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AES: Coconino 250 Underway!

1K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  Raybum 
#1 ·
Follow the race dots here:

Trackleaders: Coco250

Ray, Bart & Josiah are pushing through on an ITT attempt & not stopping at the traditional camping areas with the group. They're also starting in Munds Park.

The rest of the riders are starting in Flagstaff per normal and are now reaching the potential death mud section of AZT north of Marshall Lake, hopefully it dried out enough so they don't have to detour to Lake Mary rd. again this year.

Kudos to Meade Plum, 15 year old bikepack racer!! Get it!!
 
#5 ·
Yes, they will be climbing Mingus this afternoon, if you do this route, that's when you typically arrive at the base - late afternoon. I wouldn't expect to see them stop at the top though. Bart should be riding with those two as well, but doesn't have a tracker. Their goal is to knock out the loop in 3 days instead of 4.

Nice to see a couple other riders going for a thru ride as well. Doesn't look like too many riders will be enjoying the Sedona overlook this evening.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Yup, almost made it to Flag.

The three started strong albeit a bit late (my fault ;). We started at 830am and were at the bottom of Mingus around 6pm. We left Josiah behind as he was supposed to ride thru ITT and he was riding at his own pace. He ran in to trouble as you can read in Ray's blog. One Gear Ray: A Doctor and Two Engineers

My garmin edge proved to be an useless device for navigation for so many hours. (gotta get the etrex for the long hauls) We had plans to ride together, but I really had to stick to Ray so I don't lose the route. He also knows all the back routes which saved Josiah...literally.

Mingus exceeded my expectations and then some. The suckiest Hike-a-bike or rather drag-a-bike up the freaking rocks ever. The descent in the dark all the way to Rio Verde was a surreal experience after 14 hours of riding.

We camped at Rio Verde River, had a good night sleep (thank you zolpidem) and left for Williams. We had nice lunch and with renewed energy attacked Sycamore Canyon. We had a plans of making Flag by 7pm, getting a nice hotel room, shower, beer and pizza. Next day we were planning to end at Munds by lunch time.

Ray crushed the tough singletrack at Sycamore Canyon. I could barely keep up. Everything unraveled on the road up to 40. Ray started complaing of neck pain, stopped few times and then he made the phone call.

He wanted me to continue, offerred his etrex.. but to be honest I wouldn't have made it this far by myself. Ray is such a disciplined dude and I can't touch his experience. Quit while you're ahead they say, so I did right along with Ray and took advantage of the pick up shuttle. Came home day early and spend some time with the family.

I accomplished more than I thought I could. I come out of this unscathed, more experienced and more confident. That's good enough for me.
 
#11 ·
Bart,
Great effort. I read Ray's report and it did suck having to stop. You guys were moving fast and was pulling for you.

BTW... if you were camping at Gila... Well you guys when a little off course. ;) That was the Verde. Still when you ride that far that fast they all look the same.

This brings up an interesting question. What is harder AZT300 or Coco250 ITT?
 
#16 ·
Well, there's certainly a lesson in all of this for me. Splitting the coco route into 4 days makes it reasonably comfy...sure the middle two days are hard, but plenty of time to get some good sleep and recharge batteries. Even without my neck issues, I would have limped into Flag that night...I knew that the wing mtn moto trails followed by the grind up 151 and up to Aspen Corner would have nearly killed me.
All in all, still a great way to spend a couple days working hard and finding limits. Josiah cheated death and will surely live to ride again. Fun to ride 2 very long days with Bart and see him broaden his experience into these ultras.
 
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