6 Coconino Stage Race

This year, we will be meeting on Friday, October 5, 2012 at 7:00am in Flagstaff, downtown at ‘The Place’ (21 S Milton Rd). We drink coffee, chat a bit and then we ride! The actual starting time for the first stage (and every stage) is open-ended.

The 250-mile route has about 40-50% singletrack, some of which is pretty darn technical, and about 33k of climbing. The route is: Flagstaff-Sedona-Mingus Mountain-Williams-Flagstaff. Those that have never ridden in this area, you are in for a treat!

Live tracking: http://trackleaders.com/coconino

The forum: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,1084.0.html

GPX: GPS and Cue Sheets can all be found here.

For help uploading the track to your GPS see TopoFusion’s uploading tutorial.

Please note: it is very important that you upload both the GPS track (line) AND the waypoint file. The waypoints define where stages start and end, as well as help everyone regroup at the end of each stage.

Bikepacking.net route description

Self Supported Stage Racing

The Coconino 250 is a self supported stage race. The usual rules for self-supported bikepacking apply (see AZT 300, Colorado Trail Race for examples), with one exception: there are locations on the route where stopping is allowed and as long as you are there, the clock is not ticking.

This makes the event into a quasi-stage race. Riders may race from one stopping location to another, then rest the night before the next ‘stage.’ However, stopping is not required at any of the points. The option of a non-stop ride is still open.

There are 4 stages, with 3 “stage stop” locations. The first two are camp sites, with no water or other services available (but fantastic views!). The third is the town of Williams, where most racers opt to share motel rooms. You can also camp on nearby national forest, if desired.

Each rider’s time will be computed as = the total time on course minus the total time spent in designated stopping locations. Because of this it is important that you carefully log your time in and time out. Bring a piece of paper to do this, and if you can collect a GPS track for backup, even better.

The idea is to promote camaraderie, lessen the physical ‘impact’ on participants, and also experiment with a new racing format. It is an exciting new form of racing!

The stage stops are marked as waypoints in the course GPX file and also denoted in RED on the cue sheets.

Pictures

You can drool over some pictures on Scott’s website: http://www.topofusion.com/diary/2009/06/29/coco-ming-o-bob/

Please make a comment below, or post in the bikepacking.net forum if you plan on attending.

The event is tracked live, using SPOT messengers, by Trackleaders.com. Tracking link is: http://www.trackleaders.com/coconino. SPOT units will be available to rent, see bikepacking.net forums for details.

Comments, suggestions, heckling can all be made below. Or on the forum.