I had time for one last 'training' ride before I headed north to New Mexico to finish the Tour Divide. What to ride, what to ride?? I wanted a higher elevation route, something fairly pedal friendly too. Rim country came to mind. Why not an out-n-back on the Rim Rd., aka: FS300? Yep, that would do.
I arrived at the FS300 / AZ87 junction north of Pine to 68ยบ temps. Perfect. I typically like to skip the first section of FS300 up & over Baker Butte in favor of FS218 as it undulates less and gets to the rim quicker.
I was riding the Havok, the same bike I rode on the 2019 Tour Divide and the one I'd be finishing the route on. I had swapped out the Jones bars in favor of George's new Ti mid-sweep bars, the Falkens. I also had my Brooks saddle with replaced hardware to test out. Early indications were in: Superb comfort and cockpit feel. This bike was made for this type of riding.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQBsUn3zP2QLPzZIN5Gnp_BlUdv_tpV0SjOMJcAXWjw8x8Qr-AB0X3fMvi72wErS4JyUdjcRTx7u0QRwxaQNVW9s1oxZ1BUgwExA3bP163XYzwtuJCFH2_ZjS_Sz7Rp4JKwx74oFv4hIaW_oKAd5mhSkJrdgzO2V3xKe6C3HIClSlpc6AHWc_IXnOkGs-/w640-h292/peakfinder.jpg) |
Incredibly clear vista to the south. Love days like this. PeakFinder app. |
As I rode along towards the AZT junction, I remembered Igor telling me about some new General Crook singletrack in the area. I figured I'd be on the lookout for it and if it appeared good, I'd hop on. Low and behold I spotted a cairn shortly after passing the AZT.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKetK4Jj2YKoh4Dj8q1iXZHP_gSK7Mjydky45ZkZ2KaYobXoGyMCOwUhiv2Od1L2GPrBElaD3cervGiv51b_hoQY53HgSa6kFqi3uAgVAX1I7MrFCIZSxyVr1l7ilrDyCzjEMRW-g3vdw2c3gyukXSy4uEJyTWk2fgMR40YJGPynXRUT_P1J82pIc5tx6Q/w400-h225/PXL_20240601_165637270.jpg) |
So far, so good. Really nice singletrack through the forest. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUUKvluOdcwtIsdR80p78h_hXNxKB-7dDs_vCThKndYqx6owSOegvum2CI5nEJ_ZgSosY8Tz3HjNx4r7uw4Q_Tcv-durM69K7Yz90yYYe-J7m-DCJyoVz03YDw9RYWASM4gQg3dO3slk4_5xiGEd2sxF4FTNLs5kpZ_yNMAftGFha9Mxwv2VZ4-RJvMNe/w400-h225/PXL_20240601_170310719.jpg) |
It kept going, crossing over FS300 a few times along the way. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkElXYmK8oZzIs78wbxGcy0dXwxiZikVkqPiSXJUzLGupQvghUrnpCjLdMRk-0EHKBQzvu3S00aQyWg4vGGaW7hadIhOF9CIUMcVvsvyIqEdxzNuBYOchebZlwW_PtiOlKOXFrw12e1JyH1yOBv-3qisRf5uv4-FfmAuhLasZQd9RtB6eNxq5u_4sSbjT/w400-h225/PXL_20240601_172713327.jpg) |
While FS300 wasn't super busy with OHV traffic, this was so much better than competing for real estate on the dirt road. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYC7g72ARcMAqfysz9G3gPVMVASEiUUn0pJ85BO_-QK8x8q9baoIyxsJUg7o8GygyyADwLCDjpJILeOA26kcRGYkJMIP742BEBwQxWbgcZyeUmiTWvzOt8c3Pa5OrYQYIUo8DqDFfRoeWCu1DL6PkuFbPKhroAN7ecAJhRkM1goAy7pY7d4RbxMdhk94sl/w400-h225/PXL_20240601_174139746.jpg) |
Hard to believe this trail was running parallel to FS300, never really being more than 1/4 mile away. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnb5p6z9VuV3aaDz9NehFG7hOsdiNXKNY8kBMb_uCDl0xpcyx1lYQv4GQaweckgkbiDLi92qGTuQlI6GdO1aJQ6dWyTHorI3qEHzpwi6CBHvgEr-bYjSGUi_kqqoy-VBHmKvxtJ-9JdD7VEJMxQrKF2hrXDBfWu12r_VuwG5RLvPGrXgx4OpcxSgxRqVY/w400-h225/PXL_20240601_174522427.jpg) |
Little bit of spice on the trail too. |
There was a section of trail that had about a dozen down trees, but I also saw a bunch with fresh cuts. Hopefully the rest of the trail will be cleared soon as it generally rode really well. There was one short hike-a-bike where the General Crook cut a corner climb on FS300. That could be easily skipped in the uphill direction.
Zoom into the far right/east side of the route to see the difference between the General Crook trail and FS300 alignment.
Talk about killing 3 birds with one stone: Training ride, new General Crook trail and an AES route scout. Win, win and win. As a bonus, I felt really good the entire way. I actually feel like my fitness is returning along with some elevation acclimation. Just in the nick of time too. Here I come, New Mexico.
Here is my setup for the New Mexico portion of the Tour Divide, which I'll be resuming on June 8th:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyR2k_BAP2iTBW7apSVN_v4vcFOeQJ0f7HefhnXz6hdduZMa7vX12rth83v5dQ0X-zlVKELt0g9Q-ZPR7ID7l7O3OoD_ZEB1pqPImPVkhpfLeoJwbwe5filTEpIRYkDlZUX5VSc5mL9hwwg4af5V42B96_996YLiuemevJSLkA1utCGCz7knfRQDtaq6S/w400-h400/IMG_20240604_125625_601.jpg) |
Drive side shot. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Wfy3ERA9bNrmmyiVi3QV5_DPwi1RhTx8p63zPXAGt1rWKwBewlMVqdnSd3l1EYSrTdULHVgFnSbQsZ_tqb97ymggreEs5YwdTiWSQaVzp8uBraa-JEFOv8qq2GMg4DvrNN8t3B65cNAI_np6dcJq4LO11a-7iDWNkET003z-DMw2L2b0wqAI9wjgkV0j/w400-h400/IMG_20240604_125625_655.jpg) |
Non-drive side. Almost looks like two different bikes. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rOTS8DWUZh7EQpRWPrlDCaxuPc4E07RGF2jkcfF-zdfIBkIY5FoNIi-LAk2rTJ_mIRvzPYUt-U-dvWtTD04LJMcdRlxAqMrDQmRxP6VvTaHV7j95sqR4ZrN5-dmvnFXqnm72tdnpsmkXHsPNe-1DshmCkc1Vc934Dh8V56luRYgXiE7iV1GQ5SKyEmt8/w400-h400/IMG_20240604_125625_675.jpg) |
I'm going to finally earn one of these, along with completing a career Triple Crown of Bikepacking. |
You can follow my progress south here: https://trackleaders.com/finishtd24
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