2009 Coconino Loop Race Thread

[ScottM]

Some good news on the fire: the evacuation order in southwest Williams has been lifted and the crews don't expect it to grow beyond it's current 1000 acre size.

Not sure if it burned near/on the trail, but even if the fire goes out it's very unlikely they'll open the mountain by this weekend.  But hopefully it'll be out so we don't have to breathe smoke (or reroute to completely avoid Williams).

[AZTtripper]

The reroute actually looks good it keeps the race a little more remote with out the night in Williams tho I was willing to take it and get a room. It also makes day 3 a bit easier as well as day 4 since we will be farther along already. Getting back earlier on Monday is good for getting home as well.

I have a ride up with Brink he's doing the "Through Race" so we will be at the Place at 7:00 any other "Stage Riders" want to meet up around 7:00 I plan to head out about 8:00. This also gets us there in time to pick up Spot units from Chad. We could also do a neutral roll out to the starting line.

  

[ScottM]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the complete bypass of Williams.  Fire is only 20% contained.

I plotted the pines to mines route and noted it goes by White Horse Lake, which has a campground.  The water is shut off there and the CG is closed (I just called), but it might be a nice spot to hang out and would have picnic tables, flat spots, water to filter from the lake, etc.  It would still mean no more singletrack on day 3, but we'd quickly hop onto Sycamore ST on day 4.

Any opinions either way?  This would mean carrying more food from Cottonwood (no resupply in Williams), but it shaves ~20 miles of dirt roads / pavement that would take us out of the way to Williams, and net us no singletrack.  We'd also avoid any possible smoke this way.

[ScottM]

A few notes:

1) Remember that if you are borrowing a SPOT unit you need to have 2AA lithium batteries to power it.
2) I confirmed that the water system at the top of Mingus Mtn is still down for maintenance.  Carry lots from Cottonwood.  There is a 'lake' up there, but it doesn't look too appealing.
3) Potato Patch CG on top of Mingus is closed, so no water there either.
4) There is water available at the Pinegrove campground, just after the AZT crosses Lake Mary Road (FR3).  This might be the best bet for water if you aren't going to go into Munds Park.  I'll mark a waypoint on it once we decide about the Williams detour.

[jonesy792]

I'm down for williams bypass, can't wait for the looks I will get at the cottonwood convenience store when I ring up 100 nutri grain/powerbar/granola bars

[brink]

Williams bypass is okay with me.

Is Coyote Springs (approx mile 115) still a viable water supply?

[Chad B]

Williams bypass is okay with me.

Is Coyote Springs (approx mile 115) still a viable water supply?

Yes it is still off-route, viable water source between Cottonwood and the Verde River water sources.

[brink]

4) There is water available at the Pinegrove campground, just after the AZT crosses Lake Mary Road (FR3).  This might be the best bet for water if you aren't going to go into Munds Park.  I'll mark a waypoint on it once we decide about the Williams detour.

A really good option for water if you are not planning on going to Munds is at the water spigot in the small park (ADOT community?) located just after you cross under I-17 and just before you hit dirt on Schnebly Rd. It is on the North side of Schnebly Rd and only a few hundred yard diversion from the main course. It is worth checking out before you head up the road to Munds, it will save you about 4-miles.

approx coordinate for the spigot is lat: 34.911665°  lon: -111.644514°

[YuriB]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the complete bypass of Williams.  Fire is only 20% contained.

I plotted the pines to mines route and noted it goes by White Horse Lake, which has a campground.  The water is shut off there and the CG is closed (I just called), but it might be a nice spot to hang out and would have picnic tables, flat spots, water to filter from the lake, etc.  It would still mean no more singletrack on day 3, but we'd quickly hop onto Sycamore ST on day 4.

Any opinions either way?  This would mean carrying more food from Cottonwood (no resupply in Williams), but it shaves ~20 miles of dirt roads / pavement that would take us out of the way to Williams, and net us no singletrack.  We'd also avoid any possible smoke this way.

I'm all for avoiding the smoke. If we go this route can you mark the campground as "Filter Water"?

[jonesy792]

how about we keep the stage stop in williams (just shoot up perkinsville rd) and also allow a bypass of williams on the forest service rd. (??) but without the advantage of stopping the clock.  That way those that want/need a resupply or motel room can do so without feeling that they are loosing time.

[Chad B]

Here is the MTBcast link that is set up for call-ins. http://mtbcast.com/wordpress/chadbrown/coconino-route-race/

Make sure you have the number to call-in: 888-866-4491

Edit: Errrrr, why does the URL have my name in it? Anyway, link that to your blog/FB or send it to your family and friends.

[Chad B]

how about we keep the stage stop in williams (just shoot up perkinsville rd) and also allow a bypass of williams on the forest service rd. (??) but without the advantage of stopping the clock.  That way those that want/need a resupply or motel room can do so without feeling that they are loosing time.

I think we went into Williams b/c of the singletrack of Bill Williams. If that is not on the course anymore, there is really no reason to go into town. I think everyone would be okay with packing enough food from Cottonwood to get to Flagstaff, about 30-40 hours of riding between the two depending on how long you sleep.

Rob B- I did not know about that spigot, that could make things a lot easier for stage racers since it is almost all downhill to the first state stop from the highway crossing at Schnebly.

[brink]

Rob B- I did not know about that spigot, that could make things a lot easier for stage racers since it is almost all downhill to the first state stop from the highway crossing at Schnebly.

I know that you did not know about it  , found it on the Coconino DC two years ago. I think it is a pretty reliable source, and if for whatever reason it may be nonfunctional, only 2 miles to Munds.

I think we went into Williams b/c of the singletrack of Bill Williams. If that is not on the course anymore, there is really no reason to go into town. I think everyone would be okay with packing enough food from Cottonwood to get to Flagstaff, about 30-40 hours of riding between the two depending on how long you sleep.

I agree.

[ScottM]

I posted version three of the CLR main GPX file and waypoint file.  V3 has the reroute over to White Horse Lake.  I also marked waypoints for Pinegrove CG, the ADOT spigot and White Horse Lake (new stage stop 3).

Check it out:

http://topofusion.com/GPX/CLR

[ScottM]

Alright, the reroute (Williams Bypass) is officially in.  GPX updated (as noted in previous post), as well as the tracker and cue sheets (v2 out now).

We haven't ridden the reroute, but it is based on real GPS data from Pines to Mines riders, so it should be well trusted.  I verified it with two different tracks.

Stage riders -- remember to bring paper/pen to record your in/out times from each stage stop.

Weather is looking really, really good.

Also, if you want a picture (avatar) on the tracker, send me a .jpg, preferably already sized to ~80x80.  I added the ones I already have from previous events.

[ScottM]

Holy crap:

Rain and sleet fell today on the Twin Fire, located one mile southwest of the City of Williams. The 908-acre fire is 90 percent contained.

The emergency closure for Bill Williams Mountain will be lifted Thursday at noon.

Seems almost unprecedented to open up so soon.  I will call tomorrow first thing to verify that all trails on the CLR route will be open.  Looking at the fire perimeter map, it looks like it did not hit our trail, so we should be good to go!!!

Stay tuned...

GPX files for both routes are still up.

[jonesy792]

seriously?  I just spent forever trying to cram the V3 file onto my GPS

But honestly it would be awesome if Williams was back in, its been kind of lame telling people that I'm doing a 250 mile race thats only 213 miles long 

[mr.hobbs]

It's never too late for a change.
The first guy to the turn off up to Williams will just put a post-it on the ground with an arrow pointing which way he went...and then we'll all follow.

[ScottM]

Just got the all clear from the Forest Service.

Williams is a go!!!

I've uploaded yet another version of the GPX, this one, v4, actually has both options -- going into Williams and the reroute.  We're going to Williams and will be feasting on the yellow aspen goodness, but just in case we hear different I figured it'd be good to have both options.

There is also a pre-simplified / split version for most Garmin units.  Hopefully that'll save some people some time.

I'll be at The Place at 7am.  See you all there or at the rim of Sedona!

[Chad B]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!