. The best part of the ride is being able to explain the story and read yours.

See you guys at the KMC 200....

Well done Dave!

Go jefe go!

Some may notice that my SPOT is back on and moving. I have designated it the "Ice Cream" SPOT that is in search of more icre cream (this being after mike so hospitably fed us so much homemade ice cream, thanks again mike for everything).

Anyway, I encourage you to watch the ice cream SPOT!

Scott,

We want less speculation and more pictures impress us with some good views.

BTW, Mike just found a Newcastle in his fridge.  Mmmmm. I am now recovered.

Cat,
We saw Matt with Jefe at 530am right next to Dewey Bridge. Both had smiles on their faces during our 10 minute chat

Great views out there...only made better by seeing fellow riders on the trail.

I was really looking forward to riding with you guys... 

.... for the first 5 minutes until you shoot off. I think we will [enter dreamy music here] get more face time with you when we go this direction since you may want to know stories, conditions, etc.

Fred, we might need some AZT/GLR story session on Saturday, hope to be able to swing by depending on our arrival back here in Grand Junction.

I smell a shower in their future as they near the park perhaps even a room before they make the trek across the canyon. Great job guys!

Sweet...more opportunities to live vicariously!

He just passed Antelope Peak. Great job Scott!

We have some pretty good wind coming out from the west right now. It is supposed to change later on this evening to a more southwesterly direction.