It's go time - AZT 300

The AZTR300 kicks off on Friday! I'm excited, apprehensive - just a bundle of emotions. The bike is ready to go, thanks to my friends at Sonoran Bikes on Happy Valley. Will found some potential ride enders like a rear hub that was ready to take a dump. I feel good about the machine.

My mind is OK, but some self doubt fitness related has crept up on me. Mostly due to the fact that we bought a house (YEAH!!!) earlier than we were expecting and that basically meant my ride schedule got decimated the last couple of months. I was still getting my commutes in, and I'm hoping that moving all of our stuff from a one story house to a two story had some fitness benefits haha!

I did manage to get a longish day on the MTB in which I was thankful for. It was also a very warm day for early March.




Started off from my house through a bit of Deem Hills and over to Sonoran. Right away I wasn't feeling great, so I knew I was going to cut out some climbing. This ride wasn't so much about climbing as it was saddle time in the heat. Sonoran was in full wildflower display. The most amazing I have ever seen it:

I did a decent portion of the North loop and then accessed the southern loops briefly via the levy connector and over to the Cave Buttes area in order to access reach 11 then the bike path along the 51.

I really expected to run into some water here based on the massive amounts of rain, but there wasn't much.

From this spot, it's easy riding through reach 11 over to the bike path that parallels the 51. I had my sights set on some cold water at a park that I go through on my commute days. There is cold water inside the dog park that is there, but all the other fountains in the park are merely warm/hot. I parked my bike inside the first set of gates and then walked inside the other gate to access the cold water. A little dog came over and started yapping, but whatever - seemed harmless enough. The owner didn't seem concerned - until the damn thing went behind me and bit my leg. Luckily the dog was small, but still:

Somehow I remained calm and just cleaned up a bit with some hand wiped the owner brought me. Press on...

I continued on the path and then cut over to the T100 trailhead south of Tatum and Shea and started the trek to the western terminus. But first a little snack.

This was pretty easy riding, just a quiet day on the trails. Getting warm though. I eventually made my way to the end and then it was pretty much canal paths/road the rest of the way.

It was nice to get a 7ish hour ride under my belt in the heat. Hopefully this ride and the other warm commutes (not to mention that these are two a day training sessions on my commute days) are enough to get me through to Picketpost.

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces out there and tackling this monster for the first time.