Hey AJ,

Watched that flyover again this morning and it really gets me stoked! I want to ride now! Congratulations on your completion.  BTW who does the music? Pretty lights?

So i have been working on a system for the GC portage and am encouraged with my last two training hikes.  I found it pretty easy to strap my bike and wheels to my pack (25l osprey), and as someone noted before higher is better.

What was discouraging was the discomfort/pain I felt in my shoulder blades.  The weight on my legs was fine, but after a  short distance I was really uncomfortable in my upper back.  So I ordered the tumpline from patagonia and after two hikes with it I am feeling pretty confident it will be part of my system.  I definitely need to work my neck muscles up a bit but i think after 8-10 more hikes it will be awesome.  Using the tumpline on the last hike, I had no discomfort in my back, although i felt it a bit in my neck muscles.  Not only does it help distribute the weight but it gives you a place to hold on to by grabbing the strap on both sides of your head near your ears, which gives you another position to hike in.   I bought the one from patagonia but you could easily put one together on your own.

I know there is a separate thread for this but it seems most appropriate here.

Cheers

Great stuff guys.  Very well supported decisions/preferences. You all have me convinced.  Most likely i'll run slimed/stans tubes for the 750, but convert to tubeless after.  The biggest reason for me is the sidewall repair issue. Unless I get a tubeless setup and then cut up and repair a tire (multiple times) I don't think I would feel comfortable going in to the 750 tubeless.
 
I ran the 300 with the rampages front and rear with slimed tubes, had one flat near Oracle.  It wasn't sealing quickly so I switched tubes. Since then I think I have only had one flat using regular tubes with some brand of sealant. Granted, most of my riding is in Washington State where everything is snotty and slimy not sharp and sticky.

Based on what a couple of you have said, it sounds like I may be running a bit high on psi.  I'm just under 150lbs, ride pretty conservatively on FS, and usually run 35psi. Too high?  

I know most of these subjects have been discussed many times, but I think there is value in rousting up that horse for a few more lashes.  

Thanks

I just ordered a Fenix pd35.  Should have it tomorrow.  I know it runs on (2) cr123 battery but i think those are not that hard to come by, I'm pretty sure i can find them in Tucson, Payson, Flag, and Tusayan (Chain drugstores, walmarts, targets etc).  Otherwise I can carry 3 nights worth without too much of a weight penalty besides they are fairly light and compact.  The specs say 460 lumens for a 3:15 burn on high, 10 hrs on medium (180 lumens) so I figure i should be able to get 5 ish hrs on 2 batteries. about 4.5-5oz with batteries. I think it may be a good compromise for the AZT750. I'll let you know in a week or so how it's working. Most likely mounted on my helmet so vibration issues should be minimized. http://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-pd35-led-flashlight.aspx 

MikeP and Yogi the B,

Thanks for the input. I have decided to stick with my current bike (26") but will likely make some upgrades.  The first two things that come to mind would be switching to a 2X drivetrain and new wheels.  Suggestions or recommendations?  I have not made the switch to tubeless and have a major concern to switching this near to party, simply because i have no experience. Anyone care to sway me?

Tim thanks for the response.  The deal with the wheels is; I have the means to get a new bike and I am interested in getting a new bike but i am kind of a use it till it dies guy, and my current ride (2012 Giant trance X3- 26"wheels) is not pretty but is as healthy as it was for the 300 two years ago. I found the 300 to be very challenging, so I wonder if a bigger wheel and maybe a slightly lighter bike (current bike is about 30lbs without packs) would make a significant difference in helping me complete the 750. On the other hand my heart tells me it isn't going to be the bike that ultimately gets me to Utah.  With regards to trail difficulty, I expected as much. Thanks again for the reply.


Cheers

In anticipation of the New Year, I am making a resolution to join the rest of you jokers in the AZTR 750!  At the finish of the 300 in 2012, I said I wouldn't ride it again. Alas, I haven't been able to get the full meal deal, with the canyon hike, out of my mind. So I'm in. 

Out of curiosity, is anyone still riding 26" tires for any of these races?. Also, for those that have completed the 750, or most of it, how do the miles after Superior compare to the ones preceding? Cheers all.

Scott

I can hardly imagine doing it without gps if you will (want or need) to ride any at night. I suppose if you had great cues, really watched your odometer, and don't mind riding bonus miles you would get to the end sooner or more likely - later.

I second Flounder. I did six days in September mainly with dehydrated meals.  I was eating about 3-4000 cal/day.  Just go for the highest calorie/oz meals.  I also took a block of cheese,  an 8oz log of sausage, 4oz olive oil, and dehydrated potatoes.  By the way, adding the "loaded" dehydrated potatoes to the "breakfast skillet" dehydrated meal was awesome.  Oatmeal used to be my go to breakfast, but that combo rocked!  I had a hot breakfast, and a hot dinner, lunch was random stuff like candybars, stinger honeywaffles, gummy bears, etc. This was all in a 25l osprey pack, frame pack, and toptube bar and handlebar bag.  It was a bit tight packing the 1st couple days but obviously improved each day.  I finished with food left over, I could have gone at least one, if not two, more days.
 

How 'long' between refueling really?  I just completed  6 days riding carrying all but water (okay, i bought about 1500 calories at one meal).  I had enough food left for at least two days. It can be done. I did not feel overloaded either.  I started carrying about 40lbs (20 on my back 20 on the bike) + my bike.  Stronger riders than myself could easily cover 300+ miles without resupply.  There aren't that many places in the US a motorcycle can go that are 300 miles from some sort of re-supply. Seems like it would be a grand time.  I love singletrack, but dirt roads can take you almost anywhere in this country.

To anyone interested,

Finished this route with some deviations.

Some Stats:
All approximate, I am still away from my computer and have not processed any gps info.

262 miles
33k ascent
Days riding 6 (about 12hrs a day)
Max miles/day 58
Min miles /day - 20 (this was brutal)
supplies purchased on route - 1 meal (hamburger and fried mozzarella), 1 beer.
Miles covered with rear brake only - 200ish.
Moose seen - 1 Bull

Overall this was a pretty awesome adventure.   On day three I spent most of the day pushing, pulling, and dragging my bike through heavy timber, massive blowdown, and over extensive boulder/scree fields following a track/trail that was non existent. I think I had ride(ha!) time of about 12 hrs and covered about 20ish miles.  This day was practically criminal - I basically manhandled my bike down a 2500 ft descent .

This is beautiful country with many options.  I could make it better now that I know a bit more.  I had to shorten the intended route due to time constraints.  Days 2 and 3 were really slow. I will try and write a better review with photos when I get home.  Cheers all!

When I am planning food for multiple days on the bike I try to apply some rules of digestion.  So this is my understanding. During a day of riding like your 16 hr day you burn about 450 calories per hr over all 16 hrs assuming you are actually riding most of the time, and you burn about 100/hr when sleeping/resting. So over 24 hrs you burn about 8000 cal ((450 x 16) + (8 x 100)) = .  So you might think you need to eat 8000 cal a day to maintain.  Which is correct in a sense but not really necessary.  First, my understanding is that your body can only process about 275/cal per hr through your stomach. So it doesn't really do you much good to take in / carry more than 6600 cals per day (275 x 24hrs).  It actually can be negative.  Undigested food sits in your stomach, increasing the chance of stomach distress (nausea). Additionally, your body can/will convert stored fat to energy when your stomach can't (higher levels of activity) or won't (no food in it to process) keep up. "Keeping even" caloricly should not be necessary as long as you don't mind losing some body weight.  To keep pack weight down, but to stay energized I try to take in about 5000-6000 cal a day and then let my body convert fat for the remainder.  The bonuses are you can carry less food on the bike and you get lighter as you ride.  All these numbers are 'abouts', they depend on your body weight, exertion level, base metabolism etc.  As far as taking in the calories i think/feel smaller amounts more often(250ish/hr) is generally better than a lot all at once.  I try and save that for dinner time before going to bed (5 hrs sleep = 1375 calories).  Most important is to just eat, and try provide your body with a reasonable balance of carbs/fat/protein(50%/30/20) your body digests carbs most easily but fat carries more calories by weight and you need protein for muscle recovery).  This also assumes you are adequately hydrated.  Just some things to consider.  Cheers!

Hey Rick,

I tried to post the gpx file but was denied because it was over 1000kb.  If you email me I can send it to you direct. windowace@comcast.net

Cheers

Hey folks,

I have a 315 mile route drawn in around the Cloud peak wilderness in the Bighorn Mountains and was wondering if anyone out there had some beta on the area.  I expect to start the route on the 19th of Sept. assuming snow doesn't settle in.  My route starts in Dayton and travels clockwise around the Wilderness area and then a bit farther north before returning to Dayton.  I mainly used the Mytopo map from topofusion as a guide to what was available (4wd, ohv, jeep trail and some singletrack).  I expect to resupply in either Tensleep or Hyatville.  Thoughts, suggestions etc. appreciated.

I'm biased living in the pacific NW but I say never ride without deet, an ounce or two of 100% can make a world of difference.
I would bet good money you could hitch back to Denver, even with your bike, there are lots of pickups in Colorado.
Good luck you'll have a great time!

Just returned from Utah.  I have a recommendation for you near Monticello (south of Moab).  Check out the Lockhart Basin Rd.  I hitched a ride with my bike from Moab to the turn off on to UT211.  I rode down the road (4-5 miles of easy work and then 25ish miles of slight downhill through an amazing valley.  turned North on Lockhart Basin Rd (dirt for the next 50-60 miles).  Travelled about 5 miles in before stopping for the night.  That is only 3 hrs of riding, I didn't start riding until about 5pm. I road north on Lockhart Rd and did an out on back on a dirt road to newberry butte overlook and a OAB to the Colorado river down Lockhart Canyon Rd.  I then worked my way out to Chicken corners where I slept the second night.  In the morning I hiked around for about 2 hrs before heading up to the top of Hurrah pass, I then turned around and went back down the pass rd (fun) and turned north on to Jackson hole rd.  Took that north, around to the right (east side) where I literally carried my bike on my head up a series of steep rocky switchbacks (Jacobs Ladder - .3 miles),  From there I rode out to Pothole arch, on to Rockstacker back to Amasa Back. then Hymasa down to the trail head for Amasa Back/Hymasa trail.  Hymasa is a new trail and is not on many maps.  Short 2.7 miles but very fun.  If you don't want to do the Hike a Bike (but why not?) you can just go up and over Hurrah pass and then down Kane creek rd in to town. ) Incredible Scenery, fun jeep road.  They say there is no water but as of 2 days ago, there are enough places to filter from without using the river (I can provide more info if interested).  Not Technical (except at the very end), but hardly anybody out there. maybe 10 people in 24 hrs.  Once you get to Chicken corners turn off you start seeing more Moab visitors, jeepers/atv's, motos.  There is a ton more out there.  Food for thought.

Cheers

Arno, "no scratch for you!". Keep rollin brother!  Same to all of you still crushing it on the AZT!

Hey all.  Watching the dots for the AZT race has really got me jazzed. Now it is my turn. I am heading to Utah(?) April 28 (ish) and plan to return home on the 4th/5th. I am prepared to ride in the vicinity of Moab, as of this post.  I was thinking something like Kokopelli trail in 2/3 days, white rim trail in 1/2 days, and then other local goodness if I complete those first two in their lesser times and thus have time (and legs?) left over (whole enchilada? not sure if that is fully open yet.) The first two rides seem a little pedestrian/popular to me, although I am prepared to be corrected.  What i would really like is a 3-5 day self supported trip somewhere in Utah (i need to be a long days drive from home in Washington state), that is remote, rugged, beautiful, and challenging.   Does anybody have a good route they would like to share, or would like to join me on?  I think the best reference of my ability is a completion of the AZT300 last year in 4 days on the nose. Any and all suggestions (or .gpx files) appreciated.


Cheers

Edit: Kokopelli (Loma to Moab) is not pedestrian.  It was quite challenging (especially day two) -  to finish in two days.  Did not do White Rim but did to an extended Lockhart Basin.  Highly recommended. 

Are you still considering this trip?  I was planning a trip to Moab area April 28th(ish) to May 3rd (ish) but would be interested in a TU.  You can contact me direct if you like. windowace@comcast (dot) net.

Deep breath, shake it out. Go Sheila, go Sheila, Go.  You got it sister!