Flagstone 500 thread.

[schillingsworth]

I hope everything is ok with Tim & Mark, after the Jacob Crosscut chunk they bypassed some fun trails in Gold Canyon and are now riding the shoulder of US60 instead of the dirt route just to the north.

Scott, have you heard from Tim?

[dream4est]

I bailed at 6 miles past Picketpost. Turned around and went back down the hill. My knee was done. Tim and I skipped a few sections to expedite the ride. After missing some sections on day 1 due to mud we skipped a few others down the route. The route is so hard I didnt mind skipping stuff. Not at all.

I think Tim is doing some alternate routes, riding AZT to Oracle, then ? He said he wanted to pedal into Tucson when I last saw him at Kelvin..

[B_Bock]

Mark,
sorry to hear about your knee. sounds like a brutal route.

[B_Bock]

Tim and Mark are about to enter a rough stretch along the Jacob Crosscut Trail, could be a few miles of level HAB before dumping out onto the super fun Gold Canyon Trails. I was going to try and meetup with them today, but they will be a bit farther along than I have time for. Keep the pedals turning fellas!!

@Blake: What kind of riding are you looking for? XC, tech, etc. If you haven't been out to the Arizona Trail by Picketpost Mtn, I'd highly recommend that one. Start at the TH, near milepost 221 on US60 east of the valley just before Superior. Head south on the AZT for 14.5 miles, fantastic overlook & return. If you feel you're up for a 6+ mile 2000' climb, keep going and drop down to the Gila River & return for a total of 42 miles & 8k of climbing. You won't be disappointed.

On the west side of town, check out the Black Canyon Trail. a long XC type trail that roughly parallels I-17. The now defunct AES race out there was a nice loop. Start at the Rock Springs TH & ride the dirt road, Maggie Mine rd. north for about 21 miles. At the top of the second decent climb, enter the BCT at Antelope Creek and take the trail all the way back to Rock Springs. It's about 50 miles & 5-6k.

Shameless plug, but check out my blog as I have ride reports for both of these, plus tons of other PHX area rides.

I just noticed your post this morning. I have ridden the AZT when I did the 750. I should have gone back to ride it at a more enjoyable pace and state of mind. I ended up riding the McDowell Mountain area and Bootleg canyon on the drive back to Tahoe. I'll definitely make use of your blog the next time I'm in AZ. Thanks for the intel. B

[aaron w]

Nice job Tim and Mark!  Sorry about your knee though Mark.  Very much looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.  How'd that bed feel last night tim? 

[AZTtripper]

Ha yeah the bed felt great.

I'll post up some thing with the pics once I have some time.

Tho we missed a few things along the way a lot of great riding was had.

[rhino]

I'm defibrillating an old thread.  Has anybody ridden the Flagstone 500 since 2013?  I'm doing recon, and may try to tackle this in the early fall. Any additional info always welcomed.

[ScottM]

I'm defibrillating an old thread.  Has anybody ridden the Flagstone 500 since 2013?  I'm doing recon, and may try to tackle this in the early fall. Any additional info always welcomed.

A friend of mine, Scott Pauker, is the most recent person I know of to ride this -- he rode Prescott to the Gilas.  He's got GPX, too.

http://spokeandwords.com/

Is his website -- drop him a line.  Otherwise Mr. Schillingsworth would be the expert on linking up the best trails.