aztr22 - kaking myself in 3d

 

Molino Hike-a-bike followed quickly by another walk up the hill if energy levels are low.

Mt Lemon road on left the northbound and southbound through the trials on the right. A big blue for in the middle for fun

Oracle Ridge north and south bound. Mr Schilling could not make this section harder even if he wanted to.

aztr 22 - that went tits up (test ride)

I'm glad I test rode everything. One bag fell apart, one had expansion of existing holes, and one displayed wear in water proofing. I'm not going to sleep wet. Back to bag selection. Bugger.

aztr22 - never ends as it starts

A fruitless time suck is searching for lost gear around the house. Putting it all the bikepacking kit in the same spot sounds like a fine way to avoid losing something. I have another method that seems to work, it costs loads more money and is no where as good as keeping all bike packing kit in the same place.

The usual method of preparation starts with writing out a big list of everything I'll need to do and everything I'll need to get. Then over the months prior to the race the list is expanded and items slowly get ticked off the list once it has been sorted out or acquired. This year the work bench was the biggest surface I could write on if I did not want to affect the resale value of the house. If the truth wants to be heard, I was brewing some beer and could not leave it unattended while it boiled and attended to hop additions and I did not have a notebook handy.

The work bench with the original précis of my AZTR22 run. 

My first finish of the 750 I encountered a blizzard from the North Rim to Jacob Lake. I was wearing all my clothes and I was seriously worried that I would have to bivvy up somewhere and wait out the strom. This issue I had was all my warm clothing was on and I was still cold. I would not survive the night under a tree at this temperature. A thought entered my head from somewhere to wear the sleeping bag while I rode. I had my head sticking out where feet were meant to be and I'd zippered up the back just enough to allow one hand on the handle bars and the other hand holding on to the hood so it would not get caught round my legs or in the chain. Unconventional but it worked. Best puffer jacket. It took a while to untangle myself when I arrived at Jacob Lake and one or two looks were had. A thrilling (for me) little anecdote to say I like warm clothes and 'Ill not put myself in that position again. This brings me less abruptly to gloves than if I'd started this story with 'I like gloves'.

I'd found some great riding gloves that happened to be almost the same colour as my helmet and my shoes which is mildly pretentious if they were not such good bits of kit. Scratch that, it is pretentious but good kit.  I had some big over mittens from snowboarding without the liner and I had some Queensland winter gloves or Victorian summer gloves. Actually those last gloves should read glove. One was lost. 

For two months every cupboard that stored bike packing kit was searched that turned to any place a glove could have been placed and I would find it, repeatedly, only to realise it was the left hand glove I had not lost but put down somewhere and it was swept away. 

So week in and week out when I had a minute or two I'd look for the lost glove only to re-find the left hand glove with a monotonous regularity bordering on resentment. So I pegged the glove to the back of the coffee machine and there it sat taunting me. In the end the thought of F it, I'll buy a new pair took over. At $120 plus shipping from Europe, I held off buying as could  an equivalent pair of gloves for a lot less and without shipping.

This is a staged photo as the original photo had too much information reflected in the back of the coffee machine. In this one there is only a framed photo of Franks Pizza Green River Utah from an ill thought out ride from Boulder Colorado to the West Coast.

Cutting this exceedingly dull story short, I found the right glove folded in with some sheets that had not been used for a while. Incidentally, Im not taking those gloves, Ive some others that fit nicely in the mittens.

The next lost item was a cap. George of Binary Bicycles gave me a brand new cap they had just designed and from their first shipment on top of helping me out after the race. Since I only have half a head of hair remaining at the moment and an increasing area of scalped expected to be exposed rather than growing hair back, caps are essential so I don't end up with brown dots sunburnt into my head in the shape of a helmets air vents.

My Binary Bicycle cap with the almost colour coordinated gloves. This cap is light, breathable, and comfortable under a helmet

My next method is to look for the cap for a period of time, then go and buy a replacement. The original cap will turn up in days of purchase. It did, thankfully.

aztr 22 - anxiety starting to kick in

Every time I've trained for this race Ive overtrained. This year I had to drop 23kg and it was base training the whole time. I feel a lot lighter, ie 23kg lighter, I'm turning nice circles with the pedals and the training rides have been on trails that are in no way similar to what I will be riding. Fingers crossed training at 70% max HR is a good strategy for this race. I'm screwed otherwise.

An example of the magic carpet rides I get to train on. Please excuse my rubbish one handed videographer skills. I've also deleted the audio as that clicking of tyres on gravel in videos bugs the shit out of me.

I'm not saying the trails are bad, they are not, they are a lot of fun just very smooth and manicured and if I tried hard enough I could have found some more challenging trails to train on. These are the closest to home.

aztr 22 - (my) rule 1

 In 2019 I got a shuttle to the start line and during the trip down someone asked what is the most important thing to do in the race (or a question to that effect), and without thinking I blurted out my number one rule of 'don't shit yourself". A confused and classic American polite silence followed. 

That silence has lived with me since and here I can at least explain the logic.

It's my first rule, this could be different for others.

The reasoning: there a numerous reasons for getting to a point where your stomach does not want its contents anymore, that is here nor there at this juncture, this is just dealing with the why you don't want to be still on your bike and starting/finishing a bowel movement at the sane time.

1. Water is a scare commodity and using it to clean shite off butt and shorts is a waste though very necessary,

2. You'll never get your shorts clean enough to wear with a bottle of water after you have filled them with last nights dinner, and...

3. (butt) hygiene is one of the most important things during these races. A saddle sore will end a race though lying on your back and letting the mid day sun burn the saddle sore dry is an option, just be careful where you point it.

I wont ruin your day with the photo  (of course there is a photo!).

AZTR22 - Southbound

AZTR22 southbound variation looks like hell.

This is the Four Peaks reroute, unfortunately it doesn't drop down soon enough for the services along the Tonto Basin. 

 Mr. Schilling decided that before you get to Picket Post, he'd throw in a big FU sucker with an extra 1000m vertical climbing. I should be able to see over Picket Post from the top of this climb. I be able to get some great photos with Peak Finder from up there. 

On an out and back ride descending the road you sweated over is part of the fun. On Mt Lemon, the tracks below have orange as up and magenta as down. I'm hoping like hell to hit these trails during daylight.

Starting to kak myself though loads of fun playing with Topofusion.

aztr 22 - somewhat bleak

 

It was an Indian whiskey, not too bad either. Now its going to stop spokes rattling around in the handle bars. If it does rattle there is the deepest desire it rattles for the whole trip without having to open it.

The other concern is it pops out, I lose the spare spokes, and I impale myself on the open tube bar end during an accident.