Summary

Once I got south of Flagstaff it became pretty apparent that this route was much bigger than I expected.  The trail was also quite a bit more primitive and slower going than I expected. I had planned to night ride 2-4 hours most nights but it ended up being more like 4-7 hours EVERY night to keep a level of progress that could even give me a chance of finishing.

While I would have really liked to make it to Mexico, in talking with other racers the zone south of Tucson was still slow going with tons of elevation change. Once I got to the Gila river I realized that best case scenario I would be riding until the day before we flew back and would basically jump straight back into work on top of having to get my bike packed up. I adjusted my expectations and accepted that Tucson would be the destination. The trail was so epic, I kept thinking about how much singletrack there was in AZ and how much variety of terrain there was.

Gear:

I had no mechanical issues or major gear failures but here is a quick review of what worked and didn't.  I did manage to bend my rotor and put a good dent in my helmet during the canyon portage from poor placement.

Endura MT500 shoes: I wore these shoes the entire time including the canyon hike.  They were super comfortable hiking and riding. I stepped in a few shallow river crossings and they did not let water in.  I did fall into a creek and they dried out quickly the next day.

Everything I started with or shipped

Hiking near the Supai Tunnel

Taking a break at cottonwood camp

Endura SingleTrack Lite Shorts: These worked great, dried quickly and never smelled.

Assorted Clothing: Up north I wore a thin hooded sweatshirt most of the time and was a good temperature.  Once in the desert I wore an old white long sleeve checkered shirt that was perfect against the sun and cactus. I also wore a soft brimmed hat with neck cover and did not get any sunburn the whole trip. I put sunscreen on every morning. I had a wool long sleeve base layer I only wore a few times, a wind breaker I wore a decent amount, and a thin cotton hooded sweatshirt I mostly wore when sleeping. I also had fleece lined leather work gloves mostly used when night riding. I did break out some hand warmers near Mormon Lake. I trashed some tall socks in the desert from cactus but it was made removing cholla much easier.

Sleep Setup: Until Flagstaff I used a 20* synthetic bag + minimalist bivvy and was hot most nights. I switched to a 45* synthetic bag, silk liner, and space blanket w/ Marmot Tungsten 1p tent which was sufficient the rest of the way. The tent showed its worth camping on Four Peaks in 40* weather with 20 mph consistent winds and all night hail/rain. I used a vintage Thermarest Explorer pad which was great until pushing through over growth hiking up to Four Peak where it got many holes. I tried many times to repair it but could not find all of the holes. Maybe on the handlebars isn't the best place for a sleeping pad. I foolishly carried tent stakes but never used them. I ended up anchoring my vestibule to my front wheel with a string every night.

Setting up camp then cooking from bed
while packing became a ritual

Last Night on the Trail

Backpacks: I started with a Kelty 40L backpacking bag.  It was quite comfortable and did not hit my helmet while riding which I found key in searching for a backpack.  It had some metal lumbar supports that dug into my back on the canyon hike.  In Flag I switched to a USWE 30l bag which I had never used before. I loved it as it was comfortable even with weight and had tons of organization.

Bike Bags: The Revelate hopper is perfect for any Santa Cruz and fit my 2l bladder, steripen, & gummy bears. Revelate gas tank held any heavy metal tools or spare parts. The Thule rack stayed in place with my dry bag though I did have some close calls where the web straps came loose and got caught in the rear wheel (I should cut those).  Salsa Anything Cradle worked great to hold my tent minus poles, sleeping pad and cooking setup w/ bear spray strapped ontop up north, traded for a small water bottle once in the desert. Tent poles strapped onto my downtube with ski straps+koozies.  A hose clamp+cut tube held a bottle cage + 1 liter bottle on my top tube.  I also had a front "pannier" cheap amazon bag that held all my daytime food and was never in the way. You can easily fit 3 or 4 days of bars in there.

Front Pannier

Tent poles strapped onto downtube.
I didn't test this before the route

Sleeping bag + layers

Inflation: I only carried a Foundation shock pump + presta adapter. I found this setup to be great. I did not touch my suspension the whole time but I did use the digital gauge on the pump to check my tires a handful of times.

Fenix BC21R: I bought this just before leaving on the trip and included it in my drop shipment w/ 2 extra batteries (1 with micro usb).  This has become the gold standard of bike packing lights. It lasts a long time and charges quickly. You can even use it with disposible batteries available at most stores.  I mounted it on my helmets built in go pro mount. In hindsight I could have left my Lezyne bar light at home, especially since it charged slow and my bar riser snapped.

Garmin Inreach Mini 2: Worked great and used to check weather a few times.  The battery drained quick in the canyon but otherwise used only 10% per day.

Lezyne MegaXL GPS: Worked great for navigation. I had to charge it every day when I was expecting to get 2-3 days out of it. Towards the end I realized recording was eating a lot of battery along with the fact I had my backlight on too high.

GPS+Light on Accessory Bar

Amazon Solar Battery Bank: At first I was stoked on this thing as it took days of phone and GPS charging for it to drop below half. Soon after it then immediately went dead. As expected even with direct sun for 2 days it never got any charging. It also had micro USB charging which was slow. In hindsight I should have brought 2 smaller USB C banks.

Tires:  I ran a Pirelli Enduro R w/ cush core xc in the back and did not expect issues and didnt. Up front I had a Michelin Force AM 2.35 which I pulled off of Erins bike, also no issues but wished I had a tire with more aggressive corner knobs and possibly a tad wider.  I had put a healthy amount of e13 sealant in before leaving and I'm sure its all still there.

Drivetrain: I had put a 28t front ring on before leaving and am so glad I did. My e13 cassette + KMC X12 chain only got better with time. It did build up a ton of gunk I had to clean at least every other day. I was using Dumondetech Bio lube and almost used an entire small bottle. I did trash my drivetrain crossing creeks near Mongollon Rim and used my water filter brush + Burt Bees wipes to salvage it. I never wished I had more easy or hard gears.

Controls: I started with a fresh pair of Tag Metals T3 Nylon pedals which I love, all pins are still intact.  I was using the same pair of ESI Chunky grips w/ Cane Creek Bar ends and never had any hand pain or numbness, pretty impressive for this long of a ride. I did get some undercarriage numbness from my WTB Koda seat just after the canyon but realized I had my seat titled too far forwards. Leveling it out resolved my issues. I also used the Granite Stash RT as my primary tool and brought a few full size allens as well.

Water Treatment: I had a Steripen with Lithium batteries for the whole trip along with Iodine tablets in case of emergency. I thought I would be pumping water off a decent amount of cattle tanks and creeks down South so I also brought my MSR Sweetwater pump. I used it once at Sycamore creek and it clogged after 2L. I was carrying ~7l most of the time and that was plenty to get me between legitimate water sources with plenty to spare where I probably only really needed the iodine tabs and neither of the heavier devices.