5 Coconino 250 and 350

The first inaugural date is October 9th, 2009 at 7:00am in Flagstaff, downtown at ‘The Place’ (21 S Milton Rd). We drink coffee, chat a bit and then we ride!

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.

The 350-mile option (experimental this year) will be similar to the 250-mile, only it will be looped to the south rim of the Grand Canyon via forest roads then the Arizona Trail. 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,311.0.html

GPX: GPS and Cue Sheets can all be found here.
Bikepacking.net route description

Self Supported Stage Racing

The Coconino 250 will be the first ever 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.

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 should be interesting.

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 if you plan on attending. Anyone interested in carrying a SPOT unit (no charge) need to send me a PM at the forum above or make a comment below that you are interested in carrying one.
Here is the tracker page provided by Trackleaders.com: http://www.trackleaders.com/coconino

Call ins will be provided by MTBcast  http://www.mtbcast.com/ Call in line is: 888-866-4491. Racers, friends/family and spectators are all encouraged to call in!

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