2011 AZTR Updates / Discussion Thread

[ScottM]

Alrighty, this year's AZTR is already underway.  Quick reference links:

Main site: http://topofusion.com/azt/race.php
Tracker: http://trackleaders.com/aztr

We've got over twenty people starting, and here is what I know so far.

Three are going the full distance (Marshal Bird, Max Morris and Matt Ruscigno).  Matt Fusco appears to have also started at the border, which means he and Brad Kee may have decided to go the full monty at the last minute?

Two riders from Flagstaff, Brad and Eric, picked up their SPOTs yesterday and have jumped the gun trying to take advantage of cooler weather.  They got started from Parker Lake (start line of the 300) about 6:30am.  Longtime AZT enthusiast Yuri also got an early start, hitting the trail at about 8am.  These guys are effectively ITT's and will be timed accordingly.

The full AZT crew seems to have grouped with the 300 riders, who will be starting in about 15 minutes.

I know of at least two riders that are not carrying SPOTs - Taylor Lideen and Glenn Campbell.  Just enough to keep us guessing.

Discuss!

[ScottM]

Weather: It's a deceptively cool morning in southern AZ.  Yesterday was crisp and blustery, with a high below normal.  But high pressure promises to build throughout today and into the weekend.  We are looking at temps well above normal for this time of year, both Saturday and Sunday.  This is going to play into race strategy as the afternoons become borderline too hot to ride in some areas of the course.

For a while the forecast was calling for 95* on Saturday.  Thankfully it has backed down from that, but it still looks like the warmest AZT race in all six years it has been run so far.

[ScottM]

Contenders: Here are a few folks to watch.

Kurt Refsnider - 2009 AZT 300 winner, and owner of the fastest times for both the 300 and full AZT routes.  He's the race favorite, but so far he has faced cooler-than-normal weather on the AZT.  We will see what the heat does to him.

Aaron Gulley - Was on pace for a fast ITT of the route last year, but had to bail due to GPS failure.  2nd place in the Coconino Loop last fall, he is getting his kit dialed in and is picking up bikepack racing quickly.

Lynda Wallenfels / Dave Harris - Lynda has been focusing on the AZT 300 all fall/winter and is very prepared.  She's one of the fastest ladies in the country, so I would expect to see her and Dave finish ahead of all but a few of the guys.  She has certainly done her homework on the route, and has the uber-experienced Dave Harris to learn from on the bikepacking/gear/pacing/strategy side.

Brad Kee/Matt Fusco - both entered the full AZTR race last year and had to pull out due to running out of time!  They know the 300 route well and have come back to crush it.  I first met Brad at the 2005 Divide race, so he is part of the old guard of bikepack racers.  Lots of experience and a can-do attitude to back it up.

Joe Meiser - a TD finisher with the know-how to get through this route fast.  We'll see if all the snow miles he's put in transfer over to the dry desert.

Taylor Lideen - has no SPOT due to a delayed shipment coming from a ski race in CB/Aspen (sorry Taylor!), so we won't know where he is, but he has a quick motor and is hungry for a bikepacking adventure.

Full AZTR - Despite claims of "touring" from Max Morris, I expect to see a good battle between him and Marshal Bird.  Marshal is a veteran of just about every bikepacking route, with many multiple finishes and has also done his homework on the AZT (as usual).  He's going to be difficult to beat, though Max certainly has an advantage in the sheer horsepower department.

[mforness3000]

Good luck and safe travels to everyone! I hope to be out there with ya'll someday! ~matt

[JF-mtnbiker]

Did Joe leave his spot in Tuson?

[trebor]

Good luck and hard chargin' to all!!

[ScottM]

Did Joe leave his spot in Tuson?

No, it went down to the start line and should have been passed off to him (everyone else seems to have registered points down there).  I will double check that everything is good on our end.

[AZTtripper]

Just getting back from the border and Parker Lake.

Matt, Mike, Max and I arrived at the border in the wee hours of the morning. Marshall showed up right on schedule, Brad and Matt are only in for the 300 but wanted to see the border without snow.

They all got going right at 6:30 this morning.

Brad and Eric left Parker about 6:40 per Yuri.

Andy left ant 7:51 with Yuri right behind at 7:55.

Jill was off at 8:50.

Every one else lined up for a typically late start at 9:04.

Then Dave and Lynda at 9:18.

Looks like Eric Foster is tearing it up.  

And here's some pics from the starts.

The three 750 riders.



The 750 riders plus Brad and Matt.



Heading north from the Border.



Yuri.



Jill.



The Pack.

[ScottM]

Great, thanks for the times, and for getting everyone on their way, Tim.  I'm off to Prescott now!

[meximama]

Atta Boy EF --you're earning your new BAMF status!    whoop whoop!!!   His tracker was doing good but looks like he might be having problems with it now??? Not sure...

[edemtbs]

Go Aaron!!
Go Lynda!!
Go Dave!!!

Oh, good luck to everyone 

Ed

[bigworm]

Here are the pics

[ScottM]

Great job with the pics, Tim and Vern.  Many thanks for those, and for the shuttle support.

I fixed a little glitch in the 'race flow' chart so that Kurt and a few others are showing up now.  He and Aaron appear to be riding a fast pace together, with Joe not too far behind in third, followed by Lynda (who has pulled ahead of Dave Harris for the moment).  Brad M is showing up there too, but with his 2+ hour head start I think a few others are technically ahead.  Still, he is having a strong first day.

The first night on the 300 is huge -- you find out if you have it (or don't) out there in the loneliness of the Cienega singletrack.  One bonus of the short first half is that the leaders have made it through the tough stuff on the Colinas passage before the sun dropped.  It should be easy sailing all the way into Tucson tonight for our leaders.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Kurt and Aaron up by Redington before the sun comes up in the morning, giving them a HUGE jump start on the hot day.

The splits aren't comparable to previous years, so it's hard to tell how fast it's going, but things seemed pretty average for times into Patagonia.  Must not be too hot just yet.

In the full AZT it looks like Max Morris is in the lead with Marshal somewhere not too far behind.  Matt R and his friend Mike (both from California) are still in Patagonia along with (possibly) JC Cullen.  To say that the first 30 miles of the 300 are pretty rough is a serious understatement.  They wouldn't be the first ones to be a bit shocked by the prospect of 270 more.  Luckily they are among the hardest of the race...

Having fun here, can't wait to check in tomorrow AM and see how night 1 unfolds.

[Gordo]

Good Stuff.  Fun to watch and listen from the sidelines.
Seriously.

[Marshal]

i am out, bit of heat stoke,just not wanting to deal with that for several really hot days  best of luck to everyone will post up some pic of other racers when i get home in a few marshal

[6thElement]

Unlucky Marshal, at least you were sufficiently aware of yourself to know that stopping was the sensible thing to do.

[AZTtripper]

Marshall that's sux but there are times when it's best to listen to your body, or was it the GPS talking to you.

Oh well there's always next year.

I see there is one other 750 rider still in Patagonia, in out or just making it a short day yesterday after driving all day and night to get to the start. Matt and Mike both from CA look to be at the Hotel in Patagonia. They had hoped to get here earlier Thursday evening there was even talk of getting a room in Sierra Vista to get a good night sleep the night before. In the end they got here at midnight and we all left my place at 1 am. The only sleep they got was a couple of hours while I was driving and then sitting in the van at the border not really good sleep. I was a little late getting pics up because I fell off shortly after getting home, man beds are nice. But alas I would rather have been sleeping out there in the dirt.

[JimL]

Bummer Marshal, good to hear you got off course ok.

Looks like most everyone rode through the night.  Kurt and Joe are crushing it!

[Slowerthensnot]

Sorry to hear Marshal! man Joe and kurt are ripping!

[aarong]

i'm out. i had to call it at Cienega Creek because of GPS problems. at mile 75, my GPS inexplicably froze. after some messing, i finally got it working, albeit without a few functions. Kurt, Joe, and I stopped to eat at the Old Sonoita Highway culvert at around 10:00. when i remounted, a minute or so after they rolled out, my track was f***ed. it now said the race was 40.2 miles and showed no track line. no amount of messing fixed it. in fact, after a couple restarts, the track disappeared entirely. and by the time i realized it wasn't going to work, i had waited too long to catch Joe and Kurt. i navigated by cues to Cienega Creek and threw in the towel. without a track, i couldn't see any real way forward.

i'm totally bummed. i had a tough day with some cramping yesterday, but those were receding in the night's cool and i had finally found my legs. after bailing last year at tucson because of sickness, i was certain i was going to get a smooth ride this year. guess there's no certainty to these things.

Kurt and Joe were moving fast and looking strong when I last saw them. i will be surprised if at least one of them doesn't come up with a new record. Lynda came through Cienega Creek a couple hours after I arrived there (12:30) and was headed to colossal cave to camp. she was upbeat and moving fast, as you'd expect. good luck to those three, and everyone on the course. at Cienega Creek, Deanna Adams and her mother had shown up late to cheer everyone on. they kindly let me sit in there car for a bit. talk about trail magic!! thanks.

if anyone wants a lightly used, highly erratic Garmin, i know someone who will sell you one cheaply.