AES - Antelope Peak Challenge 65

The alarm went off early, only 4 1/2 hours of sleep following my ride in the McDowell's, but I had to get up & get moving. I volunteered to round up the crew at the start for the APC 65 down at the newly constructed Tiger Mine Trailhead near Oracle. Steve and I hit the road shortly after 6a and made it to the party with a little time to spare. A few more riders trickled in, but half of the vehicles parked there were waiting for the finishers of the monstrous Gila100 (replacing the APC 115). I knew I wasn't ready for that beast, besides I had some payback in order for the 65 anyway. No way I'm getting disoriented on the Old Pueblo course this year!! It also helps that this year the course would be ridden in a CW fashion, still doing the 15 mile relatively flat neutral start. This would mean there would be daylight for the OP course and the Painter Boy Trail.

This year, the AZT sign marked the finish line for the 65 & Gila100. Antelope Peak on the horizon.

I got everyone signed in and we were rolling at 8:09a. We were cruising along hwy77 for a few miles, two of the guys crept off the front, then Steve passed by me, that opened the flood gates and I was quickly in the back unable to match pace. I didn't fall too far behind when we made the turn onto Willow Springs Rd, but after a few undulations it became apparent that I was in for a long hard day. My legs were already feeling heavy!! I guess that McDowell ride wasn't the wisest of ride choices, but oh well, suck it up!!

Steve dropped back and mentioned that in our haste to get going he forgot to load the track onto his GPS! I convinced him to hang back with me until we cleared the Painter Boy section as there are a few vague areas before getting dumped back onto Willow Springs Rd. We reached the Willow Springs Arch & staging area and there were quite a few vehicles present as riders were out pre-riding the 24hr Old Pueblo course. We gave the AES riders the choice to go either way at this point up to Painter Boy, similar distance, but most people pre-ride the course in a CCW race direction.

Near the end of our neutral rollout.

Our start on the Old Pueblo course.

I made my way slowly up towards Painter Boy, easily found the turnoff and began the winding primitive singletrack. I really like the Painter Boy singletrack, it twists & turns, is narrow, has short ups/downs, a little tech thrown in and you have to pay attention to stay on route. It's kind of a throwback trail, meandering through the vast desert foothills. After a few miles the fun really begins, first the trail just sort of stops, but there is a slight clearing on the right...with a barbed wire fence...that you have to crawl under....with your bike. Caroline, Steve and I were now hanging together through the obstacle course. Now the trail becomes a bit more faint, trail sense heightens and you are led to a old 4x4 road for a bit. Next, the trail sharply turns to the right and heads into what appears to be a field of bramble, but if you are careful to watch your GPS, a vague route does exist through these perils.

Photo from last year heading into the bramble area, see that trail straight ahead?

The last obstacle to navigate is another barbed wire fence, this time where the trail meets the fence is a large support pole, turn right and go down the fenceline about 100 feet keeping an eye out for the one strand of barbed wire that is clipped...hoist your machine over the fence....now climb through....head back up to the pole and follow the sandy wash for a 100 yards.

Last year Scott marked the way with police tape, very helpful.

Thankfully the sand wasn't too deep.

On the right a trail emerges, follow it out to Willow Springs Rd, wasn't that fun!?!? Steve and Caroline begin to pull away from me on the dirt road and after a few undulations of the road they were gone. I would ride the last 38 miles solo, similar to last year when Seron's rear derailleur imploded. I settled into a comfortable pace making my way to Freeman Rd.

Antelope Peak getting very close.

I crested a hill on Freeman Rd and spotted the AZT marker on the right, drat! I blew right past the Freeman Rd water cache! A quick about-face and I was able to top off my water bottles with the ample supply of water dropped by fellow AZT enthusiasts. A huge thank you to those who donate water and time to this magnificent trail.

AZT @Freeman Rd water cache & new trailhead.

I knew the next chunk of trail was mostly downhill into Bloodsucker Wash. I dodged at least half a dozen chollaball minefields on the flanks of Antelope Peak. While a bit dangerous, cholla forests are one of the most scenic aspects of desert riding.

Passing by Antelope Peak.

I forgot how many short uphill stints there were leading down to Bloodsucker Wash and on tired legs that meant one thing....more HAB. I arrived down in the wash around 2pm and relaxed against a carved out embankment enjoying the tranquility and more snacks. I knew what lie ahead, a lot of climbing, roughly 1400' over 6 miles on loose terrain.

Snack & rest time in Bloodsucker Wash.

At 2:30 it was time to get moving. I'm certain I HAB'd 90% of the initial 2 mile climb, my legs had nothing left, time to dig deep and get through this. Ride when I can, HAB the rest, just get to the top. The miles ticked off slowly at first, but the climb subsides for a bit in the middle and I was able to ride a bit. I considered these 'free' miles as I wasn't hiking!!

Still on the initial 2 mile grade, Antelope Peak starting to disappear high above the wash.

I had made good progress approaching the top when all of a sudden I heard someone coming up the hill, it was Kurt!! The leader in the Gila100. As he approached I told him 'I was expecting him'. He stopped for a quick chat asking how I was doing, 'on fumes' I replied, but otherwise ok. He wasn't even breathing hard, but we did agree that this section of trail is one of the tougher spots on either route. He was determined to finish before sunset, I was too, but knew all my HAB would prevent that.

82 miles into the Gila100 and Kurt is rockin'.

I sat and watched him in awe just destroy the upper portion of that climb. I gathered myself and made the final push to the summit after 1hr 45 minutes I made it to the top - whew. I caught one last glimpse of Kurt zipping through the fast rolling terrain ahead, then he was gone.

Top of the Bloodsucker Wash climb.

A fast section of trail awaits, Mt. Lemmon looms large.

Antelope Peak now a speck on the horizon as the golden hour approaches.

I tried to keep the speed up where I could, I wanted to knock off a couple of the final drainage repeats, 6 in total, before darkness settled in. The gasline bypass segment ended and the end was near, the only thing remaining were the 6 drainages. I was about 1/2 way up the 4th one when I pulled over to put on my light and add layers. I soon heard another rider approaching, Aaron was cruisin' and asked how much more until the end. I thought there were still 5 miles, but Aaron insisted there were only 2, 'it has to be 2, my GPS is at 91 miles, I think the route is 93!!' I told him I hoped he was right, I'd gladly exchange 3 miles at this point.

Aaron reluctantly had to use his light.

Aaron quickly disappeared and I got moving again. Drainage 4 complete, 5 complete, start the HAB up No. 6. I looked back and I saw another light off in the distance, another Gila100 rider? Ok, let's get to the finish without getting passed by again. Mercifully the grade lessened and I rode out the rest, up the final two switchbacks to the AZT sign and a few congratulatory whoops & hollers! I was done, I mean I was DONE.

The image of a whooped rider. Photo by Caroline.

I stood there for a moment collecting myself. That was hard, but I made it DFL in the 65 and all. I'll take it. Even with all my struggles during the day I still beat my time on this course from last year by over an hour, granted I didn't get dis-oriented on the Old Pueblo course this time.

That final light I saw? Max rolled into a 3rd place finish in the Gila, followed by Chad, Tom, Ray, Mark and Jeff. Perhaps next year I'll keep my January miles up and attempt the Gila, who knows.

That was a tough two days on the bike. No mechanicals or flats either, hard to believe. One final stat I found amusing:

January 2013:  80 miles & 8,100 feet of elevation gain
February 1st & 2nd:  124 miles & 13,500 feet of elevation gain. No wonder I was whooped.

Congrats to all the finishers for both the 65 & especially the Gila100.

McDowell Redemption??

How does the old saying go, 'When the cat's away, the mice will play?' K had an impromptu surprise retirement party to attend in FL for her sister and would be away for a few days. I took Friday off of work & after dropping her off at the airport, bike already loaded of course, I was on my way over to the McDowell Mtns.for a little redemption for my DNF during the AES McD60 back in December.

A few weeks ago I also skipped the annual Quad Bypass ride that Walt puts on due to weather. So I had concocted a route through the McD's to satisfy a dual redemption. Start with the AES route, then after clearing Tom's Thumb throw in a loop around Windgate/Bell/Gateway passes before rejoining the AES route to the finish. Hence the McDowell Madness Loop. Grand indeed. Could I pull it off? In short, no.

To give you an idea, last year I averaged 250 mountain bike miles per month, fast forward to January 2013 and I had 80. Not enough for me to complete this route especially with a 9am start. With that said, I still did a really nice big loop. I tried to just keep a good pace going, limiting my stops to short breaks and not a bunch of photos.

One of my other concerns for the day, was my bike. The day before I had started up National trail at South Mountain and snapped a rear spoke on the Crossmax's. Then I started having real shifting issues with my rear derailleur only to find out my fine adjust was max'd out. I replaced the spoke & adjusted my derailleur at home that night. Hoping all would hold up.

The ride started well, steady pace, under fantastic weather. I made my way from Thompson Peak Pkwy / Bell Rd over to the Sunrise trail, one of the passes on the route. I stopped a few times gong up, but otherwise felt good. Plenty of hikers out enjoying the nice morning, but no bikers.

At the summit split on Sunrise Peak.

The descent down the backside of Sunrise is a blast and I'm getting fairly confident in cleaning the upper switchbacks. I opted for the ride through Hidden Hills, I figure one slow mountain biking going uphill wouldn't stir the pot too much!! The jeep road connector from Sunrise over to Sonoran Trail is a real grind, up, up, up you go.

I was determined to have a good ride on Sonoran Trail, my nemesis of late. I cleaned all the downhill switchbacks easily and made the first set of uphill ones, then did the usual HAB up the second set before the fun downhill over to Dixie Mine Trail. LOOK AT THAT, no crashes on Sonoran Trail - a first!!!

Cholla forest on Sonoran Trail.

Next up was the climb up Prospector,just steep enough to put you at the breaking point, but rideable on most days. I walked a couple of short sections, but otherwise had a good go of it to the junction with Bell pass.

Top of Prospector with Sunrise Peak.

Next was the über fun downhill of Bell / Windmill / Coachwhip / Dixie Mine / Pemberton before finally hooking up with the back end of the Long Loop. So far no ghost shifting on the rear derailleur, so I could take advantage of the fast track on still damp 'hero dirt'! Soon I was rolling into the competitive loop staging area at the Regional Park where our December ride came to an end. I sat down for some lunch by the pump track and realized I still had yet to see another mountain biker!! I was now 33 miles in and only hikers and a couple of horseback riders.

Remnants of a mud puddle on Dixie Mine.

Pump track, but I was too tired to mess around on it.

I sat at the picnic table staring at the pump track, legs getting wobbly from the earlier climbing. I began thinking that this really isn't a bad place to get a ride back to the car! I wasn't about to call it off, as I had no one to call anyway. I made my way over to the Scenic Trail via a connector I had not been on. The climb up Scenic is nice, gradual up to a wide ridgeline then down a swooping roller-coaster of a trail towards Pemberton.

One of the toughest parts of the day came on the easy Granite trail. It is gradually uphill, but just seems to go on forever. My legs were getting heavy and the sun was now getting low.

End of Granite trail, back on Pemberton for the third time.

I finally met the junction with Rock Knob Trail and exited the park towards the new Tom's Thumb Trailhead. I had already made up my mind that I wasn't going up & over as it would most certainly be all HAB going up. I also wasn't keen on the idea of riding the 20+ switchbacks down with only my helmet light. I asked a few hikers for the quickest way back to Thompson Peak Pkwy and finished up my ride with 14 miles of road back to the car. It was 7:15p when I rode up to the car, not 30 seconds later K called, she had arrived safely in FL. Two journeys completed, I was off to home to pack up for another big ride the following day. I hope I didn't overdo it today, but I'd say it was a successful redemption ride even if the Madness route has to wait.

Last light waning over Tom's Thumb.