Stage 1: Jacobs Lake

Sunrise in Big Water

I woke up at sun rise and go to work pedaling to the start. A ton of empty pick up trucks passed me and I hap hazardly stuck out a thumb hoping someone would give me a ride so I could get on singletrack. There was a surprising amount of traffic once I turned onto dirt of people going to assorted trail heads. I got to state line campground around 11:20 and did some stretching and ate a little in the shade.

At the Northern Terminus

I started up the first hill and it was tough! It was 86* with no shade and a ton of elevation to be gained. I saw a through hiker about to finish only about a mile from the trail head which was a cool way to start. It was interesting I felt like I was on New Mexico style desert, looking at big red rock Utah style desert and marching towards Arizona style terrain. Once up top in the woods the trail became more enjoyable. I was making great progress but right before dark I started to feel weak. I decided it was time to stop and eat so I pulled out my stove. After eating I felt much better. I decided I should stop in Jacobs Lake to get water. I had planned to continue pedaling a few more hours as I originally had planned to make it all the way to the North Rim the first day but the prologue got the best of me and pushed my time off. It was really cold there. I ended up getting a milk shake at the store and as soon as I sat down in their lobby area I was surrounded by a family of 20 making plans for the next day. I decided to grab a spot on a picnic bench at the campground across the street. I planned to pay the next morning since it was pretty late but got woken up at 11 PM by the campground host being asked if I paid. I settled up in the morning and met some cycle tourists who just finished a 4 day trip on roads, paths, and some AZT. The campground closed for the season that night!

First AZT Gate

Milkshake at Jacobs Lake

Stats: 8.5 hours moving time
60.5 miles 6,342k of gain

Comments

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 ...

Stage 3: Into the Canyon

I got up to cook breakfast and pack my things up. I tried to be strategic knowing I'd be attaching my bike to my bag shortly. I killed the partial butane I had started with and broke out my brand new can, one less thing to carry through the canyon. I ate with the rim hikers I had met the night before. I got to the permit office just a few minutes before 8. They phoned the South Rim and were able to get me a permit at the group spot in Bright Angel which was ideal. That meant I would hike the 7 miles down and 7 miles across today and save the 7 miles up for the next day. I donated my left over shower quarters to the NPS to not carry a bunch of extra metal across the canyon. A few hundred feet in Bike Disassembly Once at the trail there was a small sign that said "No Bicycles". It took me about 40 minutes to pack my bike up. The weather was overcast and drizzling which was ideal. The bike felt heavy but manageable. I was very glad to have a proper bag to keep...

Video Montage

I've created a 7 minute movie from my 2 weeks of footage. The camera mount broke at Martinez Canyon so I don't have much from the final few days.

AZTR Enduro

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