I left the Big Bug trailhead after my
BCT North ride and made good time getting to Flagstaff. The
AES Aspen Asphyxiation ride was the following day, but I was still hungry for huge miles. I concocted a route that would use the entire AES course and tag on a classic Around the Mountain loop. 105 miles of alpine spinning. That's what I wanted, needed actually. Perhaps a bit of a 750 hangover, I don't know, but it sounded good to me.
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Near our campsite. |
I met Jeff & Nancy near our preferred campsite, then we cruised into town for a meal at
Historic Brewing.Co. We crashed out early and the winds finally died down for the evening.
My alarm started chirping at 4:15am, one snooze hit later I was up and on my way to the AES start at Safeway. I had slept really well, but for some reason wasn't super amped to get going. It took me forever to get all my gear in order and I finally rolled out of the parking lot a few minutes before 6am.
The AES route begins with a 2 mile or so neutral rollout to the Elden Lookout rd. I hadn't yet reached the dirt road and I was already trying to convince myself to keep riding. Not exactly the mentality you want at the beginning of a 100 mile ride. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't 'get into it', but I pedaled on hoping my mind would snap out of it.
The climb up Elden wasn't helping matters. It was work. It was also much longer than I had remembered. I was pretty cooked at the top and took a few moments to enjoy the incredible views off to the east.
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Cinder cones pock-mark the Earth. |
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Upper Sunset trail is divine. |
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One of these days, I'm going to descend Heart trail. |
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Off the ridge and into the forest. |
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Hobbit Forest section. |
The subsequent downhill will lift anyone's spirits. It was a blast, but I began to wonder when the fast riders would catch up to me. I had a little over an hours headstart.
By this time I had already abandoned my big plans for the day. It just wasn't happening. So, now what? Do an ATM loop anyway? Stay on the Elden side of things? There was a re-route of the Arizona Trail, AZT, coming through town that I wanted to check out. That was the deciding factor, stay over near Elden.
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Nice place for a snack. |
I was taking a break down near the Sunset trailhead when the leaders arrived. One by one they zoomed by making the turn up Climb 3.
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That downhill was so much fun, even Angry Ray is smiling!! |
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Chase & Kaitlyn puttin' the hammer down. |
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Eric rounding out the lead group in 7th position. |
I debated for a bit about skipping Climb 3, but then I remembered how much fun the Sunset downhill is. Up I went. A few more racers passed by me, including Brett and Joe (who I informed was holding down the 11th spot). I was in need of some downhill grins by the time I reached Sunset.
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Yeehaw!! |
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Humphrey's Peak across the way. |
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Ran into Mike, who decided to go the opposite direction after mixing up his start location. |
A few more racers passed me when I blew by a turnoff and dumped out on Elden Springs rd. Oops. I was now on the AZT heading down towards US89, this section is bypassed on the 750 in favor of the resupply route through Flagstaff. It's mostly a fast track, but the short loose uphills were killing me.
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Blasting through an old burn area. |
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Class of '16 AZTR750 rider: Jason Hanson!! |
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I was up there a few hours prior. |
I made the short side trip over to the Conoco station after crossing under US89. There were a few riders already there. I thought a chocolate milk, Kitkat & apple pie would make me feel better. They did!! Mike & Marcus rolled up a few minutes later, I was seeing all the AES riders at my pace!!
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Mike finally making a group start for an AES ride. |
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Marcus was attending his first of many AES rides!! |
As soon as the guys passed by my photo station, I made the turn towards the Campbell Mesa trails. More fast singletrack followed. I was looking forward to riding a few miles of the Flagstaff Loop Trail opposite than I normally do.
I stopped for a snack break as the lead racers were now heading towards me on the Loop Trail. Ray flew by me, still smiling I might add, holding down 2nd place only 20-30 seconds behind the leader. They would later finish in a tie. Eugene was bummed to hear how far ahead Ray was when I told him '2 miles'. Chase & Kaitlyn were hot on his heels, then a solid 20 minute gap ensued before Joe rode past me. It was fun seeing my friends out on route, pushing themselves. I was feeling better, so I decided to check out a different trail leading back towards town.
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Flat & fast describes this route. |
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All of a sudden the 2-track is gone - singletrack takes over. |
This alternate trail rejoined the AZT at the I-40 underpass next to Rio de Flag. I was now ready to check out the new(er) AZT reroute through town to Buffalo Park. It was a wide multi-use path that climbed up onto a small mesa, less pavement, more dirt = win.
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These deer weren't too concerned about the guy on a bike. |
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Nice climb up the mesa/ |
It was a cool route to Buffalo Park. I split off there bombing down to the pavement and over to Safeway where my car waited. About 10 minutes later the racers began to show up. Most hung out for a bit, all griping about the final miles on Pipeline trail into a nasty headwind. Bleh.
Even though my ride plans were altered, it was a great day to be out on the trails. Good to see some friends I hadn't hung out with in a while. Thanks to Ray for putting on another fun, but tough AES ride.