Some pictures of today's route...well done guys! I know I would not have been able to ride through this storm, I hope all three of them can make the mad dash for the finish tonight! 

Marni, I think it takes about 5-6 hours from Summerhaven to Oracle.

Oracle Ridge


Oracle


Antelope Peak Section




Boulders Section after Antelope Peak


Picketpost, end of the route. All downhill from here

It looks like Chris and Kurt are over the nasty climb at Molino but Stefan is not over yet. After that it is a Prison Camp trail followed by the paved road to Summerhaven. That climb over Molino has to be pretty crappy right now I think its bad enough in good weather.

But that was about 1.5 hours ago based on the time stamp. I am sure they are on the highway by now if they kept moving through Prison Camp. I agree, those wet rocks down that technical section would be a bit of a hike-a-bike.

Marshall just passed Tim on one of the fun sections of the AZT in Oak Canyon

From those of you who have ridden this, are they (Chris/Kurt/Stefan) on a particularly slow section or do you think they just not going anywhere very fast because of the weather?  Granted their SPOTs probably aren't picking up regularly because of the clouds, but when they did register, it sure seems slow-going...

-Marni

That section is the biggest hike-a-bike section of the course. I had rested the night before riding up that section and still had to push my bike about 95% up that hill. It is very, very slow going. I assume they are on the road now, having registered a spot at the saddle of Molino. Like Scott mentioned, these gents are tough. If I was up there, I would ride into Molino Campground and go straight for the bathroom for some cover.


Here is the first part of the climb


and one from the descent into Molino Campground, a pretty technical section in some parts, especially after riding 36 hours



The cloud cover is impacting the SPOTs since the other guys still have red dots coming in (Max is on Old Spanish Trail about to refill his water/food). I imagine he will do a similar move that I did, refill and head up to Reddington to camp for the night. All SPOTS are working now, there was some problems this morning.

MikeC, I am not sure about your splits, but it took me about 3 hours to climb from Prison to the General Store/Summerhaven. They still have a fighting chance based on their last point an hour ago, if they really hammer it up.

Wow.  This seems like the kind of storm we get in December, not April!  You can see some fresh snow on the front range every once in a while when it clears.

It doesn't get much harder than traversing Oracle Ridge in the snow.

Snow on the control road from last year when I pre-rode some of the course



Oracle Ridge with snow or ice is never fun, here is a shot of it last February. Pretty steep on some of the sides of the singletrack.



Hard to say whether or not the General Store would keep their doors open in a snow storm like this. I called the store and only got an answer machine. Scott, any thoughts on what Summerhaven does in a storm comes through like this?
 

Max just arrived to Colossal Cave and Rob is a short distance behind him

Check out this webcam from the top of Mt Lemmon, no time stamp but I think it is current:


http://www.snowrental.net/skiing/united-states/mount-lemmon/mount-lemmon-webcam.html

Well done Scott! 

No, I think that is a pre-race point. Some of the trackers were turned on days before the race start.

nope, check the newest two points. It looks like he is on Broadway and Wilmot, possibly heading home. He has passed both bike shops, definitely heading in the general direction of his house.

Errr.....it looks like Scott might be headed west toward Tucson on Broadway. There is a bike shop down Broadway, so perhaps he is going there.

It looks like the Boulder boys (I guess I should call them MEN) got the jump on Scott this morning.

I noticed that too.... If I know Scott, he took the time to eat some McDonald's before leaving Tucson. More food=more energy especially when you have not slept much.

I could be wrong, but we do both (Scott and I) have similar breathing problems (both of us carry inhalers). He might be worried (as I would be) about the cold weather. On my start last week, he was mentioning using his inhaler from time to time during the race. Cold weather does not help.

I heard Pete was making it down, still no reports on how many starters there were.

I guarantee Scott ate a McDonald's before riding up Reddington, a smart move considering the cold weather that awaits them. He seems like he is right behind the 3 leaders, Stefan, Plesko and Kurt.

Here is a great webcam to look at the Catalinas (Mt Lemmon):  http://www.cs.arizona.edu/camera/    It gives you an idea of where they will be riding in a few hours...in that cloud with possibly light showers.

Finding a place to stay on Mt Lemmon (Summerhaven) could be tricky, so I hope those that plan to ride up are ready to possibly make the trip down Oracle Ridge at night if they cannot find a place to stay. I have thought about telling the racers to try staying in the public restrooms if they can't find a place to stay and find themselves in a bind.

The mud can be pretty bad on sections of Freeman Road and other sandy spots after Oracle; I doubt that any rain=clay can hinder their riding today, or at least I am not aware of any sections that would turn into clay.

The leaders have finished the road section in Tucson


and will start making the trip up to the Arizona Trail/Chiva Falls area. Some very fun singletrack with some pretty views.



30 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing awaits them



And remember, the general store closes at 6pm. It is the only place to resupply food that late.



Max rolled into Madera Canyon and it looks like everyone else is starting to move this morning. Great job guys!

The leaders are nearing the AZT section at Oak Canyon, still going strong. They will be dropping on the section of the highway in less than an hour. At times, it looks like one or two of them will pull ahead, but it just might be the delay in the SPOT. There is not one go-to page for everyone's SPOT (like the TD last year) on Scott's page.

It looks like everyone else has opted to camp before Madera Canyon proper. Marshal and Tim seem to be pretty close, and now Max and Rob are in different locations, so it looks like Rob pushed ahead since Max has not moved in almost 3.5 hours. Max has not passed the bathroom at the observatory rather is looks like just 1-2 miles away. Interesting place to camp being so close to Elephant Head and the first water stop. Rob is in a similar location to where the MC/Scott/Pete gang camped last year, he has barely moved in the past 1.5 hours.

The current weather forecast in Tucson right now: then showers likely and slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Snow level falling to 6000 feet with 1 to 4 inches. Lows 46 to 51. Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph and gusty becoming south 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Once he gets past Palisades, he will have gone past his previous pull out points on the AZT300. Hopefully he'll celebrate a bit in Summerhaven. 

And celebrate I did.....



... and I think it helped me fly down Oracle Ridge faster.

[Let's keep watching and speculating! Feel free to sign up for an account in order to make some posts, especially friends and family members of the racers. We want to read updates and thoughts about the ride.]

I just got off the phone with Scott, he mentioned that the Madera Canyon spigot is not working now. I used it last week to refill water before continuing on to Box Canyon. Luckily, the creek is flowing and they can use that to filter water. This is going to cause the 4 leaders some time to filter water. Scott mentioned that they were bouncing around a bit in front, taking different positions during the first day. It was a quick conversation, but Scott seemed optimistic. He had been banking on my beta from last week, not sure why the spigot is not working now.

Also, I just called Max to let him and Fred know that they need to go to the observatory to fill up water.

Thanks Marni for the update, Scott asked about his tracking program during our quick phone conversation. I assume that the delay maybe in the tracking program that he wrote (which is amazing, I should add).

Marshal made it to Patagonia, and it seems like the rest of the group is heading toward Elephant Head.

Let's keep watching and speculating! Feel free to sign up for an account in order to make some posts, especially friends and family members of the racers. We want to read updates and thoughts about the ride.

Go Riders Go! Pedal pedal pedal.... and have fun!

Fred from Moab is riding with Max right now, I know he is w/o a SPOT. I just left a message on Jobie's voicemail; hope to hear back before the night is over.

BTW, it is now showing that all 4 leaders are together. How reliable are these SPOT things? I know I don't know how to use one as everyone witnessed last week. The are nearing the turn to hard-to-find turn (if you do not have a GPS) of Devil's Cashbox and are still on of the rockiest roads I have ever been on Bull Springs.

Madera Canyon and Elephant Head pictures, they should be here in another 1-2 hours.




Oak Canyon is after Box Canyon Rd, some sweet, smooth, newly added singletrack

Nope, no pictures from me. I am in San Diego on the beach doing updates I will try to call the driver, Jobie, to see if he has any pictures from the start. Seems like at least 9 starts that I know of, possibly more.

The crux of tomorrow: there is a 90% chance of showers/possibly snow on Mt Lemmon with a high of 40 degrees, low is 27 degrees!

Stefan and Kurt seem to be riding together right now. Just got word from Max and Fred, both are headed out of Patagonia right now. Seems like we know the people that are "fast touring" from those that are "racing" now that half the light is gone from the first day.

Of those racers, it will be interesting to see who decides to sleep during this first night. There will be a full moon to aid the racers along the AZT section. There are no water stops after Madera Canyon until Colossal Cave, which the riders could arrive at as early as 5am tomorrow (based on Kurt and Stefan's speeds).

It looks like Plesko, Scott, Stefan and Kurt are all up in the front riding out on Salero Ranch Road. It will be interesting to see if they can get to finish the Elephant Head section before dark. This is a very slow, rocky section that is pretty difficult to do, especially at night (and on a SS rigid also). The water spigot is on at Madera Canyon, so there is no need for the racers to go to the observatory (off route) to fill up their water, assuming they brought enough from Patagonia.

Salero Ranch is a smooth dirt road, but eventually turns into a rough 4x4 road as shown in this picture. The leaders are currently in this area:



If they continue to ride, the leaders will be riding along on Box Canyon Rd and onto more AZT sweet singletrack. This is pretty fast terrain.



The one problem is that Box Canyon has nice gradual climb for approximately 8-9 miles. I had to slow down during this section, although it is a gradual climb, it is pretty consistent until the turnoff for the AZ trail.

Use this thread for updates on the AZT 300 race that begins this Friday. I will be posting some commentary/speculation and some pictures of what the riders will be seeing along the route.

Here is the tracker to watch all the racers: http://topofusion.com/tracker-azt.php

I am sure Scott or I could help you out with a ride. I might even ride to Tucson if it is during my Thanksgiving or fall break, maybe even do the whole thing again!

BTW, I thumbed a ride this morning from Florence Junction to Tucson. I waited about 10 minutes before I got a ride.

2 out of the 3 times (used a motel the other night).

In Madera canyon, i used one of the gates (ohhhhh the gates, tons of gates on the AZT) and a tree. In Reddington, I used 2 trees on the Chiva Falls jeep road. It was hella windy both nigths, so it worked out great!