2012 AZT 300/750

[tanman1337]

This is my final list, I had to scrap a lot of my clothing, but I will not scrap my small 1 man tent...personal choice, but I'm not having a rattler crawl into my sleeping bag or get stung by another scorpion

[mb]

Quick question on downloading the AZT 300 track to my GPS.  I have a Gramin Oregon 450, and I have TopoFusion.
Am I better off simplifying the track to 10,000 points (per tutorial) or should I split the track into 4 parts?

[AZTtripper]

Tanner

Not going to tell you what to carry everyone has their own way of doing things and no doubt you'll be just fine in the end either way.

But since you posted a list I assume you wanted people to check it out so here's my take.

Thorn resistant tubes at the top of the list do these also have sealant? Those things are huge and heavy might be worth considering swapping one or two out for Slime tubes.

On the tent. Sounds like you have been stung by a scorpion, but seriously the chances of a rattle snake getting in your bag are like a billion to one.

The pistol, not sure what's prompting this but to me it's dead weight.

It's certainly possible to ride/push a heavy bike along the AZT, my 04 bike weighed in at 75lbs it was a major bitch to deal with.

Tim

[jbuchanan]

Sunblock?

[fastmtnbiker33w]

Just spent a ridiculously windy night in my local mountains with all my gear and a full day's worth of food which included 2 MRE entrees which are not very light.  I wanted to test out my new DIY tyvek bivy and Neoair pad.  WOW!  Can't believe I've been trying to sleep on mylar bubble wrap insulation.  I'm too old for that shit.

I rode over Mundy's Gap and down the notorious rock/scree slope trail in the dark with my planned AZT lighting setup.  I cleaned that and had some sit down time in the Clivus and seriously contemplated how well I'd sleep in there.  Our state park staff keeps those things super clean, but I wanted to make sure I'd be okay outside with the bivy I made from a scrap of tyvek I found in the desert behind a huge apt. construction project.  I was really pleased and I'm looking forward to some less windy nights in AZ.

Full load with 124 oz of water on the bike, PLENTY of food, and a small bike shop (2 slime tubes wrapped in tyvek, big leatherman, park multi-tool, lube, shift cable, shock pump, tire pump, 2 big airs, 2 bottles of stan's, patches, boots, plugs, super glue, patch glue, brake pads, chain links, der. hanger, cleat bolt), 100 oz on the back.  Filter (most likely dead weight), tabs, extra socks and shorts, knee and arm warmers, wool tee.....and everything is sitting at a total of 60 lbs.  My kit might be heavier than the experienced guys, but this is my first unsupported multi-day and I really want to finish.  I'm not out to set any records. 

Just hoping my ass, feet, and hands don't rebel too much.

Returning home this morning I was in my granny on a road climb (I big ring it on good days) fighting a nasty head/cross wind.  Ended up almost getting thrown into the guardrail and got a good cheese grating on the shin from my pedal.  Finally got through the gap at the summit and there was ZERO wind on the other side.  WTF??!!  Must have been due to the church holding their sunrise Easter service in the trailhead parking lot.  Thank you Jesus!

10 day forecast is looking REALLY good for next weekend.  Looking forward to hopscotching with some riders and maybe making some new acquaintances. 

[tanman1337]

Tanner

Not going to tell you what to carry everyone has their own way of doing things and no doubt you'll be just fine in the end either way.

But since you posted a list I assume you wanted people to check it out so here's my take.

Thorn resistant tubes at the top of the list do these also have sealant? Those things are huge and heavy might be worth considering swapping one or two out for Slime tubes.

On the tent. Sounds like you have been stung by a scorpion, but seriously the chances of a rattle snake getting in your bag are like a billion to one.

The pistol, not sure what's prompting this but to me it's dead weight.

It's certainly possible to ride/push a heavy bike along the AZT, my 04 bike weighed in at 75lbs it was a major bitch to deal with.

Tim

Hey Tim, yah I should have specified. The 3 tubes I'm carrying are Slime tubes not thorn resistant. I forgot to change that on the list. As far as the pistol... it is a piece of mind thing. It is titanium ultralight and hammerless, most would find it ridiculous, but it only comes in at 0.81 lbs. I debated about this item for a very long time and decided with being so close to the border and the amount of wildlife throughout the state that I would feel better at least having some protection. I'm in the military and I carry at all times, I promise I'm not just some weirdo, haha. As for the tent it is that Fly Creek UL-1 and it comes in right at 2 lbs. The way I was looking at it is for some reason it does start storming or anything I'm going to be much happier getting some rest in my tent that in a bivy that I have and would still weigh in at at least a pound. I took my full load for a really good rocky/tough singletrack ride yesterday out here in Yuma. It handled great! I was really really happy with how it all turned out. I was able to spend all day cutting out over 6 lbs of wieght and redistributed it so the load wasn't so heavy up front. The bike is sitting at 49 lbs, but like I said it is already 29lbs to start with. My backpack ended up coming in at 15. How much does your bivy weigh  Tim?

[Foster]

I don't know how you have your bike weight w/ gear at 32.6 lbs... haha that is awesome! I am at 29 lbs w/o gear on my bike

My bike weight starts at around 20 pounds so I have more to work with.  The gear in that list on my frame pack is also super light, the heaviest things on there are the 2 slime tubes.  I methodically weighed everything out last night and got rid of stuff I didn't feel like carrying.  

I put all the stuff that I thought that I was going to bring into a box.  I emptied it out and sorted it into separate piles.

1.  Easy access stuff
2.  Clothes
3.  Bike parts and tools
4.  food
5.  Sleeping gear

After doing this I went through each pile and only kept the bare minimum and that is how I got it so light.  (the subway footlong isn't there yet)

Also for the sunscreen and the ass cream I put as much as I will need for the ride in a baggie so that I won't have to carry the whole bottle...this saves some extra weight as well.

[tanman1337]

Yah, I definitely agree with the baggie technique. It helped me out a ton. My food and water alone weighs in at more than 13 lbs so I know this is one part that is killing my weight

[Marshal]

I know allot of non-posters will be reading about AZT setups--here is my take on the subject

Race Weight?  Use the 50 pound rule

25 lbs –max weight for the bike
25 lbs –max weight for ALL bags, pack, gear, tools etc, ie: every thing else except food & water

Breaking down the non-bike 25lbs into-- Gear and Wear Items:

20lbs max for Gear:
Bags, pack, lights, GPS, filtration, first aid/personal kit, tools, water system, sleep system etc etc

5 lbs for Wear Items:
Shoes, socks, shorts, Jersey, helmet, gloves

A true full race, ultra-light set up would be closer to:
20-22 lbs for the bike
12-15 lbs for the gear
4.5 lbs for the wear items

Summation (excluding all food & water):
1) A heavy ‘almost race’ setup should come in at no more than 50lbs
2) A ultra-light tough as nails ‘front of the pack’ race setup could be as low as 37-39 lbs


IMO if you break this 50lb max rule you may not be able to fully enjoy the AZT as a race. 

However, if you are over 50lbs you still might enjoy the AZT as a fast tour-- which is of course 100% perfectly fine!!  (fyi, I am at 49 lbs for bike, gear & wear items,  and look forward to a max personal effort—ie: hard tour,  Marshal)

[fastmtnbiker33w]

Damn.  According to Marshal I'm doing well.  Being 6'5" and wearing a size 15 doesn't help me one freakin' bit.  Plus the added body surface area means a need to consume more water.  Pushing almost 200 lbs of body weight around means eating more food.  It is what it is.  I hope my son doesn't end up much taller than 6'.  Being tall helps score the ladies ;P..., but in endurance sports it kind of sucks.

[tanman1337]

Haha I feel your pain. I'm 6'3" and 195.

[fastmtnbiker33w]

.....and I'm also carrying a small pharmacy.  I may be willing to make some deals on the trail if anyone needs anything.  LOL...Nothing green or powdered...but I do have vicodin, flexiral, ibuprofin, aspirin, tylenol, benadryl, and immodium.  Hee hee.  

[Marshal]

Damn.  According to Marshal I'm doing well.  Being 6'5" and wearing a size 15 doesn't help me one freakin' bit.  Plus the added body surface area means a need to consume more water.  Pushing almost 200 lbs of body weight around means eating more food.  It is what it is.  I hope my son doesn't end up much taller than 6'.  Being tall helps score the ladies ;P..., but in endurance sports it kind of sucks.

Yes but you should do great on all the hike-a-bike stuff

[tanman1337]

Haha holy cow!

[tanman1337]

Hey does anyone know if I send a message out on my SPOT during the race, but then just go straight back to tracking...will it mess anything up? Do I need to only do tracking the whole time? Also, do you keep it on as you sleep or are we supposed to shut it off?

[Foster]

Hey does anyone know if I send a message out on my SPOT during the race, but then just go straight back to tracking...will it mess anything up? Do I need to only do tracking the whole time? Also, do you keep it on as you sleep or are we supposed to shut it off?

I only do the tracking, that's all.  If you have your own spot you can send out OK messages as well to the emails you set up for it.  And you have to turn on your tracking again every 24 hours because it stops tracking after that.  So make sure that you do that each day.  I keep mine on all night and I don't really bother turning mine off because the batteries in the thing last a really long time.

[tanman1337]

Ok cool thanks man! Yah, I'm using my own, just wanted to make sure it was cool if I send out the Ok message like once a day

[Foster]

Haha I feel your pain. I'm 6'3" and 195.

Dang you guys are more than 30% heavier than me, if I carried around 50 pounds on gear with me it would be more than a 1/3 of my body weight.  There are definitely things that I would like to take that I am leaving at home but I'm so light that carrying more weight makes a big difference.  With your extra body weight you can probably afford to support more gear on you body and ride a little more comfortably.  

[jbuchanan]

Feel free to dig around my spreadsheet. Yes I weighed everything as I was packing. Yes I am that restless during my taper.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvfetV4ZIo5VdHN2Wnl2eURvd1FXcXY4MjhUWUlyYlE

tldr; bike is 47lbs with 100oz of water. pack is 4lbs with no food/no water. might add another travel tube of sunscreen and add one piece of paper with my schedule.

Pictures to follow.

[tanman1337]

My Setup. 2012 Salsa El Mariachi Ti 29'. Osprey Escapist 20L. Greg Wheelwright bike bags