Acknowledgement: I'm just a normal dude who enjoys bikepacking and while I have participated in both grand departs, and ITT's - my intention was never to race anyone but myself. My goal each time is to just finish and challenge myself in an honest way and following any rules that were in place for the event. I'm mid-pack at best but likely even slower than that now at my advanced age haha!
There has been quite a bit of drama about Lael's recent AZTR ride. I am not going to get into that here, other than to say that:
1. Lael had a smoking fast ride on the current AZTR route and hopefully got some amazing footage of which I can't wait to see.
2. She had a media crew - Rue and at least one other with backing from The Radavist. They followed and met up along the entire length of the route. Regardless of how professional both parties are in that scenario, rule 2 of the AZTR states that it is considered support and * will be given.
Truth be told, I was bummed when I saw she was relegated, but the explanation given by the race director was simple and clear enough to understand. If only things could be that simple.
Lael supporters, which include some people who understand the actual concept of ultra distance bikepacking but primarily includes those who have no clue what it is like to pack your stuff on a bike, ride all day and then sleep on the dirt attacked the race director. Stating that he was misogynistic, a gatekeeper and I'm sure myriad other terms. He's not the first person this has happened to for similar reasons, but he is the first friend I have had it happen to. It has completely disgusted me and it isn't right.
I don't have a ton of readership, but I don't really care. I write about bikepacking and ultra adventures here and I would have never started if it wasn't for the current race director of the AZTR - John Schilling. I am hoping that people looking to find ammo against him will stumble across this and maybe get educated.
Over the years, I have discovered that you can find out a lot about a person by riding/talking bikes with them. I was introduced to John via the internet on a local mtb forum. That led to me finding his blog and that led to so many others. Discovering the local endurance MTB scene in AZ, among other things. Reading about his rides and seeing his pictures made we want to pursue that kind of adventure.
I started to emulate what he was doing. His riding style (which includes plenty of mental toughness and grit). Love of HAB haha. Hell, I started writing in large part due to his blog. He's not the only one of course (shout out to Angry Ray, Jeff Z, Scott M, Ez, Kurt, Maad, etc for your blogs back then).
Anyway, over the years I have gotten to see/interact with John more and have really gotten some insight on what it takes to be the RD of the AZTR, but probably more importantly, just a pillar of bikepacking and MTB stoke in general.
I don't care who you are, or what you look like, or your gender or anything else - if you ask a question about bikepacking or ultra riding you can most certainly find John offering up good, solid information. He offers that info freely and without reservation.
When it comes to the AZT and the AZTR, few people know it better than him. Certainly there are plenty of people behind the scenes who are always gathering intel and route beta on the constant changes, but John puts it all together. Sometimes he has to do it on the fly with little notice. From last minute fire detours, to any other reason why something might change on the ground, he puts it together and makes it happen. Without John and other RD's like him, these events as we know them do not happen. Period. Did I mention that John and others do this for free. They don't get paid. There is zero incentive to gatekeep or anything else. John and other RD's bust their asses to make these events happen. It's not just throwing a gpx together. Honestly, that might be the easiest thing of the whole gig.
There is absolutely no evidence to support the "gatekeeping" or misogyny claims. Zero. In fact, he celebrates all riders and has been active before all of this stuff happened in getting female bikepackers started in the sport - including setting up and leading a route for these beginning women to get their first taste of bikepacking on AZ dirt. I've never seen him write or heard him say a negative word about any female rider out there. If someone has proof of that happening, I will gladly donate 250 dollars to the Arizona Trail Association.
Over the last 4-5 years, I have been lucky enough to ride with John on scouting rides for AZTR. Doing trail maintenance or scouting route changes or checking the status of the trail after a major fire. I've been offered a place to crash in his home and broken bread (or burritos at least) together. We have been blistered by the sun climbing up 4 peaks, navigated flash flood conditions near the Gila during a summer monsoon, bushwhacked through all kinds of stupid stuff and demoralized by death mud. I've told him each time - there are a small handful of people I would want to share those experiences with and he is at the top of the list. John is a good dude with positive intentions for the bikepacking community in general and the AZTR specifically. Oh, and that thing called the Queen's Ransom!
Thanks for all you do John. I'm glad to call you a friend, and the bikepacking community is lucky to have you.
