2019 AZTR 300/750 Race Preparation and Planning Thread

[dsrt taco]

I went to the AZ Land Dept site for a recreational permit and could not find where is said if the permit is for a calendar year or a year from date of purchase. I decided to just set a reminder to purchase it in January to avoid an issue, but my question remains. Any vets care to elaborate?

Users of the Arizona Trail are not required to have a State Trust Land permit.

ARIZONA STATE TRUST LANDS
A 15-foot wide right of way for the Arizona Trail has been obtained so you can cross approximately 91 miles of State Trust Land without a permit (mostly on passages 6, 7, 14 and 15). If you plan on traveling outside the 15-foot corridor to camp, explore, etc. then it is strongly recommended that you obtain a State Land Recreation Permit.

Info taken from: https://aztrail.org/explore/permits/

[aarond]

The biking route deviates from the official AZ trail at several points, and it is here that the state land permit is required.

[davew]

on route this year  (33.33762, -111.35667)

[schillingsworth]

The biking route deviates from the official AZ trail at several points, and it is here that the state land permit is required.

Correct. Davew's pic is from the Gold Canyon area, all of which is State Trust Land off the AZT.

[AZTtripper]

Here's the state land page https://land.az.gov/recreational-permit-portal

From the rules page of the race website

Don't like it?

As always, if anyone disagrees with these rules or otherwise doesn't want to
follow them (or the route!), that's perfectly fine.  No judgement here, just
please go ride the AZT on your own and don't have anything to do with the event.  Thanks.

Also I am happy to hear well reasoned arguments about changes. 

State Trust Permits
State Trust Land Permit Required: The AZTR 750 route crosses State Trust Land (off the AZT itself) which means all riders must purchase a recreational permit. They are available at the link below, and can be purchased / delivered online. Please note that AZT 300 riders do not need a permit, since there is an easement for the AZT wherever it travels on State Trust Land. The 750 requires a permit due to using roads and trails that are not AZT, but on state trust.

Seems to be the race director wants people to have a permit, the likelihood that you would be asked to show it vs having it because the race director asked you to.

[schillingsworth]

The new website will have a section dedicated to fastest times. Here's what I have, please let me know if I missed someone.

AZT300

Men: Kurt Refsnider - 1d 21h 07m (2014)
Woment: Kaitlyn Boyle - 2d 2h 57m (2018)

SS Men: Neil Stitzer - 2d 6h 23m (2016)
SS Women: Alice Drobna - 3d 10h 30m (2015)

AZTR750

Men: Kurt Refsnider - 6d 6h 6m (2018)
Women: Alice Drobna - 9d 13h 53m (2015)

SS Men: Jeff Hemperly - 8d 11h 51m (2017)
SS Women: Alice Drobna - 9d 13h 53m (2015)

Unicycle - Jack Mahler - 23d 01h 49m* (2016 Missed a significant portion of the route near Happy Jack due to mud/weather)

Southbound

Men: Aaron Denberg - 9d 12h 35m (2018)
Women: Holly Borowski - 18d 12h 15m (2016)

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Land Trust Permit
About the price of a pint bottle of Stan's. Not going to break the bank at $15 for an individual.

[Yogi the Barry]

John,
Thanks for doing that. Can I suggest that the riders age be added. If not known from the past, at least moving forward. Would be nice to have ages listed on the Trackleaders page too.
Sincerely,
-Older Guy [alias Barry]

The new website will have a section dedicated to fastest times. Here's what I have, please let me know if I missed someone.

AZT300

Men: Kurt Refsnider - 1d 21h 07m (2014)
Woment: Kaitlyn Boyle - 2d 2h 57m (2018)

...snip...

[Heath]

I'm throwing my hat in the ring! Count me in on April 18th 2019 for the 300!! I've been dreaming of doing it for some time but never committed to it until this year, and I'm super stoked to line up at the start in Parker Canyon Lake April 18th! Thanks to everyone that helps organize this event especially, Scott Morris, John Schilingsworth, and for the wealth of information on the oneofsevenproject.com site by Craig Fowler and the many other like minds on this forum.

[nelsjustin]

I'm planning on a second attempt at the 300 this year.  My first attempt and finish was in 2014 - finishing at the back of the pack in 4+ days.  It was an eye opening first bike packing race - originally intended to be training for the CTR.   Yeah, thats not what the AZT is....it is a completely different animal imo.   Below are my takes away from 2014 as lessons learned that may help first timers.  I'm sure much of this has been mentioned in the numerous prep threads so apologies if a repeat.

1.  Wear long socks - everything in AZ has spikes that will scratch the hell out of your legs.  Effing Everything! 
2.  Wear arm sleeves - both for sun protection and see point #1.  Caking sunscreen on your arms also gets old.
3.  Test the hell out of your shoes.  My giro terraduro shoes had seen decent HAB on quite a bit of the CTR segments before the race.  That didn't mean anything on the AZT - my sole completely separated from the upper and required duck tape by about mile 200.   Different people have had better results with the terraduro but my current plan is hiking quite a few miles (not HAB but just plain hiking)  in my current shoe (pearl Izumi X-alp elevate) to validate the sole will hold up.
4.  Tires matter - don't skimp to save weight and put fresh rubber on right before the race.  Make sure you have the thicker version and read the threads for tires that hold up.  I know at least one rider that had to swap tires in Tuscan because of wear.  My new tires were bleeding out Stan's everywhere by the finish - I was super happy that I had decided to replace the existing tires right before the race even though they were maybe 1/4 used.
5.   Never ever drink out of a hose - remove the hose and fill from a faucet.  At one of the stops I couldn't find the faucet listed in the mileage cues but found another nearby faucet with a hose attached.  I filled my hydration bladder quickly and then started riding.  Tasted horrible and even though I backtracked and found the empty faucet to flush it with,  I could not get rid of the taste.  By the next day the hydration bladder had black mold in it - for the win.   I had to detour into Tuscan to replace the bladder and suffered some rough GI activity for the rest of the race.
6.  Bring whatever is necessary to remove your pedals for Oracle ridge.  That HAB section is just brutal on your shins.  The shin scrapes and bruises will complement the scratches from #1 if you are into that sort of thing.
7.  Plan to bike more at night then you would expect.   I spent too much time sleeping at night versus riding and suffered in the heat.  2014 wasn't even a hot year - probably considered relatively mild but that sun just beats down when it is at peak. 

And finally not related to the race but post-race.  I followed a family member back to Phoenix with another racer after we finished late at night.  Neither of us could figure out why my family member was driving so crazy fast on the interstate.  When we arrived at their house, I asked WTF and why they were driving so fast.  She replied that we had been driving 15-30 mph down the interstate and she was trying to get us to go faster to avoid a rear end accident. I guess 4 days of riding/hiking at slow speeds combined with overall tiredness meant we didn't have a good grasp on reality.  Not sure there is any lesson there - outside of you probably will be tired as hell when you finish

My personal goal this year is under 3:12  - I'm hoping that heavier training at higher tempo and avoiding the above will help make that happen. 

Thanks Scott for all you've done to build the race and John for assuming the mantle.   I'm looking forward to the experience again!

Justin

[schillingsworth]

John,
Thanks for doing that. Can I suggest that the riders age be added. If not known from the past, at least moving forward. Would be nice to have ages listed on the Trackleaders page too.
Sincerely,
-Older Guy [alias Barry]

Hey Barry,
Ages are listed on Trackleaders. Click on the individuals name, you'll see their bio below the map.
Here's mine from 2016.

I think I'd be more inclined to list the oldest & youngest finishers. I can leave it up to the individual if they want their age posted. Thanks for the suggestion.

-J

[LandSharkBrian]

1.  Wear long socks - everything in AZ has spikes that will scratch the hell out of your legs.  Effing Everything! 

Justin I might be able to do you one better than that.  Consider long sleeve* compression socks while you're at it.  Any number of people get a little pulmonary edema from all that effort, and when the swelling collects in your legs it can be more than a little alarming.  No idea if it's truly an issue for the 300, but I started my 2015 AZTR 300 training with them and found they certainly didn't cause any problems so I've gone with them for every long-ish to long bikepacking ride I've done since. 

*Long sleeve socks - copyright Claire, my 17yo daughter

[Brian McEntire]

*Long sleeve socks - copyright Claire, my 17yo daughter

LOL!

[Brian McEntire]

I'm throwing my hat in the ring! Count me in on April 18th 2019 for the 300!! I've been dreaming of doing it for some time but never committed to it until this year, and I'm super stoked to line up at the start in Parker Canyon Lake April 18th! Thanks to everyone that helps organize this event especially, Scott Morris, John Schilingsworth, and for the wealth of information on the oneofsevenproject.com site by Craig Fowler and the many other like minds on this forum.

I was checking out the oneofsevenproject website today and decided to do something that I rarely do- download an Excel file from a website. I downloaded the AZT Resources spreadsheet, thinking there was some really good info in it. This evening I started having some firewall and permissions issues with my computer. It was the only file I downloaded today. This very well may have been only a coincidence, but I thought I would share with the group. Buyer beware, so to speak!

[hanyo66]

Can't wait to dot stalk in April!

I'm getting my shit sorted out, and I want revenge on the trail. Won't happen in 2019, but I'll be lined up at Parker Canyon for the 300 in 2020!

[hanyo66]

I'm trying to get it done ASAP, but life/work keeps getting in the way. It's mostly the same info with updated pics/graphs, etc. Moving it over to a WordPress site.

Let me know if you need any help, John

[schillingsworth]

Thanks, Lee. I'm putting the wraps on it. Checking all the old links, pouring over the route gpx, etc. I'm hoping to have it finished over the holidays.

[aarond]

Hopefully increasing the Stoke, here is an article from 2015. 


http://bikepacker.com/two-years-arizona-trail-part-one/

[tws21975]

I’m in for the 300 this year! 2018 was my first attempt and I missed the finish due to severe dehydration, but learned a ton about everything and I can’t wait to complete the race next year!

[Snowbd2u]

Hey guys! Im flying in to Tuscon on Tuesday April 16th. Anyone driving to Sierra Vista that day or the next that can shuttle a body? Im shipping my bike out to Sun and Spokes before I leave, so it will just be me. Or split a shuttle?