My screenshot don't tell no lie. JayP (Jay Petervary) is throwing down some serious hurt on fellow competitors during this year's Arizona Trail Race. What is this Race of Arizona you speak of? The AZT is a self-supported, point to point, single stage trail race. Start in Mexico, end in Utah - simple enough, right? Sounds almost like some sort of Club Med desert cruise somehow. Not so much. There is zero outside help allowed. Correct, no "feed zones," water handouts, stockpiling, hitchhiking, support crews, nothing, you're all on your own. Alone with self-doubt percolating in your skull. Racers may send themselves resupply materials to Post Offices along the way ahead of time, they can also buy things from the infrequent town crossings. That's about all the fun they're allowed. It's 750 miles of cacti-strewn brutality with sharp rocks, hot temps, and hurt feelings. It's billed as the longest singletrack bike race in the world.
So who's crazy enough to partake? Well, JayP apparently. It only seems right that the record holder for the longest mountain bike race in the world, Tour Divide, would shake a stick at the longest singletrack suffer fest. But he's not just shaking a stick, he's wielding a weapon with expert precision, again pushing the limits of what's humanly possible.
He left this:
JayP's Salsa Spearfish with WTB Wolverine 2.2 29" TCS tires and a Rocket V SLT saddle not so long ago in a snow covered Victor, Idaho.
For this:
JayP a day before the race and a stone's throw from Mexico. A little bit of a different environment.
Having packed up all of this:
All this goes into and onto that... somehow.
Then shredding this:
Oracle Ridge - apparently this trail is shamelessly relentless for a long, long time.
Briefly dozing in... ahhhem, whatever this is:
Not exactly deluxe accommodations but hey, at least the beer's cheap.
And after 300 miles, a few signs of battle but nothing to slow down the great JayP:
Cacti and no water... sounds like my idea of a vacation.
So, how'd he do it, how the heck did he figure out how to get this far already? Well, he made a list and like Santa Claus, he checked it twice...
JayP's done this before - like, a lot lot before. So much so that he's devised a system. Everything gets packed into various bags, labelled, and he maps out the bike along with keeping note of everything needed. Eventually he figures out exactly what goes where.
But even with a looming start of fewer than eight days away, JayP still found time for a little gravel for lunch and solitude for dinner. Please notice the lovely Nano 40c prototype tires on JayP's Salsa in the photo:
So how can you see our hero push onward? Check out JayP minute-by-minute HERE on trackleaders.com with plenty of layers and mapping options to spend entirely too much time musing through. Feel like getting deep in dorkery I'm openly admitting to? Care to voice your opinion as well? Check out bikepacking.net's live discussion HERE.