AZT 300 X.5
As my alarm awoke me from what i hoped would be my last good sleep till Sunday, I collected all of what i would need and headed to pick up max. After making a quick stop at a gas station max, my dad, and myself were on the road to parker canyon lake.
Arriving at parker canyon just after sunrise gave us time to catch up with friends, and meet some of the people i had read so much about online. Finally Scott gave his pre-race talk explaining some route info, and allowing us to take a moment of silence for Mike and Steve who had passed in recent weeks.
Just after 8 am max and Neil lead us out. Not wanting to push too hard and explode in the canelos i opted to take in the views of the san rafael valley to the south and converse with some of the other riders along the way. It seems like its easy to get caught up in focus on continual forward motion and you forget to look around at the beauty along the route.
Around mile 11 came one of those sounds you never want to hear, especially this early into a 300 mile event. After trying to navigate a steep tight switch back i hear a hissing and look back to see my tire spewing sealant out of the sidewall. Great, a blown out tire already. Attitude automatically went from great to horrible. Not wanting to accept the fact that i had flatted and too upset to deal with it immediately, i opted to push the bike for while. After about 10 minutes i calmed down enough to pull over and deal with the situation. After a failed attempt at trying to get it to seal, i resorted to a tube. Rolling again, i eventually made it over canelo pass rd and saw Angry ray cheering from trail side.
Sprits and focus returned as i eventually made it through the west end of the canelos and onto Patagonia. I turned off harshaw rd at the post office and headed north to sonata, where i stopped to fill up on liquids and food as i would need to make it to summer haven before i could get more calories. My dad was here to greet me before heading back to Tucson.
A relatively quick stop and it was on to santa Rita rd which would eventually rejoin us with the Arizona trail. All alone at this point, the focus was on keeping motivated but not going too fast. Before i knew it Kentucky camp had flown by. The trail up to this point was in the best condition i had ever seen it, and i wad having a blast.
On the jeep road north of the Kentucky camp i caught sight of a rider ahead. Eventually I made it up to Hart Robinson, who i would ride with for the next 50 miles or so. We talked as we knocked off the miles up to Las Colinas. The next few miles through the relentless drainages of the Santa ritas really were taxing on both of us.
Just at dark we made it to twin tanks where we stopped to talk to my dad and to get a quick meal. After a few minutes we flipped on the lights and began the push to hwy 83. All of these miles seemed easy. The trail was riding fast and a light breeze was at our back. Once again we stopped to talk to my dad and another bite of food at hwy 83. Hart was going to wait for his dad so i pushed on towards i-10.
Somewhere just before colossal cave i could see Harts lights and figured he would catch me soon. Not long after, he blew by me. I tried to up the pace again to see if i could hop on his wheel and catch up to max and Neil as my dad had said they weren't very far ahead of us at the 83.
Finally we pulled into La Sevilla where we topped off water, put on some layers, and ate some more food. By this point my main meal had been strictly burritos and RBars. I stomach never rejected this decision, but i was getting less exited about these food options as the hours passed.
A quick push out of La Sevilla and we were enjoying the fast miles down to the Rincon creek. Just before Pistol hill Hart yelled out that his bike had felt funny. We stopped and figured out his frame had cracked almost all the way around one of the tubes. Bummer! After a quick phone call to his dad i let him know how to get off the trail to where he could get picked up.
Continuing on I made good time out to Loma Alta, where i caught sight of Neil's Tail light. Hitting pavement felt good and the miles north to Reddington rd were welcomed. Around midnight i finally hit dirt on reddington. Stopping now and then to take in calories. I eventually made it to the last switchback before you top out and pop into the valley.
Going back and forth about wether to push through the night without sleep, i opted to try to catch a nap before continuing on through the chiva, Italian trap, ballots area. This decision to nap was partially influenced by my knee which was starting to ache with every pedal stroke. Not wanting to search for a area to bivy, i slept on the side of the road. Eventually the sound of tires woke me up. It was Evan Sollberger, a 300 ITT from san diego.
Evan and i pushed up the final bit of reddington and made the turn off on the jeep roads of bellota. The next few miles were a struggle. A tight knee, and lots of Hike a bike made the section feel like it lasted an eternity. Finally just as the sun came up we had made it off the jeep roads and were ready to hit more trail.
Max had caught up to us and seemed to be feeling great. He took off up the trail towards reddington rd at a crazy pace. I tried to keep on his wheel but wasn't fully put together. It took me 3 stops to get myself organized mentally and physically. Once i did, things got slightly better.
Crossing reddington rd was great, but my knee still seemed to be an issue. At this point i had decided if it wasn't feeling better by Catalina hwy i would be done. The molino Hab was crushing after 150 miles and just as i hit the bottom ready to head up max yelled from the top. Clearing most of the stuff on the backside, i made it down to the highway in good time, where i called it quits.
Sitting there knowing it was over was beyond painful. So much preparation and desire went into doing this race. The learning curve for this type of event is steep, but i walked away with a better idea of how to go about one of these efforts. You can read every blog and article out there but until you try a ride like this there are some missing pieces to the book.
The time out there was awesome, and i congratulate everyone who makes it to the finish of their race. The fire is already fueled to line back up next year, this time to make it to picket post. Heck i doubt ill even make it that long. Coconino 250 has looked appealing so i’lI likely try to show up for that one.
