The tyres the tricross comes with are reasonable for a first attempt as I guess you're not planning full on MTB routes - details from the speccy website:

HIGH-END FREEROAD PERFORMANCE - HARDPACK CONDITIONS
From paved road to dirt road to no road at all, the Borough CX is a single tread that can do it all-urban/transportation, adventure riding/touring and even cyclo-cross racing-thanks to its smooth running center section and minimal hard-biting shoulder knobs.

Throw the original tyres on, give it a go, see if you like it, buy something new after if needed/wanted. I've done cycletouring on a road bike through Russia where we dealt with dirt roads, gravel, cobblestones (think paris-roubaix hell of the north style roads but rougher and for miles and miles), washed out roads, horrendous potholes etc (the road was more pothole than surface in many places!). 1200km on 25mm road racing tyres (Continental Grand Prix 4 seasons so reasonably durable but still a winter race tyre!), no punctures :-)

How busy are the 89 in Utah to Page or the 89A to Lee's Ferry? Not keen if its a busy highway, full of trucks and a narrow shoulder and I'm half dead from just finishing (if I even get there of course!)... I had a look at the rim-rim shuttle but it doesn't seem to start until 15th May - there is a charter service though, I might ask how much that is. Are they even allowed up the North Rim Winter Road or will it still be closed then? Or would you try to pick it up at the junction of the 89A and 67?

Randy - I might have a spare by then (currently off being repaired or replaced by garmin) but its an old one, etrex Legend. You're in Flag right? What would your suggestion be for getting back from the finish? If there was a simple offroad route from the end to page it'd be easy enough I'd hire a car there, drive back to flag to pick up the stuff I need to stash when I start the azt, and carry on to LA where I'm visiting my brother. (probably not all in one go!). Not super keen on using the 89 highway to get to Page but I can't find much in the way of any let alone directish routes offroad from the finish to Page.

ian

Chad - very kind offer. We could all exchange contact details closer to the day to help out everyone who needs it.

Jefe - just had another 3 or 4 inches today of snow continuing the record for my lifetime winter here in Helsinki Finland. Got to hope the skiing, trainer and occasional snow rides are enough for my fitness come the end of April. Hard to prep the bike for the deserts of AZ in weather like this!

Hey Jefe - Scott was thinking of staying overnight in Sierra Vista, getting a lift/pedalling from there up Montezuma's Pass, and riding south to the border for 6.30 from there. I did wonder about staying somewhere close to the Parker Lake start of the AZT300, getting up early and riding from there south to the border then turning straight round but think Scott's plan gives more sleep time/less distance to cycle before the 6.30am start! Definitely interested in any lift share at the start/finish and I guess it would be good for us all to take details/cells so we can help out each other if possible at the end! Looks like there is car rental in Kanab and Page - they are about the same distance in opposite directions but the latter is in the right direction for me heading to Flag. It seems there are better offroad routes to Kanbab from the finish though, lots of dirt/4wd tracks. Are there any good offroad routes from the finish to Page to keep me off the 89? Worst comes to the worst I'm cycling back to Flag :-) (Possibly round rather than through the canyon on the way back though!). Ian

Logistics logistics logistics... I'm hoping to be on the startline for the full AZT, but from the perspective of someone coming from overseas, getting there and extracting from the finish look like some of the harder parts of the whole thing! (I'm certain when I'm in the bottom of the Grand Canyon with the bike on my back and the North Rim visible by craning my neck my opinion of this will change...). I'm going to be in Flagstaff during the week before the start, so the first question is - is anyone going from there down to Parker Lake/the Mexico borderfor the AZT300 or AZTr? Lift shares would be great! I'm fine with hiring a car but not keen on paying to keep it somewhere for the whole duration of the event - one way rentals might work? Next and likely more difficult question - any suggestions for getting back from the finish at the Utah border to Flagstaff, where I will probably be storing stuff? It seems more difficult than the start as people will likely be finishing at quite separate times... Anyway suggestions, ideas, offers welcome!

We're having the same deal here in Helsinki, Finland - deepest snow cover for 30 years, longest continuous snow cover for 20, longest continuous minus (C) temperatures for 15... Biking has been pretty much out the window, even for snow bikes (as I look enviously at all these 100 mile plus recce/training rides going on in the sunnier states over there). XC skiing is however going nicely, I'd be up for shipping some skis to the North Rim and gliding downhill all the way to the finish in Utah :-)

Nice pics and report :-) Did you have to modify the Jannd bag to get a bladder in there, I've got one hanging around ti might be worth playing with... And on the bars, are you just using the compression straps of the sea to summit bag for attachment or some others too to keep it in place? Does it have anything to stop it swinging around?

Cheers!

This has given me some sleepless nights too! Was hoping to make the AZT300 this year, now dreaming about the long haul... A few questions to satisfy/fuel my curiosity:

Navigation question - do people rely on a GPS track and the route cues for things like this (i.e the AZT, grand loop etc), or take a bunch of topo maps with them too (if they can't get topo on their GPS/want a back up)? If using maps, do you buy them and fold/cut to suit the route, or print from i.e. Topofusion?

What's the longest unsupplied/unwatered stretch in the AZT300/AZT - the 90-odd miles from Oracle to Highway 60? And are water points in the cue sheet or do you have to try to find knowledge of them yourself?

Thanks!

great write up, fab pics, really gives a flavour of a whole states worth of riding!

Cool tee! I asked as I'm slightly in that area (dinos) as a line of work! And wow - I'd seem some info on the 508 before, I'd find that event hard before the temperatures, living up here in Finland now!

That's the one brilliant thanks proto! Well worth a read for anyone else, and I'll look over at the reenactment!

ps - out of curiosity - what made you choose your name on here?

Great pic John! I'm desperately trying to remember the title of a book describing the journey of a couple of boys from (somewhere on the west coast USA, I'll say southern Cali) to (somewhere further north on the same coast, oregon/washington?) to visit (I think) the world fair. Sorry this is so vauge it was a while ago and I gave the book to a friend. Really enjoyed it though,  lots of mishaps, mechanicals, native indian encounters, having to work to afford onwards travel etc. Damn will have to go search for the book now!

More details on the Osprey Raptor:

The Raptor Series is comprised of three sized however they share these features:

•   LidLock helmet clip (patent pending)
•   Top zippered pocket for quick access
•   Side compression straps
•   Full elastic stretch sternum strap
•   Magnetic sternum buckle
•   Main compartment with tool organization sleeves/mesh pockets
•   Blinker light attachment patch
•   Stretch woven front pocket
•   Reflective graphics

Raptor 18
Ideal for long mountain bike rides and adventure racing, the Raptor 18 offers a large front zippered pocket with shove-it pocket behind and a three-liter reservoir.
•   S/M – 1100 cu. in., 18 liters, weight: 1 lb., 15 oz., reservoir weight 9 oz.
•   M/L – 1100 cu. in., 18 liters, weight: 2 lb., 1 oz., reservoir weight 9 oz.
•   MSRP: $119

14, 19 and 6 litres also available.

Bit worried about the weight - the bladder is only half the size of my MSR but 1 oz heavier, and if the pack weight doesn't include the bladder, it gains 6 oz over my Talon 22 (large vs large) and loses 4 liters of room (and possibly 3 liters of water). If the weight includes the bladder then it loses 3 oz for the 4 liter loss in size against the Talon 22 which would seem more reasonable. Shame there isn't another size up in both pack and bladder size - I reckon the increased ease of getting the bladder in is probably cancelled by the fact there was more space in the Talon to shove it into in the first place. Look forwards to the reviews though...

Thanks again Jill and Chris for replies. Hmmm - we don't tend to get more than about 6" of fluff here (other than drifts etc) then it's straight down to whatever is underneath - which is usually the normal MTB forest trails with outcrops of granite in places. I've usually not had problems with rear wheel traction per se, just wild fishtailing of the rear as the front heads off in directions that I really hadn't planned on it going as it hits the fresh non compacted bits of the trail. I'm not certain that there are many/any built up pugs to try over here, so maybe I'll just have to bit the bullet n go for it! Hmmmm...

Thanks Chris - I guess my main question is then is it actually possible to ride on fresh, uncompacted snow with the Pugsley or is a 'trail' still needed - that's where I'm struggling at the moment. Even a couple of inches seems to induce the rear to fishtail wildly!

Ian

Last winter I rode for the first time on proper snow n ice here in Helsinki, Finland, with Nokian 26x 2.2? studded tyres, mostly cos getting to the trails includes likely lots of ice. On packed trails (walked/skiied on) they were fine, but as soon as the trail disappeared they pretty much sank straightaway. As did most other people I rode with, studded tyres or otherwise (no pugsleys/similar). Has anyone got a handle on how much better a standard pugsley with surley tyres n wheels is over this in terms of snow depth/softness you can ride on (mostly unladen, v occasional bikepacking, I'm about 160lb incliding summer clothing). Or even a pugsley with non surly rims/tyres if that gains further flotation?

thanks!

Another pic, different colour here:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/10/fresh-goods-friday/

(halfway down)

Say's it is not out until Feb, and looks like it's a 14 litre (presumably there will be a 24 too and maybe a 34 if anything like their other ranges)

Interestingly Osprey are doing a new bikepacking bag. Looks similar to the Talon but with a fairly cool sounding pad/reservoir combo which presumably saves weight but also is said to make it easier to get it in when full (I've got an MSR 6 lite jobbie in my Talon 22 that is a right pain to push back inside when the bag is full). Details here (no sizes/weights mentioned) but no word on the Osprey website or release dates:

http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/7304

They done did it! Wowsers. Including a 102 mile day near the end. And up to 11 concurrent saddle sores. Ouch. Great effort!