2012 AZT 300/750

[mb]

My Setup and Gear List at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pohfHRi6YlgQhnEPlm1JEiVnnol5V1_HvCGDYfblzuc/edit.

Good Night!

[Foster]

The storm for the weekend is already in Flagstaff.  Mainly rain and hail so far, looks like we might see a little snow in the Catalina mountains if the storm does make it that far south as forecasted.  But I'm ready for the weather so bring it on.

[tanman1337]

For some reason, I turned on my SPOT and the Trackleaders website isn't showing me in pre-race position. I had it tracking me for awhile and no luck... Any suggestions?

[tanman1337]

Nevermind, it started tracking now.... Haha it says I'm at 1700 feet in Yuma....False. Lol I don't get that much elevation training    I'm only at 400 feet

[ScottM]

The forecast is eerily similar to how it looked leading up to the 2009 AZT 300.  That year I pooh-poohed the chance of rain (snow on Lemmon) and the cold temps.  When I saw lightning cracking behind me near Colossal Cave, I started to believe.  It was 40's and driving rain coming into Tucson -- no way I was going up Lemmon in conditions like that.

Kurt famously carried appropriate gear and was able to push over Lemmon in the snow, then went on for the win.

My point?  Don't underestimate how cold it can be, even in the lower elevations...

[krefs]

And even with "appropriate" gear, I was still really cold on top of Lemmon. I've been steadily adding clothes to my pile of gear to pack over the past couple days as the forecast changes, and it looks like if anything, the NWS is going to drop the predicted highs for Saturday a few degrees more. Today I spent 90 minutes riding in 45 degrees and rain on my way to work and was reminded how quickly you can get really cold in that stuff...time to add a few more items to the pile.

Take Scott's advice to heart...the desert can be a surprisingly cold place even in April!

[Foster]

Yeah, it sure can.  I have also been adding things to take slowly over the past few days including a better bivy sack, waterproof shell and pants, very light down jacket and warmer waterproof gloves.

[schillingsworth]

Ok, the update from Chris re: Freeman Rd water cache after he added another 9 gallons....'it's overflowing now'. Not that you should rely on it, but it's looking pretty good out there. Just about all packed up for the drive down tomorrow, hopefully we'll get in before sundown.

[AZTtripper]

Ok, the update from Chris re: Freeman Rd water cache after he added another 9 gallons....'it's overflowing now'. Not that you should rely on it, but it's looking pretty good out there. Just about all packed up for the drive down tomorrow, hopefully we'll get in before sundown.

Thanks Chris.

There seems to be a lot of traffic using that section of the trail. There are actually 2 groups of hikers anyone hiking the AZT plus the GET trail users go past that spot. And now there is getting to be a bit more bikepacking traffic out that way. 

[Sean Allan]

First off I want to thank Scott and Tim and anyone else associated with the race for their time and effort to put on this adventure, it takes a special kind of person to make this kind of stuff happen.

 Unfortunately for me I woke up in Tucson on Wed with the Flu and a 102 degree temperature, not real conducive to racing in the desert...... Three months of training, 1000 miles of driving and 2 weeks away from work thwarted by a microbe
So be very thankful when you toe the line on Fri, your work and preparation to race, and the work of others to make sure you have that opportunity will make for an experience of a lifetime.

Good luck everyone!

[mb]

First off I want to thank Scott and Tim and anyone else associated with the race for their time and effort to put on this adventure, it takes a special kind of person to make this kind of stuff happen.

 Unfortunately for me I woke up in Tucson on Wed with the Flu and a 102 degree temperature, not real conducive to racing in the desert...... Three months of training, 1000 miles of driving and 2 weeks away from work thwarted by a microbe
So be very thankful when you toe the line on Fri, your work and preparation to race, and the work of others to make sure you have that opportunity will make for an experience of a lifetime.

Good luck everyone!

Ah man that sucks! Hope you get better soon and at least  get to do some riding in AZ.

[forest_on_bike]

Sean, really sorry to hear that!

It seemed like everyone in my office last week had a cold. I was freaking out about catching something right around race time.

Get well soon and hope to see you at another event,

Forest

[ScottM]

Bummer Sean.  Maybe you can rest a few days, start late and at least knock out the 300?  Though sometimes those flu bugs can be really hard to get over.

[tanman1337]

Yah, sorry man that really sucks... I too had to avoid everyone around my work because it seemed like they were all sick with some kind of stomach cold combo... really weird. Hope you can ride at least some when you recover

[arno]

Sean, I hope you get better fast and if you still decide to ride the AZT maybe we run into each other (I`m slow). I had a bit of injury beginning of march that prevented further training and ended the march with some serious bug. Tomorrow I will start now for a "recovery tour" instead and just enjoy the adventure

[ScottM]

I'm going to close this thread for now.  Let's move over to a new, race-ready thread I just started, here:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,3089.0.html

Thanks, see everyone tomorrow AM!