[azepicriderandrunner]

100 miles to connect Flagstaff to Sedona in one big loop.


Just gonna let the pictures do the talking...




The crew having just descended Casner Mountain (in background)











The theme for the 5-mile connector





Scnebly



Nearing Flagstaf


We had a great group, 13 in all. Although I did have a few route failures (super sandy Dry Creek and the 5 Miles of Death March), things seemed to run smoothly. Those that did the 60 miles to the Oak Creek Brewery, great job. Everyone had a great pace, despite a few setbacks with mechanicals. A near seamless ride!

Quotes of the day:

This is the worst 5 miles of trail I have ever ridden.
It is a Chad-thing, we have become to expect as much.
12 more switchbacks to go!

Kudos to Rhino for doing the most singletrack in Sedona. Guipago, way to stay with it. I really enjoyed this type of endurance ride with a strong group of people. Thank you for everyone that came out. This was not an easy route, 60 or 100 miles. I hope to do more group rides like this on new terrain.

More pictures on the blog later today. Gotta go ride a bit!

 

[liteandfast]

I'm feeling fine after yesterday's ride. I'm up and editing the pics into a movie will post up in awhile. Chad thanks for a tour on Casner Mtn enroute to Sedona. The last 10 mi into Sedona was hard. The sandy wash we ended up in had a pool of water that if I had the time I would have slept there under the tree, but no must push on. 7:16 hrs later we were drinking beer and eating hotdogs. They were excellent by the way.

 

[philaz]

This was my first MTBR or AES ride and I have to say it was awesome. Great riding, incredible scenery, awesome people. Great times. I am looking forward to the next one. I will post some pictures later.

 

[liteandfast]

video at vimeo dot com

 

[Ry-daddy]

Thanks for the ride! I have to say that was the hardest ride I've ever done. :yikes:

More here.
​

 

[IBIKEAZ]

Great time. I was hoping for some better routes after Casner into Sedona. Those that have never ridden there e-mail me in the future and I'll take you on some epic beautiful rides there. I had a good time doing the 60 into Sedona. Hiro Sushi was excellent by the way. Glad to meet you all. Thanks [email protected]

 

[Maadjurguer]

Great time folks! Here are some of my pics:

More on my blog, here

 

[dtownmtb]

Cripes, y'all are way ahead of me on the pics. I actually had to dump a bunch to get down to 62 pictures. Anyhow, they are posted here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2422703520101986607vnrLbo

This ride was definitely different from the other AES races/rides/events Nancy and I have done in the last 6 months. Instead of being off the back, all by ourselves, we got to spend the day riding with the entire group. Chad slacked off enough to finish with us (along with Hobie and Phillip). Also, the 90% dirt road was definitely different from Chad's other events. It was nice to meet a bunch of really great folks and ride in new (to us) areas of AZ with some stunning scenery - the pictures just don't capture how beautiful it was.

Like any good ride, there was the usual drama. A broken seat post, that was swapped out with another rider who didn't need a super tall post. BTW, a seatpost from the 90's does have a good chance of failing soon. J Also, Hobie (who came all the way from L.A. with his wife) had a broken pedal. Fortunately Meghan was driving the support car and was able to remedy that issue. Then he had knee issue at the start of the climb up Shnebly, which Phillip gave him a solution to (move cleats back).

Phillip, Hobie, Chad, Nancy, and I ended up doing the grind out of Sedona and the ride back to Flagstaff together - after a calorie stop at Burger King. Despite the fact that I have been riding more than my wife lately, she kicked my ass on the climb up Shnebly. I suppose I just need to get used to that
Once again, many thanks to Chad for putting on another memorable grass-roots event.

--Jeff

 

[hobiesmith]

wow i just got back home after an 8 hour road trip back to LA and awoke from my nap. as soon as i hit the door i fell on the floor and went to sleep

i have a bunch of good pics of yall but i wont be able to load them till next week. i am about to pack for a seattle backpacking trip and then hit the hay.

just wanted to say thanks to chad for an epic journey. this was my first attempt at a 100 mile ride and i was able to complete it without too many problems. i know i was a bit slower than most so i appreciate chad waiting up for me espcially when i had my 2 different flats. next time i come to flagstaff i wont be riding on a maxxis maxlite 310:madman:

 

[Boyonabyke]

Kind of curious, as I was interested in doing this ride... is this a ride, or a race? 60 miles, would have been a personal best for me, but at my age... I'm sad to say, I would have slowed most of you down if you all are racers.

 

[dtownmtb]

Kind of curious, as I was interested in doing this ride... is this a ride, or a race? 60 miles, would have been a personal best for me, but at my age... I'm sad to say, I would have slowed most of you down if you all are racers.

This one was definitely a ride - we gathered up from time to time in case anyone fell behind. The halfway option (stopping in Sedona) was a good choice if you were not sure about your fitness. If you look at the course profile, there was not much climbing (except for that nasty little bump up to the top of Casner) from Flagstaff to Sedona. Although that jeep road going into Sedona was pretty tough.

This ride was mostly about seeing some terriffic Arizona countryside and riding our bikes all day. What could be better?

 

[azepicriderandrunner]

Kind of curious, as I was interested in doing this ride... is this a ride, or a race? 60 miles, would have been a personal best for me, but at my age... I'm sad to say, I would have slowed most of you down if you all are racers.

It was a group ride. I am thinking about doing one more enduro group ride later this fall. I will post it up on MTBR.

As Jeff said, Nancy is one of the toughest singlespeeders on a climb. :thumbsup: She kicked my butt climbing Schnebly.

 

[Guest]

Thanks

Everybody!

Thanks for a GREAT ride! I had an absolute blast:thumbsup: Good people, Good fun, Good ride, and Good eats! You guys and girls are some seriously strong riders and a ton of fun to hang with!

Thanks again! -JIm
Rock On :band:

 

[urbanseeds]

Chad - thanks for the route, you rock man. Loved all the Sedona trails. Climbing and bombing Casner was intense, almost made me want a suspended fork (not really).
-rhino

 

[Boyonabyke]

It was a group ride. I am thinking about doing one more enduro group ride later this fall. I will post it up on MTBR.

As Jeff said, Nancy is one of the toughest singlespeeders on a climb. :thumbsup: She kicked my butt climbing Schnebly.

Sounds like my kind of ride. Great peeps, great vibe, great aesthetics on the ride seeing some beautiful country from a very unique perspective. Would a Niner RIP have sufficient travel with all the AZ chunk on these fire roads? Some of that HAB in the pics looks "oh sh*at!" steep.

I'll have to git 'er done getting out there for one of these epics, AZ has so much great riding to explore. Surprisingly, Sedona just doesn't "do it" for me, my days of gnarly chunk are behind me now. But this ride, while jeep trail, looks pretty darn nice for it's views.

Did anyone download the Half Enchilada on Garmin Connect or Geoladders from their GPS units? If so, a link to it would be nice.

Running unsupported, Chad, what does the contents of your back consist of? How many liters of water, did you guys do water, endurolyte drops in advance, how many calories did you throw in the pack to make it to Sedona? Unsure, as I've limited/no experience in rides of this length and would want to be prepared properly. 6 to 7 hours/56 miles to Sedona is a lot of calories burned.

One last question, what are good 29'er tires to run on a trip like this, good low rolling resistance and strong enough sidewalls to avoid tears? I'm a 6'5" 225 # Clyde. AZ rock is tough on tires. What works locally, and what should be avoided?

 

[Guest]

run what you brung

How many liters of water, did you guys do water, endurolyte drops in advance, how many calories did you throw in the pack to make it to Sedona? Unsure, as I've limited/no experience in rides of this length and would want to be prepared properly. 6 to 7 hours/56 miles to Sedona is a lot of calories burned.

Randy

IMO any bike you are comfortable on will work. This ride had everything from full rigid, HT, FS, FR. SS, 29, 26, 650/29er, you name it, Everybody got the job done. What people took with them was as diverse as the bikes they rode. It was cool to see how dialed in everyone was to there individual needs, you could tell there was a great deal of experience in this group. Some just took 2 water bottles, others like me took a total of 6L of water. I am close to your size at 220LBS and use allot of water/ food. For me on rides this long i like to take 3-500 cal/hour of food. The lighter folks can use much less. For tires, any tough tire you are confident in, just be prepared to fix a sidewall tear on whatever you bring. Myself, i like the saguaro but you need to be on top of things if you use it as a front tire on those types of roads.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[liteandfast]

How many liters of water, did you guys do water, endurolyte drops in advance, how many calories did you throw in the pack to make it to Sedona? Unsure, as I've limited/no experience in rides of this length and would want to be prepared properly. 6 to 7 hours/56 miles to Sedona is a lot of calories burned.
Randy

Hope that helps a little.

I only had 100oz of water with Elete in it + bottle with same. Drank 1/2 the bottle on the drive up and finished on the ride. Needed more. I ate 3 goo's, 1 1/2 banana's, some Stinger eletrolye chews (1 pack). Didn't eat my peanut butter muffin I had. Had toast and PB at IHOP before the ride + oatmeal at 2:45 am. Yeah that's when I got up. I had no water left at the end.

Jim you are absolutely right about the Saugro's tires, mine washed out bad on the forest road, I thought Maad was going to run me over b/c I drifted right in front of him doing a two wheel slide. Lucky my shoe unclipped easily and I got to stick a leg out quick and catch myself before going down. This was due to my rear brake no working well at the beginning of the ride. My Garmin said I went thru 3600 cal. So that hot dog most likely made up for it.

My ride was a 29er FS Pivot

 

[liteandfast]

. A broken seat post, that was swapped out with another rider who didn't need a super tall post. BTW, a seatpost from the 90's does have a good chance of failing soon.

--Jeff

Jeff,
I have been trying out that no-set-back post for the past two weeks. That was the only reason such an old pos was on my bike. Now I have to buy a nice one.:thumbsup: Do you know of any good Ti posts? I've been thinking of a Joplin or something along those lines but am put off by their weight compared to a regular one.
Nice meeting you and your superwoman wife, Nancy. :thumbsup:

 

[Guipago]

First the Pictures

There are riders down there if you can find them.

 

[azepicriderandrunner]

View attachment 544035

Love that shot with the Kachina Peaks in the background. Somehow I missed that moment of reflection at the top of Casner this time around. I really did not even see the peaks while we were stopped up there, I was too busy enjoying the view to the south.