B.P.R. Adventure - Coconino 200ish

I somehow managed to survive another B.P.R. Adventure. No regrets on this trip, well maybe.

Well, if you been around here long enough, you already know The Philosifizer, The Hustorian, The Judd, tells stories and defines reality. Click on over to The B.P.R. main site for the Adventure recap and pictures. Below are some of my random thoughts floating around.

It was true that I put together most of the logistics of the Coconino trip. However, credit given where credit due. I had lots of help. The Coconino Loop pretty much already exists as a stage race with the Arizona Endurance Series. We just modified the loop slightly due to weather and emotions, and the Uno Cog. Thanks goes out to:

Chad B - one of the master minds behind the Coconino 250 and the A.E.S. Managed to run into Chad in the rain the week prior at a Landscape Nursery in Tucson for last minute advice. Dude, gives great advice on where to get good burritos.

Scott M - thanks for the late night emails on GPS and tracks, and don't know what I would due without Topofusion.

Troy M - thanks for the emails and weather beta in Flagstaff. You motivated me.

James The Maadjurger - thanks for what ever you do, only you can do it, and it seems to help.

The List
1. Judd's a mess without a GPS to play with.
2. 200' feet of rope for 200 miles of bike riding is not necessary.
3. The Morale Chairman can hide a huge bag of chips in his pack without destroying them.
4. The entire bar in Sedona was trashed.
5. Smart Guys bring sun tan lotion. Tough Guys harden up and don't borrow sun tan lotion. Rhino has nasty sunburn - you figure it out.
6. No flat tires or mechanicals.
7. Water Filters take way to long to fill up 3 liters, I just just used tablets and I'm still alive (check back in 5 days).
8. The night before the Adventure a game is played: Who can dump the most $hit from their packs right before a ride. It was a close race between The Judd and The Morale Chairman. (see number 2)
9. Prob-eee seems to be along for the ride, even when he's not along for the ride. "Awesome"
10. After 4 days of riding, we stunk pretty bad.

The Pictures - I dumped the pictures if you are interested. Disclaimer: riding a rigid Singlespeed is not smooth. Pictures may be blurry. Deal with it.

Steel Horses - the First American Bikepackers

My old man gave me a copy of his Elks Magazine to read, he thought I might enjoy it. He was right. What are the Elks you ask, I don't really know either, but I imagine it is something similar to the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes.

The article documents the the US Army's Bicycle Corps, 1896-1897 Twenty-Fifth Infantry Regiment.

I found the article interesting and thought the B.P.R. fans would too. America's first bikepackers. These guys are probably harder and tougher than anybody alive riding a bike today. You may notice that the B.P.R. Hustorian and the Twenty-Fifth Infantry share some similarities, such as carrying massive amounts of gear and munitions.

Rigid Singlespeeders.

Arizona Trail - Freeman Rd to Superior

The plan was to ride the Sedona (not so big) Friggin Loop this weekend. Since the race was shorten due to high water crossing, the cogs in the head started turning and decided to load up the bikepacking gear and put some miles down on the Arizona Trail instead. We decided on the AZT section heading north from Freeman Road to Superior.

Since my body is trashed and my brain is fried and I am having issues today formulating coherent non-run-on sentences, I will just leave you with some bullet points and pictures. Grab a beer and make up your own storyline They say pictures are worth a thousand words, problem is I suck at photos and my camera is jacked and leaves a fuzzy spots. You got ripped off, get your money back kid.

Signing at the Picket Post Trailhead

Tim (AZTripper) helped us out with the GPX files, shuttle, and water caches. Without Tim, we would have wandered the desert lost and dehydrated and hallucinating. Or we would have just rode a long two day out and back and returned home safely, but hey, almost dying sounded way tougher. Credit given, when credit due. Tim hooked the logistics of the trip up and answered my many of 1000's of questions as we rode for two days.

Ripsey - that big peak in the middle, one of the best sections of the entire Arizona Trail. (so I am told by crazy dudes - here and here. Their camera skills don't suck). Those sites helped with my recon prior to the ride.

Look at those switch backs on Ripsey.

My first wild Gila Monster sighting. Pretty rare, as I am told they spend most of their lives under ground. Saw this right after I startled a huge rattlesnake just off the trail. All on top of the ridge.

Try this for a few miles on a rigid singlespeed with loaded packs.


It was just like in 'Stand By Me'...


My favorite section - climbing north after crossing the Gila and riding the railroad tracks. Seems to be brand new single track. Pretty sure we had fresh tracks, didn't see any other tire tracks.

Steep.

Steep.

Steep and rocky.

Scrambling, pushing, pulling, carrying our bikes for one mile up a wash to access the Artesian Well.

Jimbo enjoying the high flows from the Artesian Well. Tasted great but the water was warm, unlike the Ripsey Spring water.

The Truth.


And I leave you with this sincere picture of myself to scare all your demons away and thought I rock a tiny mohawk for the adventure.