Antelope Peak Challenge

Last monday I was asked if I was doing the antelope peak challenge this saturday. No clue, I hadn't looked into this event. It turned out to be either a 65 or 115 mile mountain bike challenge in the desert north of Oracle. A look at the map and a couple of phone calls later saw me packing my stuff and going over the bike, getting ready for a looooong day on the bike this weekend.

Unfortunately the weather did not want to co-operate with our plans, forcing us to move the start date back to sunday.

Scott, Chad, Max and I camped out saturday night. They would start the challenge at 3am, I opted to start at midnight as I did not want to finish in the dark.

Willow Springs Rd. gets pretty hairy when it rains.





After a mandatory refueling stop at the circular k it was a straight shot to some sweet, new to me, arizona trail.




Evan a flat tire couldn't remove the big fat grin plastered to my face. There is something special about night riding, it is like being transported to a different universe where everything, including time, seems different.





As the sun started to peak over the horizon I realized that I was not riding as fast as I had hoped I would. I noticed my energy start to drop a few miles before in Bloodsucker Wash, and now I just didn't feel feisty enough to tackle the full 115 miles. The decision was made to go into full touring mode and try to have as much fun on the trail as possible.





Antelope Peak. This mountain rises up over 400 feet from the surrounding landscape and provides spectacular views in all directions. In addition to landscape views the vantage point also let me get a good view of Chad and Scott riding the trail far below.





Can you see them riding the trail?



No? How about if we zoom in a little.





How about now? Yes? No? Do you want the answer?


Here they are!








Talk about wide open spaces.


Antelope peak more or less marked the end of the ride for me, I rode the last 20 miles of dirt road with Max who was also having issues with his ride.

One last look at the white mountains, and that was it.





Ride Totals:
66 miles
8300 feet of climbing
one big fat grin