AES Coronado Gold (Mother lode course)

New for 2025 is a new Arizona Endurance Series event - Coronado Gold. Patagonia, AZ just continues to grow as a cycling destination for all cycling disciplines. There are three route options, and given the long drive for me, I decided to do the long one to make the drive worthwhile. Make no mistake, the other two routes look equally awesome and combine that with hangtime in town with other riders, you are going to have a good time no matter which route you choose. 

First, gotta give a shout out to the Arizona Trail Association. The work they have done on the AZT on both sides of HWY 82 is amazing. They can't do it without donations/member dollars so please consider helping them in any way you can. If you can't donate money, consider donating some of your time to a trail maintenance event. Thank you!

For some reason, I always end up with a music gig the night before these things, and this was no different. I played until 10PM the night before, and by time I got home and in bed it was 11:30PM. The coffee I drank at the gig didn't help and the last time I looked at the clock it was 12:30am. Ugh. Alarm was set for 2:30.

I managed to wake up and on the road quickly. Hit the local Federico's for a burrito on the drive. Pulled into Patagonia at 5:50am. Ten minutes to spare haha! Said hi to the small group of adventurers, and it was freaking cold! Like high 20s. Brr. Layered up a bit and got a group start photo then we were off and I quickly was dropped, even by the single speeder of the group. Ha!

Getting dropped quickly. 

Pavement turns to dirt - Harshaw Creek Rd. 

Very serene - and cold.

Stopped for a quick snack and clothing adjustment. There was ice formed between the rim and tire. That might be a first for me. 

Cool little ranch house. 

A beefy climb before dropping down into the San Rafael State Natural Area. 

It was a major change from being surrounded by hills and mountains. Now wide open grasslands

Felt like I was in a scene from The Lion King

Did some grinding on jeep roads for a while. Then started to climb up to Canelo Pass and the AZT singletrack.

The singletrack starts out buff and mellow.

But gets steep and more rubbly as you approach the AZT gate at the top. 

Good views from the gate

Primo

Indeed, the west side of the canelos are much kinder than its eastern counterparts

Cows just after Cott tank (which appeared to be capped FYI)

The riding was fairly quick, said hi to 7 or 8 thru hikers beginning their adventures all the way to Utah! On the newer rerouted AZT, I found conditions to be less ideal than I remembered. Kinda loose which made me walk more than I wanted. Plus I was trying to save energy for later in the day. I eventually got spit out to the jeep roads of the private ranch and made my way to the highway, where I had to throw my bike over some barbed wire and then make a decision. I was already tired, and I could make a shorter version of the route. Or I could hit the road to Hog Canyon - which is ultimately what I did. The light tailwind did its best to cancel out the slight climbing pavement grade. 

Signed in at the register and had some snacks. 

Love these gate locking mechanisms. They would be my favorite on the AZT, but they aren't on the AZT so they lose on a technicality. 

After fairly flat riding, the price must be made to climb out of Hog Canyon. 

Minimal sleep and steep grades had me walking 

Perfect place for a sit down snack break. 

I've never ridden the singletrack through here in this direction and it was divine

Trail through here is amazing, but you're gonna work no matter which direction you are going. 

Peep that singletrack on the other side.

In the middle of a beefy climb. I was ready to be done lol. 

Beginning the deja-vu repeated switchback section. If it wasn't so good it would be annoying. Not gonna lie, I still got a bit annoyed I was tired and ready to be done. 

I got motivated when I noticed a storm cell appearing to form right over town. I was sure I was going to get dumped on but it stayed away.

Had a good time on the Train Track trail (except for the million gates) and I arrived to a bunch of folks shouting out encouragement from the brewery in town. That was a fun way to finish - seeing a bunch of friends. Had a beer and a had a slice of pizza that was reserved for me. Thank you!

I gotta say, if you have yet to head down south of Tucson to ride, you are missing out. Patagonia is a rad place and southern AZ in general is just a beautiful place to be. Put it on your list of places to ride!

Gila 100 Bikepack

Time to get the ol' blog updated a bit! The Arizona Endurance Series (AES) is in the middle of resurgence. That includes the resurrection of the Gila 100 - but now as a bikepacking event in the style of the Coco 250 and the Queen's Ransom Group Ride, but of course only one night out under the stars. I will say I really like this style of event as it gives everyone a chance to ride their own pace and then regroup in a common camping spot at the end of the day. It is such a cool thing to talk about the adventures and challenges of the day and cheer in riders as they arrive.

Day 1

The first challenge of this event is the fact that it is a point to point (2025 edition went northbound; Oracle to Picketpost), so setting up some sort of shuttle is required. G Mack ended up arranging for a shuttle via Homegrown shuttles so that made logistics so much easier. Most everyone who wanted to left a car at the start and was able to get ourselves and bikes down to the Tiger Mine TH.

Due to the early shuttle departure time and a near 90 minute drive to Picketpost from my house, I opted to drive out the night prior and sleep in my car near the TH. Before I knew it, my alarm went off and it was time to load up the shuttle. The process was very efficient and we left on time.

We arrived at the beginning of the Tiger Mine TH as the sun was just starting to come up - and nearly everyone found individual spots to pee - cool, we are all hydrated haha!

The beginning of one of my favorite stretches of trail. 

Nothing but good things to say about these folks. 

We all chatted for a bit, but next thing I know everyone was off and I guess I should turn on my GPS and load the track. Honestly, I like finding excuses to plant myself in the rear - I prefer to ride in the back and if I catch people, cool. If not, I don't care. I do these things at my own pace.

A couple switchbacks right off the bat and we are in it. 

There are a series of washes that the trail dips into and climbs out of - it was cool being able to relay some of this info to rookies of this section. I just told them to work through them then things become a bit more consistent.

The Arizona Trail Association is always doing great work out there. There were a few new rollover gates in this area. These replace janky gate openings and are so appreciated.

Sure is dry out here.

One more rollover.

Antelope Peak in the distance. Many miles of singletrack to get there. 

Another rollover gate!

Cholla forest. Top off your sealant before riding out here!

Progress being made

I always get a picture here. I've always wondered what it looks like in a flash flood event

Example of janky gates that still remain. 

Quick stop at beehive well. Filtered a quick liter of water just to slam and got moving quickly. 

The section after this included a nice sandy section which was so dry it wasn't really ride-able so I walked most of that before returning to the singletrack, which I promptly walked quite a bit of all because it starts of pretty steep. Quite a bit of work to be had in here before reaching the base of Antelope Peak honestly but it does finally relent. 

Quick riding here en route to the Freeman TH/rain catchment device 

Hung out with some riders at the rain collector and fought off some bees at the spigot to get my share of the goods. 

Always fun to see a first time user of the self closing gate :)

Cougar Hill turn off - This is so much better these days since it is getting used by hikers as well. 

Ripsey wash and subsequent climb upcoming. 

A few riders in front - ElFreako and Turbo - I tried to catch them and got close but could never quite catch up. 

Time for the race down...

Getting to the Kelvin TH always takes me longer than I think it should, and the final kick in the teeth is the short bit of up and down on AZT when you cross the road. So close to the ADOT yard for water, yet so far. Looked like I was going to finish without using my lights which was my goal, so I was happy with that. 

I rolled up to a small gathering of other riders who were stalking up on water at the spigot plus organizing pizza orders. Usually, the pizza place in Kearny delivers here but they weren't for some reason tonight. No worries though... a trail angel basically just let us borrow his truck for the night (WHAT?!?!) and some riders volunteered to drive in to pick up. There was also a cooler of cold beers that we were provided. Igor allegedly left a cooler of beers for us, but we never did find them haha.

  

What a way to wrap up a good day on the bike. 

Day 2

I slept really well - except for the rooster that I think most of us heard at several times through the night. 

View from the sleeping bag when I finally decided to poke my head out. 

The legend himself John Schilling - I've spent more nights with him under the stars bikepacking than any other bikepacker and it's not even close. 

Time to get moving - today is no joke. 

Saw this javelina near the low point of the trail. Looking real THICC

I hadn't seen anyone really for quite a while when I hit the gate at the AZT low point at the turn away from the Gila. Decided to eat some food and get another layer of sunscreen on. Suddenly, it was a party - and a stoked Schilling caught us here too. He as hoping to make it here by noon, but it was only like 11! Rad.  

I decided to get moving right after John and I think Josh started. The trail kicks you right in the ding ding immediately. 

It's real tough back here, but there are things to look at all day if you look around. 

Steeper than it looks

The strategy on this whole segment is just to keep moving. It never really lets up until the water catchment device and while I have given the "10 mile descent" to Picketpost some flack over the years for not really being as described, it really isn't that bad if you just remember there are a couple of efforts in there. 

Saddle attained; snack time - next up, get to the rain collector via Martinez Canyon. 

I caught some riders at the rain collector and I took a few minutes there to filter some water and eat a bit. Right when I was leaving Schilling caught me. Sweet! I told him I'd wait for him at the end if he didn't catch me, and we could go grab food in Superior. Good idea. 

The top of Picketpost reveals itself. 

AZT rarely lets you finish a ride easily... Amazing how differently this rides in each direction. 

Done. 

There were some riders still hanging out and I was offered a beer and gladly accepted. Waited for a just a short bit and Schilling rolled in. After hanging out for a bit, we got packed and drove into Superior for some mandatory Circle K people watching and some legit Mexican food. Perfect way to end it. 

Keep in mind, this event does switch directions every other year... my thoughts on that are: it should be northbound every year. I think this direction is so much more rewarding going north, but that's just my opinion.