A rhino? Or a cow? Chuckles and smiles as the scene in front of the two of us appears to resemble videos of grasslands in the African continent that are in memory. Tall yellow grass, soft brown dirt, cows, one lone tree. This isn’t Africa though, it’s the Arizona/Mexico border. Border monument 103. 10/16/2024, the night before the beginning of the Arizona Trail Race (AZTR), 2024. Here with Pops, a 3 year participant in the event/race/ride. A display of dispersed vehicles, bicycles, fellow race participants, appears. The border barrier, a collection of logs held together by metal wire, with several bicycles placed upright along. Parked car, open doors, the dry desert air. An inhale, an exhale, and a moon-rise to the east. The shine of a full moon over rolling hills. A sunset so pink, yellow, orange. Gear preparation commences: this in this bicycle bag, that in that bicycle bag. A king and friendly welcome form a fellow participant. A much appreciated welcome. Pause. The AZTR. A self-supported bicycle bikepacking race along the Arizona Trail, a trial spanning from Mexico to Utah. The AZTR having two length options ~300 miles and ~800 miles. 300 with a terminus at Picketpost trailhead east of Phoenix and 800 with a terminus at the southern Utah border. 300 being the goal to finish this year. Different bikepacking races have different terms, but in general it’s carry what will sustain the participant through what may be encountered on the trail, with no planned assistance permitted. Just a participant, a trail, and whatever else, with resupplies permitted at publicly accessible locations. Sleep, pedals, food, water, whatever on the trail (nice if it’s good). “Trail Magic” as some say are chance encounters that may help the ride to continue, such as sharing tools, a snack from another trail user, or anything else that’s exchanged in good, honest spirit. Resume. A goodnight, still darkness, and sleep.

Blinking eyes gathering dark shades of green from the tent above, a collection of muffled sounds of voices, laughs, zippers this way and that, clicking of bicycle freewheels moving about. Pre-dawn. It’s today! The beginning of this race. This ride. Out of a sleeping bag and into cycling shoes, shirt, arm and leg sleeves. A smile appears of calm and excitement for the 6:00 am group departure and what may come along the way along the ride. A step outside, a warm greeting from Pops, a tent collapse back into burrito form. Colors appear slowly as the sun rises, still dark enough that headlamps dance about on bicycle helmets around the dirt road that gradually becomes a gathering pint for race participants and those there along with. 5 minutes till start! A voice carries. Shoes on feet, helmet on head, bicycle through body. A tight hug from Pops and smile of support. I love you. 5,4,3,2,1. A group departs. Mile 0. Day 1. Woohoo! Dust floating as wheels turn and turn through rocks, dirt, and everything along. A group disperses. Oh, a bag is open? Pedaling pauses with shoes on the ground as a realization that a ground layer is left behind. Well, probably be good to look out for poky rocks and thorns when looking for a sleep spot along the trail. Bag closed, pedal on. Headlamp off as the sun rays peak over the foothills ahead. A dirt road heading up toward the light, heart pounds. A rhythm of pedal strokes. Pedal, coast, up, down. Dirt road winds along. A pause in the morning air. Shoes on dirt. Unzip. Phone camera in hand, lens forward. A fellow participant ahead, shadows, dirt, a breeze through grasses. Enjoying. A beginning of an aim to pause every ~10 miles to record with a phone camera whatever there is, with the addition of any critters that may or may not appear along the way 😀 Being on the Arizona Trail. Woohoo! A gate, hand, latch, singletrack! A canopy of trees in the southern Arizona desert? Ooo! A dry creek bed, scattered leaves, still. Pedal on, and WHAM! Helmet and tree surprise. Whew, disorientation. Helmet visor ahead on the trail, still functional, cool. A fellow participant appears. A check in: Are you okay? An answer: Yes, thank you! Pedal on ride. Pedal off, walk when steep. A creek, a gentle flow of water. Water filtering. A gate, hand, latch, singletrack. Each gate, each latch, appears so unique so far. Material, latch style. Whoops, saddle bag is stuck on some barbed wire on this one. Close gate, unstuck, pedal on. Trail ahead, sunlight fades. Lights on. A deer ahead? Hm, that movement does not appear like a deer. A coyote! Quickly out of sight. Continue on, and howling? Lights off just to listen in the darkness. Out of water now. Close to a potential faucet at a campground. Yes, here it is. A gate to Kentucky Camp. A soft warm glow from light bulbs in the early night. A bulb above an outdoor sink, a historic appearing building to the right. Two bicycles upright along. Two likely race participants with sleep gear in hands. Sleep preparation. Water! Gulp and gulp. Splashes on face. Sounds of footsteps behind. Turn around to see a calm smile, and a friendly introduction and message: Camp host here, feel free to stay as long as you’d like. A thank you and smile. Bike bottles and bladders full of water, trash in bin, a late night snack, and pedal on. Wheels turning, wheels sliding? Aaand wash out in some gravel. On the ground, on feet. Assess bike and body. Looks ok, just a small tear in shirt and abrasion on skin. Sleep soon? Yes. Just about the mileage goal for day one. This little gravel patch on the side of the trail looks cozy. Bike down. Bags unzipped. Inhale, exhale. Sleeping pad with air inside. A clank of a gate ahead, a light appears, closer and closer? On feet, and greeting a human being on a bicycle. A fellow race participant. Both are curious now, What direction is north? They see on a GPS that they made an accidental backtrack a few miles ahead. Exchange a goodnight and share that there’s another flat area to sleep nearby if they’d like. In sleeping bag, in bivy, a full moon above. Wowie, sleep.

Soft crunches of gravel, a buzz of a freewheel, whoosh of bicycles. Morning of Day 2. Light of the sun warm in the eyes and in the bivy. Unzip, stand up, Streeetch. Wow it looks different here now. The gate from last night to the north, sun to the east, shrubs low to the ground. Inhale and exhale. Crisp air. A smile to the sunrise. Roll up sleeping pad, stuff and secure bags, bicycle with human being appears. Exchange. Share arrival hour to this spot here, around 11. They share their heading of the Utah border for the 800. Cheers and depart. Body through bike now, pedal on! A honey bun breakfast on the bike. Flowy and windy trails. Around a bend, and wow! A whole community of ocotillo cacti. Smile of a reminder of those first seen in early camping days in West Texas. Gentle sways of spines in the morning air. The ninth, mile ~90, video of the ride. Pedal on, pedal off walk when steep. Food is so sweet now? Nausea and small, patient nibbles. Sips of water help with chews. In a tunnel now, under a highway south of Tuscon. Approach into Colossal Cave, still air, so quiet, cliffs and trees reach high above a dry gravelly creek bed. Trail winds along. Around a bend, and a critter right here in the center of the trail, mile ~113 😀 A tortoise, hi friend! A pause to observe as they are, just being on the trail. Slowly walk along with space. Bye, friend! Pedal on. Saguaro cacti dispersed along the trail here, grooves of green, alive. Arrival into a quiet picnic area. Mid afternoon, hot still air, a vault toilet. Maybe a water spigot here? Wander over to a shelter. Yes, water here yay! Drink and splash. Refresh. Look at the hour. May the market south of Tuscon close soon? No internet connection to check. Well, may be worth to increase pace to arrive before close. A zoomier pedal on smooth and flowy downhill singletrack. Ok maybeee too fast. Feet on ground, check phone. Market open for hours longer. Arrive. Bike rests along a wooden fence at the outdoor patio. A lively Friday night at the market, bar full, blended aromas of food. Sit down meal here? This sandwich from the refrigerated section looks good actually. Gummies, energy bars, goldfish, snacks in a shopping basket. Checkout. Nausea still here. Sit down at a stool outside, slow chews on this and that. A gulp of two chocolate milks tastes good now… Snacks in bicycle bags, two human beings at a nearby table. Ask about the bicycle and destination. Picketpost trailhead east of Phoenix for the AZTR. Kind words of encouragement and smiles of departure. Red blinky light on. A stretch of road west, then north. Umm, stomach churns. Ok, stop. And well, yeah. Chocolate milk. Sunset. Lights on. Pedal on. Pavement into dirt. Flat into steep. A climb up Reddington Road. Slow pedal turns, forward slowly. Walk when steep. Miles tick slowly into the night. Nausea louder. Rumbles of an engine arrive into ears. The red brake lights, and beam of headlights into the darkness ahead. And it’s sideways? A jeep crawls along steep, eroded surfaces of rock slabs. A crowd of friends around the vehicle spot and laugh with encouragement. Greet and pass. Down steep and large rock drop offs. Ok, for sure walking this spot, and this one. Pedal on, fingers around brake levers. A vibratory ring sound now. Brake pads rub the rotor. Off the bike, unzip tool bag, multi-tool and brake pad alignment tool. Headlamp shine on the bolts, loosen, alignment tool inside, squeeze lever, tighten. Wheel spins, no sound? Maybe it’s ok. Pedal on through creekbeds. The cold seeps in. Shivers. Brakes ring again. Nausea. First doubt creeps in, this is a lot, why not just stop the race here? Darkness around, headlight and bicycle light casting light ahead. Another question, what is there to be ungrateful for? All of this nausea, this cold air, brake rub slowing the wheels, it’s all just happening. I am just aware of it. No need to react, just simply address it or accept it. How amazing is it that I get to witness all of this, the trail, the ride? So, jacket on, sips of water, brakes aligned again, a cozy sleep spot under a tree. In sleeping bag, in bivy, sleep.

Music of the shire, vibrations of a phone, alarm to signal another day. Morning of day 3. Wow, these tree branches are much lower than they appeared last night. Soft, warm light of the sun, another rotation, another day. Unzip bivy, into clothes, cool dry air, slowly warmer with each clothing layer. Hm, this one GPS is unresponsive, factory reset, ok functions again. Other Orange GPS Pops lent to me for navigation still functions, cool. Unzip, stuff, zip. Pedal on. Another squished honey bun breakfast, calorie density woo! Trail winds and winds, up and down around, low on water now, smaller sips. A water cache here? Much appreciated! Unlatch metal door, wow probably over 10 gallons here. Withdraw from the water cache minimally as these caches are for everyone, especially those who hike with longer duration between water caches, springs, wells, etc. Fill, sip, pedal on. A ridge ahead, does the trail ascend to the top here? Gradual ascent, walk when steep. Lift bike when super steep ledges. Pauses to let breathing settle. Woowee, at a high point now. An Arizona trail metal sign post, cacti dispersed, a ridge ahead. Mile 160, the 16^th video of Being on the Arizona Trail. A descent down into Molino Basin. Cloud cover above, chilly air. Arrive, and see a fellow human being in a wide brim straw hat with a phone pointed toward me, cheers, smiles. Greetings and introductions. Share their name of Scott Morris. They inform me that they’re here to cheer on race participants. A participant them self in years prior, not this one. Smiles & thanks. Empty bicycle bags of a softball size of food wrappers into a wildlife proof trash bin. Pedal on. A climb up single track begins. Chain noise, grinds of dirt between metal surfaces. Pause off the bike now. Unzip tool pack, retrieve brush and chain lube. Brush bicycle cassette, chain, chain ring. Chain lube drips into the cassette, spin pedals to disperse, wipe chain clean with rag. Zip, hop on pedals, pedal on. Arrive at highway, pavement, red blinky rear bike light on. 300 route follows the paved road up to Summerhaven. 800 route recently changed to follow the Lemmon Pusch singletrack. Vrooommm, cars pass, cyclists pass, cloud cover dissipates, sunny now. Steady climb up the road. The road winds up & around. Overlooks every so often. A human being with a camera at this overlook with a long lens pointed here and there. Pine trees here now? A different scene from this morning, wow. Sun high in the sky, after noon now. Feel the warmth. Ascent continues on. Small sips of water, scattered pine needles along the shoulder of the road. A trailhead with a vault toilet, phew. A water well spigot next to the vault. Next up to fill water, and two human beings exclaim lightheartedly, this water tastes like Sh*t!!! Chuckles. Bandana in head now, under the stream of well water. Ooo, that feels nice on the neck. Hm, close to Summerhaven according to GPS, may pass on the Sh*t water, even though it’s likely clean without filtration to drink on its own. Pedal on. Soaked bandanna drips cold water along body. Thank you, water! Late afternoon, GPS path departs this pavement into dirt again. Shade of tall pine trees, shadows dance along the road. Zoomin downhill now, around a bend, and hm. Did I miss a turn off? Yes, appears so. Backtrack, greetings with a family who offer guidance about this trail. Thank you. Pedal on singletrack now. Trail crawls over rock slabs, a high cliff. Bounce down drops, climb up drops. And wow, here is the main street of Summerhaven. Shady now, sunset approaches. Bustle of human beings on foot, bicycle, occasional car. And here it is. Mt. Lemmon General Store. Still open, yay! 😀 Refill water, stomach, some gifts for folks back home. Out the door, up the road, tall trees casting shadows, sunset. A descent down the trail in the dark. Steep loose for awhile, lights on. Turn a corner and see a bicycle and a sleeping bag. A race participant inside? Pedal on. A flat, relatively clear spot to the side of the trail. Looks cozy. Blinders on. Sleep. Zzz.

Awake. Blinders off eyes on forehead. Warm yellows and oranges gather beyond the mesh of the bivy. Bivy unzips and partially vertical body position on sleeping pad. A deep breath as senses gather the morning around. The shadow of a mountain from last night now glows. Textures of cacti, rocks gradually change with each glance. A turn towards the east. A valley stretches on and on. A morning of day 4 here on the trail. And what is that? Bzzzzzzzz. A free wheel buzzing down a descent on the trail from behind. Realize how close last nights sleeping place is to trail. Sound of brakes and skids of tires as a human on a bicycle appears. A fellow race participant! Maybe the one from the prior night? A question from the participant: Is that you, [a name that is unfamiliar]? No. Response with clarification. Good wishes and a speedy race participant departure. Blinders on forehead and low morning light, a mistaken trailside identity. Zippers retract now and streeetchhesss toward the sky. Curious about the clock time of packing up from start to wheels rolling on the trail. Beep from watch and pack up! These rolling, that stuffing, garments sliding on body. Hop, hop, shoes on feet. Loose bike bags rolled to firm. A couple squished honey bun breakfast, a check of water left, about an hour of clock time, and rollin again! A few more glances toward the valley. Sunlight streaming and warming now across it all. A steady climb, wheels greeting rocks. A steady descent, winding around and around. Cacti zoom in and out of vision. Check resource for potential available water stop, FarOut! Hijinks Ranch close by now. A ding from phone. Message from Pops with a pass-along tip from a friend, and past AZTR participant to fill up H2O there as a long stretch of desert ahead. Wind off the trail and here it is! A series of two story buildings and a small courtyard. Walk bicycle. Recall that this property is mostly uninhabited. Completely quiet and still. A water spigot, thank you!! Gulp and fill, splashes on face. Full water carrying capacity. Rollin out. Rejoin the route. Singletrack winding. Not many gates out here on this stretch. Singletrack winding. And a whole community of cholla cacti ahead! Fuzzy spines reaching out in all directions. Fuzzy with lots of thorns! Slowww the pace through this fuzzy stretch. And is that a poke in my leg? Glance toward leg, sure enough yep! A little bud of cholla jumped on up. Chuckles at realization that the comb that was packed will get to pluck a cholla off. Comb in hand, cholla returned to rest on the desert floor. Pedal on. Around a bend, and what is that motion to the right? Looks like a critter! Pause, unzip bike bag. A rabbit! Hi friend! Wow, that is a large jackrabbit? Video of hops across the trail. A pause by the hopper to get a thorn? Goodbye, jackrabbit! Feel the heat as the afternoon rolls on through. Sips of water, bites of of snacks every 15-30 minutes. Singletrack becomes double track. And what’s that? A race participant from behind. Greetings and carry on. Another race participant. The one who stopped to check in after tree head bonk on day one! A singlespeed carried to this point. Cheers and carry on. Approach a sandy wash. Beehive tanks as they’re named on the water spot map are around here. Check water supply, good for awhile until Freeman road ahead. Sunlight fades, bar light and headlight on. And here’s Freeman road. A dirt road crossing, dark, quiet. Headlight beams this way and that. Maps shows a rainwater collector around here somewhere! Search around and around. Bzzzzz, a call from Pops. Answer, hi! First voice contact since the start. A check in. Continue search for rainwater collector. A goodnight. And here it is! The metal siding and wide sloping roof of the rainwater collector reflects back. Approach, open valve, and refill water filter. Refresh. Such an incredible resource, thank you!! Pedal on into the night. Another bzzzzz, a message from Lian with cheers of support ❤ Clock time carries through midnight. This spot looks cozy. Bike rests. Bags unpack. Crawl in for another rest on the trail. Eyes closed.

Shire sounds carry as alarm rings and buzzes. A pre-dawn start to the likely last day on this trail for now! Shuffles around sleeping bag. Headlamp on head. Click. Light scans around here and there. Out of sleeping bag. Oo! A bit chillier this morning. Long sleeve wool shirt on body. Gather, roll, stuff sleep stuff. Returned to bags. Another honey bun breakfast. Helmet on head, glasses on face, shoes on pedals. And pedal on! A morning of day 5 here on the trail. Breezy and still dark as bar and head lights show the path along. Trail dances along the top of a peak just as dawn arrives for the day. Turn a corner, and hey! Another race participant? and sleep set up present next to wind sheltering boulders high above the desert floor. Preparations of their bicycle for another departure on the trail. A fast descent now, colors return slowly. Near the bottom now? Hear the bzzzzz of a free wheel, pull off the trail to let them pass, and hey! It’s the race participant from Day one again. Cheers! Pedal on. Breeze subsides as trail winds along. And here it is! The Gila River. A bridge across. The river below. Wide, and muddy brown, flowing steadily. A water spigot around here? Navigate off trail, and yes! The race participant from day one is here too. Chat and share experiences and enjoyment so far of being on the trail. Cheers and a departure of the race participant. Fill all bottles now, splash face, refreshed. A van arrives suddenly. Three humans hop out, two with backpacking bags, one driver. The two share they’re hiking south. The driver shares that they are shuttling from the nearest pizza place. The driver jokes about all the pizzas they have delivered to race participants at this spot in the past few days. Bzzzz, a text from Pops. Encouraging words for the last stretch of this route. Assurance that he’ll be there at the end with Ozzz. Smile and a departure. Navigate back to the trail. Pedal on! The Gila River appears, disappears as the trail winds along the banks. Tall grass conceals mostly. Air is stagnant now, heat sips into body. Water sips and shady spot to rest. Ok, feel good to continue. Pedal on short ascents and descents. Notice thoughts begin to appear and disappear rapidly. Maybeee some sleep deprivation accumulation after these 4 nights on the trail. Pedal on. Ascent grade increases, and a trail direction shift to the north approaches. What’s that? A large cave appears in the rock face to the right! A narrow gap around a pillar of rocks, and the bend of the trail to the north. Ascent grade increases again, mountains ahead begin a gradual color transformation from orange to pink. Feet off pedals on ground. Bike back unzips. Phone points toward the pink and orange mountains for the likely last video of being on this trail for awhile. A smile and pedal on. Lights click on after sunlight fades. Trail becomes narrow with indication of a steep drop off to the left. Walk bike along for this stretch. Check water, a bit low, check water map. Another rainwater collector approaches! Arrive at sign that shows two paths to the collector. One shorter, very steep and rocky, one longer looks smoother. Choose steeper, and push bike up and up. And here it is! Slowly approach, and what is that? Point headlamp toward what caught eye. Someone sleeping here! Quickly point light away to not disturb. Calmly fill water and pedal on! Ascent turns to descent, the final stretch of trail! Excitement fills, how many more twists till the end I wonder? Trail winds and winds, descending down and down. A few more winds, and hear familiar voices. Some woos and cheerss! Across a sandy wash and roll in to see Ozzz and Pops standing next to the Picketpost Trailhead sign! The finish point of the Arizona Trail Race 300. Pedal off. Hugs and congratulations from Ozzz and Pops. All the noise of anticipation and bicycle bouncing down the descent ceases. Quiet now. Here at the trailhead at 2:00 am. A pause to observe the stars above together. Depart to rest. 4 days, 20 Hours, 4 minutes of being on the Arizona Trail.

Reflecting on this experience here now almost two years since the Arizona Trail Race 300 that began on 10/17/2024, I have much gratitude for being able to participate and just be on trails in the first place. Being able to just be outside and enjoy whatever there is to enjoy, wherever that is. Whether just listening to and smelling the rain on a porch, a walk down to a park, a bicycle ride in the woods, a bikepacking race along the Arizona Trail, it appears as if there’s always something to appreciate. I’d like to give much thanks to my wife, Lian and family Emily, Ozzz, and Pops for their love and support, not just in regard to this race but for all of the moments that sum to be everyday. Bikepacking has been a joy to discover thanks to Pops. Opening the door to experience the outdoors day and night via bicycle. Carrying what is necessary to sustain oneself. Grateful to experience it together. Exploring whatever may come along the way. Combining bikepacking and racing was something I ended up enjoying a lot. I appreciate the community that can form around these events and being able to meet others along the way. This particular event also helps raise funds for the Arizona Trail Association, which builds and improves the trails for cyclists, hikers, and horse back riders to travel along. Amazing how many miles that groups participating with this organization have created and maintained through the years. For this race, there was preparation of about 6 months. Physical training via Kurt Refsniders bikepacking training guide on ultramtb.net, testing out different gear setups and bike bags on several overnight rides prior to the event, experimenting with nutrition, clothing, and bike lights. Some resources that I found helpful while preparing for this event were the bikepacking.com ‘Rigs of [event]’ pages, the FarOut app to scout water resupply spots, gear lists from resources like ‘The Bikepackers guide’ by Kaitlyn Boyle. I also received advice and lent equipment from Pops, who had participated in the event three times in prior years. Thank you! There was a lot of hike-a-bike spots as it’s called on this trail. Steep rocky sections. Shoes didn’t fall apart completely thankfully, but they were worn and lost significant tread! Immediately after this event, there were some lingering effects of the disrupted sleep and also some ulnar nerve impairment in both hands. Nerve impairment likely caused by lack of multiple handlebar grip positions and also the decision to lock-out my fork for much of the race to prevent a bike bag from rubbing on the front tire. The fork was opened the last day after zip tying the bag to prevent the rubbing. The nerve impairment lingered for 6 months or so and eventually surgery was done to release the ulnar nerves in both hands at the Guyon’s canal. Back to riding again since then with multiple hand positions on the handlebars and a non-locked out fork! And so grateful to be riding bicycles together now with my wife Lian, who taught herself how to ride a bicycle just over a year ago. Whatever may lie ahead, there is always much to appreciate right now. Have a good one and enjoy the ride!