Say you had a Month off from work...

[Rob]

Which trail would you do and when would you do it? 

I'm planning on taking a month off from work after April of 2010.  My lease on my Apartment ends then and I should have a few weeks of vacation time by then as well.  I'd like to do it during the month of May, but wouldn't be opposed to waiting a few months after if there is a better time to do one of the long routes. I'm considering doing the AZT the CDT or the GET.

Any recommendations?  I'll be on a lightweight 6" travel bike and I like technical terrain and singletrack over fireroad riding.  I'm ok in the heat, but which of these trails should have the nicer weather during the month of May? 

Thanks for any help! I'm trying to do my research and planning early. 

[AZTtripper]

Things are already starting to heat up here in  Southern AZ though it was cold for the AZT 300 this year last year was hot. Mid April would be a better start time for the AZT or the GET for that matter as they both cross the Gila river a very low point in both routes.

The AZT has tons of ST but you will have to use roads at some point to make the connections around the wildernesses.

Another option is to work out your own route across AZ check out Troy Marino's Fall 06 AZTish ride report.

http://www.juniper-solutions.com/aztrek/

This looks like a good way to get around a big batch of wilderness and you get to go to Sedona. Also there is the Black Canyon Trail north of Phoenix. It is still under construction but there is a lot more then there was in 06 I should think you could make use of part of it at least.

http://www.bctaz.com/

I can't think of a better way to spend a month then crossing Arizona on a mountain bike.

For a really cool trip leave the border the day before the AZT 300 starts, ride to Parker Canyon and meet the racers at the start. Then at the end of the 300 continue on your epic journey by what ever route appeals to you. 



 

[ScottM]

May is pretty toasty for the southern half of the AZT and the western half of the GET.  But they are both doable.  The other parts are better during May, so it's a trade off.  One thought would be to link eastern GET (start in Albuquerque) with northern AZT.  You may have to ride some highway in between, but you could stay high and cool the entire time.

I concur with Tim, though, taking a month and crossing AZ is hard to beat.   

[AZTtripper]

Here's an idea along that line, look at the higher parts of the AZT and if not the GET then look at the General Crook route from Santa Fe to Prescott. A boating, biking acquaintance of mine lives in northern NM and said he always did supported rides on the Crook route and wanted to ride the entire thing.

The Crook route is FS 300 it runs right along the rim of the Mogollon plateau the AZT crosses the Crook route at General Spring Cabin and from there on there are no detours (no wilderness) of the official trail all the way to Flagstaff.

So then a general over view looks like Santa Fe to Flagstaff one way or the other through Grants/Sow Low using the Crook route as guide but not fixed reference looking for more interesting terrain along the way. 

[Rob]

Thanks for the responses, going to look into all of this.  I wouldn't mind checking out Sedona, that sounds cool.   

[AZTtripper]

Sedona to Moab would be cool not sure what the elevations are like on the Trans Utah stuff but there is a trip report on the Flag to Moab http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,86.0.html

I've always thought it would be cool to do a tour from one great MTB area to another and these two are pretty high on the radar for most riders.

And if you have time you could add in the Kokopelli.

Of course this would mean crossing the Canyon and that is one big obstacle to biking but it is also one very cool ditch.

If you can get there before May 15th which would be easy even for my slow ass then you could cross the Canyon while the north rim is still closed. It should be pretty snow free by then if it were me I would try to make the hike in three days that's only 7 miles a day. It is not too hard to get into Phantom Ranch for food and lodging one night and then Cottonwood Camp for night two. I got two lunches to go but should have had 3.

If you make to the north side while they are still closed you can have the whole north rim group campsite to yourself. Of course if you are one day late and the park opens you will have to share it with several hundreds of tourist. I have had this camp to myself twice and highly recommend it. The three days of carrying the bike sounds bad but if you look at the size of some of the backpacks that people carry my load wasn't that much more. Carry thru and you will definitely join a short list.

Sedona to the AZT, AZT to the trans Utah to Moab plus the Kokopelli if possible that sounds like the dream trip.

[Rob]

AZTripper, how long do you think that dream trip would take?  Say you rode 8 hours a day with one rest day a week?



I've been thinking more and more about the Colorado trail.  I've been thinking about this trip a lot lately and I think that I would like a change of scenery from the mostly desert southern ca trails I'm used to.  I've never really been to high altitude mountains before and I'd like to experience it. 

Say I wanted to do the Colorado trail, what would be the best time to do it? 

[Endurance Junkie]

Rob come do it Aug 2 

[AZTtripper]

AZTripper, how long do you think that dream trip would take?  Say you rode 8 hours a day with one rest day a week?

I should think that you would be to Flag in just a couple of days easy, not sure on the rest thou anything from 2 - 4 weeks depending on how fast you are.

[AZTtripper]

Rob come do it Aug 2 

It would be cool to do the CTR http://www.climbingdreams.net/ctr/ and since you have a month you should get there at least a week early and do some acclamation rides on the course.

[Rob]

Ok, so I talked it over with my girlfirend and it looks like we're going to stay at our apartment until shes out of school, so it looks like I'm free to choose whenever I want to do this trip. 

I've decided to do the AZT for sure.


 

[ScottM]

I've decided to do the AZT for sure.

 

[Rob]

Putting in the vacation paperwork on Monday!  Mid April it is

I also just bought a Garmin Edge 705, I think it'll work great for the trip, it recharges off the Energi to Go charger from Energizer.