I'm starting to obsess a bit over the AZTR coming up in April. I know it seems so far away, but there really is a lot to do in that time. Mostly training but also gear acquisition and logistics planning. Luckily this race is maturing and there are a lot of blogs with a wealth of information which are super helpful. Still though, the 300 route is no joke and no matter the riders ability or knowledge, it has the ability to knock anyone out at any time. It has cut down some legends and I'm not anywhere near them ability wise so I always have that in my mind.
Gear wise, I ordered up the majority of my bags from Rogue Panda. For the time being I am going to roll without a seatbag, but I will have the full complement of frame bag, two top tube bags plus a handlebar roll. Seatbag will come later I'm sure, but I am going to see how what I have works out when we do a little run up to Crown King for a bikepack shakedown trip.
Also, I have been scouring for deals on other gear. I found a sweet sale for an REI branded down puffy jacket for 50 bucks. Score. It's an ugly color, but I don't really care.
Training has started to pick up a bit. Mainly focusing on doing more climbing now that the weather is getting cooler. A mix of hill repeats Monday is a 6 minute climb that I repeat as much as possible and Wednesday is a shorter hill < 60 seconds. Mix in a big-ish ride on Saturday. Humboldt will be on the regular rotation. At least every other week.
Starting in October I will be getting in at least 1 AES style ride per month starting with a running on the Prescott mini-monster.
Looking forward to all of it!
