Colorado Trail Race 2014

Well it's now August and after a full 2 months of planning, everything feels as ready as it can be for my inaugural attempt at the Colorado Trail Race or (CTR) to those who know it.  The CTR in short is... 

...Colorado’s premier long distance trail. Stretching almost 550 miles from Denver to Durango, composed of 28 Segments and 5 Bicycle Detours.  It travels through the spectacular Colorado Rocky Mountains amongst peaks with lakes, creeks and diverse ecosystems. Trail users experience six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges topping out at 13,271 feet, just below Coney Summit at 13,334 feet.
The average elevation is over 10,000 feet and it rises and falls dramatically.
Users traveling from Denver to Durango will climb 89,354 feet.

RACE RULES
1). Race from Denver to Durango, self supported, under only your own power, along the entire CTR route.

2). No pre-arranged support, with the exception of post office mail drops only.

3). Oh yeah and don't break the law.

So here is my 2014 CTR rig...everything minus the kitchen sink, just shy of 45lbs with h2o

So let's fast forward to Saturday the day before the race.  Jill and I headed out to meet up with Neil Beltchenhko in Salida, finish our drive to Denver and hopefully find a place close to the race start for the early 06:00AM Sunday group start.  Bikes are packed, things go well and we crash at Andrew Schuhumann's house the night before the race.  A quick coin toss lands me on the couch and Neil in the bed.

Morning comes and it's time to race.  My strategy has a few parts.  Part 1 - find someone who thinks they can do this course in 6 days and follow their lead.  Part 2 - I have to be at work the following Saturday so I really don't have time to waste...I need to finish this course in under 6 days.  Part 3 - eat often (about every hour).  Part 4 - Stretch when I can.  Part 5 - Take care of my feet and my ass.  Part 6 - Take some pictures.

DAY 1 - Sunday

A quick speech from the creator of this event, Stefan, and we are off.  Some 55 or so idiots like myself pedaling as a group for the first 5 miles to the singletrack turnoff.  Segment 1 and 2 went by pretty smoothly.  Plenty of water, food and company.  I let the veterans do their thing and gap me and soon found myself pedaling in the rain on the detour, alone.

Segment 2 pedaling through the burn area just before the first bicycle detour.

I really did myself a disservice by not doing a ton of logistic homework.  In my mind, I figured someone will be in front of me and someone will be behind me so I'll be fine.

I was looking forward to my refuel spot at mile 66 in the town of Tarayall, which I had circled after a discussion with Neil in the car while driving to Denver.  Somehow, what I circled and where I was suppose to circle was about a 33 mile mistake (3 hour oops).  I enjoyed cool temps and rain on and off from about mile 65 to the Stage Stop services.  I was well prepared for the rain with gear, but it does tends to make things a bit miserable.  I swear the bike weighed 20lbs heavier when wet.  All of my bags absorbed water.  My frame bag needed a drain as the bag would hold water at it's lowest point.  Just little things that I should of known would happen.  But thanks to some podcasts, the mind was at least preoccupied.  When I finally arrived at Stage Stop and saw other racers bikes outside, morale was through the roof.  I made myself at home (which for me means drying everything that's wet, walking around with no shoes, cleaning my bike, charging all my electronics and using my phone).  I ordered 3 meals of food and relaxed with some friends new and old.  I rushed, towards the end, so I could pedal on with some others that had beat me to the stop.  

Stage Stop Bar Saloon Store MILE 99 NOT 66.

Today's goal was Kenosha Pass, mile 115.  Made it there about 10:30PM and got talked in to getting some rest at the campground with Dave and planned to wake up early around 3:30AM to continue on.  I bought the plan and hit the sack early, against my normal of riding past midnight.  This was all new terrain for me so I figured let's try this.

Day 1 goal reached.

DAY 2 - Monday

Woke up "antsy as hell" and left Dave at the campground.  I passed about 8 other racers who had passed me through the night, that were still sleeping or just waking up.  The morning ride was difficult as the condensation off the knee-high grass made your feet cold, wet and then numb.  This also left the exposed tree roots super slippery.  Dave caught back up and we crested Georgia Pass at the same time taking a few pics along the way.

Georgia Pass in the background as the sun is rising.

Breckenridge in the background atop Georgia Pass.

Upper Breckenridge just before "10 mile pass" or as I would call it 10 mile hike with your bike.

Scott and I atop "10 mile pass" before the steep, brake burning descent into Copper Mtn and mile 160.7.

You can faintly see Copper Mtn in the background.

Scott also caught up to us just in time for the techy descent in to Breckenridge.  We were trying to get through Breck before we conflicted with a huge XC bike racing event called the Breck Epic.  Last thing I needed was to be in the middle of a 200 man sprint race.  So Dave, Scott and I pushed hard with a goal of Copper Mountain by 4PM.

Copper was a big refuel spot in this race.  Jill met me and a huge group of racers from about 4-6PM at a bar called Endos, in the main village of the resort.  I did my usual of making myself at home.  About 10 racers gathered here and left as a group just before 6PM towards Tennessee Pass.  I had to do a little detour catch up but spirits were high and the body was feeling great. This section from Copper to Tennessee Pass is a ton of fun.  Great rolling, slow ascending, mostly rideable, beautiful terrain.  It took me about 4 miles to catch the first couple riders in front of me, due to my little detour.  I saw a 10th mountain division hut just before the summit of Searle Pass.  I've heard about these and how you can rent them as ski cabins in the winter. This one called Janet's Hut looked comfy.

10th Mountain Division Janet's Cabin.

Love military history.

Section 8 just before Searle Pass.

The trail went to some really fun descending singletrack.  Probably got a bit ahead of myself when I had crash # 2.  Luckily I landed in some soft stuff and was able to move on.  I often get so excited to log miles and forget about the fact I am in the middle of nowhere.  But, I guess its all a gamble sometimes.  Left Dave and some others around Camp Hale and continued on, running into Scott again.  We pushed and finished Day 2 at Tennessee Pass TH with an early morning plan to wake up and ride into Leadville via Detour #2 arriving about 7AM, when all the services open.

DAY 3 - Tuesday

Woke up and started a quick 2.5 mile trail section before our road detour into Leadville.  It takes me a while to get going in the morning and Scott left me behind.  I pedaled watching the sun come up.  I met up with Scott at a small bakery where I was able to gather some foot care supplies and much needed calories.  His plan was to gather just enough to make it to Buena Vista where we would do a large resupply.  I did my standard make myself at home, had 2 breakfast burritos and was giving chase departing Leadville about 0800AM.  We were soon greeted by Garrett and another rider on the long road detour, before we jumped back on Segment 11.

My view leaving Leadville towards BV, solo road riding.

The next section was pretty much a blur.  I was falling behind of the other riders and was trying to stay on my food plan of eating something big or small every 45 minutes or so while also trying to keep them within distance.  I don't mind being slower my plan of pedaling an extra hour per day usually pays off and then I catch up.  Everyone has a different strategy.  Some make big multi-hour stops throughout the day, some eat and ride, some don't even stop.  My key was to play my game which is hard when people are passing you.  I caught back up to Scott after Twin Lakes and we pedaled into BV together, just as the Trans Rockies Trail Run was finishing their day.  Kind of motivating seeing miles and miles of racers in pain, hobbling and being in probably just as much pain as myself and what every other CTR racer was feeling.

Scott and I arrived in BV mile 246.2 just before 1PM only about an hour behind our goal.  I was a wreck.  Feet were a mess.  I had been trying to stay with the racers in front of me and had been neglecting my feet.  Got a few small blisters and one really nasty blister on my left heel that really stood out on the hike-a-bike.  After setting up camp at Boneshaker Bicycles I bought a pair of cheap sandals from across the street, so I could let my feet dry.  Scott and I walked over to K's Famous Hamburgers.  Ordered a ton of food and got our energy back about us.  It was a really hot day in BV, even though the mountains around the town were surrounded by black clouds and moisture...YEAH!

The line was out the door and for some reason we waited!!!

BV was a critical stop in this race.  We would be without services from now until Silverton, CO. We had two unreliable stops if our timing was good.  Princeton Hot Springs mile 268.2 and a Trail Angel in the middle of Segment 18 (Approx mi 340).  Scott had a meal plan and to keep tradition, I winged it.  I came out of the grocery with a bunch of bars, tuna, oatmeal, electrolytes and beef jerky.  Scott had a huge bar of cheese, sausage and other high calorie items.  I was probably more concerned about my feet than my belly.  Regardless, the bike had no room for anything else.  For the feet, I bought some Bandaid blister pads, blister glue, Bigger bandaids and a roll of tape.  Scott and I were discussing our current pains and I told him I was certain I was starting to strain both my Achilles tendons and with this blister it was going to be some slow going for me, so I'll catch up when I can.  Don't know if i sparked something or what, but Scott's Achilles started to bother him almost instantly.  I hit the road around 3PM for the next segment and left him in BV where he ended up calling the race, due to his injuries.  

My view leaving BV pedaling towards Segment 13.

My goal pedaling up to Segment 13 was to go slow and miss the obvious rain storms that were rocking the Mount Princeton peak.  It was a gamble as I couldn't see the storms on the other side of the peaks, although I could hear the thunder.  It seemed to pay off.  I could see the moisture on the trail but it had passed through and it wasn't raining on my head.  This area was really fast and enjoyable.  No pics as I was trying to catch up with Garrett and Dave who were in front of me.  I texted Jill and she gave me the news that others were about an hour ahead of me. Trail hikers confirmed there were others ahead of me.  I was in Princeton Hot Springs mile 268.2 ahead of schedule just before 7PM.  Early enough to grab a Chicken Alfredo to go and refill some snack-ables.  I met so many people in the restaurant that had or were planning to bike-pack the Colorado Trail.  Everyone was so supportive and in awe.  Very motivating for me to keep pushing on solo, chasing the racers in front of me.

Princeton Hot Springs...I admittedly got scared about my
calories and ordered a huge calorie Chicken Alfredo.

One of many mistakes was not actually bringing the Colorado Trail Guide booklet.  To save weight, I had the great idea of taking pictures of the pages individually and making a CTR album on my iPhone.  Well this worked well until I missed a segment.  The entire next section was a ghost.  I had no idea of the elevation but I kind of knew it was about 20 miles long.  At the TH, I met a through-hiker and chatted with him for a few before heading out.  I gave myself the hopes of being at US-50 mile 290.6 by midnight.

The section instantly climbed up 1,500 ft.  Then was full of choppy boulder fields, off camber, nasty terrain that would have been difficult on fresh legs.  I caught up with Garrett at about 10.3 miles in to the segment, sleeping next to a stream.  I stopped and chatted with him for a bit.  He was pretty spent.  We made a plan to wake up at 3:30AM and push on.  I setup camp and passed out about 11PM.

DAY 4 - Wednesday

I woke up next to the stream, put a new foot dressing on and we both set off.  The trail was crap for another 3 or so miles.  When the sun came up it turned into descent ride-able singletrack.  I lost Garrett around the US-50 crossing and never saw him again.  I was off again, riding solo, working up towards Marshall Pass.  The beginning of this segment did nothing but climb, mostly hike-a-bike.  Lots of slogging through streams, puddles and mud.  Finally, about 10:30AM, I could hear voices from the top of Monarch Pass.  I hiked my way up to find a group of mountain bikers from Gunnision.  They took a few pics of me, said some encouraging words and off I went.  The following section to Marshall Pass was fast and 100% rideable.

Hike-a-bike up to top of Monarch Pass.

Top of Monarch Pass.

Top of Monarch Pass.

Smooth sailing in to Marshall Pass.

Heading towards Sargents Mesa. 

Heading towards Sargents Mesa.

Heading towards Sargents Mesa.

My body turned to crap and I started bonking before Tank 7.  I decided to lay under a tree, hide from a thunderstorm or two and regain the motivation to continue forward.  I ate some of my amazing Chicken Alfredo and made a daily goal of HWY 114 mile 339.2, about 25 more miles.

The toughest part of the ride is not knowing the terrain and whether it is rideable.  It's demoralizing to go less than 2 mph for hours.  I pushed on into the next segment and it beat me down hard.  Morale was at its lowest.  It had some decent downhill, but it was an OHV section and was in really poor shape from all the off road vehicles.  I was earning and working really hard for every mile.  I finally made it to a huge descent to HWY 114 and finished the segment.

At the beginning of the next segment I was ready to set up camp when it started to lightly rain.  I looked at the elevation profile on my CTR album in the iPhone and was encouraged to push on. The trail looked fast, rolling and capable of high speed.  This was the segment with the Trail Angel.  That gave me hope.  I thought if I could just get to mile 11.9 of this segment I would be guaranteed great sleep and some food variety.  It was about 8PM when I put on the headphones, rain suit and pushed hard to the Trail Angel camp.  Arriving just before 11PM on this oasis in the mountains...it was a little piece of heaven.  Water, Chips, Cookies, Soda, Shelter.  I passed out in the shelter dome next to my bike eating potato chips and drinking Coca-Cola.  I didn't set an alarm and promised myself a great night of sleep, then I would wake up and get rolling. 

DAY 5 - Thursday

 I woke up about 7AM to some through-hikers, their dog, the trail angel himself and another racer named Dave.  The body and spirits felt so good after all the sleep.  Even though field mice were bouncing off my sleeping bag...I didn't care it was peaceful and comforting knowing this place helped so many through-hikers and bike-packers.  

The shelter that I slept in.  Me, Apple and Dave.

The Trail Angel sits out here for 6 weeks a year, during the peak season, and gives aide to people passing through.  I took my time soaking it up, getting ready for more tiny circles, ate some hot dogs, more chips and then talked Dave into riding with me.  We set out about 9AM on the long 56.1 mile La Garita Wilderness Detour.  

Starts off as easy miles.

Then the elevation comes in to play.

Almost to Spring Creek

We made it to Spring Creek about 6PM and took a quick 30 minute nap before we started the last 2 segments before Silverton.  It sounds so easy, we are at mile 406.7 and only have about 44 miles to reach Silverton.  How hard can that be?  

We pushed on to Segment 22 and some of the highest elevations on the CTR.  We reached a rideable trail and some awesome sunset views.

Segment 22.

Segment 22. 

Dave in the distance, Segment 22.

Oddest part of the race was sending text messages to Jill, friends and family at the highest point on the CTR 13,271ft.  Dave and I took a few minutes to catch up with everyone before we pushed on.  We finished Segment 22 and made it 2 miles into Segment 23, just after midnight; set up camp and crashed out hard.  Tomorrow I'd be in Silverton.  So Excited!

DAY 6 - Friday

Woke up at 530AM to an awesome canyon view along with the coldest morning of the entire ride. Ate some of my last large calories, packed up the bike and was hoping for Silverton for breakfast.  Less than 20 miles to Silverton.  Spirits were probably too high and expections as well.  I didn't wrap my foot up and wasn't eating very well thinking I'd be having French Toast in no time.  By about 10AM I knew it wasn't going well and had to stop and fix my feet and eat some calories.  The trail was an unforgiving, high alpine singletrack.  If you descended a mile, you'd climb right back up to hike-a-bike switch backs.  Really slow going, despite the amazing views.

Stony Pass came just after 11AM and spirits reached an all time high.  I enjoyed the next 10 miles of descent in to the familiar town of Silverton, CO where I was greeted by Jill and my dog Luna who had been following me on the SPOT tracker via trackleaders and decided to come visit me along the route.  That really made me smile that she was supporting me even though I was cutting the race short.  Silverton thank you for the amazing food I was about to consume and even though this journey was coming to an end I was stoked.  Despite all the encouragment to go forward I was out of time.  I had decided that since I have to work at 7AM tomorrow at the Fire Station, this would be the end of my journey.  I made it to mile 450.2 in about 5 days 7 hours.  The next section after Silverton would require about 14+ hours without problems and I just couldn't pull it off and still make it to work in any decent shape.  I'm happy that I was able to ride every segment of the CTR that I did.  And I did severely underestimate the magnitude of this ride.  Thank you everyone for all the support and praise.

Before leaving Silverton for Durango (via car) I got to see Neil before he headed back to CB.  I must say for riding as fast as he did for 4+ days his spirits were high and he looked to be in great shape.  A few limps here and there, but he was already talking about his 2016 run and the next bikepacking adventure.  Its fun to surround yourself with people who live outside of the normal box.  Its also interesting to see how many people would walk by my bike as it sat in front of the restaurant and wondered what the hell I was up to.

Til next time.

What I would change?  
1) Food better selection and have what I need and will eat nothing else.
2) Push hard in the areas where I can, relax in the slower sections.
3) When I decide to sleep make sure I pick a good spot and setup right.  3hours of great sleep is better than 6hours of crappy sleep.
4) Kind of thinking 2x10 gearing would of been nice, but I had zero, zero, zero mechanical issues aside from some gear bags that rubbed the crank arm and that was minimal.
5) Less clothes, I brought extra warm stuff that I really never wore. 
6) Pack bags same every time.  Sometimes I would tear through my complete setup looking for something.  I could be more systematic.
7) Lights worked great, but I think the dynamo is the way to go.  No worries about recharging anything.
8) May use GPS iPhone program verse carrying Garmin
9) Take care of my feet.

As I recap this post a lot is a blur.  "Yeah imagine that."  From time to time i'll refresh this post.

2013 Arizona Trail Recap.

Well it's been awhile so I thought I'd share some recent news.

The line up of AZT 750 Racers at the US/Mexico Border

Arizona Trail was cut short from the planned full route 750 to just the 300 mile race this year.  It wasn't because of mechanical, dehydration, pain or any of the normal dropping reasons.  I dropped out cause I got bored. Many people will read this and not understand, but I wasn't having any fun racing all by myself.  I understand that this is a solo sport and company isn't found in the form of much more than beautiful sceneries and personal memories.  I couldn't help but remember how fun it was last year to run in to different faces and listen to there stories.

Heres the short version of how the race went for me...

Big thanks to the guys at Sun N Spokes in Sierra Vista, AZ for driving 8 of us the border.  Got there about 30 minutes early and froze til the start.

Gear was on point.  Having raced last year I knew exactly what to bring and what to leave out.  No complaints in this department.

The race started and off I went.  Had a rare occurrence and broke my chain masterlink about 8 miles in.  I have personally have never broke one of those before but switched it out and got back rolling in less than ten minutes.  Pushed hard with a rider from TN named Jason Murell.  He was a rookie and we teamed up til he got a stomach bug about 11PM about 20 miles outside of Cave JX on the first day.  Ended up making it to Rincon Valley which was my Day 1 goal at about 2AM with Pete and Ester who were racing the 300.  Made bed on the porch with hopes of refueling and moving on at sunrise.

Picture of Jason and I taken by Scott just before West Canales.

Woke up to the PIMA County Sheriff Department at about 530AM.  LOL.  Pushed up the hill and never saw anyone on the trail til, just before Antelope Peak a day later, I saw 3 girls on their own bikepacking adventure.  They were riding the trail North to South from Picketpost TH in Superior to Oracle.  No easy feet for sure.  Here I cant even get one of my friends to join me on these types of trips and here are 3 girls rocking it in the middle of the desert.  You go girls.

The rest of the race went smooth.  I hit the heat and my water plans worked great.  No snake encounters a few Gila Monsters but nothing to shaky.  I made it to the turn off towards Picketpost away from the Gila at about sun down and it took me about 3 hours longer than expected but no drama.

Made bed at the Picketpost TH and waited for some other racers to roll in.  Hoping for some company to continue on but never made a connection.

Next years plan...who knows.

AB

Arizona Trail 750 Mile Mountain Bike Race / Tale from the Trail

This is a brief recap of my experience racing the Arizona Trail 750 Mile Mountain Race.

The Arizona Trail 750 is a self supported, wilderness mountain biking race held on a portion of the cross state Arizona Trail. The race follows the trail as closely as possible from Mexico to Utah covering some 750 miles of varied terrain (elevations range from 1600 to 9100 ft). The trail surface is primarily singletrack, but the race will detour on dirt and pavement to bypass wilderness areas the trail passes through. 

This is not an organized or sanctioned event in any way. It's simply a group of friends out to ride their bikes on the same route at the same time. We'll probably compare times afterwards, but more importantly, we'll compare experiences -- the highs and lows the trail and mountains offered us. 
All we provide is a route, a suggested start time(*) and tabulation of results. Period. There is no race organization, no checkpoints, no support system, nothing. You are completely on your own, just as you would be if you chose to ride the Arizona Trail, or any other trail, on any other day. 
(*) Anyone is welcome to ride the route at any time. We provide a suggested start date if you want others to ride with/against. ITTs (individual time trials) are encouraged and will be ranked with that year's results. 
If you want to be included in the "results" you need to follow the rules of self-supported travel set on the rules page. This means things like support crews and water caches are not allowed. This is done in order to ensure a level playing field.

Thursday Day before the start

Just making my way to Tuscon with best-friend Rich Schulenberg (Schulee) and new friend Beto Avelar (from Ensenada, Mexico) was a journey in itself.  Within the past 24 hours our entire shuttle, carpool plan had vanished due to ever changing plans and our group shortened from 5 racers to 3.  We decided to meet Beto at a gas station in Ehrenberg off the 10 FWY at the California, Arizona border about 4PM and began our 4+hr drive to Tuscon where we, last minute, asked Scott Morris (race promoter) if we could crash on his floor and make a ton of noise working on bikes til past midnight, oddly he said sure.  By the time we arrived at Scott’s we secured one of my ex-girlfriends (amazingly still talks to me) to drive us to the border in Beto’s car and then park it at Scott’s house. 

Friday Day 1

Slept like crap as Schulee and Beto snored super loud all night.  Woke up at 445AM and Angela was already at the house ready to go as she had a 10hour drive back to Big Bear that day.  In the last minutes before we left I threw a personal bag in Angela’s car to make some more room in Beto’s car not recognizing it contained my SPOT (transponder tracking device) and all my GPS bicycle mounts.  I didn’t recognize this til we were at the dirt access road were Angela helped us get ready snapped a picture or two and waved good riddens.  So here we are nearly 8AM, 90 minutes late for the mass start that took place at 630AM but we are here and its beautiful lets ride.  Less than 5 miles in we were stripping gear and I could foresee a warm day.  We lost Beto around mile 5 as he was packed super heavy and I knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold pace with us but dam did he try.  At Patagonia Lake I ran in to Scott Morris and he armed me with IRIS his personal SPOT and took this pic of us for the obituaries and we were off.  

Having lived in AZ for the past 10 years and ridden nearly every popular cycling destination I had high hopes of being able to maintain, at the very least, a 7-8mph pace.  LOL.  Having never pre-ridden any sections below Flagstaff I didn’t understand the terrain I was up against.  I underestimated the speed and terrain tremendously.  Some situations had very little to no rhythm at all and getting and maintaining speed was next to impossible without dismounting the bike and running next to it which is obviously not sustainable.  Reaching Patagonia around mile 46 I was out of water and knew my game plan needed to change.  Ate a huge meal at Velvet Elvis Italian food and grabbed some drinks from market next door and Schulee and I were off.

Hit the HWY to take advantage of the tail wind up to dirt road then single track to Kentucky Camp.  Very fast fun sections  Ended up putting in about 90 miles the first day hit the sack just after midnight.  First experience sleeping in a BIVY was a damp one.  As I didn't know that the condensation would sneak in that much. 

Saturday Day 2
Woke up freezing with moisture all inside my sleeping bag and it was only 5AM.  I could tell there was a storm brewing as clouds and sprinkles were coming down.  Sadly the AZT led us right in to the thick of the shit storm.   We pushed through and then diverted to Collosal Cave (horse stable) and stayed by the fire place from about 915AM til about 2PM.  Ate like kings and rested up with Eric Foster and a few other riders that passed through.  The sky cleared up enough for us to push forward, the three of us left and headed for a gas station along the HWY where I met other AZT racers Jill Hueckman and Eric Lord.  Eric had a broken shifter and was out of the race.  Rumors of 20 degree temps and 8" of fresh snow were rampant.

As Eric was about to leave i asked him if he wanted to sell any of his warm weather gear as i was only prepared for warmer temps.  He kindly gave me his polartec sweater and said don't sweat it.  Schulee was not in for the cold so he diverted around Oracle Ridge and we were supposed to hook up the following day and ride together to Superior.  After talking with Jill I realized she was doing the 750 too so we hooked up and headed out about 5PM towards the goal of Mt. Lemmon base campground.  About 730PM ended up breaking away and rolling solo.  Jill is an awesome person but i just wanted to roll a faster pace, nothing personal.  Awesome fast night riding single track once we got off the rocky jeep roads.  Saw a fire with a large group of racers Eric, Brad, Big Dave and a few others about a mile below the campground.  Decided to crash with this group and head out about 4AM.

Sunday Day 3
Woke up about 5AM (dam slept in) and hit the trail, tons of hike-a-bike and a super techy descent put me at the campground where I was able to get some H20 and start my accent to Summerhaven.  Little bit of single track then about 16 miles of HWY climbing up to 8800FT.  Froze my ass off and sought refuge with Big Dave at some sandwich grill off the HWY.  

Oracle ridge started with a bunch of snow passage then some really fun wet, sloshy, steep descents.  I cant explain to you in words how crazy this section was.  I knew that by riding it Dave and I were gonna gap everyone by hours behind us.  I followed Big Dave as best I could but he was super fast and the best I could do was keep him in sight.  Ended up following Dave all the way in to The Ranch just outside the town of  Oracle.  Was able to check my phone and read a text from Schulee that said he was pushing on without me and he would meet me in Superior.  Good luck.  

Cleaned up our bikes and replenished our water.  Dave wanted to go in to town but i was confident with about 1500 calories of food I could make it to Superior and ride through the night then just eat there.  This was a huge rookie mistake.  Dave opted for Oracle, I napped for about an hour and then was woke by a Donkey at the fence about 5PM and decided to start the journey towards the water cash about 40 miles away.  I made it til about 1130AM when the trails all seemed to look the same.  There were so many game and cow trails in this area that it was hard to decide which was the correct route.  The various cactus really kept you from just pushing through.  I called it a night after about a 90 minute circle.  

Monday Day 4

Woke up about 330AM and went back to it.  Trail went from poorly recognizable singletrack to huge dirt access roads.  Watched the sun come up and was pushing hard to the water cash. The water cash is an AZT users stash and is open to anyone to use its contents.  I for some reason didn't notice that it also had food.  Another rookie mistake.    The trail from the water cash towards the mountain range before the Gila River was so much fun.  Finally some trails I could really haul ass on.  Made it through some really fun technical sections leading in to the Gila River basin.  I knew i was close to something i saw a few hikers along the trail taking pics of all the blooming flowers.  Grabbed a water fill and a cold Ginger Ale from a trailer park just off route past the Gila Bridge.  I was hoping for some fun downhill fast sections along the Gila but sadly my drivetrain was acting up real bad and every time i went to crank out of the saddle it would mis-shift and derail.  Super annoying spent lots of time messing with it in the hot AZ sun.  Tried everything i could and realized i had two good gears that I could rely on so i stuck to them.  As the heat got more and more intense I made a plan to get in the river and cool down for a bit.  So i parked the bike and hiked down to the river edge about 1PM and it felt great.  Made my way back on the trail and my bike started giving me more and more grief.  I decided to slow my roll and took shade under various places as the heat of the day got super intense.  About this time i realized that not going in to the town of Oracle for food was a big mistake.  In racing terms i was starting to bonk.  

I had about 600 calories of food left and decided to take refuge from the sun and wait for it to set and then continue after sunset.  My slow pace had allowed Brad and Matt to catch up to me.  We chatted for a bit and i tried to talk them in to hiding from the sun and hitting it after dark.  

They were determined so they pushed on.  I laid in the shade til about 4PM then my mind said hell I need to get out of here.  Packed my stuff and hit the trail.  Caught back up to them in about 30 minutes.  We were all exhausted and need to get off this dam trail.  The trail hooked north towards the superstition mountains and a lil sign of hope was able to be seen.  This section of trail was fun but i was lightheaded, and seeing stars so it was more survival then anything.  I asked Brad to keep an eye on me just in case, cause I was "bonking hard."  No worries bro, here's a Power Gel.  Super nice guys.  About this time i was barely starting to get the hang of my GPS and using the zoom features to predict distances, back light so I don't have to push buttons etc etc.  While following Brad and Matt there was a lot of tight switch backs and sections that dived in and out of sandy ravens.  This is where my drive train issues were most obvious.  I dived in to a raven went to pedal and the entire chain locked up and i went rolling down the embankment.  Gosh dammit!!  WTF... I got back up and moved up, crashing is more and more prevalent when your weak and tired, just got to focus and move on its part of the game.  About 15 minutes later i realized my GPS was gone.  I panicked.  Turned around and began looking for it without telling Brad or Matt.  After a few seconds my mind shifted and it went from find GPS to don't loose Brad or Matt your out of water, food in unfamiliar terrain and you don't know where how far the trailhead is and the sun is setting.  So i ditched recovering my GPS and hauled major ass to catch and follow them.  When I  caught Brad I told him what happened and he waited for me a few times to make sure i was ok as we made our way out to the Picket Post trailhead (TH) in about an hour.  Arriving at the TH at about 6PM i was incredibly discouraged.  

My bike needed attention, I lost my GPS, I made a stupid tactical decision of not getting food.  At this time in the race i was telling everyone i was calling it quits.  Big Dave was at the finish with his family and RV.  He was super cool gave us all some snacks and water.  He even tried to help me with my bike, but i was incredibly short with him as i was super frustrated.  Told everyone it was fun and i started my 6 mile ride to Superior to grab food and a motel.  As i engulfed a huge Los Hermanos Carne Asada burritto and checked my facebook I realized the overwhelming support i was getting from friends back home and all over the country.  I went from quitting to making a plan to finish what i started.  I will finish this race no matter the cost.  Grabbed a room at  the only motel in town and started searching the internet for bike repair shops and places i could purchase a GPS, computers i could use to download my GPS file, print off new cues sheets (original ones got wet in rain), tools i could use, everything.  By 1am I had a plan A, B and C.

Tuesday Day 5
Woke up at 6AM and was ready to start my plan.  Heard some bikers come in last night a couple rooms down so i thought they might have some tools i could use.  I determined by inspecting the bike i needed a new middle chain ring, chain and cassette.  My front middle ring was actually torn, the small one appeared ok but hell if your changing one might as well do both.  The rear cassette had a ton of play in it and there were bent rings all the way done, pretty rare for an XTR cassette in my opinion but it been put through hell. I met my neighbors about 7AM, they were from Vegas and riding the AZT also but not racing it.  They had an entire Park Tool kit they said i was welcomed to, and my eyes lit up.  Ok come on PHX wake up i need some bike parts.  I called numerous bike shops and finally got one to accept my CC over the phone.  Landis Cyclery created an order and set it aside for a courier to pick up.  Also had Paula from REI set aside a GPS order.  Some $600 dollars later my gear was ready for pickup.  Motel owner let me download my GPS info and also print new ques sheets.  Things were starting to come together.  By 9AM parts were on there way to me and things were looking good.  Now the sad part.  The rules state no support crews.  And i was obviously getting support.  Got items from courier and even talked him in to giving Pawel Kudela a ride back to PHX.  By 130PM bike was repaired and I was ready to get back on the trail where i left off.  

I couldn't let the fact go that i was about to leave a $250 dollar GPS in the desert without attempting to find it.  I rode backwards on the trail passing racer Dave Goldberg and sharing a quick conversation with him.  It took me about 2 hours of searching but i did the impossible.  I found my GPS.  Battery still full and working just like i left it.  Holy crap things are meant to be.  By 330PM I was hauling ass on the road to Apache Junction (AP JX).  In hindsight now that I've ridden the road to AP JX I could of made it there with the messed up drivetrain.  I had no idea that there was such a flat easy section in to AP JX.  But i wouldn't of had my GPS and well everything works out for a reason,  I was now in 5th place as David, Matt, Brad and Kurt Sandiforth were ahead of me,  Kurt at this time was 100miles ahead of me.  I pushed on through the night all the way up to Roosevelt Lake.

Wednesday Day 6
Yesterdays section of pavement and fireroads really showed me how poorly i prepared for this race.  I thought of this as an adventure and wanted things to be introduced to me as i came upon them verus planned. I had very little to no landmark or goal strategy up to this point.  While making my way towards Tonto I stopped in and had breakfast at a lil diner and began to write my plan to catch Kurt.  If it was even possible.  I made mileage goals and rest goals to get me to the ditch by Saturday.  This section was super fast HWY miles averaging over 18mph.  Made up 50 Miles on Kurt this day.  Made sure to take in lots of calories and never run dry.  I was heavy moving up towards Payson.  I also had started to develop a horrible saddle rash from cranking so hard on the bike.
I entered Payson about 130PM with the goal of bars, chomps, chain oil and a new saddle for the rest of my ride.  I pulled in to Paysons Hike Bike & Run and met Phil Ryder and Mick Wolf who were high fiving me and telling me I could catch the leader kick ass.  Got some parts but couldn't find a good seat.  Phil gave me his personal seat off his bike and it felt like butter all the way.  Super stoked I headed out to get to Pine by sundown.  The ride to Pine was decent, fire roads mainly in the beginning til i got close to the city it has some single track.  Oh wait it had some crappy section of Oak Creek that was mainly hike-a-bike.  Crashed here a ton of times because it was on and off the bike rideable for 20ft then crappy for 20 feet.  This was a precursor for the Mongollion Rim that i didn't know about.  

Rode off route to Ponderosa Market and then ate an amazing dinner at some restaurant right as you got to town.  My plan was to sleep til 11PM then ride through the night had to get to above the rim by sunlight.  Slept in a grass field til my alarm went off.  Loaded up and hit Phil's Trail towards the AZT Mongollion Rim.  This section was the absolute pits.  17.5miles took me over 7 hours to accomplish.  I was sending Scott text messages of how shitty this section was.  Heres a video.

Thursday Day 7 

Slept for about 4 hours and yes I finally making it a top of the Mongollion Rim, things brightened up for a bit but the trail was hard to follow and some sections to steep to ride.

By this time my knees were starting to bother me more so i had started a fast walk up hills and riding only flats and down slopes.  Checking Livetracker i could see Brad and Matt were less than 40 miles in front of me and Kurt was still in Flagg.  I figured everyone was really beat.  I made sure to stay up on my supplements which were starting to run low as i only planned for 8 days of racing.   On top of the rim I got lost on a fireroad that i thought would intersect the AZT again and once i realized my GPS zoom was at 3 mile zoom not 0.3mile i was screwed.  Got cliffed out and it cost me a ton of energy and about 90 minutes of back tracking on a now empty stomach.  Made it to Moqui Park and then to the HWY.  I was sitting on the side of the HWY using my phone GPS for better idea of what was around me when a truck slowed down and asked if i was ok.  Said i sure could use some food he said hop in the back and we can drop you off at Happy Jack down the road.  Cant give you a ride back though.  No worries lets do this.
Boom grabbed a ton of food made friends with the waitress who ended up giving me a ride back Moqui where i continued on the AZT.  I couldn't recall if this was exactly legal but in my thoughts i was only gaining nutrition, loosing time and my distance never changed.  Trail magic?  The next section up to Mormon lake was a combo of Fireroads and new singletrack.  Super fast little elevation changes.  Averaged just under 10mph all the way to Mormon Lake.  Arriving at Mormon Lake I was hoping to grab some snacks, sadly everything was shit down.  I did find an unopened 20oz Pepsi, plenty of water and an ass hole kid doing donuts in a field with his parents yellow Hummer.  I put my hand out as they were passing me on the road and the lil shit tried to swerve at me as he hit the accelerator.  I was hoping he would roll it or get stuck in one of the mud puddles but god protects idiots and fools.  After laying by the ice machine (it was warm) for an hour or so, eating the last of my food, texting my supporters and my coach I pushed hard towards Lake Mary and Flagstaff.  I was within 20 miles of Brad and Matt and less than 70 to Kurt.  Goal was to reach it by 7AM.  No sleep tonight.  This section continued to be fast.  I was praying for no peanut butter mud.  It was chilly and my mind was playing tricks as it does with sleep deprivation. 

Friday Day 8

Reached Flag by morning and started to get a grip of myself.  I got some food, and put my head down on a table for about an hour.  Ate about 5000 calories of breakfast and then went to walmart to replace my SPOT batteries.  I had been having issues using Alkaline batteries in my equip as they died so fast.  Note to other races if you ask to buy batteries and then sell you ones out of a basket and they arent sealed in packaging they probably suck.  After wally's went to USPS and picked up my drop box which was full of bars, supplements, candy, shoes, trekking poles, sunscreen, change of clothes, light batteries and i forgot extra socks.   Shipped home all my extra and used stuff including the new GPS unit as i continued to use my original one that i went back and found.  Sending some phone messages Scott told me I passed Brad and Matt last night but i never remember seeing them.

I got there phone numbers and texted them both so we could ride together.  I was bored of riding solo and was just happy to see other racers if i could.  Getting back on the AZT through Buffalo Park right at the beginning of Oldham Trail I see Brad sitting on a rock and Matt dealing with a broken wheel.  I was like holy shit i found you guys.  Talked for a few minutes than started the Schultz to Snow Bowl section together.  After about 3 hours of riding together they went to back track a route off of the Fort Valley section.  I told them it was ok and it would intersect these all meet up to the new section of AZT.  This was probably the only section of AZT i was familiar with.  So this is where i lost them.  They went back about 1/4mile and i went on. The trail gained lots of speed and by the time the day of riding was over it was 1AM and I was at Russel Tank some 35 miles to South Rim where Kurt appeared to be holding over.

Saturday Day 8

I dumped the tank starting at 430AM and hitting it hard all the S. Rim where i missed Kurt by less than 90 minutes as he began his descent in to the big ditch.  I started the hike at 1PM and  I was sure i was gonna catch him.  It was hot and his pace had slowed down a ton, something must be wrong.  Making my way to the bottom of the canyon i was gathering information along the way.  I didn't preplan any water stops for this section as i figured there would be plenty.  Made my way to Phantom Ranch where i refilled and paid like $6 for a cup of lemonade WOW.  Gathered my thoughts tightened up my rig and i was off headed to Cottonwood Campground.  It was super hot and hiding in the shade and using little effort was my goal. I kept asking hikers along the way if they'd seen anyone else packing a bike and i constantly got "NO's."

Did i pass him?  Or is he speeding up?  How valid is my info.?  Arriving at Cottonwood I make some friends and start to setup to grab a catnap for 2 hours then hit the hike at night so i don't have to stress about the heat so much.  When all of a sudden i see this.  He was walking right by the campsite.  I was like hey Kurt where you going? He was like holy crap man i haven't seen another racer in 7 days, where did you come from?  Ive been chasing you for 4 days.  Kurt said he had been alone at the front for so long he had started to relax, sleeping in and resorting back to his touring ways.  

Kurt is a lifestyle cyclist he has ridden in over 35 different countries, crossed the US three times coast to coast and ridden different portions of the AZT 3 times.  He is no slouch on a bike thats for sure.  Where i had been using technology of my smartphone to plan my attack he never had that option and was truly bikepacking in solitude the way it was meant to be.  We chatted for a bit and planned to head towards the finish together.  Quick 2 hour power nap and we were off hiking up towards North Rim with our 50+lb packs.  We cleared the canyon in less than 13 hours (including a 2hour nap and multiple breaks as the packs were dam heavy).  Not to shabby.  We ended up sleeping in the restrooms at the top of the North Rim to stay out of the 30 degree temps and 20mph winds.  The entire North Rim was closed til May and the only thing open was this restroom.  Surprisingly cozy and really clean.  Kind of felt like a prison cell but with a window.  

Sunday Day 9

We slept from about 2AM to 530AM and our goal was to find water then ride down the HWY on the snow route to Jacobs Lake some 41miles away just in time for breakfast.  I woke up and my knee was killing me.  I tried to keep pace but Kurt left me in the dust and I arrived about 15minutes after him at Jacob Lake Restaurant.  Finally we got cell phone reception and I could contact everyone and let them know I made it out of the canyon.  Looking at my GPS I figured we had about 25 miles of track slowly working downhill to the finish.  Kurt had ridden the route before and we knew this section was every man for himself.  I had to break in to my pain relievers for this last section as i had a 90 minute handicap on Kurt and he was definitely capable of using it.  We rode our asses off down the single track all the way in to Utah.  We finished the race on Sunday just about 3PM some 9 Days 7 Hours.  The most amazing feeling of accomplishment from adversity.  I still cant believe its over and that it was real.  Throughout this race some of my friends from Lake Havasu City, AZ decided to drive all the way to the border some 6 hours from home to see me as i finished the race.  It was incredible to get that kind of recognition from your peers as i usually don't really even talk about what i do for adventure as it is so different from most normals in this area.  

Kurt is a super cool guy and our passion for this race brought us together.  I truly believe if Kurt had access to the same information i did he would have seen me coming and never looked back finishing this race 2 days earlier.  This race is more about the journey then stats, awards, T-Shirts, prizes or even the rules, but i also agree that the integrity of the race must be kept.  I was in a situation where i made decisions with the knowledge I had that went against the ethics of the rules and i knew it and i must pay the penalty for that.  I think riding as hard as I did to finish my initial goal cant go unnoticed and would rather see a time penalty then a full DQ but honestly i wont frown or look down either way.  With the knowledge i have now im confident this course can be done in 7 days with the right weather.  

Scott thank you for this adventure and to all the racers i met and raced with thanks for the joining me in the journey.

Ill take the friendship over the victory anyday

Aaron Boatman