I did a lot of 6 hr+ rides over the winter, one of the benefits of living in the desert. These included several loaded rides on what I consider pretty rocky, technical trails. Leading up to the race I felt that my fitness was good and that if I could keep my butt happy, stay hydrated and keep moving I could do this thing.
The week before the race I did a mini bike overhaul. During this I noticed my rear end was loose. At first I thought it was my rear hub and then maybe my pivot bolts which had been giving me headaches, but it turned out to be a blown bearing. My LBS replaced it and I grabbed an extra allen wrench just in case…
The race start initially felt benign, but quickly the dreaded hike-a-biking started. Nothing too bad with some short hills, but enough that the first 30 miles took longer than expected prompting a stop in Patagonia. I was grateful for some quick road miles out of Patagonia and some fun and fast singletrack into Kentucky camp.
Around mile 70 my rear tire got soft after a small thorn puncture. Thankfully it sealed and I just needed a few pumps to get the pressure back up. At this point I realized my rear end was loose and my rear pivot bolt was spinning… great. I eventually stopped and pulled the cranks so I could get to both sides of the bolt. With my pivot bolt tight and lights on I was ready to press on. After a few miles worth of hills, it was fast and flowy trail down to I-10.
After Mike, another CO racer, and I finally figured out the gate we crossed under the interstate. I rode off the culvert, not getting the message about the drop, and nearly ate it. Mike thankfully rode ahead and found the faucet in the rock at the campground, because I would have never found it on my own! After several miles of fast singletrack and nearing the 115 mile mark I decided to put down around 0130.
After a surprisingly decent sleep, I was riding by 0600 and quickly made it to Rincon for some breakfast and provisions. On the road out to Reddington, I made small talk to a roadie. During his questioning I realized I didn’t know much about the upcoming sections, other than I’d eventually climb up Mt. Lemmon and descend Oracle. I started thinking that I should have done a bit more course research instead of just blindly following a line on my GPS.
The Reddington climb went pretty well and I was up by 0900… 24 hours into the race. The next sections took me off guard as I expected to quickly get on the road to Mt. Lemmon. There was quite a bit of fun, but demanding riding. During this, I had to stop yet again to pull my cranks and tighten the bolt, which loosened again. I decided to give up on it and periodically check to make sure it wasn’t backing completely out.
Several miles before Prison Camp I had my first mini-mental break drop. I was confronted by an unexpected and prolonged hike-a-bike, both uphill and partially downhill which eventually ended up in a crash. I recollected and eventually made it to the road. As with everything on day 2, this took longer than expected. When I finally made it to the top, I took a wrong turn up to the ski area instead of following my nose down into Summerhaven. This wasted about 2 miles and a half hour and cost me a full meal. Thankfully I at least got a bowl of chili before starting the demoralizing Oracle Ridge. There was a fair amount of cursing involved, but I eventually made it down.
I decided to put down shortly after making it through the state park. I contemplated riding through the night, but the miles were coming slow. The second day took it’s toll mentally and I needed to regroup. Starting around 5 am after about 3.5 hours of sleep, I started ticking off miles and thought I might still have a chance at getting close to Eszter’s record. I was hoping to get into Kelvin by 2 pm, but after a sidewall cut and the Ripsey wash with ensuing climb I made around around 4pm.
I keep pushing and started the real climbing right after sunset. Had I known what was ahead, I would have stopped to enjoy the castle like canyon with towering and majestic saguaros backlit by a full moon. However, I thought I’d be able to power through this climb and get a quick descent into Picket Post to enjoy a beer, pizza and maybe a record all before bedtime. The AZT would have none of it.
After multiple false summits and a technical, rocky and hilly “descent,” I quietly stumbled in just after midnight. Initially I was disappointed by falling short of the record after riding well on day 1, but I underestimated the AZT. Studying a map and elevation profile can’t adequately describe the Arizona Trail. There are few easy miles. But there are some amazing miles.
The next morning I got to greet several finishing riders. At this point all my disappointment was gone. Two days earlier, while pushing my bike along Oracle Ridge, I said I’d never do this again. On the ride home I was thinking to myself, maybe packing my bike across the Grand Canyon wouldn’t be so bad…
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