Stagecoach 400<\/a> course was harder than I had anticipated. The straight lines on the map made it look so simple and easy, leading me to consistently underestimate how long it would take to cover various stretches.<\/p>\nYep, the map wasn’t all that forthcoming about all the slogging through sand, some hot\/windy sections, and the lovely false summits. Then add some delays because of waiting for a store to open at 9am (a critical, desert resupply point) and a large nail that miraculously tore a hole in my sidewall… blah, blah, blah. All in all, a good ride at a respectable pace.<\/p>\n
Feel free to geek out on my spot tracks, where I slept, and my speed over the course by looking at the course map<\/a> and race flow chart<\/a> below.<\/p>\nAnimal encounters<\/h3>\n\n- 1 rattlesnake – wasn’t happy to see me on the trail and coiled back as I passed by<\/li>\n
- 1 random snake – most importantly it wasn’t a rattlesnake, so who cares<\/li>\n
- 1 red-tailed fox<\/li>\n
- 2 road runners<\/li>\n
- 5 deer<\/li>\n
- 1 big white owl that came from behind me, flew over my head and out into my lights – yikes!<\/li>\n
- 10 coyotes – no sighting, but listened to them yipping and howling as I rode into the night<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Photo diary<\/h3>\n\n\t\t