AZTR - 300 and 750 Race Discussion Thread - 2015

[Flagster]

24 degrees for a low in Flag.

and 17 degrees forecast for Tusayan tonight...brr

[Eszter]

Last I saw her was two days ago 1/2 way up Lemon. From the tracking I'm assuming Colleen & Cassi are name & nickname. They were cool socks & a good move if you already have enough 'AZ PinStriping'.

Nope. Two different women entirely. Cassie is tracking and providing hilarious FaceBook updates. I was just curious if Colleen was still truckin' along.

[bmattingly]

Update on JP and Denberg,

My 3 appointment no showed at work so I sprinted home and got my bike and rode out to crank a few miles with them.  They were together just above Sandi Canyon.  Denberg took a nasty spill over or on the side of his bars face down into some basalt rocks.  He sat there some moments and was ok.  He looks exhausted.  Denberg got one hour of sleep last night and JP got 4.  Denberg is going to get a hotel in Flag.  Not sure about JP.  Both their spirits seemed good.  JP said Highline is way better shape than last year.  I'm amazed how light Denberg is riding with the cold nights.  JP has much more gear.   I didn't realize JP did the Iditalrod recently.  JP commented that the 750 is one of the hardest mtn bike rides and that the northern sections have some rough terrain.  I cheered both on and tried to give as much support and motivation I could.

Had to depart from them a couple miles before Flag to meet my Sweetie.  They were both psyched for bike shop and food.  Said goodbye and watched them fly away like the wind.

Will be cool to watch their progress the rest of the way.  

[joeydurango]

I thought it was Collette, not Colleen... but nope, haven't seen her (of course, since I'm at home).  Remember the cool socks though.

[mikepro]

Norb D staying at the Butcherhook tonight?  Tough hombre.  Maybe a little karaoke with the locals in the midst of his 750?

[Mick80234]

Anyone have a link to Cassi's Facebook updates?

[mtbcast]

From Tanner Morgan via Facebook:
Just to let everyone know... I ruptured my spleen in a bad crash just outside Payson. I walked to Pine and then finally got a ride to hospital. Being air-evaced to phx. I love you all and hope everything goes well

[mtbcast]

Arizona Trail Race ’15 – Jeffrey Tomassetti called in from Queen Valley. He finished the 300 and is getting some rest before moving on!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/calls/

[B_Bock]

Aaron has been known to travel light. When we connected on the north rim in 2013, he only had a Mylar bag for sleeping. At first I thought that he ditched his sleeping gear at the south rim for the final push. Later he told me he had been going the whole time with only the Mylar bag. We had a couple nights in the low 30's that year. I froze my ass off in my 40 degree bag.
He has also done quite a bit of ultalight running. He told me he was planning on running the Hrd Rock this year. Tough as nails!

[dream4est]

From Tanner Morgan via Facebook:
Just to let everyone know... I ruptured my spleen in a bad crash just outside Payson. I walked to Pine and then finally got a ride to hospital. Being air-evaced to phx. I love you all and hope everything goes well

I am praying for U tanner


U one great guy
Stay strong man

[billster6]

Cassi's facebook https://www.facebook.com/supercas?fref=ts
Hope it works. Last I checked, she was about 4 miles from the Gila

[Rooster Cogburn]

Is JayP off looking for water?

[AZTtripper]

He's no where near the one water tank out there, is his spot acting up? He's got points in the middle of nothing, no trail nothing. Now he's on the old AZT or the horse bypass. GPS issues?

[AZTtripper]

From Tanner Morgan via Facebook:
Just to let everyone know... I ruptured my spleen in a bad crash just outside Payson. I walked to Pine and then finally got a ride to hospital. Being air-evaced to phx. I love you all and hope everything goes well

Tanner say it isn't so, man I think everyone here was rooting for you to have a clean run.

[Flagster]

He's no where near the one water tank out there, is his spot acting up? He's got points in the middle of nothing, no trail nothing. Now he's on the old AZT or the horse bypass. GPS issues?

There is almost always water in Shultz Tank where he did a u turn but why would he need so close out of Flag...

[12wheels]

That sucks.  Tanner is a great guy.  

[jehsohn]

Tanner that sucks!! I hope you heal up. Had a great time with you heading into Silver City on Tour Divide. Sorry to hear about that.

John, keep it going man! YOu're doing great. Keep on eatin and pedalin!

Mark. Congrats on your ride so far. Glad you are besting your previous times! Keep it goin man.

Wish I was out there with you guys.

[AZTtripper]

There is almost always water in Shultz Tank where he did a u turn but why would he need so close out of Flag...

Right I was thinking of Alfa Fia tank that Mark C uses, the only one that is actually on course and in a logical spot for slower riders to tank up. I can't see either of these guys stopping. Denburg is going past it now.

[ScottM]

Too bad about Tanner.  I spoke with him briefly last night.  Sounds like he crashed on a downhill section of Cracker Jack Mine Rd, leaving Payson.  I remember it can be easy to carry too much speed on a few sections there.  He pushed on for the next 4 hours, up all the climbing, before finally accepting that something wasn't right internally.  Really glad he went to seek medical care when he did.  Next year Tanner!

The battle wages on between JayP and Denberg.  It almost seems like JayP is shadowing Aaron, but I think they are riding independently and just happen to be making similar choices, never riding more than 1-2 hours apart!  They both got rooms last night and left within an hour of each other, early this morning.

JayP made two wrong turns.  One off Elden, and the other going up to Schultz Pass.  He has some GPS goofiness going on, too, but if you check the speeds between points, they are believable bike speeds (sub 5mph).  If they were only GPS errors and he kept going, on course, you'd see some 30mph+ in there.  The "show all points" (P button) tool is a good way to see off route excursions (see attached), though it won't give you speeds, just name of the rider on mouse-over.

Tim, is it possible he was following the Flag equestrian bypass signs up to Schultz?  I would think they direct you down to where the new trail is out of Schultz Creek.  Either way he seems to have lost a couple hours.  Meanwhile Aaron was ahead of him, but took a break somewhere just after Schultz Creek.  Jay would have caught him had he stayed on course.

Edit: I see a third wrong turn -- Jay took pavement up to Buffalo Park TH, realized his error, and coasted back down the bikepath to correct it.  Good on him for fixing that one.

Right now Aaron is mysteriously climbing up to the base of Snowbowl -- is he lost, or looking for water?  Aaron also had a brief navigational error in town, leaving at 1am.

Kurt was in and out of Flagstaff on his record run, so our leaders are almost a day behind pace now.

Cassi is up and moving after a solid day yesterday, making it from Oracle to the top of Ripsey.  I think everyone will be cheering the Red Lantern to the finish -- go Cassi!

[bmattingly]

As JP and Denberg slowly climb past snowbowl they will go through some awesome aspen groves.  Both should kind of top out on the climb then will make good time in a long downhill section through forests and stellar single track.  They should move efficiently through Babbit Ranch section on many forest roads as they make their way to the CAnyon.  Should be a good day for both and good weather.

Impressive ride for both.  Go guys!