bike shop<\/a> just sells beach cruisers. They ain’t going to help you.” Luckily, the owner was an adept mechanic and happened to have all of the parts that I needed. All fixed up, I reluctantly headed back to the route.<\/p>\nBut then, the AZT changed it’s tune. It seemed to apologize for it’s extremely abusive nature and gave me about a days worth of riding on smooth pavement and dirt roads. By the time I reached the mountain town of Pine, I was lulled into thinking that the rest of the ride would be better. Had the AZT really changed? Was the misery over?<\/p>\n
The next day, when I reached the Highline trail, it was basically like the AZT had suddenly come back home drunk again and went right back to it’s abusive ways. The tough riding\/pushing conditions slowed me down and I had to retreat 8 miles off-route again because I ran out of food before I could reach the next resupply at Mormon Lake. As a bonus, the night-time temperatures started dropping below freezing, making it uncomfortable to ride late into the night or get an early start on the day.<\/p>\n
By the time I reached Flagstaff, my body and bike were so beat that I was ready to just start “touring” the route rather than racing it. And I did slow down a bit and sleep in longer.<\/p>\n
When I reached the south rim of the Grand Canyon, I purchased some hiking poles and strapped my bike and all of my gear to my back. The novelty of hiking down and up the other side of the canyon gave me a boost of energy. I stepped into the canyon around 4:30pm and hiked through the night. With only a few 20-minute breaks, I reached the top of the north rim the next morning around 9:30am (17 hours later).<\/p>\n
Even though the last stretch to the finish covered a lot of paved road, it was no picnic. I was battling strong headwinds and fighting through my lack of sleep. During the final 10 miles, my right quad called it quits on me and started emitting a strong, shooting pain just above my knee. I ended up walking most of the uphills and did the best I could on the downhills. The hydraulics on my front brake were no longer working, so I went sliding off the trail and into the brush\/cactus a number of times as I descended switchbacks.<\/p>\n
My parents were parked right at the trailhead in the state line campground and I rolled up to their van at 10pm. I was so happy to be done with AZT. We all marveled at the swelling in my legs as I stiffly walk around the car loading my things.<\/p>\n
As we drove off, I could hear the AZT saying: “Oh come on! I wasn’t that bad. You know you’re going to miss me. You’ll be back!”<\/p>\n
Photo Diary<\/h3>\n\n\t\t