Arizona Trail Race 2014 in progress

[ScottM]

I tried to change the greeting on the call in line mentioning the re-route but I am having an issue. If I can get it resolved I'll try to put something up.

Thank-you, Joe.

[ScottM]

Yep, it says closed in winter on the default trackleaders view.  You can also change to myTopo tiles on the trackleaders map, which should match exactly with the map I posted above.

Also, I wanted to mention that even with these detours, the records are still up for grabs.  Kurt detoured around 2 sections south of Flag and 1 north of it in 2010, due to snow.

[MorseBrady]

Snapped pictures of all the racers we encountered in the Tucson/Mount Lemmon area.  Tried to match as many names to faces as possible, but may have gotten some of them wrong. 

https://plus.google.com/photos/111699876621338014536/albums/6002957390500422529

Keep riding strong everyone, and have fun out there!

[T-Race]

Also, I wanted to mention that even with these detours, the records are still up for grabs.  Kurt detoured around 2 sections south of Flag and 1 north of it in 2010, due to snow.

Thanks for your time & help.

[mtbcast]

AZT14: Jill Hueckman called in from Oracle. And Mark Caminiti called in from near Apache Junction.
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/azt14/

[ScottM]

A few observations here on day 6:

JayP moving across the rim towards Flag.  He's done with the "flat" 2-tracks / vague-singletrack sections.  The 2 tracks and roads through there are really torn up this year, and loose soil.  He should be on to better singletrack now, then will have to detour into Flag for the fire closure, as described earlier.

Aaron Denberg was 2 hours off JayP's pace at the last time check.  He's off to a much better restart, and probably getting cooked close to the Gila now.  We'll see if he waits out cooler temps before proceeding much further.

Caroline continues on!  I remember Eszter remarking how strong willed Caroline is, even when feeling sub-par.  At the Camp Tucson Empire Rita ride she declared at the beginning "my legs are no good today" but pushed on through it for all ~90 miles and all day.  I'm stoked to see her keep going past the 300 finish.  Hopefully she gets a recharge from the easier roads to Payson.

Darren Smith now tracking on his ITT, at first with Aaron Boatman as of this morning.  But now Boatman has pulled ahead going up Lemmon.  He's going to need to pick it up at some point if he's shooting for the record.  Still within reach, and perhaps a conservative start was part of the strategy!

Our ITTers have their start times programmed in, so we can watch their splits and see elapsed time on their points in the individual history pages.

AJ and MP on the Highline.  Someone asked how to describe Highline... and I'm not sure I can.  No mile of Highline is any worse or harder than a mile of Oracle Ridge, in my opinion.  It's just that Highline is more than twice as long, and doesn't trend downhill.  Highline actually has some really nice pieces of singletrack intermixed.  But, it's just long, and very tiring.  You never ride your bike for very long.  Lots of on and off, and lots of rocks, ruts and unrideable sections.  You know, mountain biking!

After Highline is the push up to the rim, which is probably the hardest single HAB on the course.  About as long as Molino, but much rockier and steeper, so the footing is harsh.  And, you've just done Highline to get there. 

Brad Mattingly, our Southbounder, is to Payson, meaning he is past the two biggest obstacles on the course - the Canyon and Highline.  He has one major one left: Oracle Ridge.  I've done it backwards once, and, I enjoyed it for the most part.  But, it ends up being an incredible amount of HAB!

[schillingsworth]

Scott, nice recap as always. Very insightful.

I was wondering about Oracle Ridge for Brad. For some reason I thought he could go up the Control rd, but I must be confusing that with the Flagstone500 route. Hmmmm, Control rd up, Lemmon Drop down compared to Molino/Catalina Hwy up, Oracle Ridge down. That would be something else!!

[mtbcast]

AZT14: Brad Mattingly called in from Payson!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/azt14/

[mtbcast]

AZT14: – Day 6 True Up!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/podcasts/

[AZTtripper]

You never ride your bike for very long.  Lots of on and off, and lots of rocks, ruts and unrideable sections.  You know, mountain biking!

I know about 600 riders who would disagree with you on that.

Scott, nice recap as always. Very insightful.

I was wondering about Oracle Ridge for Brad. For some reason I thought he could go up the Control rd, but I must be confusing that with the Flagstone500 route. Hmmmm, Control rd up, Lemmon Drop down compared to Molino/Catalina Hwy up, Oracle Ridge down. That would be something else!!

Yep that's from the Flagstone, to be official he's stuck with the AZT up Oracle. There will be some riding tho, I've only gone up from Dan Saddle but there was some fun riding. And by that I mean we rode for a couple of minutes after walking and walking for much much longer. At least he won't have to take the bike apart and carry it.

As for my memories of Highline, there's a couple of really fun sections, there's a lot of overgrown barely hikable trail. Not that I don't think there's been any maintenance just betting there are large sections that haven't seen much lately.  

[cjdunn]

So glad to see Caroline moving along.  I was just talking about her today and said, "She just doesn't have any quit in her."  Tough tough person.  Go girl.

[Yogi the Barry]

Barry Ritchey here. Finished the 300 at 1:50 AM on Tuesday. Back to work yesterday, Wed, with mind still in a fog. Race is still a big blur right now and I need some time to process, but I will report a distilled account of my final 21-hour ride out, which started bout 10 miles short of the Freeman water cache. I'll make other posts w photos later.
Coyote calls and the howling wind make great Thin Lizzy lyrics, but suck for getting any sleep the eve of your final push. Would coyotes actually attack somebody sleeping? Up most of the night. After getting tired of just laying there in a state of denial, finally got packed and my ass going about 5AM Monday. Cut tire... [2nd time]...we're not riding up that bastard of a hill [Ripsey?] are we? Yes we are... Need water, precious water... That copper mine is a Goliath... Much stabbing pain in the neck and radiating down the left arm [2-1/2 days of this], which only went away if relaxed my grip and held my neck at a very low and awkward angle, making it hard to see down the trail in front of me... IBU did nothing for the pain... A very thin line to not meltdown along the Gila... It was hot, oh so hot... Hid in the shade during the peak heating and went for a magic hour sunset swim in the Gila, right there the trail leaves the river. A great recharge to shed the dust and sunscreen. This flipped off the negative vibes and got my mind off the pain. The sunset ride off the river and up into those awe-inspiring majestic cathedral peaks, with a full moon, experiencing an unexpected eclipse, catching up to Arno who is lucky he didn't fall hundreds off feet off the trail, flushing those red-glowing-eyed birds off the trail [what are they?], stopping [after seeing hundreds during three evening rides] to finally inspect the source of the blue-green blinking lights [the Spiders from Mars?], a HAB that never seemed to end, finding a groove and will that seemed like it would never end... all made for one epic evening that I'll never forget. It almost brings me to tears recalling it. The 2AM warm double IPA out of the cooler and bacon jerky tasted like a meal for a king...

[Jeff Z]

Barry Ritchey here. Finished the 300 at 1:50 AM on Tuesday. Back to work yesterday, Wed, with mind still in a fog. Race is still a big blur right now and I need some time to process, but I will report a distilled account of my final 21-hour ride out, which started bout 10 miles short of the Freeman water cache. I'll make other posts w photos later.
Coyote calls and the howling wind make great Thin Lizzy lyrics, but suck for getting any sleep the eve of your final push. Would coyotes actually attack somebody sleeping? Up most of the night. After getting tired of just laying there in a state of denial, finally got packed and my ass going about 5AM Monday. Cut tire... [2nd time]...we're not riding up that bastard of a hill [Ripsey?] are we? Yes we are... Need water, precious water... That copper mine is a Goliath... Much stabbing pain in the neck and radiating down the left arm [2-1/2 days of this], which only went away if relaxed my grip and held my neck at a very low and awkward angle, making it hard to see down the trail in front of me... IBU did nothing for the pain... A very thin line to not to meltdown along the Gila... It was hot, oh so hot... Hid in the shade during the peak heating and went for a magic hour sunset swim in the Gila, right there the trail leaves the river. A great recharge to shed the dust and sunscreen. This flipped off the negative vibes and got my mind off the pain. The sunset ride off the river and up into those awe-inspiring majestic cathedral peaks, with a full moon, experiencing an unexpected eclipse, catching up to Arno who is lucky he didn't fall hundreds off feet off the trail, flushing those red-glowing-eyed birds off the trail [what are they?], stopping [after seeing hundreds during three evening rides] to finally inspect the source of the blue-green blinking lights [the Spiders from Mars?], a HAB that never seemed to end, finding a groove and will that seemed like it would never end... all made for one epic evening that I'll never forget. It almost brings me to tears recalling it. The 2AM warm double IPA out of the cooler and bacon jerky tasted like a meal for a king...

For me, this is the WHY to do something like this. Amazing highs and near crippling lows - and they can come in the space of a few hours. Surviving the lows - finding what you are made of -  and savoring to highs are what make this an experience that you will always remember.

Well done Barry.

[schillingsworth]

Good stuff Barry!! And that was only the last 21 hours!! Congrats on getting it done. This event puts a different perspective on all others. I still get goosebumps thinking about last year's finish.

[dream4est]

Having a blast
25 hrs straight
Now at it again

[ScottM]

I think just about everyone that has finished the 300 can relate to your post, Barry.  Well written, and thanks.

It looks like JayP had a rough night in Flagstaff.  He appears to have skipped right through town, which is impressive -- at 12:30a the Motel 6 and all night Taco Bell start to look pretty good.  But from my read of the dots, he struggled trying to push through the night, and get to the canyon, not making a huge amount of progress before finally calling it at 4am.  He wrote on FB this morning:

"Working through one of the hardest mornings ever...sore, tender and hurting EVERYTHING. C'mon buddy - mind over body."

I think the record time is falling out of reach.  He would have to absolutely destroy the ride from Flag to the Canyon with favorable winds, hop skip and jump the Grand overnight with no bivy, and continue crushing all the way to the finish.

Aaron Denberg wrapped up the 300 in sub 3-days, which is a pace that can still break the record.  However, he was ~4 hours behind JayP's pace at Picketpost, so he's got to keep pushing the sleep dep.

Aaron Boatman has picked things up, now riding just 2 hours off JayP's pace, as of Oracle.  His conservative start could pay dividends as the race goes on.  If he'd have started his ITT a day later he'd be looking at cool temperatures at the Gila -- the weather is supposed to cool off 10+ degrees and be overcast tomorrow.

Caroline is nearly to Payson.  It looks like both she and Brad Mattingly grabbed rooms in Punkin Center (Tonto Valley).

Chase pack of AJ, MP and ED are all on the rim, enjoying much friendlier bike terrain, cool forests and cold nights.  It's a completely different world once you're up on the rim.  Instead of looking for places to hide from the afternoon sun, you start worrying about cold and wind, looking for warm places to sleep for the night.  April can feel like winter up there, even with the seasonable temps going on right now.

Arno is about to get his hike-a-bike on, climbing to rejoin the AZT, then -- of course -- hiking it once rejoined.  Arno is from Germany and had his eyes opened his first go-round, finishing in ~14 days.  I'm really happy to see him return for another go.  He's rolling much faster this year.  I was surprised to see him still run a rigid fork (but bigger tires).  The route is incredibly abusive, even on a 6" travel bike (which is what I toured on this year).

Mark C is about to catch Caroline.  As he just posted, he put in a 25 hour push.  Go Mark!

[ScottM]

I know about 600 riders who would disagree with you on that.

I think there are more than 600 people who ride exclusively at Fantasy Island.  :p

As Ez and I made our way through Highline, we'd get to a gnarly spot and the common refrain was, "still more fun than riding Fantasy Island!"

[schillingsworth]

I think there are more than 600 people who ride exclusively at Fantasy Island.  :p

As Ez and I made our way through Highline, we'd get to a gnarly spot and the common refrain was, "still more fun than riding Fantasy Island!"

I've yet to experience either, I wonder which one I'll put tires/feet to first??

Scott, I noticed that Elliot is absent from the race profile screen & race flow chart, but his dot is on the map & updating. Is there an easy way to add Denberg & Boatman to the profile??

[Yogi the Barry]

Arno and I leap-frogged each other on both the Oracle Ridge and 'Gila 100' sections. He is indeed riding a single-speed with a rigid carbon fork and plats. I caught him on both sections after he crashed two times. He's lucky. Especially lucky to not fall off the trail when we got up to about the 3600' level [high above the Gila] ~midnight. I caught up while he was reattaching his bar light and asked if he was OK. I think the realization of almost tumbling hundreds of feet into the abyss slowed him down a wee bit and allowed me to get into Picketpost ahead of him. I was taking a [non] solar shower bath when he rolled in [2:15am-ish?]. I gave him a Marble IPA out of my cooler [My better half had nicely  stashed our car at my Picketpost finishing point, with beer in the cooler]. When I woke up later that morning, ~8:00am, he was was already gone...

Arno Minner bested his 2012 time to Picketpost by over a day and a half and is now making a tidy pace northward.  Does anyone know if he is riding single-speed this year?  He was a bit cryptic in his profile ("two wheels and pedals").

[ScottM]

Scott, I noticed that Elliot is absent from the race profile screen & race flow chart, but his dot is on the map & updating. Is there an easy way to add Denberg & Boatman to the profile??

I've been meaning to look at that.  I think the software still thinks he's off route after his ~24+ hrs when his batts were dead.  I also need to fix ITTers race mile calc too.    Thanks for the nudge.

I just pulled up Jill H's splits from 2012.  Caroline should be about an hour behind record pace when she gets to Payson.  The race is on!!!