Coconino 250 Loop Race 2012

[Roland Sturm]

And here is Ray, probably  the closest-to-the-finish-picture you can get of him  (Texaco station at mile 22 of stage 4). Well, pavement is not exactly the place to take an impressive picture of a fast finisher, but on the trail he was always many hours ahead of me. But today I was in a car as my equipment was done and no bikeshop in Williams: 3 damaged spokes yesterday morning that ruined my tubeless setup and then going through my tubes the rest of the day (the last one went in at the bottom of Bill Williams, but it was dead when I got in town despite spending the rest of the daylight de-thorning the tire).  Mark offered me one of his spare tubes this morning to get going, but this just was a bit too sketchy for a day ride. So, that way you get a picture of Ray and my bottle of Gatorade found a good use.

[Roland Sturm]

And a few of the other faces on the trail that you saw on trackleaders

This was at the Verde River where a bunch of us seemed to arrive at the same time. From left: Aleck MacKinnon (we may have been the last two making it up Mingus the second night, he had just bivied down at the top and I huffed and puffed by a few mins later - must have been getting close to midnight).

Then Mark Allen (sitting, with sunglasses). Mark had the misfortune of being nearby whenever I blew with a mechanical. Yep, maybe 2 minutes after I first met him on stage 3, big crunch and tire and a few spokes were gone (can't figure out what happened, one theory is that I must have kicked up some rock that wedged between frame and tire, Mark thinks it's impossible that the derailleur was involved as I suspected because it works perfectly and shows no signs). Being a good guy, he helped and surely lost at least an hour that way (first in the morning, and when I later caught up with him and we started Bill Williams, promptly I had a pinch flat). So if I had taken him up on taking one of his spare tubes to start this morning, he probably would not have been able to finish.

Standing with the blue shirt is Martin Schroedter.

And on the right, the two brothers (Jason and Matt Field) sitting who also had tire problems.

(Lynda zipped past me so fast the first day that I just had a blur of her - but then we could share the gate duties: she opened and I closed them a bit later for the rest of the day).

[Foster]

I am out for the 12th unless I can borrow a 120 mm fork.  Mine sadly has to be sent back to fox this week because something internal is broken.  In any case it may be a good thing because my busted knees could use more rest and I have only ridden my bike 4 times in the last 3 months.  Was looking forward to the ride though.  The weather is supposed to be great, nice and cold after thursday and friday's storm, just how I like it. 

[mbraun73]

What a fun ride!  Thanks to all the riders out there and of course thanks Chad and Scott for putting this together!

Here are my times:
Stage   Start   Finish    Time
1.         7:35   13:45    6:10
2.         6:32   17:04   10:32
3.         7:18   17:23   10:05
4.         9:10   15:56    6:46
TOTAL  =                   33:23

Hey Ray!!  WTF...  Did you have a hidden 11T cog on you SS for the last stage?  Amazing time! WOW 

[raybum]

Ha! Thanks! My legs were a spinnin' fast on those flat sections.  I kept looking back thinking I'd see you or Lynda!

[raybum]

A recap of my race...hope you enjoy it!
http://onegear-ray.blogspot.com/2012/10/coco-krispies.html
cheers,
Ray

[LyndaW]

Great to meet everybody out there.

Ray - you describe that hike-a-bike kindly in your blog. I found it somewhat less fun... Thx again for the fire and congrats on going so fast - impressive!

Other than the ridiculous HAB I loved the route. Beautiful. Sycamore Canyon made me stop racing and start being a tourist walking out to every viewpoint. This was my first time racing the stage race format and I liked it a lot.

Jay - you looked spry on Monday. I'm surprised to hear you were beat down the day before. That pizza must have been gold.

Here are my times:
Stage 1 - 6:34
Stage 2 - 11:00
Stage 3 - 10:12
Stage 4 - 8:11

[JTVT29]

Wow, such an amazing experience that will be remembered not only for the beautiful scenery, but mainly by the incredible people I was able to meet and share the journey with.

Jeremy and Mead...wow! So impressive to throw down for something like this at 12 years old! Thanks for the well wishes and I'll be keeping my eye out for Mead on the national stage in the not too distant future. 
Mark, thanks for the beer schlepping and it was nice to roll out with you on day one.
Les and Jill, a true pleasure to ride together for the afternoon and share some most delicious burgers in Munds.
Keith, thanks for the company on the descent to the Verde. There was no way I was able to hang with you on the climb out of the valley though.  Well done.
Martin, the first human I had seen in 5+ hours on day three. Was nice to have some company picking our way down Bill Williams in the dark.
Ray, amazing effort!!!. I would say your description of me was quite accurate. That long, hot climb from the Verde just beat me down and I was not in my happy place. Sorry I wasn't the most talkative or lively roommate.
Lynda, it was great to cross paths with you and finally put a face with the name. Congrats on your impressive effort as well. And yes, I was definitely back in my happy place yesterday.
Finally, the Alaska trio, Michael, Sharon and Dave. Thank you for the "finish line celebration" and for sharing in last night and this morning's feeding frenzy. A trip to your neighborhood is now at the top of my list!

It was an honor to share the experience with all of you!!!

Oh, and of course, a huge THANK YOU to Chad and Scott for making this possible! Please don't take it personally that I was cursing you both out for the "trail" you chose to get up Mingus

Pics to follow (including the rat in Coyote Spring) when I get home.

My times:
Stage 1: 7:52
Stage 2: 12:29
Stage 3: 13:16
Stage 4: 9:02

Jay

[Buttermilk]

Good work to all you finishers!! Looking at the day 2 & 3 times I think Meade and I made the right choice to pull out before her "fun" suffering turned south. Glad to have met all of you all and I know our paths will cross on future trails. Next up...AZTR750!!

[LyndaW]

Good work to all you finishers!! Looking at the day 2 & 3 times I think Meade and I made the right choice to pull out before her "fun" suffering turned south. Glad to have met all of you all and I know our paths will cross on future trails. Next up...AZTR750!!

The hike-a-bike up Mingus was a total gutfest. You made the right call not to take Meade up there. Speaking as a small stature woman I can tell you that lifting a loaded bike up rocky ledges with sketchy footing is stupid. I lost my footing trying to heave it up one ledge and fell off the side of the trail and ended up 20 feet down the slope off the trail with my bike on top of me. There was no fun in that suffering and I got pretty scratched up.

[markphx]

First off, thanks to Scott and Chad for putting this loop and event together. It really contains a wide variety of scenery and terrain that makes Arizona the best state in The Union.

Ray, nice write up man. Definitely an amusing read. Also, nice job on your timely finishes for each stage. There weren't trophy girls at the finish line for you? Hmmm... I guess there are some benefits of being the last to finish.

Roland, thanks for keeping me company out on Stage 3 man. Riding with you definitely helped me keep my mind off of my ill stomach that day (and night ascent up Bill). Wish I could have been able to help you out more so you could have seen the finish. Look forward to catching up with you at the San Jacinto Enduro.

Martin, I appreciate you waiting up for me in Williams at the diner so I could get my fat girl on as well. Also, thanks for taking care of the motel room logistics. It was nice to just walk right into a room post fat girl feast session. Catch you at the BCT AES event.

Jay, It was a pleasure starting off the first stage with you and watching you pull away on the climbs as me and the ol' Cadillac moved at a turtle pace (Gotta love 20t chainwheel coupled with a 38t cog). Also, I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one suffering on Stage 3. Hats off to you for overcoming and finishing.

Jeremy, I thought I was the the youngest rider on the Coco 250 until you and Meade (half my age!) came cruising up to the Stage 1 camp site. Truly impressive man. You would have been right at home on some solid HAB up Mingus. Just like the CTR, only not as long.

I enjoyed camping and shooting the breeze with everyone at the end of each stage. My favorite stage was definitely the second one. Bombing that beat up Munds Wagon trail on my rig was a blast. Sedona trails are pretty much perfect for fans of techy riding (me!). I really enjoy rugged trail that makes you earn your mileage and Lime Kiln did just that. The satisfaction of looking across the Verde Valley after gaining Mingus to where you were earlier that morning is hard to beat.

Stage 3 was difficult because I felt ill from pretty much Coyote Springs to Williams. I ended up filtering water from the fishing pond near Elks Well on top of Mingus to hold me over in case Coyote Springs ended up not panning out. Well, Coyote ended up being putrid, so I started drinking my Mingus fish pond water. It left me feeling pretty queasy for the remainder of the day.

Times:

Stage 1: 7:38 a.m. - 3:31 p.m. --> 7:53
Stage 2: 6:39 a.m. - 6:18 p.m. --> 11:49
Stage 3: 7:23 a.m. - 8:58 p.m. --> 13:35
Stage 4: 9:44 a.m. - 6:03 p.m. --> 8:19

[ScottM]

Keep the stories and pics rolling in.  I like, I like.

I've got the results coming together here:

http://rockyroad5050.wordpress.com/aes-results/

Please let me know of any corrections/additions.

[ScottM]

The hike-a-bike up Mingus was a total gutfest. You made the right call not to take Meade up there. Speaking as a small stature woman I can tell you that lifting a loaded bike up rocky ledges with sketchy footing is stupid. I lost my footing trying to heave it up one ledge and fell off the side of the trail and ended up 20 feet down the slope off the trail with my bike on top of me. There was no fun in that suffering and I got pretty scratched up.

Ouch, sorry to hear about that.  Mingus is a beast.  No worse than several HABs on the CT, IMO, though.

There is an easy way to the top... but then the easy way is never the AES way.

[the tortoise]

Our Coconino 100 photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151258172972889.521102.687802888&type=1

[fastmtnbiker33w]

Got the files up on Strava.  I left it on from Cottonwood through Williams and the 8 hours of sleep after Williams.  Batteries died just as we got lost in Sycamore....right as you were supposed to leave the canyon.  There is some sweet singletrack back there.  New batts at the Texaco for the rest of the ride....$6 for a 2 pack.  Sheez.

http://app.strava.com/activities/24560024

http://app.strava.com/activities/24559826

This might be good info for the rest of the ITT'ers out there.  Still working on the blog post.  Getting close....needs pics.  Be patient.  I have to catch up a bit at work and home (spent last night modifying a giraffe suit!).

[Roland Sturm]

My photos are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103806633563601589251/Coconino250
Nowhere as good as Rich's facebook pics, I guess I spent too much time riding. And once it got hard, no pictures at all (i.e. nothing on Mingus, or the climb out of the Verde, or Bill Williams).
 

[LyndaW]

I really enjoyed the stage race format of this event. More-so than I expected! Thx to Chad and Scott for this invention. I thought I would note what it was I liked so much about this format.

- I loved riding solo in my bubble most of the time but also really enjoyed when my pace matched another rider and we rode a few miles together.
- I loved chasing tracks. Those Captain tracks were the easiest to see and kept me on course several times as my gps failed for this event :-(
- It was comforting  knowing if I broke down there was help behind.
- I enjoy riding solo but not camping solo as much. Having people to camp with was super.
- I would get tired at the end of the day and the fun factor would go down and then it was right back up at the start of the next day. Sleeping and a fresh start every day kept the trail enjoyment pegged.
- I got to see the entire course in the daylight. Sightseeing is a major motivation for me in these events.

[carbonguy]

Hi Everyone!

Great pictures, great stories. Lynda: I am sorry about your fall on Mingus. I know the section you are talking about and it was sketchy to say the least. As someone said earlier, I was ratcheting myself and my bike up that part (and other parts).

I was riding by myself most of the time as I am a late riser =) so I am just now catching up with where everyone was and what happened. Keep the stories rolling. Jeremy, you and your daughter are an awesome duo! I am super impressed.

A (very) verbose write-up of my experience is at
http://2wheeltrails.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/coconino-extravaganza/

Cheers to you all!
Martin

[carbonguy]

Our Coconino 100 photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151258172972889.521102.687802888&type=1

I can't see the pictures:
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[the tortoise]

I think you need a facebook account to view them and that is the only place I put them.